01-08-2024 CC Agenda Packet - work session

Home Browse Search

RELEVANT LINKS: League of Minnesota Cities Handbook for Minnesota Cities 6/8/2022 Elected Officials and Council Structure and Role Chapter 6 | Page 22 See LMC information memo, Meetings of City Councils, for more information. Committees may exercise all duties the council has legally assigned to them. They can have authority to conduct investigations and to make recommendations. Committees, however, may not make decisions on behalf of the council. Committees of the council are subject to the same rules as the full council under the open meeting law. In many cities, it is routine for the council to approve a committee’s recommendations if it has done a thorough and competent job. It is important, however, for all council members to be aware of their independent obligation to the city when considering whether to adopt a committee’s recommendation. It is only the council’s final decision, and not the committee’s recommendation, that can bind the city. For example, committees may not enter into contracts or employ workers even if a specific motion of the council delegates such power to them. D. Delegation of council power A.G. Op. 624a-3 (Nov. 2, 1998). Muehring v. School Dist. No. 31, 224 Minn. 432, 28 N.W.2d 655 (1947). Jewell Belting Co. v. Village of Bertha, 91 Minn. 9, 97 N.W. 424 (1903). Minneapolis Gas-Light Co. v. City of Minneapolis, 36 Minn. 159, 30 N.W. 450 (1886). Absent specific statutory or charter authority, a city council may not delegate its legislative or quasi-judicial power. In addition, a council may not delegate any administrative power of a discretionary nature. Merely ministerial functions, however, may be delegated to an officer or committee. 1. Discretionary and ministerial powers The courts have not been explicit in describing the meaning of discretionary administrative power. They have, however, provided several rules that offer some basis for distinguishing which powers the council can delegate. Johnson v. State, 553 N.W.2d 40 (Minn. 1996). Discretionary powers or functions are those that involve the exercise of judgment. Ministerial functions are absolute, fixed, and certain so that no judgment is necessary in fulfilling them. For example, the approval of a budget is a discretionary function while the signing of legal papers is a ministerial function. There are many tasks, however, for which the difference is largely one of degree. The courts, in these cases, generally differentiate by using a test of reasonableness. 2. Administrative standards Courts generally permit the delegation of administrative power when the council establishes a fixed standard or rule to guide the subordinate. 25