Board Size, requirement to increase from 3 to 5 and why this is so relevant to all the other issues discovered.

COMW believes a large part of the root of the illegal actions discovered could have been avoided if the town board had not chosen to persist in ignoring another MN statute regarding town board size. Citizens brought this up five years ago and the town board chair dismissed it and said they did not have to do that. That is wrong. The state law is very clear.

Minnesota State Statute 367.31 Subd. 2. states the Board “shall” be required to present voters the option to expand from 3 to 5 Board members:

367.31 ADOPTION OF SPECIFIC OPTION. Subd. 2. Mandatory submission of option A in urban towns.

The town board of a town exercising the powers of a statutory city pursuant to section 368.01 or a special law granting substantially similar powers shall submit the adoption of option A to the electors at the annual town meeting next following June 3, 1975. The town board of any town that subsequently qualifies under section 368.01 or receives substantially similar powers pursuant to a special law adopted after June 3, 1975, shall submit the adoption of option A to the electors at the annual town election next following the grant of powers.

Plan	Effect
Option A – Five Supervisor Board	Allows for 5 elected supervisors instead of 3.
Option B – Ap- pointed Clerk or Treasurer	Allows supervisors to appoint either a clerk, a treasurer, or both. Eliminates elections for clerk and/or treasurer.
Option C – Town Administrator	Allows supervisors to appoint a town administrator, who has powers listed in Minn. Stat. § 367.35, sub. 2.
Option D – Combined Clerk & Treasurer	One person serves as town’s clerk and treasurer. Depending on the town’s annual revenue, the town may need in- dependent-outside audits.

To trigger the required “Optum A” referendum, West Lakeland Township only must meet 368.01 Subd. 1, which it has for decades:

“368.01 Subd. 1. Towns described. A town that has platted portions where 1,200 or more people reside or a town that has a platted area within 20 miles of the city hall of a city of the first class having over 200,000 population shall have the powers enumerated in this section. Its town board may adopt, amend, or repeal ordinances and rules for the purposes enumerated.”

West Lakeland Township also meets the second standard of 367.31 Subd. 2. As of January 1, 2017 to Washington county court commissioners began treating West Lakeland Township as any other city or Township in Washington County.

At minimum, residents have been denied for 5 years a state mandated referendum to vote on the size of the board in their local government representation. However, at the August 2, 2021 township meeting, Board members and City Attorney commented that they could wait until the Annual Township meeting of 2022, to decide whether to allow voters to vote on this issue. Well after the time needed for the plans around the CDWP, new municipal well and intensified land use development on the PIIC to become final.

Why is this important? It currently only requires 2 Board members to have a majority or a “supermajority” (2/3’s of a governing body). In other words, it just takes two residents (of over 4000 residents) in West Lakeland Township to do the following:

• approve a plan to bring in municipal water.
• amend our comprehensive plan.
• approve a variance in zoning for a highly intensive planned development.
• bring sewer lines into West Lakeland Township.

In all other surrounding cities and townships the same actions would require 4 of 5 elected officials to make these decisions.