ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester City Council approved the city’s police reform plan Monday, due to the state by April 1.

An executive order signed by Governor Cuomo last year required all local governments in New York to adopt a policing reform plan by April 1, or risk losing state funding. The Rochester City Council passed the city’s plan in a special meeting Tuesday with just days to spare, five votes to three.

“This was a very extensive and exhaustive process. I know that we have a lot of work ahead of us. Not everything that made it into the final plan is everything everyone desired,” Councilmember Miguel Melendez Jr. said.

The plan was crafted by a working group comprised of several organizations, including the mayor’s office, city council, the Rochester Police Department, and the Police Accountability Board.

Key recommendations include creating an online data portal to increase transparency within the RPD, reducing the size of the RPD in favor of reallocating funds to mental health programs, and changing RPD tactics, like the use of chemical weapons, spit hoods, and use of force against restrained individuals.

“We needed a plan, so we have to make sure we’re making data-driven decisions so that we can be governing properly with the citizens, and being responsible for the citizen’s dollars,” Council Vice President Willie Lightfoot said.

But councilors Mitch Gruber, Mary Lupien, and Malik Evans, who is also running for mayor, rejected the plan. All said they felt uncomfortable with last-minute wording changes made to the plan by city hall just hours before the special meeting.

“That’s not the way I want things to go going forward. We have a lot of other things we have to work on, and if we agree to something, we need to make sure we agree to it,” Evans said. “And if not, let’s have the conversation prior to a meeting that’s happening in less than 24 hours.”

But Lightfoot, who voted for the plan, promises the city council’s work on police reform isn’t over.

“We as a body can always put forth resolutions and/or laws that we can put forth to move the needle even further when it comes to police reform in our community,” Lightfoot said.

The recommendations will now go to a committee formed by the chief of police, which must be turned into an action plan by the summer.

The proposal is on the city's website for anyone to take a look at.