HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-10-21 City Council Summary Minutes Council Appointed Officers Committee
Special Meeting
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Chair Scharff called the meeting to order on this date at 3:35 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. Discussion of Recruitment for City Clerk.
Kathy Shen, People, Strategies, and Operations Director presented
information on four recruiters she has been in touch with regarding the City Clerk recruitment. The four recruiters are, Heather Renschler, Bobbi
Peckham, Terry Black, and Bob Murray. Bobbi Peckham has done a lot of
City Clerk recruitments. She stated they are all qualified.
Vice Mayor Kniss inquired if Ms. Renschler did the recruitment for Harriet
Richardson, the City Auditor.
Ms. Shen answered yes.
Vice Mayor Kniss confirmed that the City had used Mr. Murray in the past.
Ms. Shen answered yes.
Vice Mayor Kniss asked why Ms. Shen preferred Ms. Peckham
Ms. Shen responded that Ms. Peckham has done more City Clerk
recruitments than the other agencies.
Vice Mayor Kniss asked if it was her specialty.
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Ms. Shen replied no. Ms. Peckham has done a number of City Clerk
recruitments and has a good idea of the market. All four of the recruiters
have been informally spoken to about this recruitment.
Mayor Shepherd inquired as to her sphere of knowledge.
Ms. Shen stated that Ms. Peckham has worked throughout the State of
California.
Mayor Shepherd asked for names of other cities that Ms. Peckham had
recruited for.
Ms. Shen stated that when they submit their proposal they will include
recent recruitments they have completed. The packet will also include
sample brochures.
Mayor Shepherd confirmed they are asking all four recruiters to submit
proposals.
Ms. Shen replied yes.
MOTION: Mayor Shepherd moved, seconded by Vice Mayor Kniss to seek
Request for Proposals for the City Clerk recruitment from a professional recruiter, to include the four already spoken to.
Council Member Klein inquired why Ms. Shen was limiting to the four
recruiters.
Ms. Shen stated that because this would be under $25,000 it would be an
informal bid and normally they only seek three bidders. However, we are
looking at these four.
MOTION PASSED: 4-0
Chair Scharff inquired as to the timing of the process.
Ms. Shen advised that she would return within a week with information from
the recruiters.
Mayor Shepherd wanted to be sure of what the stages are for the
recruitment.
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Chair Scharff stated the process would be to seek proposal from possible
recruiters, interview them, then as a committee choose one to
Ms. Shen stated that several years ago her office did a program refresh on
CAO recruitments. Her department will provide a list of recruitment firms
and their background information. She will review their submissions with
the Committee and how to proceed. The Request for Proposal will also be
reviewed with the Committee, then a contract will be awarded.
Council Member Klein asked about the timing.
Ms. Shen stated she could return within a week.
Chair Scharff suggested they schedule the next meeting.
Council Member Klein suggested a meeting in two weeks, the end of
October, to review the responses and pick a firm.
Ms. Shen stated that two weeks would be November 4, 2014.
Mayor Shepherd advised she would not be available the first week of
November.
Vice Mayor Kniss commented that she would also not be available on that date.
Council Member Klein reiterated that the recruiter sould be onboard no later
than November 15, 2014. He inquired when Staff could return with possible
candidates.
Ms. Shen stated January or February 2015. Several weeks were needed to
complete the brochure.
Chair Scharff asked if the Committee would have input into what went into
the brochure, such as salary range.
Council Member Klein stated there is not much work with the creation of a
brochure.
Chair Scharff stated that it should also include a job description.
Mayor Shepherd inquired who provided the job description for the brochure.
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Ms. Shen stated she would work with the recruiter and that she already has
a job description ready. City Clerk, Donna Grider has provided feedback.
The recruiters have already stated that the candidate pool is small for this
position, and we should look at someone with more technology capability
that could guide us going forward.
Vice Mayor Kniss suggested that the Committee and Ms. Shen move quickly
with this recruitment. If the recruiters returned their information within a
week from now, the Committee could meet next week.
Chair Scharff confirmed Thursday, October 30 at 5:00 P.M. as the next
meeting.
The Committee went into the Closed Session at 3:45 P.M.
CLOSED SESSION
2. PUBLIC EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENT
Subject: Recommendation to City Council - Appointment of
Acting City Clerk Authority: Government Code section 54957(b)
The Council Appointed Officers Committee reconvened from the closed
session at 4:15 P.M
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 4:15 P.M.
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