Only one council member was part of the city of Dunkirk mayor’s meeting with department heads last week.

Mike Civiletto, who represents the Fourth Ward, showed up a little late and sat off to the side. Toward the end, he offered a statement.

“I’m here to hold my hand out for you to come to council meetings,” he said. Friday’s session was spurred by Wdowiasz’s decision to stop attending council meetings.

He said there was a communication problem between Wdowiasz and the council. “I don’t understand what happened,” he said.

Civiletto added, “We have one councilwoman who I don’t agree with her tactics and how she handles things.” That was a reference to Natalie Luczkowiak, who skipped Friday’s meeting but provided a critical statement to the OBSERVER about it before it happened.

Luczkowiak’s statement noted: “It is not unusual for legislation of the federal, state, or any municipality to move a bill, law, or resolution back and forth,” the First Ward representative said. “It is our representative government, called democracy. And also, it goes through other committees during this process, such as the Federal Congressional Business Office or our Finance Committee meeting, in order to see if it is affordable.

“We do agree with most of the Resolutions that are put forth, even walk-ins. However, sometimes we must postpone for further discussion and compromise; never have we given a hard no. In a democracy, you win some, you lose some, and then there is compromise. Some real experience in the operations of government can be crucial before one takes a position such as mayor.”

Civiletto complained about the time of Wdowiasz’s meeting Friday, held early in the afternoon. He said he was the only council member who could attend because the other ones work.

“I don’t want the public to think we are not working here,” Wdowiasz said.

Civiletto said Wdowiasz has never fully communicated her concerns about the Common Council to it.

“I’m sad and upset,” he said. “I can’t stand this. We’re all supposed to be working in this together.”

Civiletto said he “got a lot of information” from Friday’s meeting. He asked Wdowaisz to schedule her future meetings prior to Common Council meetings, as a kind of reinstatement of the workshops that the council used to hold prior to its meetings.

Wdowiasz said she planned to hold her meetings once a month “so everyone knows what’s going on at City Hall.”

The mayor said to department heads that the point of the meeting was, “We are trying to assist you guys with your jobs.” Civiletto said the purpose of the meeting was not properly communicated to the council.

“I’m just holding out my hand. Communication could be better,” he said. “I’m just disappointed this has come between us for no reason.”