City, Rohloff agree to settlement in benefits dispute

Patrick Fisher, Staff Writer

Following a long dispute, the City of New Prague and Dennis Rohloff, its retired police chief, agreed to an out-of-court settlement regarding payment of medical benefits.

The case grew out of a request Rohloff, who served as New Prague police chief for 25 years, made in March 2004 concerning medical benefits. The New Prague City Council took months to gather data and study the request, eventually denying it in October, 2004.

As part of the original process, Rohloff submitted an application for benefits to the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) of Minnesota. The organization concluded that he qualified for benefits under Minnesota Statute 299A.465, which covers police officers and firefighters, and the benefits would be paid by the city, which would then be reimbursed by the state.

During the process, the city had concerns about whether the injury was work-related, whether the state legislature would appropriate enough funds to reimburse cities and whether the benefits only covered physical injury or included stress-related injuries that come from medical issues.

Rohloff, who years earlier had his spleen removed, has had trouble fighting illnesses. An infection in late 2003 put Rohloff in the hospital for an extended period of time, and his doctors were concerned about a recurrence, causing Rohloff to experience stress and depression.

Based on extensive

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