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• FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -4- October 26, 2004 Local Government Structure Discussion (continued) Administrator Worthington explained that Falcon Heights is a statutory city-that is, it operates under Chapter 412 of the Minnesota Statutes, commonly known as the statutory city code, and under a number of other statutes that apply to all cities. Falcon Heights is a statutory city, Plan A, with a "weak mayor-council plan" and a city administrator who acts as the city's manager of day-to-day operations. The mayor's powers in weak mayor-council communities are no greater than those of any other member of the council, with the exception of the mayor's role as presiding officer at council meetings and several minor duties. No individual council member holds specific administrative powers. Many statutory Standard Plan and Plan A cities create a city administrator position by resolution or ordinance and specify the responsibilities of the position. City administrators are appointed because of their professional qualifications; this is not a political appointment. In Falcon Heights, the council members and mayor serve a staggered four-year term. Elections are held in odd-years. The City Council meets every second and fourth Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. Meetings cannot go past 10:00 p.m. unless a majority of the Council votes to extend • the meeting past that time. The city hires professional staff people to carry out the programs and projects that the City Council decides to fund each year. The City Administrator manages the personnel of the city, the day-to-day functions of the city, and carries out the policies developed by the City Council. The city has a Deputy Clerk, Public Works Director, Finance Director, Planning and Zoning Coordinator, Recreation Director, Maintenance Workers, Part-time Secretary, Seasonal Forester, and Part-time Fire Marshal. The city contracts with the City of St. Anthony for police services. The City also has apaid-on-call fire department, which is staffed by volunteers from the community. These people are highly trained, and drill each week on their firefighting skills. She utilized the LCD projector to present the League of Minnesota Cities' overview of local government in Minnesota. The meeting was opened to the audience for questions and commentary. Lucas asked how many mayors there are in Minnesota. Mayor Gehrz said there are 873 cities in Minnesota and 873 mayors. Anna asked how many times the City Council has held meetings with different schools. Council member Lindstrom said this is the very first time the Falcon Heights City Council has done this. He has never heard of any other city in the state doing this. Atara asked how many governors there are in the United States and he was told 50. 4