At the Monday Aug. 14 meeting of the North Branch City Council, resident John Maldonado made accusations against the city including discrimination and selective code enforcement. The accusation prompted the city to pursue the hiring of a private firm to investigate allegations of impropriety by city staff.

Last Wednesday morning, Mayor Gloria Karsky released a statement to the public, which included this response, ìThe City of North Branch takes the accusation of discrimination in the enforcement of its codes seriously. We will endeavor to fully investigate this charge with outside assistance to ensure an independent and unbiased review.

ìThe City of North Branch strives to provide a wide range of services to our residents free from acts of discrimination, bias or unequal treatment for any reason.î

On Tuesday, City Administrator Joe Lynch confirmed that the city has hired the legal firm of Kelly Fawcett to conduct the investigation. Lynch is anticipating an engagement letter from the law firm, which will articulate the hourly rate and the amount of time Kelly Fawcett believes the investigation will take.