CCMinutes - 05/26/04 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

time." Mr. Poling also thanked Mr. Taylor for coming to Eugene. He said he had been impressed by how Mr. Taylor had come into the community and taken on tough issues. He noted the first "night of reading" on the job was the budget. He felt he had done a good job of "thinking outside of the box" in the most recent budget deliberations. Mr. Poling thought the one-on-one meetings had been beneficial and was impressed by how the City Manager had found the time. Mr. Poling advised the City Manager to set expectations of when information requested by councilors would be provided. He noted the public had, in the past, a perception that the City government was inaccessible, but this seemed to be dissipating somewhat. He attributed this to Mr. Taylor's community outreach. Mayor Torrey stated that the success of City Manager/Council government was largely dependent on the job that Mr. Taylor was hired to do. He thought Mr. Taylor had done a "very good job." He believed the challenge would continue to be the implementation of council policy. He conveyed the council expectation that the City Manager would be there with his expertise to provide guidance in this policy-making. He commented that it would be "foolish" not to ask Mr. Taylor for input on decisions. He said the council could say no to a recommendation from the City Manager, but he should never hesitate to share his recommendations. Mayor Torrey complimented Mr. Taylor on his ability to take advantage of the strengths of the people around him, particularly the work he had done with Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson. He called it the strength of a leader to take advantage of the strengths of others. He commended Mr. Taylor for hiring Chief Bob Lehner. He advised him to listen to his instincts and to make decisions based on his wealth of experience and expertise. He concluded by saying that he was confident the City was in good hands. Mr. Taylor thanked the Mayor. He called his year of service as City Manager in Eugene the "most rewarding year" of his professional life. He felt embraced by the community and by the organization. He said it was an honor to be the City Manager and had been everything he had expected and more. He commented that he had underestimated how hard it would be to learn all that it took to be manager of Eugene. He had been challenged to "get up to speed" with the council, the organization, and the needs of the community. He related that he had tried to portion his work so that one-third of it went to each and that he had reached some proficiency so that he could meet expectations in the area of communication. He thought he would be better able to provide information in a timely fashion in the future as a result. Mr. Taylor remarked that he had not received such a thorough evaluation in his professional career. He commended Lauren Chouinard, executive director of the Human Risk and Resources Services, for designing and conducting the evaluation. Mr. Taylor expressed appreciation for the council's willingness to have process sessions and goal-setting sessions. He said the council and executive management had worked hard to develop goals, values, and principles. He averred they were working hard to be a shared responsibility team. He felt communication could be improved both inside and outside of the organization and said he would take this on as a challenge. He said productivity had been improved and the focus on customer service had helped. In conclusion, he MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 26, 2004 Page 3 Work Session