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RELEVANT LINKS: <br />League of Minnesota Cities Handbook for Minnesota Cities 6/8/2022 <br />Elected Officials and Council Structure and Role Chapter 6 | Page 10 <br />Minn. Stat. § 471.895, subd. <br />1(d). A “local official” is defined as an elected or appointed official of a city, or <br />of an agency, authority, or instrumentality of a city. The gift prohibition <br />clearly applies to all members of a city council and to appointed officials <br />on city boards, commissions, and committees. However, it is not clear <br />whether city employees like city managers and administrators would also <br />be considered local officials under the gift law. Because so many city <br />employees can be involved in a city’s decision-making process, some <br />cities have decided that the safest course of action is to assume that the gift <br />law applies to all city employees. <br />Minn. Stat. § 471.895, subd. <br />1(c). An “interested person” is a person or a representative of a person or <br />association with a direct financial interest in a decision the local official is <br />authorized to make. <br /> An interested person under the gift law likely includes anyone who may <br />provide goods or services to a city, such as engineers, attorneys, fiscal <br />advisors, contractors, and sales representatives. <br /> In addition, virtually every resident of the city and anyone doing business <br />in the city could at some time have a direct financial interest in a decision <br />a city official is authorized to make and thus could qualify as an interested <br />person. The following are possible examples where a resident or business <br />owner’s financial interested could be affected: <br /> • The levying of property taxes. <br />• The levying of special assessments. <br />• The valuation of property for tax purposes. <br />• The issuing of a license. <br />• The zoning of property <br />• The granting of a land-use permit. <br /> As a result, any person doing business or residing in the city is potentially <br />an interested person as far as a city council member is concerned. Whether <br />a resident or business owner is an interested person, as far as members of <br />boards and commissions are concerned, depends on the types of decisions <br />or recommendations the boards or commissions are authorized to make. <br /> It is important to note that under the gift law the decision or <br />recommendation a city official is authorized to make does not have to be <br />pending. If an individual could at any time have a direct financial interest <br />in a decision or recommendation that a city official would be authorized to <br />make, that individual would likely be considered an interested person. <br />Minn. Stat. § 471.895, subd. <br />3. Minn. Stat. § 211A.01, <br />subd. 5. See MN Campaign <br />Finance and Public <br />Disclosure Board relating to <br />some of these exceptions. <br />There are a few limited exceptions to the gift law. For example, the <br />following types of gifts are permitted under the gift law: <br />13