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RELEVANT LINKS: Sovereign v. Dunn, 498 N.W.2d 62 (Minn. Ct. App. 1993) (discussion of delegations of duties and inapplicability of open meeting law based on lack of decision making authority). Minn. R. 1250.0400, subd. 2. Minn. Stat. § 13.43, subd. 2. See Handbook, Elected Officials and Council Structure and Role, Section 111, Mayor. C. Delegating authority to councilmembers Could the council, in our liquor store scenario, have delegated some of its authority to individual councilmembers? It depends, but unlikely based on the nature of the actions. Individual councilmembers can perfonn those duties the council, as a whole, legally assigns to them. However, a statutory city council cannot legally delegate any of its discretionary powers, defined by case law as powers involving the exercise of judgment, like making independent hiring or firing decisions. Charter cities also likely cannot delegate any discretionary authority, unless the charter specifically allows the delegation. Councilmernbers should act carefully so as to not overstep boundaries. On a related matter, the League often receives calls about whether an individual councilmember can review an employee's private personnel documents. Individuals whose job duties reasonably require access to private data may, in certain instances, view the data. However, since individual councilmembers do not have authority over city personnel, they cannot, as a matter of course, access this private information. The council could authorize an individual councilmember to view the data, such as in instances when councilmembers serve on the personnel committee and need to do so for a review. Keep in mind that state law does classify some employee information as public, and councilmembers, like any member of the public, can have access to that information. Cities should work with their city attorneys to understand what employee data represents public data and what employee data qualifies as private personnel data. D. Mayor's power to investigate or terminate employees Like councilmembers, in most cities, a mayor usually does not have authority to investigate or terminate an employee. Contrary to common misconceptions, statutory city mayors do not have more decision -making power than other councilmembers. The mayor serves as the official head of the city, and he or she presides over council meetings. The mayor in a statutory city does not break tie votes of the council, with one exception. Statutory city mayors do have authority to break a tie vote on an appointment from council to fill a council vacancy. The mayor also has authority to make some other appointments, such as park board members, often subject to council approval. As outlined above, the mayor of a statutory city does not have individual authority over city staff League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 4/14/2020 Role with It: Individual Versus Council Authority Page 5