By the League of Minnesota Cities
A law enacted during the 2010 legislative session, Chapter 206, prohibits mayors and councilmembers from being employed in their city. It takes effect on Aug. 1.
The law applies to individuals who are:
· Elected or appointed on or after Aug. 1, 2010.
· Employed on a full-time, permanent basis by the city.
The new law was proposed by Sen. Gen Olson (R-Minnetrista) and Rep. Steve Smith (R-Mound) as a result of a situation in the city of Mound where a full-time city employee also served on the city council. The bill authors stated that simultaneously holding both positions would create a conflict of interest for individuals who could be voting on budgets and other issues that would directly impact their own salary and other employment benefits.
During the committee hearings, Mound officials testified in support of the bill, which as enacted, will not force an individual to immediately resign, but would be effective for an individual's first election occurring after Aug. 1.
The new law is generally similar to laws applicable to school and county board members. For instance, Minnesota Statutes, section 123B.195 prohibits a school board member from being employed by a school board in a position that earns more than $8,000 per year. The law is not as restrictive as the county employment restriction under Minnesota Statutes, section 375.09, which prohibits any and all simultaneous employment with the county for county board members, regardless of full-time status or earnings limitations.
Section 1 of the new law impacts home rule charter cities by creating Minnesota Statutes, section 410.191, which prohibits a mayor or city councilmember in a home rule charter city from being employed by the city, notwithstanding charter provisions to the contrary. A city charter could probably be more restrictive than the new law by prohibiting employment of any sort. Statutory cities are similarly covered under section 2 of the law.
The new law defines "employed" as full-time, permanent employment "as defined by the city's employment policy." This adds further importance to the task of clearly defining the employment status of those working within the city.
