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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 07/27/98 Work Session MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall July 27, 1998 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Pat Fart, Tim Laue, Bobby Lee, Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson, Laurie Swanson Gribskov, Betty Taylor Betty Taylor, Ken Tollenaar. COUNCILORS-ELECT: Gary Pape, Gary Rayor. COUNCIL CANDIDATE: David Kelley. I. CALL TO ORDER The adjourned July 22, 1998, Eugene City Council meeting was called to order at 11:30 a.m.; His Honor Mayor James D. Torrey presiding. II. WORK SESSION: CITY MANAGER PRO TEM RESPONSE TO COUNCIL'S STATEMENT OF EXPECTATIONS City Manager Jim Johnson recalled that the Mayor, the council, councilor-elects, and two council candidates on July 13 described expectations and qualifications of a city manager. He noted a July 22 public hearing held to gather input. Mr. Johnson said the meeting packet included summary information from all those meetings. He reviewed in detail his July 23, 1998, memorandum responding to the desired characteristics and expectations identified, which he said fell into the following six general categories: professionalism, experience, management style, elected official relations, community and intergovernmental relations, and personal characteristics. Finally, he summarized the City's situation as unique and explained why even though he would normally favor a recruitment process he should be appointed and a recruitment effort avoided despite major public sentiment to the contrary. Mayor Torrey indicated that the council on Wednesday would decide whether to make a decision and now was the time to ask questions of Mr. Johnson. Ms. Taylor expressed concern that the council was not taking enough time in the hiring of the city manager. She asked Mr. Johnson if he would point out council policy decisions that were in conflict with other adopted policies and what he would do with the City's legal services. Mr. Johnson indicated that he would certainly point out potential inconsistencies in council decisions and referred to his June 3, 1998 memorandum that explained his support for maintaining the current City Attorneys' Office contract. Mr. Pape called attention to the fact that the council was working with a 10-year old job description and believed it should be updated before taking any action. Mr. Johnson said the council was scheduled to take action on an updated job description at its July 29 work session. Minutes--Eugene City Council July 27, 1998 Page 1 5:30 p.m. At Ms. Swanson Gribskov's request, Mr. Johnson described his experience with organizational change during his eight-year tenure as Lane County Administrator. He recalled that there were layoffs in four of those eight years. Addressing a question from Ms. Nathanson, Mr. Johnson said his general philosophy in dealing with projections and fund balances is to prepare information, i.e., the full range of assumptions and implications, enabling the council to make well-informed decisions. He described his position as middle-of-the-road and said he would likely give his opinion to help the council reach its decision. In response to a follow-up question, Mr. Johnson explained his "wandering around" management and communication style, adding that he believed he should be able to go anywhere in the organization and communicate freely with anyone, and vice versa. With regard to the council, he said any communication from the council to the organization that involves great resources should come to his attention but, otherwise he believed council members should be free to communicate with anyone in the organization. Ms. Nathanson expressed concern with the City's relationship with the State and asked Mr. Johnson how he would increase visibility for the City and improve its relationship with the State Legislature. Mr. Johnson rated his involvement with the State as moderate to medium, saying it was not as critical at the County level to develop those relationships because the elected officials did that themselves. He said he could offer familiarity with the system, issues, and some of the staff. Mr. Laue asked Mr. Johnson how he would reorient the organization toward public service. Mr. Johnson said the focus on public service begins with its adoption as one of the key management philosophies for the City by the City Manager and executive directors. Beyond that, he said, there is standardized training in quality customer service and management of the "moment of truth," which he described as the moment of contact with the citizens. Mr. Johnson said customer surveys throughout the organization have uniformly been very good. Addressing a follow-up question, Mr. Johnson said he was not sure the City was moving closer to community policing because not enough resources were being provided, adding that the council "must get real about what we can do with the resources we have." Mr. Laue cited the increased rate of single vehicle occupancy as a major contributor to the transportation problem and asked Mr. Johnson how the City encouraged alternate modes of transportation. Mr. Johnson said current adopted growth management policies speak to the issue and the policy is clear so what was needed was staff-generated viable alternatives for implementing those policies. He said the likely outcome will be that the council will adopt actions that make it more difficult or expensive for people to drive alone in a vehicle--something that will raise much community discussion. In response to a question from Mr. Farr, Mr. Johnson said that the City's staff would unanimously say that they enjoyed working for him if asked. Answering a follow-up question, Mr. Johnson said that as a department director he provided direct staff support to three committees and since becoming City Manager Pro Tern he has added and would add more meetings to his schedule. Mr. Farr asked Mr. Johnson to elaborate on his relationship with the local school districts. Mr. Johnson indicated that he personally knew all three superintendents and the assistant superintendent for School District 4J. He said the Public Safety Coordinating Council had given him an opportunity to work more closely with the districts and he and their leaders planned to continue meeting. Mr. Johnson said he planned to assign staff as liaisons with each of the school districts. Addressing a question from Mr. Rayor, Mr. Johnson said voters were being asked to approve revenue sources for expanding current services as there is no way of doing it without new money. He observed that the organization was on the right track of becoming a more efficient Minutes--Eugene City Council July 27, 1998 Page 2 5:30 p.m. government as outlined by the service profiles. Mr. Johnson said he had arranged meetings with each budget coordinator and department head during the month of August to become more familiar with programs and budgets and to look for opportunities for cost-effectiveness. In response to a follow-up question, Mr. Johnson said the City has learned much from citizens protesting public projects and staff was much more sensitive to the way projects are designed and citizens are involved. Mr. Rayor said there was no question that Mr. Johnson was imminently qualified for the position but he nonetheless favored a regional search for the new city manager, calling it a chance for a fresh perspective. Addressing a question from Mr. Tollenaar, Mr. Johnson said his involvement in professional organizations has been minimal for due to scheduling and financial constraints. In response to a follow-up question, Mr. Johnson categorized himself as an internal manager, concerned more about running the City organization and giving input as a neutral third party, resulting in his implementation of both good and bad decisions. Mr. Tollenaar explained that position descriptions for public service served two purposes: 1) to guide the classification of the position; and 2) to serve as a guide toward compensation. In the case of a city manager, he said, Section 16 of the City Charter was the key document. Citing Eugene's reputation as a "difficult" city, Mr. Tollenaar asked for Mr. Johnson's opinion. Mr. Johnson said Eugene was unique but not any more difficult or easy to govern than communities similar in size. Mr. Kelly disagreed with Mr. Tollenaar that the job description was not important as it added more detail than the Charter and provided guidance for both the manager and council. He asked how Mr. Johnson would avoid "surprises" to the council and the public through communication. Mr. Johnson said there should be no surprises and he planned to meet regularly with the mayor and councilors individually. He noted an addition to the council packet--City Council News--describing activities within the organization. Mr. Johnson said a "corporate communication plan" was under development related to the many ways the City has contact with citizens, which would provide a strategy and options. Mr. Meisner said one of the reasons he would be concerned with a nationwide search was the lack of knowledge of Oregon's unique Senate Bill 100. He said he was impressed with how the City had turned around in the three months Mr. Johnson had been at the helm and asked for his perspective. Mr. Johnson he has felt the same, and thought there is more stability, crediting some of that to relief. He said the organization had been "bruised but not broken" and some of the healing has happened. Addressing a follow-up question, Mr. Johnson said the leadership from a community point of view should be with its elected officials. He said the proper role for the city manager should be inwardly focused on the organization. Mr. Lee said it was important for chief executive officers to have detailed job descriptions for political reasons; in effect, it helps "de-politicize" decisions and serves as a working document to clarify roles. Responding to Mr. Lee's question about what he would do in the first year or two, Mr. Johnson said there existed some council goals that need more work and the goals setting process for the new council would be underway after January. Internally, he would continue to provide stability and to implement management practices described earlier in the meeting. Mayor Torrey said the discussion would be continued at the council's July 29 work session. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Minutes--Eugene City Council July 27, 1998 Page 3 5:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager Pro Tern (Recorded by Yolanda Paule) Minutes--Eugene City Council July 27, 1998 Page 4 5:30 p.m.