City Attorney Performance Evaluation Committee

City Attorney Evaluation Committee City Hall – Conference Room 302 A 10 N. Division Battle Creek, Michigan June 2, 2009 6:00 P.M. Commissioners Present: Mayor Behnke, Comm. Baldwin Commissioners Absent: Comm. Hersha Others Present: Eileen Wicklund, Dee Laser Call to Order: Mayor Behnke called the meeting to order at 6:12 P.M. Public Comment: Comm. Baldwin asked if there was any public comment. There was none. Discussion: Comm. Baldwin stated the purpose of the meeting was to take a look at evaluation tools and the goals of the City Attorney which were emailed to the Commission. Attorney Wicklund researched performance evaluation tools for City Attorney offices and distributed three (3) sample evaluations to the committee. She would like the Commission to be able to evaluate where the attorneys’ office is strong and where it needs work. The committee discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the three formats and what items could be measured. Comm. Baldwin asked how difficult it would be to track inquiries that require a legal opinion. Attorney Wicklund would like to find ways to keep track of certain data. For instance, she reported that the City Attorney’s office reviews many contracts, but does not know how many are reviewed each year. She noted that the new financial software, to be implemented on July 1, 2009, will have a tracking data base for city contracts that will be beneficial to her office. Mayor Behnke asked if Ms. Wicklund’s office bills departments for any legal services. Attorney Wicklund stated some of the departments provide funds, i.e. DPW, Kellogg Airport, and Risk Management because her office does so much work for them. 1 Comm. Baldwin liked the format with the rating scales, but would like to see the evaluation tool adjusted to the work of the City Attorney’s office. Mayor Behnke asked which performance format Attorney Wicklund preferred. Attorney Wicklund stated she would like the opportunity to share the three evaluation forms with the Assistant Attorneys and brainstorm an evaluation tool. Mayor Behnke felt the goals should be easily attainable. The committee compared the three evaluations with the evaluation form used to evaluate the former City Attorney. Attorney Wicklund noted the City Commission will know how the City Attorney performs by dealing with her directly; however, Attorney Wicklund suggested including a measurement, perhaps a survey, to be completed by department heads so that the Commission would know how she is performing and meeting needs internally. Mayor Behnke suggested having a City Attorney report prior to the evaluation on how Ms. Wicklund felt she obtained her established goals and objectives. Attorney Wicklund agreed to place her goals in an evaluation format with measurement and to send it out to the City Attorney Evaluation Committee by July 1, 2009. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 6:37 P.M. DAL:jg 2