05-22-2008 Charter Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minn. Stat. § 410.16. See Handbook Chapter 1. See also League research memo Charter and Election Data for Minnesota Cities (390c.1). CHAPTER 4 Charters, therefore, are of interest to statutory cities when they encounter special problems that cannot be solved under general city laws. If a statutory city finds itself in such a situation, it can either request the Legislature to change the city code or adopt a special law applying to that specific city, or it can become a home rule city with a home rule charter that specifies its powers. The voters must approve the charter in a local election. II. The home rule charter Home rule charters are, in effect, local constitutions. State laws give cities a wide range of discretion in the contents of a charter when one is adopted. The charter may provide for any form of municipal government, as long as it is consistent with state laws that apply uniformly to all cities in Minnesota. The four forms of government home rule charter cities in Minnesota have used are: weak mayor -council, strong mayor -council, council-manager, and commission. The weak mayor -council plan is the most predominant This form is used by 73 of the 107 home rule charter cities. Under this plan, administrative and legislative authority is the council's ultimate responsibility. The powers of the mayor are generally no greater than those of any other member of the council. No individual councilmember holds any specific administrative powers. The strong mayor -council plan is not very common in Minnesota. This plan is used by only four home rule charter cities. Under this plan, the mayor is responsible to the council for the operation of all administrative agencies. Under the usual strong mayor -council plan, the mayor can generally appoint and remove subordinates, is not a councilmember but can veto council legislation, and prepares and administers a budget that is subject to council approval. The chief function of the council is to legislate and set policies. A charter can alter any of these features. Thirty of the home rule cities in Minnesota have a council-manager form of government. Under this form, the council has policy-making and legislative authority, but administration of the government is the responsibility of a manager who answers directly to the council. Here again, the home rule charter can change this plan. The commission form of organization has never been very popular. Over the years, only a few home rule cities have followed this form. Today, no home rule city in Minnesota uses the commission form; no statutory city has ever used it. In a commission city, each elected councilmember is responsible for a particular administrative department. So, in addition to having duties as a legislative official, the councilmember is also a department head. The charter can also alter this form. 4-4 HANDBOOK FOR MINNESOTA CTTIES