Associated Press
ELYSIAN, Minn. — The state auditor’s office is criticizing the purchase of the City Hall in the south-central Minnesota town of Elysian.
The residents of the town about 550 signed a petition to force the audit due to rumors of mismanagement of the city’s money. Now, the city has to pay the $20,000 tab.
The audit was made public last week. It raised several questions about city government, many of them centered on the new City Hall building.
Two years ago, the city bought a former pizza restaurant for nearly $238,000, or nearly twice the taxable value assessed by Le Sueur County.
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The city didn’t do its own appraisal, because Mayor Mack Evans said it would have cost more money, and he was told there were no comparable properties in town. Evans is a former Rochester resident who owned a service station and was on the Rochester City Council from 1993-2002.
Deputy State Auditor Greg Hierlinger said he didn’t see any city documents on why the price was so much higher than the assessment.
