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HomeMy WebLinkAbout190710 WS MINUTES – Eugene City Council Work Session July 10, 2019 Page 1 MINUTES Eugene City Council Harris Hall, 125 East 8th Avenue Eugene, Oregon 97401 July 10, 2019 12:00 p.m. Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Betty Taylor, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor, Greg Evans Councilors Absent: Claire Syrett Councilor Taylor opened the July 10, 2019, work session of the Eugene City Council in Mayor Vinis’ absence. 1. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(a) The City Council met in executive session pursuant to Oregon Revised Statue 192.660(2)(a). Following the executive session, Councilor Taylor led a discussion of a salary range for the presiding judge of the municipal court. Council Discussion: o Councilor Semple – expressed support for hiring Judge Gill as a presiding judge and making him an employee of the City rather than a contractor; supported providing a salary commensurate with his corresponding level of skill and experience within the City. o Councilor Clark – agreed that the presiding judge position should be an employee of the City; supported the salary range to be set at the division manager range. o Councilor Zelenka – supported hiring the position as an employee with similar contract and communication requirements as the independent police auditor position; asked for clarification about the proposed salary range and compensation package. o Councilor Pryor – expressed interest in negotiating a salary at the high end of the range. o Councilor Semple – supported a salary range beginning at a higher number. o Councilor Clark – asked for clarification about how the salary range might change over time. MOTION AND VOTE (including friendly amendments): Councilor Semple, seconded by Councilor Evans, moved to hire Greg Gill as a municipal employee for the presiding judge position and authorize the council president to negotiate and execute an employment contract with Judge Gill that includes a salary range starting at $130,000 and going to the top of the range for division managers within the City. VOTE: PASSED 7:0. 2. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(i) The City Council met in executive session pursuant to Oregon Revised Statue 192.660(2)(i). MINUTES – Eugene City Council Work Session July 10, 2019 Page 2 3. WORK SESSION: Police Auditor Annual Performance Review Council Discussion o Councilor Zelenka – lauded the Police Auditor’s work, especially as it related to the onboarding of the new Police Chief in the past year. o Councilor Yeh – appreciated that the Police Auditor and his office are constantly trying to improve their work and their communication efforts; praised the work to work positively with the Police Department. o Councilor Pryor – thought the increase of the internally submitted complaints were a testament to the Police Department’s trust in his office; rated his work as excellent. o Councilor Clark – recalled more divisive times between the community and the police department; said the creation of the Office of the Police Auditor was done with hope for more cooperation and positive relationships and the current Police Auditor made that hope a reality. o Councilor Taylor – pointed out that the creation of the office was borne out of a citizen initiative; said that the current Auditor is benefiting from the hard work of those who previously held the position; noted that the role was especially challenging for the first Auditor - a woman - noting that such a role is still more difficult for a woman today. o Councilor Clark – disagreed with Councilor Taylor, noting that it diminished the current Auditor’s work; said he felt the current Auditor was simply better at the job; asked for clarification about merit increases being tied to the score and supported aligning them with the process used for the City Manager. o Councilor Zelenka – supported having the same contract requirements for all three council employees (the city manager, police auditor and municipal court presiding judge); asked for clarification on how the point system for performance reviews was tied to the merit increases; said he would prefer the Mayor’s score not be included in any merit increases. o Councilor Clark – did not want to see practices develop that were not supported by the Charter. o Councilor Semple – felt strongly that the Mayor’s score should not be included in the merit increases; did not feel that scoring for the Police Auditor should be translated into a corresponding compensation range during the meeting without councilors knowing that was the case when they chose their scores. o Councilor Pryor – wanted to create a structure for a more reliable system with fewer surprises; wanted to implement the changes for the coming evaluation rather than the current one. o Councilor Clark – shared his intention to offer an amendment to give the Auditor a five percent merit pay increase rather than three percent raise. MOTION: Councilor Semple, seconded by Councilor Zelenka, moved that council award the Police Auditor a three percent merit salary increase effective July 7, 2019, and authorize the Council President to execute a contract consistent with this motion. o Councilor Zelenka – asked staff for language to amend that indicates future pay increases would be linked to a score by council and that the mayor’s score would not be included. o Councilor Clark – spoke to the Police Auditor’s excellence; felt additional merit pay was warranted. o Councilor Zelenka – asked for clarification about what the Police Auditor originally asked for in terms of his merit increase.