Buffalo's Common Council tied itself up in procedural knots Tuesdaybefore it finally decided against returning its operations to the historic Council Chamber in City Hall.
Councilmember Chris Scanlon wanted to return full and committee meetings to the room and filed a resolution to do that. He did it late, and there are often a few last-minute items added to Council agendas. But that meant any member could block consideration and Councilmember Rasheed Wyatt did.
It took Assistant Corporation Counsel Carin Gordon wading through the rules to discover that rejection could be reversed by a Council vote. That put it on the virtual floor and Scanlon's proposal was denied.
Scanlon said some Councilmembers have been in City Hall for the meetings and regular workers are showing up every day, but virtual meetings often don't go well.
"Calls are dropped, internet connection is disrupted and background noise and activity interrupt the flow of our meetings," Scanlon said. "The people's work is not being done at the level it could and should be. We can very easily and safely return to our Council Chambers. Our firefighters are working in fire houses in close proximity. Our police stations are open. We have Public Works employees reporting to work."
Speaking to Scanlon, Council President Darius Pridgen said there has been discussion about returning to City Hall, but there are several problems with that.
"We do not have the controlled space of a school, that knows who's coming in the building, that is able to contract trace very quickly. We don't have that and so, at the end of the day — and this is up to you because you brought it up — we could send this to committee," Pridgen said. " I'd be fine with that, because then we could all work together to keep ourselves safe."
Majority Leader David Rivera agreed there is still a safety issue coming back to City Hall.
"Taking the science into account and looking at the data and the stats that are out there, I think this is a matter of public safety and that is paramount here," Rivera said. "The reasons we're not in chambers was to protect, not only ourselves, but other folks that came into the building, as well. And I agree, I think that this is something that needs to be discussed."
What also has to be worked out is getting public comment at meetings, particularly at committee meetings and public hearings. Pridgen said there is unspecified equipment on order to allow in-person meetings and virtual comment.
