Bonnie Cannan at Green Party of Monroe County

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signed Dump RG&E Petition 2026-06-06 06:48:43 -0400

We Want a Public Utility in Rochester

[THIS IS FOR CITY OF ROCHESTER RESIDENTS ONLY!] Rochester Gas & Electric, part of Avantgrid, part of Iberdrola has become a cancer in our community. The corporation continues to extract wealth from Rochester while providing criminally sub-par services, leaving our neighbors in debt, in the dark, and sometimes, in mortal peril. There is a path to excise this cancer that is laid out in New York State law. AND there is already language in the Charter of the City of Rochester that would allow for a publicly owned and run utility with minor changes to the text. By signing the petition below, you are calling for Rochester City Council to release money that has been held for years for a state-mandated study to see if such a utility is feasible and to amend the City Charter to allow for the formation of a public utility to replace RG&E. This is for City of Rochester residents ONLY.

213 signatures

We the undersigned residents of the City of Rochester, New York call for members of City Council to release the money currently held for a feasibility study for a Public Utility in the City and to amend the City Charter, Article 11 Section 1 to read:

11-1 City Electric Agency.

A Pursuant to the article 14-A of the General Municipal Law and other laws applicable thereto, a city Electric Agency (“Agency”) is hereby established for the purpose of operating a public utility electric service within the City's territorial Limits to furnish to itself, or, for compensation, to its inhabitants any electric service similar to that furnished by any public utility company specified in article 4 of the public service law and also for the purpose of acquiring hydroelectric power from the power authority of the State of New York (“PASNY”) or also for the purpose of transmission and distribution within the territorial limits of Rochester to all electric customers there in.

B The method of acquiring and operating the necessary elements of such electric service shall be as follows.

1 The Agency shall acquire hydroelectric power from PASNY, or other electric power from other sources, for delivery to the users of electricity in the city, and

2 The Agency shall acquire the necessary distribution, substations, transmission, and other electric equipment from the private utility company to deliver power to the electric customers in territorial limits of the city.

3 The agency will perform any studies or comply with other state regulations needed to carry out the above tasks.

C The method of furnishing such electric service shall consist of acquiring PASNY hydroelectric power and/or sufficient other power from other electric suppliers, delivering said power to the local consumers over the transmission and distribution facilities owned by the agency and acquired from the local private utility company by negotiated sale condemnation. Any power acquired for distribution to customers in the city shall be carried over the transmission and distribution facilities of PASNY and such other entities at transmission and distribution voltages as may be required to ensure proper power availability to electric customers within the City. The local private utility company may, by agreement with the Agency, deliver said power and collect and remit to the agency the charges therefor.

D All agreements entered into in furtherance of acquisition and operation of the Agency's service shall first be approved by the City Council. Rates for the sale of any power by the Agency shall be established by the City Council and shall be sufficient to permit the Agency to recover its costs of doing business, but shall not provide any profit or return on investment to the Agency. Any reduction in utility gross receipts tax revenues received by the City as a result of the implementation of this section may be paid by the Agency as an in-lieu-of tax payment to the City. Any reduction in property tax revenues received by the city from the local private utility company as a result of the implementation of this section shall be paid by the Agency as an in-lieu-of tax payment to the City. Except as otherwise required by PASNY pursuant to the applicable law, and to the maximum extent practicable, the PASNY hydroelectric power acquired by the Agency shall be furnished first to fulfill the electric energy requirements of the City and other municipal corporations and to fulfill the electric requirements of City residential consumers and then may be furnished to fulfill the electric energy requirements of the City and other municipal corporations and to fulfill the electric energy requirement of all other classes of electric customers, including commercial and industrial customers.

E The method of acquiring and operating the electric service described in this section may require the exercise of any power including condemnation by the City or the Agency of the local private utility company generation, distribution, and transmission system, and the establishment by the city of the Agency of transmission or distribution facilities separate from the local private utility company.

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signed Ban Fracking in Rochester 2014-04-02 09:46:42 -0400

Ban Fracking in Rochester

690 SIGNATURES

GOAL: 1,000 signatures

Evidence increasingly shows that hydraulic fracturing devastates the natural ecosystems and human communities where this practice for natural gas extraction is used. Fracking poisons our water and our air, increases earthquake activity, sickens our families, and stresses local infrastructure. Yet despite this and the continued resistance by the people, our state elected officials have taken no action to permanently halt such catastrophic activities by the gas industry within New York State.

The City of Rochester, recognizing the threat of fracking, has previously established a moratorium on such activities in June 2012 and June 2013. However, this is set to expire in the coming months leaving our community vulnerable.

Therefore, we, the People of the City of Rochester, call on Mayor Lovely Warren and the Rochester City Council to enact legislation banning hydraulic fracturing, the transport of its byproducts, and all other related activities, within the City of Rochester.

To learn more, please visit our allies at R-CAUSE and New Yorkers Against Fracking.

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commented on Lessons in Participatory Budgeting 2013-05-09 08:41:15 -0400 · Flag

In the past the Greens have discussed and started to put to paper the idea that compliments this approach. The idea is to redesign the City districts to better reflect grass roots democracy. This would mean dividing the various neighborhoods into smaller districts that would address structural and governing process details while having collective decision-making using consensus to make funding decisions and plans related to all their needs—ie mental health, education, recreation, economic development, housing etc. One of the main reason for this approach is that grass roots democracy is a greater motivator for residents to participate and by doing so to also be accountable for decisions made. This also encourages awareness, diversity, creativity and shifts power to the people as they say. The participatory budget plan would compliment this major change. I have participated in the budget process the Mayor did last year which sounds somewhat familiar with what he did this year. The problem is that he does confine it to more narrow application and the other problem is that it is most often geared to address what to reduce, resulting in fewer recreation services, library services and corporate development.

GoGreen. Bonnie