"Geneva City Manager"--An Attractive Post in an Attractive City

If you’re a leader-- on the move in public administration-- the Finger Lakes, and, specifically, the City of Geneva, is a great place to be!

At community-based ward meetings which provided an opportunity for citizen input on the city manager search, many City Councilors expressed a willingness to extend the application deadline, if that’s what it takes to field a pool of the most qualified applicants in an open search process.

We are glad Council got over its fears of being manger-less for a few months while the search progressed to its natural, unforced outcome. A commitment to getting the best person seems to have, rightly, overtaken the sense of urgency about simply filing the position.

The initial application deadline of February 1 is rapidly approaching. It’s not too late for last minute applications from dynamic professionals who appreciate the excitement and opportunities that our City has to offer! So many folks live in Geneva by choice, essentially for the quality of life it provides. Capraro always jokes about an economic development initiative that would simply charge visitors admission to participate in the amenities many of us enjoy on a daily basis!

The City of Geneva has a great deal to offer. For a city manager on the rise in his/her profession, the City’s department heads and rank and file employees bring a wealth of knowledge, experience, and commitment on which to build an exciting future. For a more seasoned professional, there are several key opportunities for revitalization with the introduction of best practices inspired by other communities and state-of-the-art thinking from the experts. For a mid-career manager, Geneva is a place that certainly has the staying power you might be looking for in order to make your mark on the world.

If the spectacular landscape, quaint historical architecture, and a rapidly expanding wine region aren’t enough to capture your imagination, consider five more compelling reasons for deciding that Geneva is the place to be:

1. An incredibly diverse group of residents who call Geneva ‘home.’ From descendants of Geneva’s earliest settlers, to people who moved in last week; from baby boomers aging in place, to young families creating a homestead; and with virtually every racial, ethnic, social, economic, religious, and cultural backgrounds represented, Geneva is blessed with a mix of perspectives and personalities that make Geneva a progressive community on the move.
   
   2. A diversified and expanding economic base. Geneva is home to nationally known liberal arts colleges, a world-class research university, and a community college on the rise (Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, and Finger Lakes Community College, respectively), a community-based health care organization and an excellent hospital, a downtown which has found a balance between contemporary growth and respect for tradition, an ever-expanding tourism industry, and progressive manufacturing and financial institutions.
   
   3. A successful urban school district offering premier courses. The Geneva City School District has its challenges, but it is able to respond to the needs of students across the continuum of learning. We take pride in the fact that each year our highest-achieving students go off to elite colleges and universities and testify about how well they were prepared. The district offers more AP courses than any surrounding district, and boasts many more Ivy League acceptances than our regional competitors.
   
   4. Exciting public policy opportunities. With new leadership in place to make it all happen, Geneva is poised to make great strides in several areas. With a new Mayor, Geneva is poised for great forward strides, without the back room ‘deal making’ of the previous administration that bred suspicion and contempt. Residents of the city have been mobilized to take on a variety of quality of life issues, from residential improvement programs to innovative city service provision. The city is ready to move-- from bricks and mortar to socio-economic development. We believe the possibilities are endless.
   
   5. Quality living at an affordable price. The City Manager post carries a salary in the $80,000 range. That goes a long way in the City of Geneva! The average home is assessed at $75,000 and there are some very nice homes at that price! Our City Manager must live in the City—why would she/he not?. If home owning is not your thing, a comfortable 3 bedroom apartment runs about $800 or $900/month. And you can beat the high price of gas, with so much going on within walking distance.

So, if you got into government to be a leader, to get things done for the public good, then make Geneva your next stop. And file that app. before the deadline! There’s a wonderful community waiting for you.

'He Said/He Said' Isn't News and It Doesn't Serve the Public Interest

In light of the Finger Lakes Times' coverage of Assistant Attorney General Joel Graber's visit to Geneva test the voting machine which had been taken out of service on Election Day, November 6, we offer the following addendum to our original post on the fiasco:

Graber's visit to test the machine which had been taken out of service was initiated by Graber, after the Attorney General's Office had judged there was enough credible evidence to launch an investigation into the election in doubt. All arrangements for his Canandaigua/Geneva visit were made by the Attorney General's Office and the Ontario County Board of Elections. Bottom line: It is a fact that Graber came to town to test the machine and did not do the test because he could not. That's because the machine had been altered by election employees prior to his arrival.

It is also a fact that Capraro had absolutely no say in those arrangements. Through his attorney, Sam Bonney, he was simply informed that Graber was coming to town and that he, Capraro, was invited to attend the test of the machine. In fact, Bonney had requested a re-scheduling of the test visit because Capraro's preferred lever ballot machine expert, Professor Doug Jones, Ph.D., of the University of Iowa, was not available on the date announced for the visit. For Jones to fly in from Iowa on a few day's notice would have been difficult under any circumstances. Because of the long weekend for Martin Luther King's Birthday, another ballot expert could not be located in time to replace Jones. Even the Attorney General's office did not bring the machine consultant they had planned to bring because he was not available on such short notice.

What Salotti and Northrup must account for is the timeline. We want to know: all their interactions with John Ruggieri, the machine technician who maintains the voting machines; all their interactions with the AG's office; all their interactions with Bonney pertaining to the testing of the machines; all their interations with the Attorney General's office, including exactly when they knew Graber would be coming and what steps they took to safeguard the machines after that. They have a responsibility to explain their actions to the public. 'No comment' or 'not available for comment' is not an acceptable response. They should also release all correspondence between them and the Attorney General's Office to let the public decide for themselves exactly what was going on.

Look at it this way, if the machines had already been reset when the AG contacted the commissioners' office, why didn't they say so? If the machines had not been reset, as the letter from the commissioners to Bonney indicates, why didn't they protect the integrity of the machines until it was determined if the AG was actually coming out. The letter to Bonney indicates that the AG had made "initial contact" but had not yet finalized the plans. Anyone would agree that the machine in question should not be touched until the last possible minute. The machine custodian told the Finger Lakes Times that he had reset the machine right before Bonney's response was faxed to the County, January 11. That was prior to the AG's office scheduling their visit, and 11 days prior to the actual visit. When the AG called the Board of Elections, why wasn't he told that the machine had been stripped?

And when the Finger Lakes Times covered this story why didn't they read and evaluate the correspondence provided for them, one click away from the main post on on www.nostringsgeneva.com, their principal source for the story? Then it wouldn't be another "he said, he said" story.

Listen up. The machine could not be tested because it was not set up as it had been during the election. The Finger Lakes Times should be looking into those questions, not simply repeating what any individual asserts. Then they might be part of the solution to good government and not part of the problem.

"Voting Machine-Gate?": Re-Set Machine Poses Problem for AG Inquiry

When Assistant Attorney General Joel Graber appeared in Geneva yesterday, January 21, to investigate the Geneva City Council election of November 6, 2007, he was in for a big surprise. So were we. The voting machine he had come to test had already been re-set by Ontario County Election Commission employees. That made it impossible for Graber to verify allegations of a machine malfunction on Election Day because the machine was no longer set up as it had been when voting took place. Some voters had complained, and later filed formal statements, that they were unable to vote for Rocco Chip Capraro on Row A of machine #76460. The machine was eventually replaced with another machine on Election Day.

In the weeks following the election, Capraro called upon Ontario County election officials and the Attorney General to provide answers to three basic questions: (1) In what ways were voting machines malfunctioning on Election Day?; (2) How do election officials explain discrepancies in various reports of election results?; (3) Did Ontario County election officials respond appropriately to voter complaints on Election Day? (For background information on this issue, see "Margin of Error May Be Larger Than Margin of Victory," "If the Machine is Broken, Fix It," and "Will Candidates Get Answers Before Election is Certified?")

After reviewing evidence, the Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation into the election, starting with the testing of the machines. With the machines safely sealed and stored at the City garage in Geneva since Election Day, Sam Bonney, Capraro’s attorney, reached an understanding with County Election Commissioners Mary Salotti and Mike Northrup that the County would hold off on re-setting the machines until the Attorney General had decided whether or not to investigate. Unfortunately, the County went ahead and re-set the machines before Graber could make it to Geneva.

The correspondence between Bonney and the Commissioners documents all this (you can click on the links in the next paragraphs to read the letters). In a letter received by Bonney on January 11, 2008, the Election Commissioners had advised Bonney that it would soon be time to prepare the voting machines for the New York State Presidential Primary (February 5, 2008). They asked Bonney for an update on the Attorney General’s intentions.

Bonney responded immediately. He spoke with Northrup, and indicated that he (Bonney) had not yet heard from the Attorney General’s Office. The two agreed that Election Commissioners would hold off “as long as possible’ before re-setting the machines. Bonney confirmed that conversation in a letter faxed to the Commissioners the same day.

The following week, Assistant Attorney General Graber confirmed his appearance in Geneva for Tuesday, January 22nd. He spoke both with the Ontario County Board of Elections and with Sam Bonney.

His visit began at the Board of Elections office in Canandaigua. Graber made clear the purpose of his visit was to “gather evidence” by having the alleged malfunctioning machine tested. The group then headed to Geneva. Present in the Geneva City garage were: Graber, his investigator, his stenographer, Salotti, Northrup, two Ontario County attorneys, Councilor-at-Large Ron Alcock, two Ontario County machine technicians, Bonney, and Capraro. All standing there in the garage.

After a preliminary discussion of the voter complaints about the allegedly malfunctioning machine, the group turned to the machine taken out of service. It was then technician John Ruggieri disclosed to the group that he has “stripped the machine” and re-set it in anticipation of the upcoming New York State Presidential Primary (February 5). That sent a chill through the already cold and damp garage. The machine was irreversibly re-set from what it had been on Election Day, and test results would be virtually meaningless. After a great deal of discussion about the state of the machine, and its implications, the meeting came to a close, without a test of the machine most in question.

We have to wonder, even if the broken machine needed to be put back into service for the primary along with all the other machines in the City, why was it among the very first to be re-set? Only 5 machines had been re-set at that moment, with at least another 8 still to go. In other words, it could have waited. The biggest question of all is this:

Why was the machine re-set AFTER Salotti and Northrup
had been notified by Bonney that the Attorney General
might be inspecting it, and after they had been asked
by Bonney to hold off servicing the machine?

Was it intentional? Was it accidental? Was it miscommunication? Who knows-- but we expect an answer. Whatever the explanation, from our fact-based point of view, the situation was mishandled. Voters and open government were done a great disservice.

Not to mention the fact that Graber came all that way for a purpose that could not be fulfilled. No to mention the fact that an investigation of voter complaints about the machine was now impossible.

The proper functioning of the machine was doubtful since Election Day. The outcome of an election may have hinged upon it. Ever since, there has been a reluctance on the part of Ontario County election officials to offer an open, transparent account of what happened that day. That’s precisely why the Attorney general was contacted. Even then, by their own actions, whether intentional or not, the Ontario County Election Commission made a full inquiry into the machine by the Attorney General’s Office impossible. The words “Voting Machine-Gate” come to mind.

With an upcoming Presidential primary, would you trust that machine to accurately record the votes for your candidate? Know your voter rights and what to do if you suspect a machine malfunction.

Top Ten Clues A Search Is Over Before It Begins

In our most recent WGVA appearance, Ted Baker asked us if there was any truth to the rumors he had been hearing that the City Manager search was window dressing for a predetermined outcome. We responded, “Time will tell.” If it’s a “done deal” then no one told us and certainly, if we found out, we would not be silent about it. Shady deals never happen in the public eye, that’s why they’re usually referred to as happening ‘in the back room’, but we haven’t been a part of any back room discussions about the search. Maybe because there haven’t been any.

But Ted’s question got us thinking. The community meetings, the involvement of Mayor Einstein, the public discussion of process all have us feeling pretty reassured that the search is being conducted in earnest, for the best interests of Geneva. But what would lead people to believe a candidate has been pre-selected? What clues would the public have that this is a “done deal”? Believe it or not, a quick ‘google’ search online turns up many a case of searches gone astray. One in particular, the Eastern Michigan University’s search for a new University President offered several hints. From that, and other sources, we’ve pieced together a list of Top Ten Clues:

10. A potential candidate has consistently dropped hints to colleagues about his/her interest in the post.

9. Immediately following a major event (such as an election) an executive resigns and lavishes praise upon a potential candidate.

8. A search committee is formed by the potential candidate.

7. The timeline for the search coincides with major holidays and other ‘downtime’ for the candidate pool.

6. The printed advertisements for the position are issued only two weeks prior to the deadline, which is industry code for ‘pre-selected candidate.’

5. The search committee continually stresses the need to consider ‘non-traditional’ candidates without prior experience in the field.

4. “Field trips” to communities and/or projects of potential candidates are scheduled prior to the announcement of the vacant position.

3. Potential candidates who would otherwise be blocked from applying (either by traditional qualifications or city charter prohibition) make public statements challenging those conditions.

2. When questioned, potential candidates “would neither confirm nor deny an intent to apply for the position.”

1. At every turn, supporters of a particular candidate reassure others that the process is completely open and undetermined.

Based on those clues, are the rumors true? Will Don Cass or Phillip Morris be our next city manager? Our answer remains the same, only time will tell.

Step Up To The Plate

Mayor Einstein may have been thrown a few curveballs in his first weeks on the job, with the city manager and city attorney resigning, a search committee being thrust upon him as a parting shot of the former administration, and a group of councilors slow to show him the same respect they gave to his predecessor, but he seems to be keeping his own eye on the ball when it comes to ‘moving forward’.

In keeping with his campaign promise to make City Hall more open to the people, Geneva residents have several opportunities to make their voices heard on key issues facing the city.

This week, residents of every ward can attend open meetings with their representatives to share their hopes for the new city manager. On Tuesday night (1/15) residents of wards 4, 5, and 6 will meet at the Sons of Italy lodge on Prospect Avenue. On Wednesday night (1/16) residents of wards 1, 2, and 3 will meet in the FLCC Geneva Extension Center on Pulteney Street. Both meetings begin at 7pm. In addition, meetings are being scheduled for business interests, members of the education community, city staff, and community agency representatives. Each meeting will give participants the opportunity to discuss the qualities or values they would like to see in candidates for the position.

In response to community concerns about the lakefront visioning process (see our post on that) two additional sessions have been scheduled to receive public input on the plan. On Thursday (1/17) at 7pm, the lakefront steering committee will host a public comment session at the North Street School auditorium. On Tuesday, January 22nd, beginning at 6:30pm, the public is invited to participate in a lakefront ‘design charrette’ at the Ramada Inn. A charrette is an interactive brainstorming activity, usually involving large group discussion and then small group activities aimed at getting as many ideas on the table as possible. Because this event will involve hands on activities (like sketching lakefront maps) an RSVP to the planning department is requested by January 18th, but the director assured the newspaper that no one would be turned away.

On the city website you will find more information about these sessions as well as surveys on each topic (city manager search and lakefront visioning) for you to complete.

These are unprecedented opportunities for community participation in City governance. Certainly not the same old game. The public has been called up to the governing team. So, step up to the plate, and get involved. Maybe you'll hit a homerun!

"I Live NY" is an Idea Whose Time Has Come

New York State’s First Lady, Silda Spitzer, is leading a new effort to invigorate Upstate Communities. It’s called “I Live NY” and its focused on recruiting and retaining young professionals.

We often hear people say that they want economic development opportunities in Geneva so that “our kids will stay.” Capraro can understand that, with kids in college, and Augustine is living it as a kid who never left! With all of the colleges and universities in our area, it seems that we should be focused on finding a way to harness all that talent to keep graduates in the area. Job creation and a focus on entreprenurial support can help graduates call the Geneva area “home” for the long term and can encourage children who’ve gone away to college to come back and raise their families locally.

So what are Mrs. Spitzer’s plans to make this happen? Well it began with a “summit” on September 17th at SUNY Cortland to outline five core principles of the effort. They are:

1. Livable communities- creating the conditions that will make younger people choose our area to build their future.
2. Community-specific plans- rather than one big statewide ‘solution’ being imposed from Albany upon us; a focus on regionally-driven initiatives.
3. Incremental changes- breaking the issue into smaller pieces that lend themselves to more manageable solutions.
4. Community engagement- energizing local communities around issues related to keeping and attracting young people.
5. “Surplus thinking”- itemizing and emphasizing what each region has to offer.

We’ve posted quite a bit about some of these ideas already. But the last point is worth noting again. Geneva, and our Finger Lakes region in general, is a magnificent place to live, work, and raise a family. Community pride seems to ebb and flow, but there are several of us who truly believe that it is a blessing to call this place home. That is an attitude that we need to instill in our children so that, when they grow up and go out into the world, they desire to come back. It’s the boomerang effect, and we can all work together to make it happen!

You can read more about Mrs. Spitzer’s initiative on the First Lady’s homepage.

Horn is tip of the ISO-berg: A case study in how not to study cases

Auburn, Seneca Falls, Waterloo, Canandaigua, and Trumansburg used to have fire horns. Now they don't. The fire chief of Trumansburg, which has an all volunteer fire department, including drivers, shut theirs off just last year. Have these communities willfully put their lives and property at greater risk for the sake of a little peace and quiet?

That’s the essence of the question asked by several city residents, but raised publicly by Ken Camera. The question is: Is the horn necessary or is there a better emergency management system that Geneva could use? It goes without saying that the discussion is not about the service of those who fight fires, who give up their time to be trained and who risk their lives to protect us. We are thankful for the work they do and no sane person would want to disadvantage their notification system. That should be clear, but unfortunately it’s not.

Camera, a City of Geneva resident and downtown businessman, approached City Council, first by e-mail and then from the podium at the December Council meeting, asking the City to consider turning off the fire horn if it had outlived it’s useful purpose.

Ever since Camera launched his proposal, there’s been a flurry of e-mail among Councilors. At that same meeting, Fire Chief Moore was asked to come to the podium to address Council on the merits of the horn. He said that in combination with other, more effective, technologies for sounding the alarm and dispatching, the horn contributed to the well being of the City. The horn added points to our ISO score sheet, which helped keep our ISO rating solid, which helped keep our insurance rates down. In short, the horn was a valuable tradition worth saving.

Since that meeting, the e-mails have continued, with Camera himself included and participating in much of it. It’s been mostly follow up questions, Councilors weighing in, this way and that, on the issue, and the slow accumulation of facts for the “fact set” Camera has asked Council to construct. A fact set would help to resolve this issue, but also, to model fact-based decision making in general.

While we, Capraro and Augustine, are not opposed to the horn, we are opposed to the way this situation has been handled, or mis-handled, by council. We believe that every member of this community has the right to ask questions about the way government operates. And we believe that City Councilors are elected, in part, to research those questions and provide their constituents with the most accurate information available. The point is not to get every person to share one opinion, it’s to allow every person to share the same set of facts. Good government requires that questions be handled in an orderly, unemotional way by council and staff working together and communicating directly, respectfully, and effectively with residents.

But that didn’t happen here. No councilor took the lead on the issue, no councilor asked for the resident to be provided with a memo. on the role of the fire horn in the city’s operations. Instead, one councilor berated Camera for not going to the firehouse and getting the information himself. Is that what we want city residents doing when they have a question? Becoming ‘fact-finding vigilantes’? If someone has a question about street work, should they call their councilor or go flag down a DPW worker? If they have a question about the police department should they ask their councilor or should they stop in at the public safety building and disrupt the operations? We think it’s pretty clear why wards have council representatives in the first place--it’s to bring government to the people not to ask all the people to go chase down the government!

So the discussion of the horn seems to center on the City’s “ISO rating”. We referenced this in response to a comment on a previous post. ISO, or the Insurance Services Organization, is an industry think tank that offers products and services to insurance providers and their clients, including the Public Protection Classification Program (PPCP).

The PPCP provides insurers with an objective rating of a community’s fire protection efforts, derived from ISO’s own data driven models. It gives insurers a good idea of the risk involved in insuring buildings in a particular location. Based on the City’s ISO documents, the City’s ISO rating has been “3”, since 1995, when it moved up from “4”. The City scored 77.54 points out of a possible 100, putting it within the ISO 3 range, which is 70-79.99 points. That was quite a jump in points because the best score for the previous rating of 4 would have been 69.99, so there was an increase of at least 7.55 points.

The three main sections of the ISO rating sheet are: (1) receiving and handling fire alarms; (2) fire department; (3) water supply. For the fire alarms section, which “reviews the facilities provided for the general public to report fires, and for the operator on duty at the communications center to dispatch fire department companies to the fire,” the City received 8.74/10 points. The sub-section scores were: telephone service, .74/2.00; operators, 3.00/3.00; and dispatch circuits, 3.00/3.00.

ISO distributes an occasional survey to communities, known as the Fire Protection Survey, which they compare with existing data on a particular community. If there are significant changes, a new PPCP process would start up. Geneva’s most recent survey was completed, July 26, 2007, and did not prompt a full review.

The fire alarm/communications section of our July, 2007, survey has checked the following boxes in answer to the question (#6), “How are the fire department members notified of a fire alarm? Check all that apply.” Items checked are: fire alarm radio; home radio/scanners; fire station telegraph system; outside air horn; fore station voice alarm; pager-voice. Items not checked are: fire station CAD/printers; pager-alerting only; other; fire station direct phone; pager-alpha numeric; fire station facsimile; outside siren.

(Curiously, the Harris study (see below) states the Geneva Fire Department “maintains a primary dispatch station equipped with a radio system and Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) work station and printer. It is unclear why that box was not checked.)

In speaking with ISO mitigation staff, Capraro learned that if a community has good telecommunications, dispatching, and pagers, having an old-fashioned fire horn makes no difference in its ability to suppress fires, which is the basis of ISO scoring and ratings, and the true measure of firefighting effectiveness. In other words, a community with good telecommunications, dispatching, and pagers is every bit as good at putting out fires as a community with good telecommunications, dispatching, pagers, and horns.

The question of response times has come up. Do firefighters get to the scene of a fire faster with the horn working than without it? ISO defines response time as the time it takes firefighting equipment to get to a fire after the information has been received. It does not measure actual times, but relies on a formula which includes average vehicle speeds, etc. In any event, response times are measureable, and whether or not they affect ISO ratings, they could be studied, if they are a consideration. Testimony from several of our firefighters indicates that the fire horn does alert volunteers to mobilize whether they have a pager or not.

The City of Geneva has expended a great deal of energy over the question of dispatching and fire and police communications. The July 2006, Public Safety Dispatch Systems Assessment report prepared by Jack Harris, a municipal communications consultant, discussed fire dispatch. According to the report, the Geneva Fire Department is a secondary Public Service Answering Point (PSAP) for the Ontario County 911 system. Currently, fire department dispatchers answer all incoming land line 911 calls and connects them to police, EMS, or the appropriate fire station. Additionally, the police department receives calls on its non-911 line.

The Harris report suggested that the city centralize the emergency dispatching into one center that could receive calls and transmit information. The city has made some steps towards this effort, including the hiring of more civilian dispatchers to free uniformed police officers from telephone duty and appropriating money for an engineering plan for the center. Council has been told that the police and fire departments support this plan and we have, in turn, supported these efforts. We believe that ISO would look favorably upon such an arrangement.

In the end, council tossed around some ideas for minimizing the horn’s effect on downtown without minimizing its effectiveness for the department. It was then voted to give the Fire Department the authority to make whatever changes seemed to strike the best balance.

We are grateful for the service of our police and fire departments. It is unfortunate that a resident’s question was mishandled by council in such a way that the fire department felt personally attacked. But perhaps the discussion about ISO ratings has opened our eyes to the large issues of emergency communications in general and will help to move these important upgrades forward in a more timely manner.

A New Year's "Resolution" for Geneva City Council

Whereas Geneva City Council should operate according to the NYS Laws governing Open Meetings, Freedom of Information, and general protocol for professional, ethical, and inclusive government operations (read those laws here or in the Document Library); and,

Whereas the Geneva City Council members should conduct themselves according to generally accepted standards of professionalism, integrity, and accountability; and,

Whereas the Geneva City Council prior to January 1st 2008 routinely and consistently fell short of these stated expectations;

Now, therefore be it resolved, by the residents of the City of Geneva, that the Geneva City Council will be expected to:

Firstly, eliminate all ‘executive session’ meetings unless expressly authorized and narrowly limited to items contained in the NYS Open Meetings Laws, which are the following:

• particular personnel items leading to the suspension, demotion, or removal of a specific employee
• matters that would imperil public safety if disclosed or hinder law enforcement efforts if discussed publicly
• strategies for pursuing or defending against real (as opposed to ‘potential’) litigation
• sale of city property only when the public discussion of said parcel will negatively effect the value (see this Advisory Opinion for more details);
  

Secondly, that City Council will conduct itself collectively, and Councilors individually, in accordance with commonly accepted standards of professionalism and decorum. This means that colleagues, staff, and the public will be treated with courtesy and respect. While disagreement, constructive criticism, and dialogue are expected and encouraged, all statements should focus on the public actions and record of the individuals in question, not merely on personality or comments meant to degrade or humiliate.

Thirdly, that City Councilors and all management staff will file financial disclosure forms, to be made available for public review, indicating any and all personal or familial financial interest, past, present, or pending, in city projects or with individuals or corporations seeking contracts or services with the city government or any of its cooperative agencies (such as the Geneva IDA, Geneva Growth, Jobs for Geneva, Revolving Loan Fund, Geneva Transportation Corporation, etc.).

Lastly, that City Council will operate as a body of the whole unless specific committee membership is publicly announced and assigned and said committee meetings are made open to the public according to the above summarized open meetings law. This means that city councilors will not meet with staff in ‘small groups’, will not attend lunches or dinners with city staff, developers, or other persons seeking to obtain contracts or services within the city or with the aforementioned cooperative agencies, and all official correspondence on the city e-mail system will be conducted between council as a whole, with full acknowledgment of the legal requirements of the Freedom of Information Law.

Therefore be it further resolved that in addition to these standards of City Council operation, the City Councilors and Mayor publicly recognize their status as role models within the community and adhere fully and completely to all laws, codes, and other regulations governing citizens of Geneva, NY. Public disclosure of violations should be made publicly at a regular, televised meeting of the Geneva City Council, with an explanation provided to the residents of the City.

And we so move.

So Much For Unity

The majority of City Councilors seated or returned to office on January 1st followed the former Mayor’s lead in making ‘bickering’ a campaign issue. They portrayed themselves as the solution, but Wednesday night showed that many of them have been, and continue to be part of the problem. Not to be partisan, but no one spoke more about the need for civility and respect than the members of “Team GOP”. But Wednesday night, it was the “Team GOP” officials that brought hostility to the table.

It was the first, organizational meeting of the new Geneva City Council, what is normally a non-controversial series of actions. One of the required actions is a discussion of the City Attorney post--an appointed position. Mayor Einstein announced the formation of a committee to study the City Attorney position and to determine how that office might best serve the City. In keeping with his commitment to open government, Einstein named Councilor-At-Large Steve O’Malley (Democrat), local attorney and former Councilor Barb Roesch-Rokow, and Councilor-At-Large Ron Alcock (Team GOP) to the committee.

In highly inflammatory language on the public floor, Alcock confronted Einstein, saying that the study “smacks of a political vendetta.” He went on to say that he’d be “uncomfortable working with the committee.” He was joined by Councilor Lou Cosentino and Councilor John Greco in criticizing the timing of Einstein’s announcement, i.e., at the meeting that night. Noting current City Attorney Clark Cannon’s absence from the meeting, Alcock suggested it was a good thing Cannon was out. “It would have been disrespectful,” had Cannon been present, and “a slap in the face.”

Apparently in response to the formation of the committee, Cannon submitted a letter of resignation to Council the night of the meeting. Councilor Valentino told his colleagues and the public, “Buckle your seat belts, we’re in for a ride.” We certainly hope that civility will be brought back to the table as Einstein drives the City Council towards more open and responsive government. If Wednesday night was any indication of the new council’s demeanor, it’s likely to be a very bumpy ride.