The Schenectady City Council narrowly passed an ordinance allowing them to eject absentee members.
The measure allows the Schenectady City Council to eject members who are absent for more than three months. Absentee members would have a chance to explain themselves to the council. Three-quarters of the council — which translates to six of its seven members — would have to vote to remove that member.
The changes come less than a year after Councilmember Carmel Patrick suffered a stroke and spent seven months away while recovering. Patrick returned in mid-July against her doctor's advice.
Patrick was one of three council members to vote against the measure. She pointed out state law already allows city councils to eject absentee members.
"I still feel like the timing of it coincided with me having that long absence due to my stroke recovery," Patrick said in an interview after the vote. "So I just still feel like, although I've been told it wasn't personal, it still seems personal to me, and so that's why I voted against it tonight."
Council President Carl Williams proposed the measure. He's argued it's necessary to prevent deadlocked, tied votes on important legislation, and includes enough safeguards to protect members.
“I think that having that understanding with your peers ensures that we have a well understood interpretation of just the challenges you're going through," Williams said in August. "And that is very much perspective of HIPAA and how much you want to divulge about your current health considerations or statuses."
