HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 10289
City of Palo Alto (ID # 10289)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 5/6/2019
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: Department Director Appointments
Title: Approval of the Appointment of Kiely Nose as Director of
Administrative Services (Chief Financial Officer,) Dean Batchelor as Director
of Utilities, and Kristen O'Kane as Director of Community Service s
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Human Resources
Recommendation
The City Manager recommends that Council approve the appointments of (1) Kiely Nose as
Director of Administrative Services (Chief Financial Officer); (2) Dean Batchelor as Director of
Utilities; and (3) Kristen O’Kane as Director of Community Services.
Background
The Palo Alto Charter and Municipal Code establish the City Manager as the appointing
authority for all officers, department directors, and employees under the City Manager’s
control. The Charter and Municipal Code additionally specify that appointments of department
heads are subject to the approval of the Council. As such, the City Manager is requesting that
Council approve his selections to the positions of Director of Admin istrative Services (Chief
Financial Officer), Director of Utilities, and Director of Community Services. These positions
became vacant as a result of a retirement and other internal promotions.
Discussion
The City Manager requests approval of appointments to the following director positions1:
• Kiely Nose to Administrative Services Director (Chief Financial Officer);
• Dean Batchelor to Utilities Director; and
• Kristen O’Kane to Community Services Director.
1 Department Director responsibilities are specified in Palo Alto Municipal Code as follows: 2.08.150
Administrative Services (Chief Financial Officer); 2.08.200 Utilities; and 2.08.210 Community Services.
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Each of the employees listed above have proven th eir ability to successfully fulfill higher level
duties. The City Manager’s selections are based upon each employee’s efficacy, excellent
managerial abilities, quality work product, and alignment to City values and principles.
In regard to these promotional appointments:
• Kiely Nose joined the City of Palo Alto in October 2015 with the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) and has served as the Director of OMB since 2016. Kiely was appointed Interim
Director of Administrative Services (Chief Financial Officer) in July 2018. Kiely earned her degree
in Political Science and Economics from Santa Clara University and has held positions with the
City of San Jose and OpenGov (a government sector start-up) prior to her arrival at Palo Alto.
She has 10 years of experience and expertise in governmental budgeting and management
practices.
• Dean Batchelor has served in Palo Alto’s Utilities Department for approximately 10 years. Dean
promoted from Assistant Director of Utilities to Chief Operating Officer in October 2016. In
January of this year, Dean was appointed to Acting Utilities Director when the Director position
became vacant. Dean earned his degree in Business Administration at Cal State Long Beach and
has over 35 years of experience in power, water, gas, wastewater and telecommunications in
both investor-owned and municipal environments. Dean’s experience includes 15 years with
PG&E, where he served as the Corporate Director for Field Services Training. After PG&E, Dean
worked with Alameda Power and Telecom, where he was the Assistant General Manager of
Operations.
• Kristen O’Kane joined Palo Alto in 2015 as the Assistant Director of Community Services and has
served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) since April 2018. As COO of Community Services,
Kristen has worked with the Interim Community Services Director/Library Director Monique
leConge Ziesenhenne in a collaborative effort to better coordinate services between Community
Services and Libraries. Kristen came to Palo Alto following more than 11 years with the Santa
Clara Valley Water District, where she managed watershed field operations and environmental
regulatory programs. Kristen served on the City of San Jose’s Parks and Recreation
Commission/Parks and Recreation Bond Oversight Committee from 2011-2013. Kristen’s
educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Medicine and a master’s degree
in Environmental Studies from San Jose State.
These internal promotions are a testament to the strong culture of professional development
and succession planning in the Palo Alto workforce. In addition to bringing strong skills to their
interim assignments, Kiely, Dean and Kristen participated as a cohort in an accelerated
executive development program hosted by former City Manager James Keene and current City
Manager Ed Shikada. The executive development program is an intensive 12-week series and
the first of its kind in this region. The program includes conversational leadership lessons, an
executive book club, tactical skill-building and personalized executive feedback, coaching and
mentoring.
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These internal promotions will provide stability and leadership to the organization, as the
Executive Leadership Team has experienced high turnover in the past year due to retirements,
departures to private sector and other agencies. Once these appointments are made, the City
Manager will focus on filling four additional vacancies on the Executive Leadership Team.
The appointee salaries are as follows:
Salary Upon
Appointment
Maximum Salary
for the Position
Utilities Director
Dean Batchelor
$268,225 $322,755
Administrative Services Director (CFO)
Kiely Nose
$230,000 $246,210
Community Services Director
Kristen O’Kane
$216,000 $248,102
Resource Impact
Each of these positions is included in both the current FY 2019 Budget and the Proposed FY
2020 Budget. Therefore, no budget modifications or additional funding are necessary.
Attachments:
• Attachment A: Director Duties (ASD, UTL and CSD)