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Rockville Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio wants to be transparent; she just keeps getting in her own way.

"I ran on a platform saying I was going to work for greater communication between the council and the public," she said shortly after Monday's mayor and council meeting — during which she called for a closed, executive session to discuss a new contract for city manager Scott Ullery.

"I wanted to be sensitive to Mr. Ullery," she said. "Whenever you deal with personnel issues that is supposed to be private."

Ullery, for his part, didn't see what the fuss was about. Prior to Marcuccio's comments, he told the council he did not mind discussing his contract in an open meeting.

A lack of transparency is just one of council members' criticisms that Marcuccio is finding herself having to defend. Others include a lack of collaboration and poor communication. At Monday's meeting, some council members said she should work harder to build consensus and keep staff deliberations open to the public.

In response, Marcuccio is insisting she is the city's leader and de facto chief executive.

"I think eventually I will try to ask for a charter commission review," Marcuccio said. "I think we need to review the role of the city manager and the mayor; it has been interpreted today that the role of the mayor is minimized."

The mayor has always had one vote in all decisions, equal to the four council members.

Executive session

The idea of discussing Ullery's contract, as well as other matters, in private, was particularly galling to council member John Britton. Councilman Piotr Gajewski also fights to keep such discussions open and is rarely eager to take votes in executive session.

"I think this violates our pledge to transparency," Britton said. "If it is about job performance, this is a very sloppy and unprofessional way to handle it ... I am appalled that we would consider going into executive session on a whim."

Marcuccio began to back off.

"OK, we can have your so-called ‘transparency,'" she said.

Britton bristled.

"I do not appreciate any characterization of my calls for transparency as, ‘so-called,'" he said.

The law is on Marcuccio's side on this issue — executive sessions are allowed, but not required, under state law when public bodies discuss specific personnel and legal matters. Council members cannot comment publicly on the proceedings of an executive meeting.

Britton, however, wants the city to be judicious in holding executive sessions.

"There is no way that should be in executive session," Britton said Tuesday. "If we get to the individual resumes and the interviews, that's an executive session."

Britton had his way Monday when the council voted unanimously to reject Marcuccio's proposal for an executive session. The council then instructed Ullery to present them with a new contract for consideration.

Gajewski believes the decision to have a public discussion was a significant triumph.

"We are doing a major pushback on secrecy in the city; it finally took and it took in a big way," he said. "We simply discussed everything in an open meeting and none of it was particularly interesting, so why discuss it under the cloak of secrecy? Meanwhile, if we had gone behind closed doors there would have been a lot of speculation."

Marcuccio, however, believes she was just looking out for Ullery's best interest as she is not entirely pleased with his performance.

"There are some things that I wish he were doing better," she said Tuesday.

State of the city

The executive session debate was actually the topper to a day Marcuccio described as "frustrating." Earlier in the meeting, she was forced to defend her efforts to revive a traditional "State of the City address," tentatively scheduled for Tuesday morning at the Glenview Mansion.

Within the past few weeks, Marcuccio had sent e-mails to council members letting them know when and where she would deliver the address. She then instructed staff to plan the event, which includes refreshments and taping by Rockville Channel 11.

However, city code dictates that no single member of the council, including the mayor, will give orders to any subordinate of the city manager. The council must instruct city staff as a group.

Gajewski and Britton were less than thrilled to see an invitation for the fully planned event in their inboxes, considering the topic never came up in a meeting.

"If this is a city event then it should be done with the consent of the council," Gajewski said at Monday's meeting. "As matter of practice the only way we can direct staff is as a mayor and council. It looks badly on me (that I'm not at the address) when I simply wasn't consulted on the date."

Britton said the process showed poor form.

"Your reluctance to check with your colleagues is disappointing," he said Monday. "I think if you would have done your homework we would not be having this debate right now."

Marcuccio thinks the council is simply trying to ruin her work.

"I don't care what date was chosen, I think they would have taken any excuse not to come," Marcuccio said Tuesday. "It's very obvious that they don't want me to do this."

Gajewski previously said he did not think Marcuccio should give the address because her votes have not always reflected the direction of the majority of the council.

Often a peacemaker, Councilman Mark Pierzchala wanted the mayor to make clear she would be speaking for herself at the event, not the entire council.

"I'm going to say that you should go forward with this but I would appreciate that in your opening remarks you say it is your event," Pierzchala said.

Councilwoman Bridget Donnell Newton came to Marcuccio's defense, pointing out that the council members' passivity in not responding to Marcuccio's e-mail indicated they were OK with the mayor's efforts.

"I think she took the lack of response on the e-mails as tacit approval," Newton said.

Gajewski and Britton enjoyed that statement about as much as they enjoyed the call for an executive session.

"Assumptions are a very poor form of communication," Britton said.

Gajewski agreed.

"I'm not comfortable operating under the assumption that lack of response constitutes approval," he said.

The council ultimately voted 4-1, with Gajewski opposed, to allow the mayor to use city resources to conduct the address.

On Tuesday, Marcuccio offered a plea for her unique role.

"Clearly as you can see there seems to be a debate every time the mayor suggests doing something, as if the mayor has no special authorities," Marcuccio said. "The only thing beyond that is there isn't a clear structure that makes the job defined better. I think we need to define it better. It puts the mayor in kind of a position of having to seek for additional votes for everything."