In Eden Prairie, it's a faceoff over fudged expenses

Supporters see Eden Prairie Mayor Phil Young as a decent guy who admitted he made mistakes with city expense claims. They're ready to recognize his contributions to the city and give him a second chance.

Critics see the mayor's repeated expense-report transgressions as a breach of trust that should prompt his resignation. A city employee involved in a similar matter would have been fired, they contend.

As Young waits to learn whether he will face misdemeanor charges for the erroneous claims, he will hear from constituents on Tuesday. It's the first City Council meeting since news reports surfaced about the police investigation of his case.

For an open microphone session that promises to be well attended, he has turned the meeting gavel over to City Council Member Brad Aho.

"I have appreciated the opportunity to serve the city," Young, 42, said last week. "I was very fortunate to have had it. It meant a lot to me."

Young, who was born in Austria and grew up in Edina, decided to run for mayor in 2006 when Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens announced she would leave the seat open.

Drawn to the practical decision-making in City Hall, Young sought Republican Party endorsement and ran seeking to stop the growth of city spending.

"I don't golf, I don't fish. I don't have any other time-consuming hobbies," he said. "This was a way for me to do something and I could fit it into my life."

That life includes full-time work as a trial attorney in private practice, volunteer coaching for youth baseball, football and soccer, and active membership in a church and the Republican Party. Young has run eight marathons, including the Boston Marathon.

"Phil is a busy guy," said Sherry Butcher Wickstrom, a former Eden Prairie City Council member. "I always wondered how he found time to do all he had to do. I have asked him many times 'Do you sleep, Phil?'"

Admitted to 'sloppy' records

Young's actions came under scrutiny several weeks ago, when Eden Prairie City Manager Scott Neal, in a routine review of expense claims, discovered that Young had claimed reimbursement for meetings he did not attend.

The findings led to an investigation by Plymouth police. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman subsequently declined to charge Young with a felony, calling his actions "sloppy bookkeeping."

A determination on possible misdemeanor charges rests with an independent prosecutor and is expected any day.

Through his attorney, Young said he took responsibility for the errors. He said there were 100 other events for which he could have claimed reimbursement and didn't.

Each claim sheet for expense reimbursement carries the declaration: "I declare under penalties of perjury that this claim is just and correct and no part of it has been paid."

But those who support him say his actions, while wrong, were not an attempt at improper personal gain.

"Yes, the mayor made a mistake," Proops said. "No way in the world should it have received the publicity it has. The mayor is an honorable guy."

Longtime resident Tommy Johnson, a blogger and political pundit, says he will tell the council that Young must go.

"Good leaders lead by example," Johnson said. One false expense claim "is an accident, two is a coincidence, three is a pattern and 26 is inexcusable. I think he should resign and I think he should be prosecuted."

Liked Eden Prairie's parks

Young's Austrian roots stem from where his father, stationed with the Army in Germany, met his mother, who is Austrian. They met on the Innsbruck ski slopes. The family moved to the United States in 1968, when Young was a baby.

Young met his wife, Mona, at law school. When they were ready to settle down with their family, they chose Eden Prairie over Edina for its park system, he said.

As mayor, Young has worked with fellow Republicans Aho and Jon Duckstad to stop city spending growth. The city's tax levy was held to its 2008 level for both 2009 and 2010.

Letting the process play out

Council members say it's unclear what role, if any, the council will play in the mayor's case.

Tyra-Lukens, the previous mayor, credited Neal for proper handling of the claims. She said it's the city's responsibility to let the legal process play out.

Young's friends say he should have filed correct paperwork.

"In the busiest of times people don't always check every little detail and in the long run clearly there are probably a lot more things that he didn't get reimbursed for," said Rick King, chairman of the city airport commission. "That didn't make it right. It's disappointing that these weren't correct."

But, said King, Young is thoughtful and reflective, "a very honest, straightforward-dealing person."

Aho, a friend who said he does not file for City Council expenses, said Young filed for a sampling of meetings, knowing that every month he went to many more events that he didn't claim.

The records should have been exact, Aho said, "but there was no intent by Phil to defraud the citizens of Eden Prairie to enrich himself."

"That should not erase all the positive stuff he has done for this community by a long way," he said.