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RELEVANT LINKS: Se�section II.G.6.-SeHa[ �..! �ea,��. The Supreme Court concluded that the absence of a statutory exception to the open meeting law for interviews indicaxed that the legislature ha.d decided that such sessions should not be closed.The reasoning would seem to apply to a city council's interview of prospective officers and employees as well, if a quorum is present. Mattkato Free Press v City oj In 1996,a district court found that it was not a violation of the open meeting Nonh Mankato,No.C 1-96- t000s6 cF�ttn J�a.n�. law for candidates to be serially interviewed by members of a city council in 19��' one-on-one closed interviews. In this case,five city councilmembers were present in the sa.me building but each was conducting separate interviews in five different rooms.Beca.use there was no quorum present in any of the rooms,the court found there was no meeting.The decision,however,was appealed. Mmrkato Free Press v.City oj � 1997,the Minnesota.Court of A eals reversed the district court's North Mmdwto,563 N.W.2d PA z9i�;�,.cr npP.�99�. decision and remanded the case back to the disfict court for a factual o�nr��oscs-�9s-�f determination on whether the city used the one-on-one interview process in 677(Mim�.Ct App.Dx.15, order to avoid the requirements of the open meeting law.On remand,the �s�a��""p°bu�n�a`�'g;°°�. district court found that the private interviews were not conducted for the purpose of avoiding public hearings.The case was again appealed. In an , unpublished decision,the court of appeals affirmed the district court's decision. The conclusion that can be drawn from this decision appears to be that if serial meetings involving less than a quorum of a public body aze held for � the purpose of avoiding the requirements of the open meeting law, it will constitute a violation of the law.Cities that are considering holding private interviews with job applicants should first consult their city attorney. 3. Executive sessions A.G.Op.63-A-5(June 13, '�e attorne eneral has advised that executive sessions of a city council 195"n.See also Minn.Stat. Y g §13D.01,�,�a.��,��a�. must be open to the public. 4. Informational meetings and committees st.cr�N��,�,�.v. �e Minnesota.Supreme Court has held that informational seminars about Dtst 742 Community ��,332 N.W.2d I school-board business,which the entire board attends,must be noticed and (�"'�''I9s3�. open to the public.As a result, it appears that any scheduled gathering of a quorum of a city council where it receives information about city business must be properly noticed and open to the public,regazdless of whether the council takes or contemplates ta.king action at that gathering. In addition, many city councils create committees to make recommendations regarding a specific issue.Commonly,such a committee will be responsible for researching the issue and submitting a recommenda.tian to the council for its approval.These committees are usually advisory,and the council is still responsible for making the final decision. � League of Minnesata Cities IrtFormation Memo: Meetings of City Counciis 11/8/2015 Page 17