Agenda - Charter Commission - 08/15/2002 - Joint with CC

Home

Miuu. Stat. § 41.2.271, s;,bd. 8 See League r~earch memo, Newspaper Publication (LMC 44i1.1) for a further discussion of dealiug with the news media. A statutory city council that does not prepare annual audited financial statements, which have been attested to by an independent certified public accountant, public accountant, or the state auditor, may not delegate its authority for paying certain claims against the city. Home rule charter cities should consult their charters for guidance on their ability to delegate the payment of claims. 3. Public relations Cities can take several steps to have effective relationships with the media. Often, a city will assign the responsibility of talking to the media to one person. Although this person is sometimes the mayor, it is often the chief administrative officer (clerk, administrator, or manager). E. Effective council relations The chief administrative officer~ whether it is the clerk, the administrator, or the manager, must work closely with the council. As such, it is important that the working relationship be a good one. Both the administrative officer and the council must always keep in mind that they are working as a team to serve the community. While differences of opinions are likely to occur, both sides must resolve their differences quickly. Extended bickering can cause the public to lose faith in the officer, as well as the city council. Sometimes, resolving such a conflict can be as easy as agreeing to disagree. F. Clerk, administrator, or manager? Cities sometimes ask whether they should have a city clerk, an . administrator, or a manager. The answer to this question will depend upon many variables that will not be identical from city to city. If the council finds itself spending a lot of time administering day-to- day activities, it may wish to delegate some responsibilities. Depending upon the number of responsibilities and the amount of time needed to adequately complete each of them, these responsibilities can be given to an existing position (such as the city clerk) or to a new position (such as an administrator'or manager). Generally, the practice has been that a small city will delegate responsibilities to the city clerk until it becomes obvious that an additional person is needed to help with the clerk's duties. At this point, many cities will either create a city administrator position or hire additional staff to help the clerk perform these additional duties. In some cases, a city may have a specific issue with which it is 32 Leagtte of Minnesota Cities -49-