City Manager Performance Evaluation Committee

City Manager Performance Evaluation Committee 10 N. Division St., Room 302A Battle Creek, MI 49014 Wednesday, April 13, 2016 2:00 p.m. Committee Members Present: Mayor Dave Walters, Vice Mayor Susan Baldwin, Commissioners Andy Helmboldt and Kaytee Faris Committee Members Absent: none Staff Present: Rebecca Fleury, City Manager: Nancy Mullett, Labor Attorney: Vicki Houser, City Clerk Call to Order: Comm. Helmboldt called the meeting to order at 1:07 p.m. Public Comment: None Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Comm. Faris, supported by Comm. Baldwin, to approve the February 10, 2016 City Manager Performance Evaluation Committee minutes. All yes, none opposed. Motion approved. City Manager Progress Update 1. City Manager Bi-monthly update Ms. Fleury provided her update, noting most items are in process and continuing, making each item more manageable. Ms. Fleury agreed to add a column to identify each staff member working on the goals. Comm. Helmboldt acknowledged this would allow the Commission to prioritize tasks and goals and understand how they are assigned to departments. Vice Mayor Baldwin expressed concern the bi-monthly update was duplicative of the weekly report, stating Ms. Fleury should not have to do this much extra reporting work each week. Vice Mayor Baldwin recommended the weekly update be shorter, agreeing additional information could be requested if desired. Ms. Fleury stated the document helps her to communicate with everyone, stating this was in response to the Commission’s concerns they were not well informed previously. Ms. Fleury noted she goes through her weekly reports when completing the bi-monthly update. Ms. Fleury stated she could keep the weekly report to bullet points or a sentence, identifying the individual assigned the project, and that if there is nothing new on a project, to not include it on the weekly report. Ms. Fleury noted this may be a little difficult with ACM Dearing’s report as his projects are ever moving. Mayor Walters questioned whether too much time was being spent on things that are not high priorities, expressing concern it may not be fair to Ms. Fleury that there are so many goals to report on. Comm. Faris suggested a copy of Ms. Fleury’s weekly calendar could provide the Committee a lot of information. Mayor Walters recommended Commissioners contact Ms. Fleury if they wanted additional information on a specific goal. Vice Mayor Baldwin also expressed concern that confidentiality was necessary on some projects, so as not to disrupt the process. Ms. Fleury suggested language indicating the City was working with the developer on the paperwork and the MDEC. Vice Mayor Baldwin suggested the Committee note they are concerned with the amount of information provided and time necessary to complete the weekly report, recommending the City Manager pare down the report to bullet points. A motion was made by Vice Mayor Baldwin, supported by Mayor Walters, to consolidate the City Manager’s weekly report to bullet points, omitting goal items if there was no work or progress that week on a particular goal. All yes, motion approved. 2. Retreat Notes 1  Comm. Helmboldt stated he would be adding the annual retreat schedule in the evaluation document, noting the City Manager Evaluation Process document will need to be presented to the Commission for approval. Comm. Helmboldt also agreed to include language requiring the Mayor plus one other Commissioner meet with a Commissioner to discuss performance concerns. 3. Commission Input Comm. Helmboldt stated he received Commission input from Comm. Owens, stating there were no details provided. Comm. Helmboldt stated he was unsure how to respond to her communication, stating that if the level of concern is raised, Comm. Owens will need to discuss the matter with the Committee Chair or the Mayor. Mayor Walters recommended the Committee respond to Comm. Owens, including the process the Commission identified to address and respond to concerns. Mayor Walters stated Comm. Owens provided him a partial list of items she intended to discuss with the City Manager, stating his belief she was trying to gather allies, stating he has made it clear that she is not to indicate she is speaking for him or other Commissioners. Mayor Walters informed the committee that he recently received an email from a Fire Fighter requesting he look into something, stating he would not be responding to the email as this was not the Commission’s role. Ms. Mullett recommended the Committee Chair respond to Comm. Owens, identifying the process the Commission agreed upon, asking Comm. Owens to share his/her concerns with the Committee Chair. Ms. Mullett recommended the Committee Chair or the Mayor offer assistance in identifying or articulating the concern, and to determine if the concern is personal in nature, while also offering a way to get to resolution. Ms. Mullett stated the Committee Chair should be making the initial contact. Ms. Mullett agreed to assist the Chair with a letter. Vice Mayor Baldwin expressed concern Comm. Owens would not feel this process is official as it was decided at a workshop, not by resolution. Comm. Helmboldt asked if he should reference the Ethics Policy during the communication, informing Comm. Owens that this is not their role, stating it could be considered as interfering with employee relations. Vice Mayor Baldwin recommended the Committee Chair first attempt communication to follow the process agreed upon during the workshop. Ms. Mullett agreed communication first would be the best approach, to ensure the City is not in same situation as last year. Comm. Helmboldt recommended the Commission be informed if a Commissioner may be interfering with labor negotiations in any manner. Ms. Fleury expressed concern Comm. Owens has made commitments or promises the administration cannot fulfill, clarifying that she has no proof Comm. Owens did any more than agree with them. Vice Mayor Baldwin stated it is acceptable for a Commissioner to agree with someone, but that they cannot make commitments to change policy. Ms. Fleury informed the Committee of factual situations administration is experiencing, stating she was not trying to create contention, but that negotiations are a sensitive area, with a lot of emotion. Mayor Walters discussed a situation he has encountered with the Bynum Drive issue, stating residents may perceive the City Manager is not doing her job, when in fact she is following City policy, although a Commissioner has stated she will change the situation. Vice Mayor Baldwin, noting the City does a very specific analysis and scoring of road conditions, asked if it might be beneficial to provide the Commission with an explanation that this person is asking for an exception, while making it clear Bynum Drive has been maintained in the same manner as other City streets with the same analysis and scoring results. Ms. Fleury started she met with the residents of Bynum Drive, providing them the Pazer rating data, asking the Commission if they wanted to consider changing what had been done on Bynum Drive, stating all Commissioners did not want to change, with the exception of Commissioner Owens. Vice Mayor Baldwin asked if the information should be made available to the public, demonstrating all the appropriate procedures were followed. 2  Comm. Faris stated she was not sure the general public was aware of this issue. Comm. Helmboldt agreed the information may be beneficial to put out if persons were to come to meetings and publicly complain. Mayor Walters noted Ms. Roberts did come to a meeting a few months ago, stating she threatened to go to the press if the road is not redone in the manner she has requested. Mayor Walters noted the City has performed additional work on their particular street that has not been done on other City streets. Comm. Faris suggested the City go to the press to explain the road analysis and scoring system, without identifying a specific street. Ms. Fleury confirmed the City has explained the process to the press in the past, providing details of the analysis and maintenance work. Ms. Fleury also noted Chris Dopp, DPW Director, was interviewed by Comm. Gray on the Keeping You Informed edition on street construction and maintenance. Vice Mayor Baldwin stated that when the Commission is presented with an issue, if there is a majority vote, all Commissioners must understand that is the decision and stop undermining everything else they need to do. Ms. Mullett questioned the resident’s reasons for continuing the issue when she had been provided all the information regarding the street analysis and scoring, also knowing other streets of similar condition have received the same treatment. Ms. Mullett felt this was an opportunity to pressure for individual treatment, stating all of the facts would confirm this. Mayor Walters stated he will meet with Ms. Roberts again to let her know they have followed the City’s procedures and nothing more will be done. Comm. Helmboldt stressed the response from the Commission be consistent, that road decisions are made based upon science and best practices, clarifying Bynum Drive will not receive individual treatment. 4. Adjustment to Goals Update Comm. Helmboldt confirmed Ms. Fleury would add another column to her update to include the staff member who has been assigned the specific task or goal. Comm. Helmboldt, referring to Environmental Stewardship, stated Tiffany Welsh has been appointed to the Calhoun County Solid Waste Oversight Committee. Ms. Fleury asked how the Committee wanted completed goals or projects noted on the update. Ms. Fleury noted the Commission set the big goals, stating the breakdown was part of what was vetted by this Committee, later approved by the entire Commission. Comm. Helmboldt recommended completed items remain on the list, with a notation it has been completed. Ms. Fleury agreed it should remain on the update until next year’s goals are set, and if completed, it will not be included on the new goal sheet. Ms. Fleury noted many of the items will remain as they are always ongoing, or are managerial competencies. Comm. Helmboldt recommended items be highlighted in gray as completed. Vice Mayor Baldwin suggested ongoing goals be place in managerial competencies. Committee members discussed the City Manager Goals, putting ongoing goals in the managerial competencies, while ongoing projects would be categorized as long or short term projects. Committee members recommended the Community Result be bolded on the update, with the action steps that support the community result not bolded. Committee members also requested a column for the project status and the staff member assigned the goal or project be added. Committee members confirmed the goal was to streamline the report, and to reconsider the re- organization of the document to better reflect specific goals and results. Committee members also expressed concern of the length of the weekly report, suggesting it be pared down. Committee members noted the modification of the update document would not require a resolution. Committee Discussion: There were no additional Committee discussions. Next Meeting: June 8, 2016 at 2:00 pm in Room 302A. Adjournment: Comm. Helmboldt adjourned the meeting at 3:28 p.m. 3