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summative evaluation of the City Manager for the meeting on December 18, 2023
City Manager Overall Performance Assessment December 18, 2023
The City Council will provide an overall rating and high-level summary that synthesizes feedback on performance.
Overall Rating
Rationale
3.14
Councillors generally believe the City Manager has had a successful first year and has met expectations in his new role.
Areas called out were implementation of Universal Pre -K, navigating BEUDO conversations, making key hires, being
responsive to councillors, and establishing good relationships internally with staff. He has been well received by the staff
and leads his team in a collaborative manner.
4=Exceeds Expectations, 3=Met Expectations, 2=Partially Met Expectations, 1=Did Not Meet Expectations
Areas of Strength and Accomplishment
Areas for Growth and Development
•
He is open to a variety of points of view.
•
Open to change.
•
He has made some key hires.
•
Implementing Universal Pre-K
•
The City Manager has been open to meetings with councillors
regularly.
•
Prepared and knowledgeable on the issues
•
He has a good working relationship with the council and his
senior staff.
•
Good communicator
•
Relationship builder
•
Focused on data and continuous improvement.
•
Improved employee culture
•
He has led and managed through some very tragic and
challenging events in the city, including a police shooting.
•
Room for improvement in responding to and providing
updates on policy orders from the council.
•
Getting the Community Safety Department up and running
along with working with HEART to create a viable alternative
public safety response program.
•
Would like to see the manager be a bit more assertive and
have managers more clearly articulate their professional
opinion on the issues and policies before the council. The
City Manager should be willing to take the lead on issues and
not always rely on a majority vote of the council.
•
Work on establishing broader and deeper relationships with
various constituencies in the city.
•
Develop more holistic planning for the city.
•
Play a bigger role in regional conversations regarding
housing, transportation, addressing unhoused crisis, and drug
epidemic.
City Manager Performance Categories
Ratings: 4=Exceeds Expectations, 3=Met Expectations, 2=Partially Met Expectations, 1=Did Not Meet Expectations
Area
Rating
Rationale
Leadership: Effectively carry out the vision and direction set
by the City Council including through development of goals
and strategies as well as work closely with the Council to
lead the city through significant events and crises
3.19
Council members agree that the city manager
has been effective in his leadership. He
receives praise for moving some long-awaited
priorities forward, like Universal Pre-K.
There is also, frustration on the delay in
implementing things like body cameras for
police officers. Some also want him to exercise
his authority under our Plan E charter even if
he must make some unpopular decisions.
City Council Relationship: Establish a collaborative and
transparent working relationship with the City Council
3.11
General agreement that the city manager has
worked well with council. All appreciate his
collaborative style and respect for the will of
the council.
There is a desire to see more progress in
responding to policy orders and awaiting
reports. However, some also want the city
manager to be willing to push back when he
determines some council requests are not
viable or outside the purview of the council.
Area
Rating
Rationale
Management: Develop a strong City organization that has
the people, processes, and systems to deliver on day-to-day
operations and existing and new initiatives
3.22
The city manager has continued the
operational efficiencies that the city has been
known for and expanded into new areas. The
city manager has been building a strong
leadership structure blending current, long-
term employees with new external hires. His
team has been responsive and is willing to seek
solutions.
Need to see more progress in some areas like
human resources and performance evaluation.
The council would like to work on gathering
more data in areas like affordable housing and
city traffic to make better policy decisions.
Community Engagement: Proactively communicate with the
community, and create a range of opportunities for all
stakeholders and residents to provide input and feedback,
particularly communities whose voices are not typically
heard by City Hall
2.19
The city manager is moving in the right
direction, but we need a more systemic
approach to broaden community engagement
on big policy issues. The city needs to be
inclusive and not dismissive. Residents need to
feel that they are being heard on the issues.
Still waiting for a Director of Community
Engagement and the development of a
community engagement plan. There is also a
desire to see the manager out and about in the
community and further building relationships
with residents.
Area
Rating
Rationale
Culture: Define and establish a healthy culture across the
City that fosters collaboration, trust, empathy, and effective
and efficient decision making
3.22
Based on the feedback in senior staff surveys
and personal observations the council generally
believes that the city manager has developed a
very positive culture among staff and the city
council. The council looks forward to
additional data once the full employee survey is
developed and implemented.
ADEI: Advance anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion
efforts across the City, including strategy, organizational
culture, HR, policy development, and service delivery
3.0
Council members believe we are moving in the
right direction but would like to see more
explicit examples of implementation of the
recommendations from our DEI report.
City Operations: Oversee effective delivery of resident
services including day-to-day operations, maintaining city
infrastructure, and major capital projects
3.28
The city manager has continued the work of his
predecessors in delivering on city services.
Future department reviews and analysis of
results are necessary to improve efficiency and
potentially redirect resources to other
purposes.
Fiscal Management: Provide effective financial management
and oversight of the budget, ensuring fiscal stability while
allocating resources to meet community needs
3.22
The city manager has continued the tradition of
strong stewardship of city’s finances and has
been careful to keep his eyes on the economic
horizon for opportunities and pitfalls. Moving
forward, the city manager and his team needs
to engage city council in discussions about the
challenges we will be facing, identifying our
priorities, and determining what is and is not
feasible.