CC Minutes - 05/20/98 Work Session

Home Browse Search

MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall May 20, 1998 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Tim Laue, Bobby Lee, Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson, Laurie Swanson Gribskov, Betty Taylor Betty Taylor, Ken Tollenaar. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Pat Farr. I. CALL TO ORDER The adjourned May 13, 1998, Eugene City Council meeting was called to order at 11:30 a.m.; Council Vice President Ken Tollenaar presiding. II. ACTION ITEMS A. Approval of City Council Minutes 1. March 18, 1998, Lunch Work Session Ms. Taylor prefaced her request for the following corrections to the March 18, 1998, minutes by saying they are "so defective that the whole thing should be done over--there was so much omitted... I will ask for things that I think definitely should be done--mainly that concern me": 1) a double space following Mr. Farr's comments under Item II. A.; 2) add the following to Ms. Taylor's comments on page 1: "Ms. Taylor also criticized the process, saying that this should have been an evaluation rather than a decision about termination, that it was far too soon to consider termination, that Ms. Elmer had barely had a chance to start her job. She pointed out that the executive evaluators included four acting managers and a chief who was no longer in that position. She predicted that, after a few years when Elmer had had time to choose her staff and work with them for a while, staff reaction would be different. She also said that firing Ms. Elmer at such an early date in her tenure would make the City look ridiculous and would make it difficult to hire a competent successor." 3) add the following to Ms. Elmer's statements on page 2: "The pain of downsizing, coupled with management changes, makes it not possible to start the change agenda until you are through with that. I have done all that realistically could be accomplished considering the circumstances."; 4) substitute the following for paragraph 6 on page 2: "Ms. Taylor, in reference to other councilors' comments, agreed that the job of city manager is not permanent, but said that one year is too short a time. She said that the turmoil, which some councilors wished to end, was caused by the council's turning the evaluation into a firing decision, and would end if a decision to retain was made. In reference to the contention that staff morale was low, she pointed out that employees had expressed a lack of confidence in Chief Cooke, that this extreme dissatisfaction had changed to support scarcely a year later. She expected the same change with Ms. Elmer."; 5) clarify paragraph 7 on page 2 as it is "vague and misleading." Minutes--Eugene City Council May 20, 1998 Page 1 11:30 a.m.