7(b) Open Meeting Law - Discussion

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RELEVANT LINKS: However,the court of appeals sent the case back to the district court for a determination of whether the councilmembers had conducted the interview process in a serial fashion to avoid the requirements of the open meeting law. Mankato Free Press v.City pn remand,the district court found that the individual interviews were not ofNorth Manknto, No C9- 9s-6��M��.cc.npp.��. done to avoid the requirements of the open meeting law. T'his decision was �s,1998)(iutpublished also appealed, and the court of appeals affirmed the district courYs opinion). decision. Cities that want to use this type of interview process should first consult their city attorney. 2. Informational meetings and committees St.CloudNewspapers,�,�.v. 'I'he Minnesota Supreme Court has held that informational seminars about Dist.742 Commwtity s��ors,332 N.W2d 1 school-board business,which the entire board attends, must be noticed and �M'I"'.19a3�. open to the public. As a result, it appears that any scheduled gatherings of a quorum or more of a city council must be properly noticed and open to the public,regardless of whether the council takes or contemplates taking action at that gathering. This includes meetings and work sessions where members receive information that may influence later decisions. 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 recommendation to the council for its approval. These committees are usually advisory, and the council is still Dro os-oo� responsible for making the final decision. This type of committee may be DPO 13-015. subject to the open meeting law. Some factors that may be relevant in deciding whether a committee is subject to the open meeting law include: how the committee was created and who are its members; whether the committee is performing an ongoing function,or instead, is performing a one-time function; and what duties and powers have been granted to the committee. oro os-oia. For example,the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Administration has advised that"standing"committees of a city hospita.l boazd that were responsible for management liaison, collection of ' information, and formulation of issues and recommendations for the board were subject to the open meeting law. The advisory opinion noted that the standing committees were performing tasks that relate to the ongoing operation of the hospital district and were not performing a one-time or "ad hoc"function. League of Minnesota Cities Handbook for Minnesota Cities 10/16/2017 Meetings,Motions,Resolutions,and Ordinances Chapter 7�Page 18