If Minneapolis taxpayers can be certified as a "class" with standing to bring lawsuits against those who obtain and retain public funding fraudulently, I would be delighted to be a lead plaintiff.
A fellow listmember who is an attorney wrote me yesterday: "Taxpayers do not have standing as a class to sue the government or to sue on behalf of the government. It is the responsibility of the government body who was defrauded to file suit. The government body acts as a corporation in such matters and, although taxpayers could be viewed as shareholders, they do not have the same kind of relationship that would allow a 'shareholder derivative' action." If this is true, the politically connected can say whatever they want to get money through the City, and do whatever they want once they have it. There is no control, and no mechanism for external audit. I can think of no way, other than going to Court, to force City agencies to tell the truth about who specifically receives the money and what they do with it. Our journalists don't do investigative reporting any more, they just regurgitate whatever the bureaucrats tell them. Perhaps they don't know enough about accounting to ask the right questions. So, what's a taxpayer to do? Get in on the action or pack up and leave, I guess. I'm not giving up yet, I still think this class action idea has merit. I'll keep you posted. Vicky Heller North Oaks Mpls property owner and taxpayer _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
