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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 06/13/07 Work Session M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room—Eugene City Hall June 13, 2007 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka, Betty Taylor (participating tele- phonically). Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy convened the Eugene City Council work session. A. WORK SESSION: City Manager Cost of Living Adjustment and Merit Increase City Manager Dennis Taylor said that the item was initially scheduled for later in the year but because he was resigning his position effective July 26, 2007, he asked that the council consider granting the remainder of the Step 6 increase he was eligible for in April, along with the 3.2 percent cost of living adjustment that would be give to all non-represented employees on July 1, 2007. Ms. Bettman stated that the background materials provided by Human Resources and Risk Services would be invaluable when the council began its search for a new city manager. She was willing to support whatever the council president recommended for City Manager Taylor’s compensation, but wanted the motion to specify it was addressing the current city manager’s compensation. She said that many recruiters indicated that compensation should be geared to the qualifications of a candidate and she wished to have a recruiter’s input in the conversation regarding city manager compensation. Ms. Ortiz agreed to include the revised wording in the motion she would offer the council. Ms. Bettman asked how compensation for the interim city manager would be established. City Attorney Glenn Klein replied that under the City Charter, the mayor had the authority to negotiate and sign a contract with an interim city manager. Mayor Piercy said she would be happy to receive input from the council and had already discussed the matter with human resources staff. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Pryor, moved to adjust the current city manager’s compensation as described in Option C. Ms. Ortiz stated that she would be willing to provide a larger adjustment, as City Manager Taylor was a very valuable employee, she would miss him and she did not feel the council had done him justice the previous year. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 13, 2007 Page 1 Work Session In response to a question from Ms. Bettman, Human Resource and Risk Services director Lauren Chouinard said the current city manager’s base salary would be $149,308, including a full Step 6 increase and 3.2 percent adjustment. He did not have the figure for the full compensation package. The motion passed, 7:0. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to expeditiously convene a subcom- mittee of four councilors—two officers and two appointed by the mayor—to make appropriate recommendations to the full council for hiring of a new city manager, including selection of a national recruiter and a timeline and process for recruiting a new city manager, culminating in a job offer by council break in December 2007. Ms. Bettman encouraged the council to make a definitive decision and move forward to hire a new city manager as there was considerable competition for city manager candidates. She hoped to see some of the recruitment process improvements made when the police auditor was hired incorporated into the city manager process. Ms. Taylor joined the meeting by telephone at 12:10 p.m. Ms. Bettman felt that the role of the recruiter should begin earlier in the process and the council subcommit- tee should be involved in selecting a recruiter. She said many of the questions suggested by people in the community during the last city manager recruitment process were still relevant and the public’s involvement in the process was an important element. Mr. Clark volunteered to be a member of the subcommittee. He agreed that the council should move expeditiously, but was concerned with the December 2007 deadline. He said the decision was a very important one and the council should consider it thoroughly and do it right. Ms. Solomon preferred to have the full council consider the process before it was referred to a subcommit- tee. Mr. Zelenka indicated he was unclear about whether the motion intended for the subcommittee to develop the recruitment process or actually conduct the process itself. Ms. Bettman said a work session would occur when the subcommittee brought back a recommended process and timeline. She assumed that at the major decision points, such as selecting a recruiter or improving a timeline, the council would take action. She said a similar process had been effective when the police auditor was hired. She affirmed that major decisions would be made by the council. Mr. Zelenka liked the use of a subcommittee to work through the details of the process and volunteered to serve on the subcommittee. He said that completing the process in December 2007 provided adequate time. Mayor Piercy read Ms. Bettman’s motion to Ms. Taylor. Ms. Taylor stated that she would support the motion and volunteered to serve on the subcommittee. Mr. Pryor said the key element of Ms. Bettman’s proposal was that the subcommittee was advisory and did have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the council, similar to the subcommittee on transportation. He said if that was the spirit of the motion he was willing to support it and in his experience a six-month MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 13, 2007 Page 2 Work Session timeline was adequate. He asked Ms. Solomon what she would want to accomplish at a work session prior to formation of a subcommittee. Ms. Solomon said she was concerned that the council needed to be clear about its expectations of a city manager and wanted to have that discussion so councilors were on the same page. She would be willing to have that discussion during the process. Mr. Pryor agreed that a work session for that purpose was a good idea and he was committed to supporting it, whether before or during the process. Mr. Poling indicated he would support the motion as the police auditor process had proven to be effective, but did want regular check-ins with the council as the subcommittee worked through the process details. He said it appeared that councilors were in agreement on their expectations of a city manager as Ms. Solomon’s poll did not receive enough support. He commended City Manager Taylor for an excellent job. Mayor Piercy said she supported the motion and hiring a city manager was one of the most important decisions that the council would make. She did not think a discussion of the City’s form of government was necessary but there were things that should be discussed during the process and with the recruiter regarding what the council was looking for in a city manager. Ms. Bettman volunteered for the subcommittee. She explained that she included the recruiter at the beginning of the process because her research had shown that many recruiters provided facilitation services to city councils to help them identify and define their objectives for a city manager. The motion passed, 7:1; Ms. Solomon voting in opposition. B. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Piercy announced that the Eugene City Council would meet in Executive Session to deliberate with staff designated to negotiate real property transactions. The Executive Session was held pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(e). The meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 13, 2007 Page 3 Work Session