HomeMy WebLinkAbout240923 WSMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Work Session
Eugene, Oregon 97401
September 23, 2024
5:30 p.m.
Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Matt Keating, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg
Evans, Lyndsie Leech, and Randy Groves
Mayor Vinis opened the September 23, 2024, work session of the Eugene City Council in hybrid
in-person and virtual format at 500 E. 4th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401, North Building.
1. WORK SESSION and POTENTIAL ACTION: Interim Police Auditor
Interim Co-Director of the Employee Resource Center, Keri Beraldo, and Central Services
Director, Mia Cariaga, discussed the Police Auditor recruitment process. Interim Police
Auditor Mark Gissiner also joined the discussion.
Councilor Discussion:
■ Councilor Clark -noted his prior experience in the process of recruiting a police auditor;
noted his desire to discuss the recruitment process with the Interim Police Auditor before
making a decision; stated he does not feel prepared to make decisions tonight.
■ Councilor Zelenka -asked if Interim Police Auditor Gissiner is willing to stay longer than
his contractual six months; noted the recruitment is for a very specialized role; asked if
there are search firms that specialize in recruiting police auditors; noted both proposed
recruitment processes have merit; suggested a hybrid approach may be the most effective;
noted the current auditor was hired through a hybrid approach.
■ Councilor Groves -noted the need to balance the speed of recruitment with the need for a
quality candidate; stated interest in a hybrid recruitment approach; noted he was not
involved in negotiating the contract with current auditor; stated he is glad Mark Gissiner is
available to serve as the Interim Police Auditor.
■ Councilor Semple -asked if there will be a bigger pool of applicants ifwe use a recruiter;
stated interest in a hybrid recruitment approach; asked if we would need to continue with
a search firm ifwe found a candidate at the National Association for Civilian Oversight of
Law Enforcement (NACOLE) conference.
■ Mayor Vinis -asked ifrecruiting at the NACOLE conference could happen concurrently
with hiring a search firm.
■ Councilor Keating -stated his support for the Employee Resource Center recruiting at the
NACOLE conference; noted interest in using new digital outreach including targeted ads
using geo-fencing; noted he is open to using a professional search firm.
■ Councilor Clark -asked about Interim Police Auditor Gissiner's recruiting suggestion;
stated support for recruiting at the NACOLE conference; noted Mark Gissiner's strengths
as a Police Auditor; stated support for hiring another auditor with the same set of values of
neutrality and fairness; asked the Interim Police Auditor his opinion on how to approach
the recruitment process.
MINUTES -Eugene City Council September 23, 2024 Page 1
Work Session
• Councilor Zelenka -noted that because the Interim Police Auditor is not able to extend his
contract beyond six months and the NACOLE conference is not until mid-October, starting
the process of working with a search firm after the conference would be too late; stated
support for starting both aspects of the hybrid approach concurrently.
• Councilor Yeh -stated support for hiring with a hybrid approach; stated the importance of
the position and the urgency of hiring; stated support for recruiting at the NACOLE
conference; suggested the job description be updated; stated Option A would not be
sufficient on its own.
• Mayor Vinis -asked about the process of selecting a search firm; noted it would still be
mid-October before a search firm could be hired.
• Councilor Zelenka -stated support for starting the process of selecting a search firm as
soon as possible; noted the value of simultaneously recruiting at the conference.
• Councilor Keating -asked how to construct the motion to include both Options A and B.
MOTION: Councilor Keating, seconded by Councilor Groves moved to
conduct a national recruitment for the Police Auditor position run by the
City's Employee Resource Center staff, the process to include posting the
position as reflected in Attachment A, updating for distribution the
brochure in Attachment C, and returning to Council at a work session
with options for a selection process, and pursue hiring a recruiter to
assist with a national search for the position of Police Auditor with the
next step being City staff returning to Council for a work session to
present options for recruiter selection. VOTE: 8:0 PASSED
Councilor Discussion:
• Councilor Semple -stated support for updating the job description.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted~-~
Sara McKinney
Deputy City Recorder
(Recorded by Cherish Bradshaw)
Link to the web cast of this City Council meeting here.
MINUTES -Eugene City Council
Work Session
September 23, 2024 Page 2