Mayor Dan Rizzo’s announcement last week that he will not be attending city council meetings is good public policy. The mayor said, and we agree, that city council meetings are about the business before the city council rather than being about the mayor.
He told his colleagues as much. He said he was not going to continue the precedent set by former Mayor Thomas Ambrosino who nearly always attended council meetings.
The presence of the mayor from time to time will be required at council meetings and on those occasions Rizzo will certainly be present.
Otherwise, he will stay away from the council’s business when it meets, choosing to make proposals presented to the council either by written notification or by presenting himself before the council if the issue is important enough.
In doing so, Rizzo believes he will take away one or two many distractions for the councilors as they go about their business.
This will result in a smoother process between the mayor and the council.