Everyone wants to meet, but not on the same terms

At least two Alexandria City Council members continue to ask Mayor Jacques M. Roy to have representatives of his administration attend council meetings to give reports, make presentations and take questions.

For the past nine months, Roy has supplemented his staff's written responses to council agenda items with a televised briefing held Fridays before Tuesday council meetings.

At the mayor's briefings, staff members deliver reports, including PowerPoint presentations made by Public Works Director T.W. Thompson at the past three briefings.

At last Tuesday's council meeting, a video of Thompson's presentation on code enforcement services was shown on a projector in the Council Chambers. The video included the slides from Thompson's presentation, but not the audio of Thompson speaking.

Council President Roosevelt L. Johnson and District 2 Councilwoman Mitzi Gibson said they would have preferred that Thompson make the presentation in person.

"I would hope and think someone from the administration would have been here to give this report," Johnson said.

District 4 Councilman Harry B. Silver said there are plenty of opportunities for council members to view the reports.

They can attend the briefings live -- Silver, Chuck Fowler and Jim Villard typically attend -- or watch them as they are rebroadcast on Channel 4, the city's government-access channel.

Silver said he couldn't attend the latest briefing in person, so he watched it on Channel 4.

Roy started the pre-council meeting briefings in February in response to a perceived "lack of decorum and civility" at City Council meetings.

"We've had to make a hard choice," Roy said at the time. "We would rather be in the meetings ... (but) we will not do it when there is not decorum and civility."

Roy has urged council members to attend the Friday briefings "to engage in the discussion," particularly those council members whose committees have items coming up on the next council meeting agenda.

"This way," Roy said at the time, "the chairs can take back the information, the public can witness the exchange, and with the additional reports given before the full or 'general' council meeting -- and available as the basis for discussion at the Friday exchange -- we will be that much more informed."