Rules of Order and Ethics Policy pass easily, but road to the vote was a rocky one

Codes and Ordinances chair David Walker, left, and Rochester Attorney Andrew Kroeckel during testy back and forth at Thursday's codes and ordinances meeting (City of Rochester screenshots)

ROCHESTER - Thursday night's Codes and Ordinances Special Meeting where the city's newly minted ethics policy was supposed to be approved and moved forward to the next City Council meeting turned into a fiery, caustic back and forth between council members and one of the city's attorneys.
After codes chair David Walker went through a number of technical edits with the board and was moving toward a motion City Attorney Andrew Kroeckel suddenly asked, "Do you want my input?"

After Walker nodded yes Kroeckel exclaimed, "What are we afraid of? Why are we changing this (ethics policy)? What's the fear?"
"There is no fear," Walker replied. "What the old code of ethics did was put a gag on the counselors asking any questions (of city officials)."
"You can make those changes, but this (ethics policy) is pointless, this is absolutely toothless," Kroeckel added.
Rochester Mayor Chuck Grassie stepped into the fray soon after explaining that during the last term a council member met a department head in the hallway at City Hall and asked them a question about a concern he had regarding the city.
"Within 15 minutes the mayor called him on the phone and threatened the councilor with being brought up on ethnics charges," Grassie said, "That should never happen."
Walker later added that city councilors have a right to ask a department head about a concern they or one of their constituents might have.
"We just can't tell them what to do, but we can ask a question," he said.
But it got more testy.
When Kroeckel asked why a portion of the old ethics policy that said a board or committee appointment should not be used as a political reward was taken out of the new policy, Walker shot back, "Because it's not necessary."
"Why is it not necessary" Kroeckel replied.
"Because it's not," Walker fired back.
The attorney than chided Walker.

"I am not a child, and that is not an answer," he said in a surly tone.
Grassie then tried to take the temperature down in the room, saying the city now has an appointments review committee, so the mayor doesn't have that unchecked power when making appointments.
Walker then added that it's tough enough to get people to serve on many of these subcommittees.
The spirited debate between the board and Kroeckel went on for nearly 40 minutes before the codes board finally got to a vote, during which both the ethics policy and rules of order were passed unanimously to be voted on by City Council Feb. 3.