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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-08-26 City Council Summary Minutes (2) Council Appointed Officers Committee MINUTES Special Meeting Tuesday, August 26, 2014 Chair Scharff called the meeting to order on this date at 4:05 P.M. in the Council Conference Room, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. Present: Klein, Kniss, Scharff (Chair), Shepherd Absent: ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None AGENDA ITEMS 1. Review of Mid-Year CAO Evaluation Process. Chair Scharff stated the meeting was to affirm whether there were requested changes to the Mid-Year Council Appointed Officer’s (CAO) evaluation process as determined in 2009. Council Member Klein shared his concern with the Mid-Year not being a CAO check-in but has become a full second evaluation. Vice Mayor Kniss stated there were incidents where a Mid-Year check-in was necessary but the question was how to determine whether to check-in with all four or those where it was needed. Mayor Shepherd agreed the Mid-Year had become too engrossed into goals that should be for annual evaluations. Chair Scharff supported scaling the CAO Mid-Year evaluation back to a check-in; verifying they were on track with their goals. One thought was to meet with the CAO’s individually to discuss where they were with respect to their annual goals without prior discussion with other Council Members. The Council Appointed Officer’s Committee (Committee) could continue the path 1 Sherry Lund had begun, interviewing each Council Member and if there was not a consistent issue there was nothing to discuss at Mid-Year. He was open to suggested changes to the process; although, he was not interested in eliminating the Mid-Year for he believed it was a worthwhile process when completed properly. Mayor Shepherd asked for the base purpose of the Mid-Year. Sherry Lund, Sherry Lund and Associates, Inc., believed the purpose of the Mid-Year was course correction, re-prioritization and early intervention so performance was actively managed and resources were correctly deployed. The annual evaluation was for the CAO to listen to their review, reflect and ask questions. Council Member Klein felt that explanation was acceptable; however, that was not the process that had been followed. Council Members had been utilizing the Mid-Year as a mini-evaluation. He understood there was a difficult line to draw; especially when one of the points was other feedback. He suggested Ms. Lund limit her discussion time with Council Members or eliminate the additional feedback option. Ms. Lund stated if the CAO matter was not performance based it could not be in a Closed Session. The initial concept was to see if there was a similar concern Council Members had with a CAO. The difficulty arose when there were no consistent concerns from Council. She did not facilitate the Mid-Year or annual evaluation meetings so she did not feel she could control the length. Vice Mayor Kniss asked when the next check-in period would be scheduled. Ms. Lund explained typically the Council feedback was gathered in November and the evaluations were scheduled in December. She suggested with the upcoming Council changes January 2015 might be more effective. Vice Mayor Kniss felt given the upcoming change there was more viable feedback from the seated Council so extracting feedback in December of 2014 would be sufficient. However, the Mid-Year check-in should be in early 2015. Chair Scharff believed a dramatic change would shift the process. Have the CAO’s check-in with Council on where they were, what their vision for the City was, and how they felt about their priority status. The Council Members Page 2 of 4 Council Appointed Officers Special Meeting Draft Minutes 08/26/14 would have the opportunity to talk with the CAO as a group. The recommended shift would satisfy the concern of the Mid-Year becoming a second evaluation and having the new process in place for the incoming Council Members would be less confusing. Mayor Shepherd supported the CAO’s utilizing the Mid-Year as a means to keep the Council focused on the goals they set-out as a body to see if there was clarity, a necessary correction, or an emerging situation they may wish the Council to consider as a body. She desired the Mid-Year to be CAO driven. MOTION: Mayor Shepherd moved, seconded by Vice Mayor Kniss that the Council Appointed Officer’s Committee recommend the City Council approve changing the format of the CAO Mid-Year evaluation to be CAO driven for verification clarity of their goals, necessary corrections to the priorities, or an emerging situation they may wish the Council to consider as a body. Ms. Lund stated CAO’s did not necessarily bring up what they had not done yet. To insure the check-in process worked well, the goals should be sent to the CAO one-month prior to their meeting date so they could review their progress. Vice Mayor Kniss acknowledged the process was set-up in 2009. She asked if over the past five-years the Committee felt the process had worked well. Chair Scharff agreed with Council Member Klein and Mayor Shepherd it should be altered. Vice Mayor Kniss said if there was consensus on the need for change it should be changed and when the new CAO Committee meets in 2015 if they disagreed it could be changed again. Chair Scharff believed the CAO should be brought in at the beginning of the meeting rather than allowing Council to hold a discussion without them. Ms. Lund stated typically there was a check-in with Council for a few minutes to verify whether or not any matter needed to be discussed prior to the CAO entering the meeting. Council Member Klein supported the Motion and added the CAO should bring the list of goals adopted during their annual evaluation and be prepared to speak to the progress of each of the goal. Page 3 of 4 Council Appointed Officers Special Meeting Draft Minutes 08/26/14 Chair Scharff added the CAO needed to drive the conversation with the Council not simply be prepared for possible questions. Mayor Shepherd asked if Colleagues were allowed to contact Ms. Lund to discuss CAO matters. Chair Scharff stated no. If Colleagues had a performance matter that should be discussed during the Closed Session. MOTION PASSED: 4-0 The CAO Committee went into Closed Session at 4:20 P.M. CLOSED SESSION 2. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS City Designated Representatives: Council Member Scharff, Sherry Lund Unrepresented Council-Appointed Officers (City Manager, City Attorney, City Auditor, City Clerk) Authority: Government Code Section 54957.6(a) ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 5:45 P.M. 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