Duluth city clerk Jeff Cox was subpoenaed to testify at the U.S. Senate recount trial Thursday, but he refused because of inadequate reimbursement, according to court documents filed Thursday in Ramsey County District Court.
Cox was subpoenaed by Al Franken in the case between Franken and Norm Coleman. Cox received a check for $105 from Franken for his time and travel, but the city of Duluth contested, writing that Cox should have been compensated about $1,151, or $60 per hour plus mileage and meals.
"[Cox] is entitled to reasonable compensation for the time and expense involved in preparing for and giving such testimony," Alison Lutterman, the deputy city attorney, wrote in a letter to Franken's attorney, Richard Snyder.
In a written filing Thursday, Lutterman said, "The city runs a leanly staffed organization that is struggling to provide its citizens the services they have a right to expect. It should not be asked to bear the expense of providing its employees for these proceedings because it has no interest in these proceedings and is not a party. The subpoena should be quashed, or in the alternative, Franken should be ordered to pay in advance the estimated costs of Cox's appearance."
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