ye eyo ocestr ROCHESTER popsbeeary egies ic 40-29 200 CITY ATTORNEY Rochester, MW EERO 3700, ere April 14,2023 Re: Clarification of the March 6, 2023 Formal Consure of Ward 6 Council member Molly Dennis. Dear Council member Denrs: ‘On March 8, 2023 the Rocxester Common Council passed a formal censure (hereinafter, “the Censure”) Since March 8, 2023, you have asked many questions regarding interpretation and application of the Censure actions. City leadership has given you guidance on how to ‘appropriately communicate with Ciy staff, consistent withthe Censure. You have largely chosen {oignore this advice, Today, lam again advising you on how you can serve as an elected official, within the parameters of tie Censure, As referenced in the Rochester City Charter, | am responsible for giving the Common Council (and you) my legal opinion on interpretation of the Censure document (See Rochester City Charter Section 8.00, If you follow these guidelines, land the Council Rules of Procedure and Code of Conduct, you will not risk further censure by the Council 1. ‘Mirual meetings” includes phone calls, Teams, Zoom, or other means of ‘communication that do not involve direct in-person contact. 2. Contact with City staf is permitted at any publicly noticed meeting, including but rot limited to City Counci meetings, committee meetings, and neighborhood meetings. 3. Contact with Cty staff is permited at other public events, including but not limited to Rochester Public Library events and Safe City Nights. However, contact with City staff in these settings should not interrupt the work of City staff Any substantive discussion of City business should occur in a more appropriate setting, such as a meeting or other appropriate communication, consistent with the Censure, 4, Email communication with administrative staff for ministerial purposes such as placing a meal order, event registration, travel and training, expense Feimburcement, or related tacke, ie parmitid. Copy the appropriate Department Head and Cty’ Administrator on email communication ofthis type. You should Avid excessive use of staff ime in these efforts, or otherwise making these basic tasks unduly complicated or burdensome for City staf 5. Contact with City law enforcement personne! for purposes of accessing personal public safely services is appropriate and permitted, including calling non- ‘emergency cispatch or 911 2 ——6. A the discretion of the Information Technology Department Head, if you {experience an IT issue that requires in-person service by IT staff, this is permitted, 7. Ifyou have cuestions related to City business, Department Heads and other City Leadership may include other Cty personnel necessary to respond to your inquiry. Any written follow-up communication stil needed to address the inquiry should Include the Department Head and the Cty Administrator. You are encouraged to ‘oid repative requests forthe sam information, oF for information that i readily available on the City’s website or other public sites (e.g, obtain a copy of the CCharter, or apublic meeting agenda, video, ec.) 8, You are encouraged to follow the established process for addressing constituent ‘concerns or questions by connecting the individual with appropriate City personnel, fr the applicable City Deparment, and/or an appeal process. if a constituent voices concem that their matter has not previously received a satisfactory response from City personnel, this concern should be directed to the involved Department Head and the Ciiy Administrator. Unless the questions are of a generic nature, these conversations require an identified person or property for City staf to meaningfully address a constituent issue 10. The Censure should in no way interfere wth Ward 6 residents’ ability to accoss ity services. On the contrary, the Censure is intended to allow you, the City Council as a whole, and City staff, to recommit their time and energy to City business, incuding adcressing constituent concems. It appears that since March 6, you have actively misinformed the public regarding the Censure, making it appear more restrictive than itis, and now suggest thatthe publics confused about the Censure. Again, nothing about the Censure interferes with Ward 6 residents! ably to speak to you, or fr you to connect those individuals with appropriate City resources ard personnel 11. Under no circumstances should you ever ask City staff to withhold information from City leadership, | am highly confident that City staff wil continue to work with you in good faith, and in keeping with the Council Rules of Procedure and Code of Conduct, to help you represent Ward 6 and be 8 conirlouting member to the Common Councl, I'am hopeful that these Censure clarifications allow you to move forward, to focus on City business and the important Council decisions that lie ahead. Rochester City Attorney ® sexe