With a slight chance for snow in the forecast for later this week, Mayor Greg Fischer is meeting with the snow team at 2 p.m. to better understand the city’s procedures for bad weather.

What makes this even remotely newsworthy in our view is that unlike the previous administration the Mayor’s Office chose to invite the media. From a public relations standpoint that’s a clear attempt to show that Fischer — who has never held public office before — understands what’s going on and — unlike other mayors — is ahead of any potential problems.

“Mayor Fischer doesn’t want to repeat the mistakes of (New York City) Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg,” mayoral spokesman Chris Poynter said in a news release.

Ouch!

That’s an unusual swipe to take at another mayor but snow is political. In other parts of the country, opponents and supporters use a local response bad weather to highlight a political leader’s compassion towards regular citizens and the state of overall government efficiency.

And for a newly elected mayor who doesn’t have the same rock-hard base of Jerry Abramson it’s important for Fischer to show that he’s on top of things so expect more of these press releases in the future.