City of Mounds View Letter Brief August 12 2019

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The Honorable Chief Judge John H. Guthmann August 12, 2019 Page 4 affected community. Furthermore, Minn. Stat. § 410.05, subd. 2 lays out an expeditious process for filling Commission vacancies through immediate judicial appointment.6 When reading all of this statutory language together, there is no doubt that the legislature intended for charter commissions to have, at the very least, the established number of commission members in order to duly operate. This interpretation is not only consistent with numerous Attorney General opinions 7, but it is also the longstanding position of the League of Minnesota Cities.8 This intent is certainly not inconsistent with the 1961 Attorney General opinion presented by Mr. Amundsen, whereby it was opined that a charter commission can function with 14 members during a vacancy, which is certainly within the legislature's mandated range of 7-15 members. It is also true that the legislature has afforded a charter commission the ability to set its own quorum requirements and the Commission has indeed done so through its bylaws.9 Article III, Section 3 of the bylaws contains the following: Section 3. Quorum. In accordance with Minnesota Statutes Section 410.05, as amended, a quorum shall be defined as follows: If there are nine (9) qualified and acting members, then five (5) members shall constitute a quorum. If there are less than nine (9) qualified and acting members, then four (4) members shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting the commission's business and exercising its powers and for all other purposes. If the commission lacks a quorum, a smaller number of members may set a time to reconvene the commission, continue to meet as a subcommittee if desired, and report their discussions to the commission. A quorum is defined as "[t]he smallest number of people who must be present at a meeting so that official decisions can be made."10 Based on the nine -member requirement presently in existence for the Commission, the number needed for a quorum is only relevant if the Commission has a full complement of nine members or, if one or two short-term vacancies are in existence. As such, the The statute provides for the following process to fill vacancies: Vacancies in the commission shall be filled by appointment of the chief judge for the unexpired. terms. Upon the expiration of each term, the chief judge shall appoint new commission members. If the chief judge fails to appoint new commission members within 30 days then thereafter the governing body of the city shall, appoint new commission members, unless within the 30-day period the chief judge indicates in writing to the governing body an intention to appoint new members, in which case the chief judge shall have an additional 60 days within which to make the appointment. See, e.g., Op. Atty. Gen., 58G, Sept. 28, 1950; Op. Atty. Gen., 58C, April 1, 1954. e The "commission should always contain its full complement of members." League of Minnesota Cities, Handbook for Minnesota Cities, Part 1 Form and Structure of the Minnesota City, Chapter 4: the Home Rule Charter City, section X(B)(2) (last revised 6/14/2019). 9 Minn. Stat. § 410.05, subd. 2 ("The charter commission, within 30 days after the initial appointment of the commission, shall make rules, including quorum requirements, with reference to its operations and procedures). io Black's Law Dictionary (1 lth ed. 2019). 605223v4MU210-271