Proclamations & Recognitions

Proclamations

Proclamations are issued by the Office of the Mayor to recognize a day, week, or month. The goal of a proclamation is to honor, celebrate, and/or create awareness of an event or significant issue.

Guidelines

These public service documents are strictly honorary and are not legally binding.
All proclamations will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The Mayor reserves the right to decline any request for a proclamation.
Proclamations recognize a day, week, month, or year. Proclamations are issued for one date only.
Proclamations are issued for Rochester nonprofit organizations with preferably statewide, but at least regional, interest.
The issuance of a proclamation does not constitute an endorsement by the Mayor.
No proclamations may be used as part of an advertisement, commercial promotion, media release, or any other type of publication without express permission from the Office of the Mayor.
Any draft language provided may be edited or rewritten at the discretion of the Mayor.
Only two official, signed copies of any proclamation can be issued per group and can be picked up in the Office of the Mayor.
Proclamations are not automatically renewed from year to year. Requests must be made on an annual basis.

Criteria

1. Proclamations must:

reflect inclusiveness, not exclusiveness, and recognize that the strength of our democracy is our diversity. It must not take sides in matters of political, ideological, or religious controversy, or individual convictions. The Mayor will not recognize any group whose policies or aims advocate violence, hatred, or any other position contrary to the well-being of the citizens of Rochester or the quality of life in Rochester.
affect a broad group of people. Proclamations may not be individualized or specialized or in honor of a specific individual unless specifically approved by the Mayor.
be requested or endorsed by a Rochester citizen who would be willing to provide a quote/statement to the media, if requested. Out-of-state requests will be declined.
not take sides in matters of political controversy or suggest an official position on a matter under consideration by the City Council.
not duplicate other requests. Requests that are similar to already issued proclamations will be declined.

2. Proclamation requests will generally be denied for the following: family reunions, class reunions, retirements, pastoral, church, or wedding anniversaries, birthday celebrations, recreational events, conferences, deceased individuals, requests from Rochester non-residents, and/or organizations in other cities who have no locally-based chapters or connections to Rochester. Instead, the Mayor will recognize individual achievements via social media, letter, personal note, certificate of appreciation/recognition, visit, phone call, on social media, and/or announcement at a City Council meeting.

Process

Please submit your request by emailing Michon Rogers.
Please submit your request at least four weeks prior to the recognized day, week, and/or month. If less than four weeks is given, the Mayor reserves the right to decline the request.
All requests must be accompanied by a proclamation draft with no more than six “Whereas” statements.

Requests will be accepted no more than six months in advance.

Proclamation Reading/Signing

The Mayor can do one of the following:

read at a City Council meeting;
attend an event/activity, dependent on calendar availability; or
create a video.

Questions

City Hall Dome Light Recognition

The dome lights atop City Hall can be changed to create awareness, honor and/or celebrate an event or significant issue/cause.

Guidelines

Dome lighting requests are reviewed by the Mayor on a case-by-case basis. The Mayor reserves the right to decline dome lighting requests.
Dome lighting recognizes a day, week, or month; however, the lighting request is for one evening only (not the entire week or month). Dates may need adjusting if conflicting requests are received. You will be contacted if this should occur.
Dome lighting requests should have a local or regional interest.
The approval of a dome lighting request does not constitute an endorsement by the Mayor.
The color options include black, blue, brown, gold, green, light blue, maroon, orange, pink, purple, red, white, rainbow, and red/white/blue (maximum of three).
The Mayor reserves the right to select specific local and national holidays and recognitions without a resident request.
Dome lighting requests are not automatically renewed from year to year. Requests must be made on an annual basis.

Criteria

Dome lighting requests must:

be requested or endorsed by a Rochester resident who would be willing to provide a quote/statement to the media, if requested. Out-of-state requests will be declined.
reflect inclusiveness, not exclusiveness, and recognize that the strength of our democracy is our diversity. It must not take sides in matters of political, ideological, or religious controversy, or individual convictions. The Mayor will not recognize any group whose policies or aims advocate violence, hatred, or any other position contrary to the well-being of the citizens of Rochester or the quality of life in Rochester.
affect a broad group of people. Dome lighting requests may not be individualized or specialized or in honor of a specific individual unless specifically approved by the Mayor.
not take sides in matters of political controversy or suggest an official position on a matter under consideration by the City Council.
not duplicate other requests. Requests that are similar to already approved requests will be declined.

Dome lighting requests will generally be denied for the following: family reunions, class reunions, retirements, pastoral, church, or wedding anniversaries, birthday celebrations, recreational events, conferences, deceased individuals (unless they are a current office holder), requests from Rochester non-residents, and/or organizations in other cities who have no locally-based chapters or connections to Rochester. Instead, the Mayor will recognize individual achievements via social media, letter, personal note, visit, phone call, on social media, and/or announcement at a City Council meeting.

Process

Questions