Adopting the 2027 calendar of regular meetings for the Common Council of the City of Rochester, Minnesota.

Minnesota Statutes Section 13D.04 subd. 1 requires that a public body keep a schedule of its regular meetings on file in their "primary offices," which in our City is with the City Clerk. This schedule/calendar provides notice of the regular meetings and provides a transparent and predictable framework for City departments and the community to plan in advance for how and when they will engage the Council in the hundreds of ways the City Council interacts with the community over the course of any given year. 

The calendar keeps with the historical pattern and frequency of regular business meetings on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month and continues to plan for study sessions on alternate Mondays when there are no regular Council Meetings.

Considerations: 

• The second meeting of the month in both January and February will fall to Wednesdays due to Holiday observances.
• The first meeting of the month in July will fall to Wednesday due to a Holiday observance.
• Weeks that acknowledge school breaks or left unscheduled:

• • March 29 - April 2, 2027: Rochester Public Schools Spring Break
  • May 31 - June 4, 2027: 5th Monday - Unscheduled week 
  • August 30 - September 3, 2027: 5th Monday - Unscheduled week
  • November 29 - December 5, 2027: 5th Monday - Unscheduled week
  • December 20 - 31, 2027: Unscheduled/Winter Break 

The Council has expressed in holding community connection meetings in months where there is a 5th Monday with no regular scheduled meeting. These dates have not been identified and are not noted on this calendar.

Changes to the meeting schedule can and do occur and are handled as necessary. Most changes only require noticing similar to the special meeting guidelines (3 days' notice sent out in the usual ways), but public hearings and other potential scheduled events can be more complicated. Historically there have not been issues with adjusting the meeting schedule during the year if the need arises. 

Annual adoption of the Council calendar is a key component in complying with Open Meeting Law (MN Stat. Ch. 13D), the purpose of which is to ensure public access to information about government affairs and the actions of policy making bodies through timely noticing, process transparency, and the production of clear and concise materials. The calendar's key function is to provide advance notice to the public about when the Common Council conducts the business of the City so that the community may engage and inform themselves. 

Further, adoption of the calendar in a systematic and timely manner each year promotes the Council's strategic priority of Quality Services by giving ample notice of scheduled meetings for the upcoming year so planning around events, developments, projects, community initiatives, public engagement, and more that may require additional or ongoing Council input and oversight have the lead time necessary for efficient process execution.  

The Common Council adopts a schedule of meetings annually. 

No direct fiscal impact. 

No alternative actions are suggested at this time.