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alm Im 6 Serial gElhading-T-s The Minnesota Supreine. Court has noted -LJiat meetings of less than a quonan of the public body held serially to a-void public hearings or to fashion agreement on an issue may violate the. open m.eeting la-vv. In short, this type of situation is a circuniventiou f the statute. As such, council members should avoid this type of practice. A1997 Minnesota Couft of Appeals' decision also indicates that serial inectings could N.,iolate the open meet' .ng law. In. this decision, the court looked at a situation where the members of a city council conducted div'du w al intei-vies of candidate u s for a city position in separate roolins. Althogh the Clistrict court Lui found that no mectings had occurred because there was never a quorum of the council present. the court of appeals remanded the decision back to the district court for a detenidnation of wliether the council members had used this lnterviCw process for the purpose of avoiding the open niecting jaw requiriem.ents,. On remand, the distiiet court found that t1he Private iinten7iews were not conducted for the purpose, of av,oilding, tho open-meeding -la w requiren�ents. This de,cis,ion was also appealed, and the court of appeals, in a 1998 unpublished decision. agreed. A city that wants, to hold private interviews w itb applicants for ID city lernploym.ent should first consult with its city attorney, 7. Training, sessions, The attorney general has, advised that a city, council7s, participation in a non-pubhe training program devoted to developing skills is n.ot covered by the open meeting, law. However, the opinion also stated that if there wiere to be any discussions of city business by the attending members, either outside or I duling the training session, it could be seen as a violation of the Open meeting law. Z:� Z-7 In addition, erial discussions bebAreen less than a quorum of'the council that are used to deliberate matters, that should be dealt with at an open meeting would likely, violate the open meeting law. Therefore) city councils and other groups to 'Which the open meeting law applies should not use letters, telephone conversations, e-mail, and other such tecbnoloicry if the following circumstances exist'. 9 A quor-urn of the council is involved. 9 Infon-nation. relating to official city business is being discussed. A public body may pay any costs, disbursements or attorney fees ineurTed by or a carded against any of its members. for an action under the open meeting law. A Good Start to Good Gove ance League of Minnesota Cities