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RELEVANT LINKS: As a result, a city should conduct any interviews of prospective officers and employees at an open meeting if a quorum or more of the city council will be present. Mankato Free Press v. City of North Mankato, 563 N.W.2d 291 (Minn. Ct. App. 1997). The Minnesota Court of Appeals considered a situation where individual councilmembers conducted separate, serial interviews of candidates for a city position in one-on-one closed interviews. The district court found that no “meeting” of the council had occurred because there was never a quorum of the council present during the interviews. The court of appeals sent the case back to the district court for a determination of whether the councilmembers had conducted the interview process in a serial fashion to avoid the requirements of the open meeting law. Mankato Free Press v. City of North Mankato, No. C9-98- 677 (Minn. Ct. App. Dec. 15, 1998) (unpublished decision). On remand, the district court found that the individual interviews were not done to avoid open-meeting-law requirements. This decision was also appealed, and the court of appeals affirmed the district court’s decision. Cities that want to use this type of interview process should first consult their city attorney. 2. Informational meetings and committees St. Cloud Newspapers, Inc. v. Dist. 742 Community Schools, 332 N.W.2d 1 (Minn. 1983). The Minnesota Supreme Court has held that informational seminars about school-board business, which the entire board attends, must be noticed and open to the public. As a result, it appears that any scheduled gatherings of a quorum of a city council must be properly noticed and open to the public, regardless of whether the council takes or contemplates taking action at that gathering. This includes meetings where members receive information that may influence later decisions. Many city councils create committees to make recommendations regarding a specific issue. Commonly, such a committee will be responsible for researching the issue and submitting a recommendation to the council for its approval. These committees are usually advisory, and the council is still responsible for making the final decision. This type of committee may be subject to the open meeting law. A.G. Op. 10-b (July 3, 1975). For example, the attorney general has advised that an advisory panel of the State Arts Council that was charged with making recommendations regarding which individuals and organizations should be funded for artistic projects was a committee subject to the open meeting law. IPAD 07-025. In contrast, the commissioner of the Department of Administration has advised that a city’s Free Speech Working Group consisting of people including city officials appointed by the city to meet to develop and review strategies for addressing free-speech concerns relating to a political convention that was going to be held in the city was not subject to the open meeting law. League of Minnesota Cities Handbook for Minnesota Cities 10/14/2013 Meetings, Motions, Resolutions, and Ordinances Chapter 7 | Page 16