City Manager Performance Evaluation Committee

City Manager Performance Evaluation Committee 10 N. Division St., Room 112, First Floor Battle Creek, MI 49014 Monday, August 12, 2013 11:30 a.m. Committee Members Present: Mayor Susan Baldwin, Comm. Walters, and Comm. Gray Committee Members Absent: Vice Mayor Fulton Staff Present: Ken Tsuchiyama, Jim Ritsema, and Susan Bedsole Call to Order: Mayor Baldwin called the meeting to order at 11:34 a.m. Public Comment: None Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Comm. Walters, supported by Comm. Gray, to approve the meeting minutes of August 2, 2013, as presented. All yes. Motion carried. Discussion Mayor Baldwin noted the City Manager contract allows for all meetings to be held in a closed session. City Manager Tsuchiyama indicated he would waive his right to a closed session for this meeting. Mayor Baldwin asked if it was okay to have a closed session. Comm. Walters asked if only the City Manager could call for a closed session or could the committee. Mr. Tsuchiyama stated the Commissioners have the right to go into closed session any time, the City Manager has to request it. Mayor Baldwin asked the City Manager to discuss the plan he provided to the committee. Mr. Tsuchiyama discussed his plan as to responsiveness. Beginning September 2013, he would provide Commission with the status of a request (i.e., completed vs. in progress). Also, he indicated he would keep a log of requests and inquiries. The log would show Commission and staff initiated requests/communications. Mr. Tsuchiyama wanted to use the tool until September 1 to decide if it worked for him or needed to be tweaked. Mayor Baldwin asked that the name of the person initiating the work be added to the log. Comm. Gray asked if the commission and staff requests could be separated. She also asked that a priority column be added. The scale of 1-4 could be used, based on what is coming in, so that Commission can gauge where their request is. Mayor Baldwin noted the Commission often differs as to what the priority is. Comm. Gray responded the priority assigned would be self-initiated by the City Manager. 1 Mr. Tsuchiyama responded stating the log is for his purposes of tracking and any communication would indicate where the request was funneled, what priority it was, and when an expected date of final response would be. Thereafter, the priority could be added to the log. Mayor Baldwin cautioned that who is determining the priority can be important. Previously there was in issue with a commissioner regarding bushes and the commissioner took it upon themselves to remedy the situation. Comm. Gray responded the City Manager is the one deciding on the priority and if the commissioner has a question, they can contact him to discuss the assigned priority. Mr. Tsuchiyama said his intent was to simply let the Commission know what priority he had given the request. Comm. Gray stated the log will allow the commissioners to see everything that is coming in and perhaps open dialogue as to the issue. Comm. Walters thanked the City Manager for creating the log and agreed communication was a two- way street. He further asked if there was other software that existed that might be used so that we are not recreating. Mr. Tsuchiyama said we used to use Golden Service, but it was too cumbersome to use. Mayor Baldwin suggested Mr. Tsuchiyama ask the City Manager Listserve what other communities use. Mr. Tsuchiyama said each person has their own system for tracking work, and he felt this system worked best for him. Mr. Tsuchiyama stated if there was a need for all of staff that was different, he would certainly explore that possibility. As to communication with the Commission, he will provide a monthly report and certain communications would be shared within 24 hours. He noted he had discussed communication earlier than 24 hours with Comm. Gray and asked the committee what types of issues they thought needed fewer than 24 hour notice. Mayor Baldwin used the oil spill as an example of something that should be sent to the Commission immediately. Mr. Tsuchiyama responded those types of issues are clearly an example and it has always been policy to treat those as the highest priority, what he needs guidance on are those issues that are not quite so obvious. Comm. Gray said anything that has to do with the safety of residents should be the highest priority. She added another type of issue is one that deals with public trust, either involving staff or a resident. Mayor Baldwin said situations where there is an interruption of any City service should be a high priority. Mr. Tsuchiyama said he would revise his plan and log to reflect these suggestions. He also stated he would like to reestablish the monthly commissioner meetings. Mayor Baldwin commented that was a good idea since commissioners could get an update at that time on any issues they may have. 2 Mr. Tsuchiyama said he was still going to take the opportunity to update more frequently and not save the updates for a meeting. He further indicated it was difficult for staff to answer questions immediately and so it would be helpful for commissioners to ask those questions immediately instead of waiting. Comm. Gray agreed it was helpful if for the Commission to get questions to staff before the meeting, although did note often times questions comes up during a discussion in the meeting. Mr. Tsuchiyama again expressed staff appreciates knowing beforehand, especially when research is needed. He does not want commissioners to wait to ask him questions, just ask when they think about it. Mayor Baldwin asked for an updated version of the log to be sent to the committee. She further noted the contract provides that the committee needs to prepare a report to the full Commission. She asked if the committee was ready to proceed with the preparation of the report. Comm. Gray responded she felt she was ready. She also noted they needed to move forward with a retreat in January so that goals could be set for the City Manager. She also said the report should recommend a 2% wage adjustment and provide a narrative to the scoring summary. Comm. Walters asked that there be a closed session to discuss the proposal by Comm. Gray. Mayor Baldwin agreed and said they could put together the packet for the full commission. She also stated it was good to set the retreat date and develop goals. Comm. Walters agreed that it was not fair to hold the City Manager to goals that have not been set. Committee members agreed to meet on Friday, August 16, 2013 at 1:00 pm in Room 112. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 12:20 p.m. SEB 3