Meet and Confer vs Consult

[japster]

What is the name of your state? California

We are a management association and our mou states that regaring certain issues the "City", our employer, must meet and consult with our association. We are having discussions currently about "is there a difference in requirements between meet and confer versus meet and consult" and are getting different answers depending on whom we ask. Looking for an opinion we can rely on.

[zigzag43246]

There is no difference between confer and consult"
CONSULT
1: get or ask advice from; "Consult your local broker"; "They had to consult before arriving at a decision" [syn: confer with] 2: seek information from; "You should consult the dictionary"; "refer to your notes" [syn: refer, look up] 3: when planning or deciding something 4: have a conference in order to talk something over; "We conferred about a plan of action" [syn: confer, confabulate, confab] 5: advise professionally; "The professor consults for industry"

CONFER

adv : compare (used in texts to point the reader to another location in the text) [syn: cf., cf, see, see also] v 1: have a conference in order to talk something over; "We conferred about a plan of action" [syn: confabulate, confab, consult] 2: present; "The university conferred a degree on its most famous former student, who never graduated"; "bestow an honor on someone"
v. intr.- CONFER - To meet in order to deliberate together or compare views; consult: conferred with her attorney.
Sounds like a trick our administration tried to pull on us, by defining the words the way they want to define them, ask them to define them both for you and when it doesn't match what the dictionary says or if they try to go around the subject, stop them as say just give me the definition for them both. That will put a stop to them trying to mince words...