Council member Molly Dennis ejected from Rochester City Council meeting

May 20—ROCHESTER — A Rochester City Council member was ejected from a meeting shortly before 8:15 p.m. Monday, following a series of warnings regarding council rules.

Approxmately 30 minutes into the discussion, Council member Molly Dennis raised questions about the city's policy for dismissing parking tickets during a discussion of a proposed approach for collecting nearly $870,000 in fines from unpaid parking tickets , some dating back to 2018.

She referenced a Feb. 6, 2024, ticket she recieved while at City Hall, stating it was issued despite having a government decal on her vehicle. She said she was told the ticket could be dismissed, but she opted to pay it.

"I paid the ticket, because there is a lot of controversy," she said. "Dismissing a ticket by any government official is a crime."

City Clerk Kelly Geistler, who was presenting the proposal regarding unpaid tickets, interjected.

"That's not accurate. It's not a crime. We have some discretion," Geistler said. "I have clearly and very narrowly defined the discretion my office uses, and we refer everything else to the city attorney or to the court."

"So you can fix a resident's ticket?" Dennis responded.

At that point, approximately five minutes into Dennis' questions, City Attorney Spindler-Krage interrupted in an attempt to clarify the conversation was on the topic of unpaid tickets, rather than other possible parking policies. He suggested a possible warning.

"Madame president, my suggestion to you tonight — and you've reflected on this at a few recent meetings — is that if any council member cannot follow the rules and respect your decision, your recognition of who gets to speak at a given time, the council member needs to be excused from this meeting," he said.

He also reinforced the city clerk's comments, pointing out that a layered policy exists to dismiss tickets, if warranted.

"Any commentary about fixing of tickets is not appropriate here for a whole host of reasons," he said.

While not cited during Monday's discussion, the issue is part of Dennis' lawsuit against the city, Mayor Kim Norton and council member Patrick Keane .

In one of the lawsuit's nine counts, Dennis cites Norton's comments during an investigation into the council member's 2023 censure. The mayor reportedly told an investigator that Dennis attempted to "fix" parking tickets for some residents. Dennis has repeatedly denied Norton's claim.

The lawsuit is currently in federal court awaiting a judge's decision on a request to dismiss and setting a potential civil trial date.

On Monday, Dennis repeatedly asked for an explanation of the dismissal process as Carlson issued warnings regarding her interuptions, the focus of discussion and talking over people.

"You are not following our rules," Carlson said, approximately 10 minutes into Dennis' questions. "Please do. This is it, council member Dennis."

Carlson asked Geistler whether she believed Dennis' questions were germane to the topic being discussed, and the city clerk said they were not.

"It's a question that I'm happy to answer at another time."

Dennis continued asking about how dismissed tickets were tracked, and Carlson asked her to leave council chambers, pointing to multiple times Dennis spoke over her.

"We do not, as a city, track tickets that are dismissed," Dennis stated before agreeing to leave.

City Administrator Alison Zelms said that was an inaccurate statement and encouraged anyone with questions to contact the city clerk's office.

Dennis returned less than 20 minutes after leaving the council chambers, seeking to ask questions about a financial incentive to draw new commercial air flights to Rochester International Airport.

At that point, she was informed the ejection was intended for the remainder of the meeting.

As she left for the second time, she said, "So you can dismiss tickets of your friends. I believe there should be a record. Transparency is trust."

Dennis was contacted for comment following the meeting and said she she'd provide comments on Tuesday.