Town Law Review

MAT's Town Law Review will be held June, 14, 2023, at the Best Western Nicollet Inn – Burnsville. The Town Law Review is an educational event focused on the more-complex issues of township governance. Towns attending this training tend to engage in city-like activities like land use management, hiring staff, complying with the Data Practices Act, operating water utilities, and operation of other public amenities. Presentations by MAT attorneys.

Register here for the Town Law Review:  https://bit.ly/2023TownLawReview

DATE: June 14, 2023

TIME: Registration opens at 8:30 AM, and the event begins at 9:00 AM and ends in the afternoon.

LOCATION: Best Western Premier Nicollet Inn in Burnsville, 14201 Nicollet Ave, Burnsville, MN 55337

COST: $65 per officer, which includes breakfast, lunch, and printed materials.

‍

AGENDA:

8:30 Registration Opens; Light Refreshments Available

9:00 Land Use 101: How to Properly Process Applications, Handle the Public Hearing, Create a Defensible Record, and Make Findings. By Paul Reuvers, Partner; Iverson Reuvers

10:00 Employment Hot Topics. By Susan Tindal, Partner; Iverson Reuvers. This presentation will explore some of the hot topics in employment law this year. This will include some legislation updates, recent rulings in hostile work environment and age discrimination cases, and reminders about hiring seasonal employees.

11:00 From Hire to Retire. By Desi Felker, Outreach & Education Specialist, MN PERA. The program is designed for new PERA members, those who are close to retirement, and everyone in between. The PERA pension is discussed in detail, including how it fits into an overall retirement plan. PERA’s pension benefit options, life changes that affect PERA, decisions members must make, and self-service tools are highlighted.

12:00 Lunch; Available to Registrants

12:30 Public Sector Labor Law: An overview of PELRA and guidance on Unions. By Eva Wood, Staff Attorney; Education Minnesota. This program explains basics about the Public Employment Labor Relations Act (PELRA), which governs the conduct of government employers when working with organized labor.

1:30 Data Practices Act: A Survival Guide. By Josh Devaney; Associate; Kennedy Graven. The Data Practices Act (DPA) can feel like a labyrinth of conflicting rules all seemingly geared to a time when municipalities had a tiny portion of the data they have now. While the days of neatly organized files that could be readily produced are long gone, the requirements and, at times, tight deadlines of the DPA are not. In this presentation, we’ll cover the basics of the DPA including data classification and responding to data requests, cover some of the more common statutes that you will want to know for determining data classification, and explore some of the more challenging issues municipalities face in complying with the DPA.

2:15 Break

2:30 Drawing a Line in the Sand: Annexation and Strategies to Protect the Town’s Boundaries. By Jason Hill, Shareholder; Kennedy Graven. While Town’s frequently have no ability to challenge annexation, this presentation focuses on options and strategies Towns can pursue to give themselves a chance to protect their boundaries on those occasions where they have the ability to do so.

3:15 Cannabis is Coming to Town and There Isn’t Much You Can Do About It. By Troy Gilchrist, Shareholder; Kennedy Graven. This presentation will provide an overview of the new law legalizing cannabis and discuss the limited role it carves out for local governments.

4:00 Adjourn

‍