Censured Rochester council member takes new stance on restrictions

Apr. 10—ROCHESTER — More than a month after being censured, Rochester City Council member

Molly Dennis

has determined she can no longer interact with city staff during public meetings.

"Unfortunately due to an oversight in reading the original censure, I have unintentionally asked staff questions during the last two in-person Council meetings, my apologies," she wrote in a Monday morning email to several city department heads, as well as council members Patrick Keane and Kelly Rae Kirpatrick and Mayor Kim Norton, of her decision in an email sent Monday morning.

The council voted 4-1 on

March 6 to reprimand Dennis,

putting into place limits on her interaction with city staff.

Among issues council members sought to address with the restriction was "excessive use of city time and resources," pointing to the need to ensure one council member's requests are not dominating staff time.

On Monday, Dennis initially implemented her new stance on interacting with staff by sending questions to department heads, rather than speaking directly to staff members making presentations.

City Attorney Michael Spindler-Krage said Dennis would be allowed to ask her own questions, but he opted to ask the initial question on her behalf.

Dennis then switched to asking other council members to query Community Development Deputy Director Ryan Yetzer on her behalf, stating her question aloud.

At that point, Spindler-Krage pointed out Yetzer had heard the question and could answer without it being repeated.

The practice of speaking to fellow council members, rather than staff, continued through presentations led by Transit and Parking Systems Manager Ia Xiong and Fire Chief Eric Kerska.

Dennis appears to be focusing on two restrictions cited in the censure:

* "Councilmember Dennis shall limit her staff meetings and communications to Department Heads, the City Administrator, and the City Attorney, and such meetings shall be for information related to City business," and

* "All communication from Councilmember Dennis to City employees shall be in writing, by email, and copied to the City Administrator."

The question about the

intent of the restrictions first arose during a March 13 learning session,

when Dennis initially refused to sit at a table with City Administrator Alison Zelms and Spindler-Krage present, citing censure restrictions.

During that meeting, staff and council members confirmed the restrictions did not bar Dennis from engaging with staff during public meetings, and Dennis eventually opted to participate.

Zelms and others have cited concerns about Dennis seeking to bring issues directly to staff members. The censure restrictions related to staff communication reflect the council's existing code of conduct, which states "generally, all interactions with staff members should flow through the city administrator."

The code also points to the council's primary work as being geared toward policy, rather than day-to-day operations, seemingly setting meeting interactions apart from those addressed in the censure.

Keane addressed the issue in an April 8 email regarding a question Dennis raised about an upcoming South Zumbro Watershed Joint Powers Board meeting, which includes city and county staff.

"Similar to publicly noted City Council meetings, you can be in the same room and interact with staff in this setting," Keane wrote.

Spindler-Krage said Dennis has been repeatedly told she is able to fully participate in public meetings. He called her decision to interpret the censure another way "unfortunate."

An email chain provided by Dennis following the council's two-hour session shows that Spindler-Krage again informed Dennis 20 minutes into Monday's meeting that she could engage with staff.

"We've told you that you can speak to staff in open meetings," he wrote.

Dennis responded with the assertion that the ability must be specifically documented in the censure restrictions.

"I am awaiting the information in writing," she wrote. "Please sent me the place in the censure that states that I can speak to city staff in person."

Dennis said she believes the council needs to redefine the restrictions to put in writing the fact that she can interact with staff during council meetings.

"I am not being difficult," she said. "I am following the law."

She added that council members could address her concerns by voting to amend the censure and specify that she can engage with staff.

Keane has said he's willing to work with Dennis to

ensure the censure restrictions don't hurt her Ward 6 residents

and offered to help make sure any residents' concerns are properly addressed, but he said the goals of protecting staff time and productivity appear to be met by the limits defined in the censure.

As a result, he said in an April 3 email that he doesn't expect changes to reduce the limits of the censure.

"There are nine months left in 2023 and nine months under censure constraints," he wrote. "And there could be less time on censure constraints, if someone who voted in favor of the censure comes back with an amendment to reduce the operating constraints in the censure. That could happen, but we are surely not on that path right now."