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of Nfiiuni�,soia Supreme Cot-,ft has I-leld, however, that the govennilig body of a municipal power acrency, c,rcated under Mimi. Stat. §§ 453,51-453,62 is not subject to the open meethicr law becauso- the Minnesota Legislatin-c orranted th%-..sc agencics authority "M conduct their affairs as private coil)orations. ? M What Is a meevng - There is no statutory definition of the term "meeting" for the purpose of the open meetinor law, Minnesota %D courts have crene rally r k,,d that a meeting is a gathering of a quorum of -public of to discuss, decide or receive information on mailers over Miich they have, authority. Because the tewn--n "meeti n cy" has not been clearly defined, the issue of whether or 11 ot a me ctin g has been It7 held must be decided on a case-by-case basis. Some eX.Min-ples of cases are discusse'A in fui-ther detail in a later section of this memo. 11=r M Gathem"ngs to vYvh:E'ch this �avi appHas :The open meetinor law applies to any gathering of a quorurn or un-ore of public officials wh-ere the members decide or rec(-,ive infonnation as a o7rou-p on issues relating to the of-Ecial business of the public discuss, I'D body. .k 4� quoram" is a majoilt-y of the members of a statutory city council. A majority of the qualified members of any board or coin-mission also constitutes a qLIOI-UM. Home rule charter citws may have different quoram I nz,3.qui-rements in their charters. Thus, the open meeting law would apply to any of the -following types of gatherings: a Regular and special meetings. a Public hearings. e Executive sessions. orlI" gn En s ; rl" r Retreats. M Exceptions and the procedures to use them There are some exceptions to the open meetincr 1a v: Under- certain circurnstances, some meetings may be closed. There are also some ineetings that must be closed. Before a meeting can be closed under any of the exceptions, the council must state on the record the specific grounds permitting the ineeting to be closed and describe the subject to be discussed. Meetings that may be closed The public body may eboose to close ecrtain meetings. The follm&ring types of meetings may be closed: a Meetings to consider strategriesfor lab err negr obit ions under PELRA. Although a meeting to consider strategies for labor negotiations may be closed, the actual negotiations must be done at an open meeting if a quorum of the council is present. Procedure. The following must be done to use this exception: Before closing the meeting, the council must decide to close the meeting by a majority vote at a public mcetiiig. Before closing the meeting the council must state on the record the specific grounds permitting the meeting to be closed and describe the subject to be discussed. A written roll of all people present at the closed meeting must be available to the public after the closed meetilior &I The meeting must be taped. t) The tape must be kept for two years after the contract is signed. The tape becomes public after all labor agreements are signed by the city council for the current budget period. If an action claiinmig that other public business eras transacted at the closed meeting is brought during the time the tape is not public, the court will review the recording privately, If it finds no violation of the open meeting IaNv, the action will be dismissed and the recording will be preserved in court records until it be col -res avallablc to the PtIblic. If the court deteim2ines there may have been a violation, the entirr, recording may be introduced at the trial. However, the court may issue appropriate roteclivc :orders I.; P requested by either party, A Good Start to Good Governance :LeadUe O U cif Cities b