HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025 09-05 K&G Vacancies MemoMU210\4\1038080.v1
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: September 5, 2025
TO: Mounds View Charter Commission
FROM: Joseph L. Sathe, Legal Counsel
RE: Vacancies
This memo is intended to provide additional information on when a vacancy occurs on the City
Council and is intended to supplement the information provided in my memo dated May 15, 2025.
Minnesota Statute defines when a vacancy occurs 1 and the attorney general has opined that a city
charter may not provide for additional situations that create a vacancy.2
Occurrence of a Vacancy and Procedure for Filing A Vacancy
The proposed amendment to Chapter 4 establishes a process for filing a vacancy once that vacancy
occurs. For purposes of this memo, I am using the term “occurs” to mean that one of the situations
that creates a vacancy has happened – there are reasons a vacancy is created automatically at the
time of the event (e.g., death) and situations where the council takes action to “create” the vacancy
(e.g., abandonment).
The proposed amendment links the timelines for making the appointment to the City Council
adopting a resolution and not the occurrence of the vacancy.3
Termination of City Residency
A vacancy occurs when a member of the City Council is no longer a resident of the City. Part of
determining residency in this context includes whether the member of the Council intends to live
within the City. Including a determination of “intent” provides leeway for situations where a
member of the Council may temporarily not have a permanent residence in the City.
This type of situation, where the date of the occurrence of the vacancy is not always explicitly
clear, is why the proposed amendment links the appointment timeline to the date the City Council
adopts a resolution declaring the vacancy.
1 Minn. Stat. 351.02 (enclosed).
2 Attorney General Opinion 59a-30 (July 24, 1996) (enclosed).
3 Proposed Amendment, Section 4.05, subd. 3 (A) requires the Council to declare the vacancy in a resolution and
subd. 3 (B) creates the timeline, starting on the date of the resolution, for the Administrator to present an appointee.
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