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Cities are either charter to statutory. Charter city means that city has <br />adopted a charter and statutory city means the city has not adopted a charter <br />and is totally governed by Minnesota State laws called Minnesota Statutes. <br /> <br />Various Statutory City Plans: <br /> <br />Plan A: Mayor/Council <br />Plan B: Council/Manager <br /> <br />A charter is a mini-constitution. It is a general, broad document that sets <br />forth some general principles. A charter does not say what a city can do but <br />how it can do it. <br /> <br />Cities provide police and fire protection, transportation, zoning controls, <br />public utilities, parks, and expenditure of tax dollars and a charter states <br />how all these services will be implemented. <br /> <br />A statutory city is no different; there is a State statute that addresses <br />cities that do not have a charter and how their services will be implemented. <br /> <br />A charter cannot deviate much from State law or Constitution. <br /> <br />In both statutory and charter cities there is a mayor and council. In <br />statutory cities there is a mayor and four councilmembers and the majority <br />rules. A charter can provide for different than that. With a charter you <br />could have 11 councilmembers and a mayor chosen from those 11 or you could <br />have council/manager or aldermen/mayor. The mayor could have power or no <br />power, the mayor could be elected by council or by people. Mayor is basically <br />a parliamentary officer and conducts meetings. Charter could provide for a <br />different length of term for elected officials but cannot go beyond 4 years. <br />A charter can also set dates for municipal elections. <br /> <br />Finance: There is no a great deal of difference between statutory and charter <br />cities when it comes to raising money. <br /> <br />Debt Limit: A city cannot borrow in excess of a certain percentage of it's <br />assessed valuation. That limit is the same for statutory and charter cities. <br />A charter could set a lower borrowing limit. StatUtory cities are required <br />to conduct an annual audit and charter cities can deviate from this requirement. <br />A charter can be written to allow the city to spend money more freely. <br /> <br />Utilities and Franchises: If it is included in the charter, a city can own <br />and operate public utilties. Statutory cities can own and operate public <br />utilities if certain procedures are followed. <br /> <br />Ordinances: An ordinance is a law and it applies uniformly to everyone in <br />the community and violation thereof is a crime. Resolutions are simply <br />enabling acts. Ordinances under a statutory city are not subject to review <br />by the people. A charter can provide for a process called initiative and <br />referendum which gives the people the opportunity to review ordinances. <br /> <br />The key items provided by a charter are: <br /> <br />1. Initiative and referendum <br />2. Recall of Mayor/Council <br /> <br />C~/June 23, 1983 <br /> Page 3 of 8 <br /> <br /> <br />