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City of Centerville Committee Report on Liaisons What is a liaison: Council liaisons can be used to gather information and report on it to the council. (LMe - newly elected officials handbook) What function should his/her role be with the committee: In investigating this the only match found on the LMC website was the following: . Role of the individual councilmember Councihnembers' statutory duties are to be performed, almost without exception, by the council as a whole. The council, not individual members, must supervise administrative officers, formulate policies, and exercise city powers. Even the duties of city employees are the direct or indirect responsibility of the council. Councilmembers should devote their official time to problems of basic policy and act as liaisons between the city and the general public. Councihnembers should be concerned, not only with the conduct of daily affairs, but also with the future development of the city. Minn. Stat. 9412.191, subd 2 The most important single responsibility of a councilmember is participation at council meetings. Each councilmember, including the mayor in statutory cities, has full authority to make and second motions, participate ill discussions, and vote on every matter before the council. In a statutory city, any two councihnembers of a five-member council can call special meetings, Three members of a seven-member council may call a special meeting. As individuals, councihnembers have no administrative authority. They cannot give orders or otherwise supervise city employees unless specifically directed to do so by the council. As a council, however, councilmembers have complete authority over all administrative affairs in the city. In Plan B cities, this authority is restricted to conducting investigations and establishing policies to be performed by the manager. Minn. Stat. ~ 412.101 See, e.g., Minn. Stat. 9 169.98, subd. 1a; Minn. Stat. 9626.862 ;Minn. Stat. 9626.863. In Standard Plan and Plan A statutory cities, all members of the council, including mayors, are "peace officers. !I Councilmembers are authorized to suppress any "riotous or disorderly conduct" in the streets or public places of the city. Considerable care should be taken in attempting to exercise this authority because of liability issues. Other statutes preclude any person who is not a state- licensed peace officer from carrying a firearm, operating marked police squads, stopping other vehicles, or issuing citations. Therefore, unless licensed as peace officers, councilmembers should refrain from exercising these powers, except in serious emergencies, due to the potential criminal and civil liability exposure.