HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 402-07City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE DEPT: City Manager’s Office
OCTOBER 29, 2007 CMR: 402:07
RECOMMENDATION FROM CAO COMMITTEE TO APPROVE
SCOPE OF SERVICES FOR CONSULTANT TO FACILITATE
ANNUAL EVALUATION OF COUNCIL APPOINTED OFFICIALS
AND AUTHORIZE STAFF TO PREPARE AND ISSUE A REQUEST
FOR PROPOSALS.
RECOMMENDATION
The CAO Committee recommends that the City Council approve the attached summary of
the scope of services for a consultant to facilitate the annual evaluation/review of the City’s
four Council Appointed Officials (CAOs) and authorize staff to prepare a Request for
Proposals (RFP) and to solicit proposals from consultants.
DISCUSSION
The review/evaluation of the performance of Counci! Appointed Officials (CAOs) occurs on
an annual basis. In an effort to make this process more professional and effective, the
Council has employed the use of a consultant/facilitator for the past three years. The
consultant (John Shannon), who performed this service in the past, recently retired, so
arrangements need to be made for the coming year’s process. Staff met with the
Council/CAO Committee on October 12th to seek direction on how they wanted to approach
this task. The majority of the Committee (3/1) agreed that continuing to employ a
professional consultant/facilitator to lead this process was highly desirable and would yield
the best results. The attached summary (Attachment A) identifies components of the scope
of services and has been revised with input received from the Council/CAO Committee as
well as Purchasing staff. It includes an outline of the goals, objectives and process to obtain
proposals from qualified consultants who have experience performing this type of specialized
work.
CMR 402:07 Page 1 of 6
The scope of work to be performed under the contract is for a consultant/facilitator to work
for the Council; working closely with the four-member Council CAO/Committee, each
Council member and each of the CAOs to compile, prepare and present a fair and effective
evaluation of each official’s performance and achievements to the Council. The Consultant
will facilitate discussion between the Council and each CAO regarding their performance,
ability to meet performance objectives, and to set goals for the coming year. He/she shall
also present and facilitate discussions on appropriate compensation adjustments, and prepare
a final report of evaluation for each official’s confidential employment file. Attachment A
outlines the summary scope of services and timeline for the services to be provided. It
highlights the changes made in response to comments from the CAO Committee.
The proposed timeline will allow the new Council and CAO Committee to select the most
qualified responding firms for interview and recommend a consultant to the full Council for
final selection and award of contract. The agreement will be for a one-year term, renewable
for additional one-year terms, subject to annual fee negotiations, at the Council’s discretion.
Resource Impact: Funds for a consultant to facilitate the CAO evaluation process were
budgeted in the Clerk’s Office budget for FY 07/08.
Policy Implications: This report is consistent with Council direction.
Environmental Review: This is not a project under the California Environmental Quality
Act.
Attachments:
A. Summary Scope of Services
PREPARED BY:
<t? ,
~inda Klemczak
MTEP Management Analyst
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
Emil) Harrison
Assistant City Manager
CMR 402:07 Page 2 of 6
Attachment A
City of Palo Alto
Facilitator for Council Appointed Officials (CAO)
Evaluation and Compensation Process
Summary Scope of Services
I. General Project Description
The City of Palo Alto is seeking to engage a consultant to work directly for the City_
Council to facilitate the annual performance evaluations and compensation adjustment
process for its four Council appointed officials (CAO’s). ^ ..... ~- the ....... * ~
for a ~--o-’~"~ ........ ~’*" "-~ to *~- ..... ........ ¢ ..... ~ The a~eement is for a one-year term, renewable for
additional one-year terms, subject to annual fee negotiations, at the Council’s discretion.
II.Background Information
The City Manager, City Clerk, City Attorney and City Auditor are appointed directly by
the City Council and, as such, are reviewed by the City Council on an annual basis in
accordance with their individual employment agreements. Such review is necessary in
order for Council members to ensure the efficiency of the appointed offices, to provide
general feedback on their performance, to set goals for the coming year, and to identify
areas of improvement. It is also necessary to review compensation to ensure that the
positions are paid appropriately in comparison to the market.
III. Scope of Services
A. Preparation of Questionnaire:
Working with the Council CAO Committee (four members of the City Council) and the
CAOs, Consultant will prepare a questionnaire to be used for interviews. The
questionnaires will be distributed to Council Members to fill out a week in advance of
their scheduled interview/meeting with the Consultant. The questionnaires shall be
designed to be a tool to summarize Council Members’ estimation of the CAOs attainlnent
of specific goals, as well as their performance in general areas such as communication;
key relationships between the CAO and Council, staff, public, City committees and
commissions and other government agencies, as appropriate; specific work priorities such
as budget, public relations, program management and employee relations; as well as
general comment on the CAO’s performance of their duties.
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B. Conduct Interviews, Prepare Report, Facilitate Discussion, Prepare Summa13,:
Consultant will interview each of the (9) Council Members individually, using the
interview questionnaire to gather input and evaluation of CAO performance.
Consultant will also interview each CAO to gather their estimation of their
performance, achievements and ability to meet their established goals and
performance objectives. Consultant will consolidate information from all interviews
and prepare a written evaluation/report, which will first be reviewed with the
Council CAO Committee and then presented to the entire Council in closed session.
After presentation of the evaluation/reports, Consultant will facilitate Counci!
discussion of the results of the interviews and input. Consultant will then facilitate
discussion of the evaluation report between each CAO and the Council.
C.Review Options for Compensation:
Prior to conducting the above performance evaluations, the Consultant will meet
with the City’s Human Resources Director to review salary survey information and
comparisons with salaries in surrounding agencies for each of the CAO positions.
The Consultant will use this information to work with the Council CAO Committee
on compensation options to be proposed to the Council and CAOs.
After facilitating the performance evaluation meetings with the Council, Consultant
will meet with each CAO to de-brief on Council discussion, and to discuss
compensation considerations. The Council CAO Committee will make its salary
adjustment recommendations to the full Council. The Consultant will be available
as a resource at the meeting with the full Council. The Consultant wil! also be
available as a resource for the Council CAO Committee in its negotiations with
individual CAOs.
The Consultant will prepare a complete file for each of the evaluations, including
compensation recommendations and actions, for the permanent City record.
CMR 402:07 Page 4 of 6
VI.
VII.
VIII.
Go Provide the professional fee and rates you propose to provide the services outlined,
including any/all other reimbursable expenses.
1.Please assign a maximum (not to exceed) amount for reimbursable expenses.
2.If additional hours or work is authorized, please provide the hourly rates at which
that time will be billed for all involved personnel.
3.Assuming the term of the agreement were to be extended for two additional years,
provide an escalator rate (percentage increase), if necessary, to address
compensation for the succeeding years.
H. Provide five (5) copies of your full proposal submittal.
Timeline for Selection of Consultant/Facilitator:
Request for Proposal issued:November 5, 2007
Proposals due:December 18, 2007
Interviews & Final Selection:Week of Januar3~ 28th, 2008
Contract for Services Awarded: February 11, 2008
Project Start Date:March 10, 2008
Project Completion Date:June 30, 2008
Review and Selection Process:
The CAO Committee wil! evaluate the proposals provided in response to this RFP based on
the following criteria:
a) Quality and completeness of proposal;
b) Quality, performance and effectiveness of the solution, goods and/or services to be
provided by the Proposer;
c) Proposer’s experience, including the experience of staff to be assigned to the project, the
engagements of similar scope and complexity;
d) Cost to the City;
e) Proposer’s financial stability;
f) Proposer’s ability to perform the work within the time specified;
g) Proposer’s prior record of performance with city or others;
h) Proposer’s ability to provide future maintenance, repairs, parts and/or services; and
i) Proposer’s compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies (including city council
policies), guidelines, and orders governing prior or existing contracts performed by the
contractor.
The committee will make a recommendation to the awarding authority.
the proposal will be evidenced by written Notice of Award
Purchasing/Contract Administration Division to the successful Proposer.
The acceptance of
from the City’s
Questions:
If you have any questions regarding this solicitation, please contact Emi!y
the Contract Admi~strator. Kathy Bradley
at (650) 329-2162 or Kathy.Bradlev@cityofpaloalto.or~.
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