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2001 Correspondence
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2001 Correspondence
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In addition to the six metropolitan agencies, the Council's "affiliated bodies" include: <br />Metropolitan Health Planning Board; Metropolitan Housing and Redevelopment Authority Advisory <br />Committee; Advisory Committee on Aging; Metropolitan Waste Management Advisory Committee; <br />Transportation Advisory Board; Land Use Advisory Committee; Arts Advisory Committee; <br />Developmental Disabilities Advisory Committee; Minority Issues Advisory Committee; and "other <br />boards, committees, or commissions established by the Council or whose staffing and administrative <br />services are provided directly by the Council." See Metropolitan Council Contract Policy and <br />Procedures § 2.1 (Dec. 15, 1988) (defining the term "Affiliated Bodies "). <br />16. The Ethics in Government Act defines a "local official" as: <br />a person who holds elective office in a political subdivision or who is <br />appointed to or employed in a public position in a political subdivision <br />in which the person has authority to make, to recommend, or to vote <br />on as a member of the governing body, major decisions regarding the <br />expenditure or investment of public money. <br />Minn. Stat. § 10A.01, subd. 25 (1990). <br />Under usual rules of statutory construction, the phrase "as a member of the governing body" <br />refers only to the last listed antecedent; in this case the phrase: "to vote on." Accordingly, the <br />statutory conflict provisions include not only Council members who vote as members of the governing <br />body, but any Council employee or other person who has authority "to make" or "to recommend" <br />major decisions regarding expenditures or investments of Council funds. The Council is defined as <br />a "political subdivision" for the purposes of the act. See Minn. Stat. § 10A.01, subd. 27 (1990). <br />17. The Council's contract policies and procedures prohibit any person from participating in the <br />award of any Council contract "if that person, a member of that person's immediate family, a business <br />partner of that person, or an organization that employs or is about to employ that person, has a <br />financial interest in the contract." See Metropolitan Council Contract Policy and Procedures § 3.32 <br />(Dec. 15, 1988). The Council's procurement policies and procedures contain a conflict of interest <br />provision which prohibits Council members and employees from voluntarily having any personal <br />financial interest in Council purchases or vendors. See Metropolitan Council Administrative <br />Procedures Manual Procurement § 1.4 (Dec. 15, 1988). <br />18. See 15 Minn. Reg. 554, 558 (1990) (proposed rules defining "major decisions" for the purposes <br />of economic disclosure reporting compliance). The Ethical Practices Board's definition only is an <br />indication of the board's interpretation of the statute because the board's proposed rules were <br />withdrawn in November 1990. <br />Neither the statute nor the administrative rules defines "major decisions" in dollar amounts. <br />The Council's contract policies and procedures suggest that Council decisions which involve <br />expenditures exceeding $7,500 are major decisions. See Metropolitan Council Contract Policy and <br />Procedures § 5.15 (Dec. 15, 1988) (no Management Committee or Council approval is necessary for <br />contracts not exceeding $7,500). State statute suggests a Council financial or budget decision <br />involving more than $10,000 might constitute a "major decision." See Minn. Stat. § 473.13, subd. 1 <br />(1990) ( "an increase of over $10,000 in the council's budget, a program or department budget, or a <br />budget item, must be approved by the council before the increase is allowed or the funds obligated "). <br />In a recent memorandum to Council staff, the Council's executive director stated that, for the <br />purposes of identifying Council staff who qualify as "local officials" under Chapter 10A, "major <br />decisions" were those decisions "with an aggregate impact of $7,500 or more." See Memorandum from <br />D. Renz to "All Council Staff' (Feb. 4, 1991) (re: recent changes in the Ethics in Government Act). <br />The Ethical Practices Board has suggested that metropolitan governmental units should <br />determine which employees qualify as "local officials." The board also has suggested that <br />- 13 - <br />
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