City Manager Performance Evaluation Committee

City Manager Performance Evaluation Committee 10 N. Division St., Room 302A Battle Creek, MI 49014 Wednesday, October 12, 2016 2:00 p.m. Committee Members Present: Mayor Dave Walters, Vice Mayor Susan Baldwin (2:05), 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 2:00 p.m. Public Comment: None Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Mayor Walters, supported by Comm. Faris, to approve the September 7, 2016 City Manager Performance Evaluation Committee minutes. All yes, none opposed. Motion approved. Bi-monthly Performance Report A. City Manager Report of Performance Highlights and Concerns Committee members clarified the colors of the status dots, agreeing a green check mark would indicate the goal had been achieved or completed, a green dot would indicate the goal is almost complete, a yellow dot would indicate the goal was in progress, while a red dot would indicate not started, stagnant, no movement or did not work on it that month. Committee members also requested the “Status” column be thinner with only the color indicator, noting no written status was necessary. Ms. Fleury noted updating on staff assignments, specifically regarding Environmental Stewardship, due to Mr. Reyes’ departure. Ms. Fleury also noted she used a red dot for “Insure Diversity…” as there has not been any activity yet, stating it will be included as a component of CD&I training, which was still being developed. Ms. Fleury noted it was taking longer than expected for a few goals, notably the Redevelopment Ready Community designation, the Airport report and the Water/Sewer agreement with surrounding municipalities, expecting all to be complete by end of year. B. Commission Highlights and Concerns Mayor Walters informed the committee that he has left numerous messages to meet with Comm. Owens, but due to an illness, she has not been able to meet yet. Comm. Helmboldt informed the committee that he and Ms. Fleury met with Comm. Behnke to discuss his concerns and evaluation ratings. Comm. Helmboldt stated Comm. Behnke had concerns with the professionalism of the service from the Code & Inspections staff, with a criticism from Small Inspections Group which he felt was inappropriate, and treatment of individuals and businesses who want to invest in and improve property in the city, noting he used the term “discriminates.” Comm. Helmboldt also relayed Comm. Behnke’s concern for fiscal responsibility related to BCU and the lack of a separate vote on a new Police facility, and concerns of housing stock around schools, specifically how to get people to invest in vacant buildings, feeling the City needed to change the perception it was anti-business. Comm. Helmboldt stated Comm. Behnke’s other concerns related to how overtime would impact the budget. Vice Mayor Baldwin expressed concern that Comm. Behnke was holding the City Manager responsible if a resolution vote did not go his way or a separate group criticized him. Vice Mayor Baldwin also expressed concern with Comm. Behnke’s use of the term “discriminates”, asking Comm. Helmboldt clarify Comm. Behnke’s comments, whether he is referring to how things are being done in code and inspections. Mayor Walters expressed his belief a better term would be “discretion.” Vice Mayor Baldwin requested the City Manager consider not just the job responsibilities of the staff, but how they behave and interact with residents, whether they are difficult to work with or difficult to contact. Vice Mayor Baldwin also recommended staff use discretion when inspecting properties, not to find new requirements upon subsequent inspections. 1  Ms. Fleury requested Commissioners provide specific issues so that she could address the concerns, asking if the issues are current or recent, or older issues, stating she would need a timeline to have progressive conversations addressing the issues, reminding the Committee that staff would still have to follow state and city requirements. As an example, Comm. Baldwin discussed ongoing perceptions of some staff members as distant, picky or difficult to work with. Comm. Baldwin recommended staff use discretion when going for follow-up inspections. Ms. Fleury noted the new policy for the Inspections Department was that staff were not to find new items with a secondary inspection, unless they were health and safety issues. Comm. Helmboldt requested clarification and definition of health and safety. Ms. Fleury noted the recently passed Property Maintenance Code covered just health and safety issues, noting it is often difficult to bring the City’s older housing stock to code. Ms. Fleury noted the City also often receives requests that inspectors offer guidance on what can and cannot be done. Committee members discussed ways to survey the service provided by Code and Inspection staff, such as random survey calls, follow-up comment cards, or a survey address at the bottom of the permit. Committee members also recommended administrative staff keep a log of complaints received on inspectors and areas. Committee members also discussed concerns of vacant school buildings, vacant houses and lots, lack of investment in housing stock and efforts to get people to invest while changing the anti-business attitudes. Ms. Fleury noted there were many efforts to repurpose vacant school buildings, including a recent purchase agreement for the Washington Elementary School, noting they were also working with KCC and WMU. Committee members discussed overtime in many departments, including PD and WWTP, noting some overtime is attributable to training, such as Disney Way and CDI training. Other training included firearms and implicit bias training for PD. Ms. Fleury noted PD was well within their budget, stating fall is often the busiest time for training, noting they do their best to mitigate overtime. Ms. Fleury noted PD has been under budget the last 3 years. Ms. Fleury noted PD also lost 6 officers in the last few months, while WWTP has had 2 supervisors working 7 days a week to cover for employees who were not in attendance due to vacations and workman’s comp. Ms. Fleury noted other overtime is attributable to AFSCM covering for BICSA, which includes wage adjustments. Ms. Mullett noted recent contract changes have reduced overtime for Lieutenants also. Ms. Mullett also noted there was a bump in pay for staff with particular certifications, stating they were added into the hourly wage, no longer as a stipend. Ms. Mullett noted some job descriptions were marked with an asterisk to indicate certain certifications and requirements, noting other positions did not require the certifications, but were using their certifications and should get paid for it. Ms. Mullett also discussed instances where supervisors were not adequately planning for coverage during vacation time, stating they needed to consider coverage prior to vacation approval, especially with little notice. Committee members agreed Comm. Helmboldt and Ms. Fleury would respond to Comm. Behnke’s concerns, letting him know the Committee discussed his concerns. Discussion of 2016/2017 City Manager Goals/Results Committee members discussed the 2016/2017 City Manager goals, affirming the goals and recommending the goals document be presented to the Commission with a resolution for approval. Committee members also discussed the annual rating tool, recommending additional review to ensure every statement had a corresponding level of performance statement, agreeing to complete the Evaluation Process tool at a future meeting. Ms. Fleury asked about changes to the Managerial Competencies, noting some of the action steps will be changing based upon circumstances and needs. Comm. Helmboldt recommended Ms. Fleury keep the primary goals in place, but to change the action plan as needed to meet the expectations, knowing they may be different each reporting period. Ms. Fleury agreed she would report how she is achieving each of the specific managerial competencies. 2 Committee members agreed to make “Hot Topics” bold, but to keep them within the category, having the City Manager provide more in-depth reporting on the hot topics, while providing brief comment on other items. A motion was made by Vice Mayor Baldwin, supported by Mayor Walters, to present the City Manager Evaluation Goals for 2016-2017 at the October 18, 2016 Commission meeting. All yes, none opposed. Motion approved. Discussion of City Manager Contract Committee members discussed changes to the City Manager contract, suggesting the COLA language be in the contract, not just in the evaluation document. Committee members also agreed to discuss other changes to the City Manager contract at the December meeting, including a wage comparison with other similar positions at area municipalities and organizations, such as non-profits. Committee members also noted it was important to compare the City Manager wage to other rank positions in the City. Committee Discussion: There were no additional Committee comments. Next Meeting: December 14, 2016 at 2:00 pm in Room 302A. Adjournment: Comm. Helmboldt adjourned the meeting at 3:27 p.m. 3