A bit of fresh air: Mayor Grassie wants more open dialogue at council meetings

From left, city councilors, Matt Richardson, Susan Rice, City Attorney Terence O'Rourke and Mayor Chuck Grassie at Tueslday's Codes and Ordinances Committee meeting (City of Rochester screenshot)

ROCHESTER - Rochester Mayor Chuck Grassie is looking to open up the airwaves during City Council meetings, and his plans to do just that will be fully discussed at Tuesday's City Council Workshop.
"I don't want residents to go away feeling frustrated during pubic comment, but rather to know that the council did listen to them," he told The Rochester Voice on Thursday.
During the previous mayor's tenure City Councilors were not allowed to engage with residents who voiced concerns over city policy during the meeting's Public Comment segment.
"I want to have more respect for speakers," Grassie said. "I want to make make sure they know we're listening."
Details of Grassie's vision for how this would play out were discussed at length during a Jan. 12 Codes and Ordinance Committee meeting, which also will be taking up changes to the city's Code of Ethics ordinance, the rules of which were suspended during an inauguration ceremony earlier this month.
Some of the other public input improvements include that councilors will be at liberty to ask questions of a public speaker that go through the mayor.
"I will allow city council member to have more information from speaker," Grassie noted. "And at the end of a discussion, I may ask (the speaker) if they have an actionable questions. I might then query the city manager to see if she has suggestions."
He said another option would be to refer the matter to the appropriate city committee where a resident could have more dialogue in a less formal setting.
"There can be more interaction with constituents at the committee level," Grassie added.
Another change in City Council rules of order that he has proposed is that during workshops there will be public comment at both the beginning and end of the meeting.
Tuesday's workshop begins at 6 p.m. in council chambers inside City Hall.