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HomeMy WebLinkAbout201019 WS MINUTES – Eugene City Council Work Session October 19, 2020 Page 1 MINUTES Eugene City Council Virtual Work Session Eugene, Oregon 97401 October 19, 2020 5:30 p.m. Councilors Present: Betty Taylor, Emily Semple, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Claire Syrett, Chris Pryor, Greg Evans Mayor Vinis opened the October 19, 2020, work session of the Eugene City Council. 1. WORK SESSION: Community Safety Initiative Workshops for Communities of Color Human Rights and Neighborhood Involvement Manager Michael Kinnison gave a presentation on the engagement process for the Community Safety Initiative. Council Discussion:  Councilor Syrett- said she felt this is a much better plan that reflected Council feedback; asked for clarification about organizations included on the invitation list; asked whether local school districts’ interests would be represented (i.e. students, educators).  Council Pryor- said he was pleased with the direction of the work, noting its more balanced approach; encouraged consideration of the research methodology that will be used and whether it will accomplish the council’s goals; said process was redesigned to measure qualitative vs quantitative information.  Councilor Zelenka - agreed that the proposed new process was a better plan, a more realistic timeline and was more inclusive; encouraged efforts to reach out to people who don’t usually engage in initiatives like this one; asked about the formation of the survey.  Councilor Yeh -said she thought the proposal was responsive and addressed most of council’s concerns; asked for an estimate of how many focus groups will be held.  Councilor Taylor - asked if these workshops were redundant to Ad Hoc Police Policy Committee work; asked who will attend and who will facilitate workshops, noting that there is no proposed representation from the Police Union.  Councilor Clark - asked if residence in the city of Eugene will be required for people to participate in the workshops and survey.  Councilor Syrett – shared that she had the same questions about survey requirements; noted the payroll tax is not a property tax and participation should include Santa Clara and people living in unincorporated areas.  Councilor Pryor -raised concerns about the potential impacts of cheating on the validity of the survey; said he wants only people from the local area to be able to participate and decide on what the “universe” parameters will be such as people who pay the tax; asked that mechanisms be put in place ensure that only local voices are participating. MOTION AND VOTE: Semple, seconded by Councilor Yeh, moved to direct the City Manager to implement the CSI engagement plan outlined as attachment A in the AIS. PASSED 7:1, Councilor Taylor opposed. 2. WORK SESSION: City Manager Evaluation Process City Manager Medary shared a presentation on a framework for a mutually agreed upon process to evaluate her every year. MINUTES – Eugene City Council Work Session October 19, 2020 Page 2 Council Discussion:  Councilor Pryor – recommended adding four traits to be called out under individual leadership: ethics, integrity, ability to exhibit courage, and clarity, or the ability to make things clear; expressed the importance of making sure pay isn’t based on opinions.  Councilor Syrett - suggested creating a timeline that concludes in October; supported decoupling the compensation decisions from the evaluation decisions.  Councilor Taylor - said she felt the City Manager should be responsible for remembering and responding to requests for information and follow-up; agreed with the recommendation to decouple the compensation issue from the evaluation process.  Councilor Yeh - asked questions about the plan for stakeholders and staff to engage in the evaluation process.  Councilor Zelenka - added he would like to see some evaluation criterion related to how long it takes to get Council-requested items on the agenda; said he felt the regular monthly meetings are good opportunities to discuss performance issues; supported the proposal to push the evaluation process out until October; shared a historical perspective on the numerical score and merit raise issues.  Councilor Clark – said he felt the numbering system is the wisest way to depoliticize the issue.  Councilor Semple - supported moving the evaluation to October or later; expressed dislike of the numbering system and supported having a different method to measure pay and merit; voiced uncertainty about how to measure the merit raise; said Mayor’s input on the evaluation is important.  Councilor Evans - shared how a former subcommittee he served on looked at compensation as a side component of the evaluation; supported consideration of this option.  Councilor Zelenka - asked whether the City Manager or the council would make a recommendation on the amount of any compensation increase; encouraged using a more thoughtful process, noting the use of a numbering system made it clear as to how the council arrived at its decision; agreed it is important to get the Mayor’s input although the decision is up to the City Council.  Councilor Syrett – acknowledged that the Mayor is part of the stakeholder input and doesn’t make the final decision; asked what metric or process was used before the numbering system; said she felt the formula was too prescriptive and would rather see it used as a guideline.  Councilor Clark - expressed that this is a starting point and there’s room for other aspects of determining a merit increase.  Councilor Pryor – said he understands the two extremes as compensation is emotional and doesn’t want an overly mechanical system or a free-for-all; supported having certain assumptions on budget availability through a series of criteria and making a recommendation based on the set parameters.  Councilor Yeh - made clear that she disapproves of the number system and does not want to see them used in the evaluation process.  Councilor Taylor - shared there were years when the council did not use the numbering system and said she felt it’s appropriate to do the evaluation in public.  Councilor Zelenka - noted the evaluation process was ugly and unpleasant in the past and is why the numbering system was created; said he believed the numbering system is helpful and the process merits some quantification; supported consideration of a hybrid model.  Councilor Syrett - appreciated Councilor Pryor’s input; said she is supportive of a process that allows room for greater latitude for input and consideration.  Councilor Semple – expressed concern that doing the evaluation in public might affect what she would say and finds that potentially unproductive. MINUTES – Eugene City Council Work Session October 19, 2020 Page 3 The meeting adjourned at 7:01 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Julie Adams Deputy City Recorder (Recorded by Niyah Ross) Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting here.