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Mr. Neal Beets Members of the Council January 9,2003 Page 5 of 6 Confidential: Subject to Attorney-Client Privilege created. Minn. Stat. � 412.681. Given that the Council has the authority to abolish offices and alter the powers of the organizations it has created, it follows that the Council also has the authority to abolish any positions it has created. Even if this were not the case, the Council could effectively obtain the sanle result by reorganizing a department, stripping a position of its powers within the department, and eliminating funding for that position. "Position" Refers to a Specific Post of Employment Difficult questions can arise when attempting to define the term "position" in the context of the Council's authority to create positions and the Manager's authority to fill positions. For example, suppose that the Council has approved the regular full-time position of "secretary" and fixed the compensation for that position. Further suppose that the City currently has five secretaries, but the Manager believes seven are necessary. Must the Manager get approval from the Council to hire two additional secretaries? The answer depends on the manner in which the term "position" is interpreted. If the term "position" is interpreted to mean a specific job post, like Secretary to the Clerk, then the Manager must obtain approval froln the Council to establish the position. But if the tenn "position" is interpreted to mean a general job classification, like secretary, then the Manager arguably has the authority to appoint persons to fill additional secretarial positions in the City. Lending mild support to this latter interpretation, the RSC uses the language "position classification and pay plan" in the context of the Council's authority to establish rates of pay. See RSC :� 104.04(A). Despite this language, we believe the former interpretation is more in line with the required budget process and the separation of powers established by the RSC and the Uniform Municipal Government Act. In our view, if the Manager concludes that additional secretaries are necessary to effectively administer the affairs of the City, it is incumbent upon the Manager to so advise the Council and provide the Council with budget estimates which include the cost of hiring the additional secretaries based on their position classification and the existing pay plan established by the Council. See Minn. Stat. � 412.701. Indeed, by statute, the Manager is required to submit budget estimates for each department which include, as ordinary expenses, "salaries and wages, with a list of all salaried offices and positions including the salary allowance and the number of persons holding each." Id. Upon receiving this information from the Manager, the Council would then need to decide whether to approve the positions and, if approved, would either pass a resolution establishing the compensation for the positions or rely on the previously established position classification and pay plan. See RSC §� 104.01(D) & l��rt . f��1 ti,� �, Finally, we note that if the Council and the Manager disagree over whether the RSC gives the Manager the authority to take a specific action in regard to personnel, the Manager's interpretation must prevail because the RSC gives the Manager "the sole authority to interpret and