City Manager Performance Evaluation Committee

City Manager Performance Evaluation Committee 10 N. Division St., Room 302A Battle Creek, MI 49014 Wednesday, August 9, 2017 2:00 p.m. Committee Members Present: Mayor Dave Walters, Vice Mayor Susan Baldwin and 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 June 14, 2017 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 Ms. Fleury provided an update of her annual goals, stating it is nice to see some items on her list completed. Ms. Fleury informed the committee that staff would have continual budget discussions throughout the year. Ms. Fleury also discussed economic development partnerships and work in the city, including an MOU between BCU, CCDC and the city. Ms. Fleury stated she is encouraged by a friendlier, positive relationship with BCU As to the Code and Inspections Departments, Ms. Fleury stated a meeting was held to discuss a comparable project in Emmett Township and the City, stating they discussed the city process and requirements, encouraging better communication and service from staff to consider potential work-arounds. Ms. Fleury reiterated City policy that inspectors were not to require additional work during follow-up inspections unless they specifically relate to health or safety issues. Ms. Fleury noted that occasionally a contractor or homeowner might cause a different violation if they have corrected something incorrectly. Ms. Fleury also discussed work to create a more business friendly environment in the City. Vice Mayor Baldwin cautioned there may be a number of issues in NPC 2 with the porch projects. Mayor Walters discussed complaints he received from five different contractors about one inspector, noting complaints of required changes after reviewing blue prints and unreturned calls, stating one contractor has been doing business for 44 years. Comm. Faris asked if there would be a continuing education program, to get best practice opportunities, as a follow-up to the meetings with Emmett Township. Ms. Fleury stated she would ensure continued discussion with other municipalities to learn best practices. Ms. Fleury also discussed the televising interceptors at all city borders, noting the municipalities would be sharing their growth plan to ensure the city is thinking about future growth appropriately for water and wastewater needs. Comm. Helmboldt requested Ms. Fleury update her documents to include the information about the televising interceptors. B. Commission Highlights and Concerns Comm. Helmboldt noted he did not receive any comments or concerns from the City Commissioners. 2017 City Manager Evaluation Survey Results Comm. Helmboldt noted the results of the Staff and Community Partner surveys were consistent with the prior year results, mostly positive with a few concerns. 1 Committee members discussed the few lower ratings that did not provide explanations, stating it would be helpful to have a comment field following each question. Committee members discussed the ability to push to the comment field, particularly when a survey participant provides an unacceptable or exceeds rating, agreeing it would be good to include but not to make it mandatory. Committee members felt it might be beneficial in the survey introduction to inform participants that their comments are helpful and meaningful to the process, requesting they explain their Exceeds or Unacceptable rating. Vice Mayor Baldwin noted the CCCDA Board agreed an annual performance review was not the time to deal with a problem, stating an issue should be addressed at the time of occurrence, suggesting this also be included in the introduction in next year’s survey. Committee members noted it is difficult to change a commissioner who remains unhappy about an issue previously addressed, suggesting the cover letter for the Commission survey note the survey is an overall review of all work throughout the entire year, not individual occurrences. Comm. Helmboldt informed the Committee that there was consideration to possibly throwing out high and low scores, but most developers were adamant to keep all scores. Comm. Faris recommended the Committee re-evaluate the list of community partners to ensure they truly work with the City. Comm. Faris suggested a question asking the staff participant’s level of interaction with the City Manager. Ms. Mullett suggested adding questions as to whether the community partner has met with the City Manager and how frequently. Comm. Helmboldt recommended the Community Partner survey also include an option to not respond, or not enough contact or experience to evaluate, along with a comment option after each question. Discussion of Changes for 2018 City Manager Evaluation Survey Comm. Helmboldt agreed to include information about the changes to the survey, including uniform balancing on the rating table and a Notes section for each. Comm. Helmboldt noted the goal setting would be done after the first of the year with the newly elected Commission, stating Ms. Fleury would continue to work on current goals. Comm. Helmboldt noted the City Manager goals would reflect the PBB community results. Committee Discussion: Committee members agreed the Commission surveys were to be sent on August 10th, with a reminder that the surveys were due August 24th. Committee members determined the City Manager Update, along with the Staff and Community Partner results were to be sent with the Commission survey. Committee members agreed to meet on September 6th at DPW to review the Commission surveys and provide a recommendation to the full Commission so that a resolution could be prepared for the September 19th Commission agenda. Next Meeting: September 6, 2017 at 2:00 pm in Room 204, Department of Public Works. Adjournment: Comm. Helmboldt adjourned the meeting at 3:10 p.m. 2