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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES2024-044 Evaluations of Appointed OfficialsSponsored by: City Clerk CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA RESOLUTION 2024-044 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, AMENDING THE CITY COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURES, RULE 16, TO REFLECT CHANGES MADE TO THE ANNUAL EVALUATIONS OF APPOINTED CITY OFFICIALS WHEREAS, the City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk are city officials appointed by City Council; and WHEREAS, the appointed city officials receive an annual evaluation from the council which are set to take place during an executive session; and WHEREAS, the current evaluation process has several steps and involves a tabulation team that compiles the individual comments and ratings into one anonymous form to be used during the executive session; and WHEREAS, the employee is actively receiving feedback from all members of the council during the evaluation, which defeats the purpose of trying to keep the comments anonymous, and; WHEREAS, the timing of the annual evaluations is not based on the employee's start date, but rather locked into place for January, February, or March of each year, which has led to inconsistent and truncated evaluation period; and WHEREAS, this resolution would instead base the timing of the annual evaluation to coincide with the start date of the employee; and WHEREAS, the changes are reflected in an amendment to Rule 16 of the City Council Rules of Procedure, Evaluation of Appointed Officials. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA that: Section 1. The City Council hereby amends Rule 16 of the City Council Rules of Procedures by deleting the existing evaluation form, and replacing it with new form as attached herein. Section 2. The City Council hereby amends Rule 16 of the City Council Rules of Procedures by changing the timing of the annual evaluation to fall in close proximity of the employee's start date. Section 3. The City Council hereby amends Rule 16 of the City Council Rules of Procedures by removing the tabulation team from the evaluation process. CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA RESOLUTION 2024-044 Page 2 of 2 Section 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption. PASSED AND APPROVED by the City Council of the City of Seward, Alaska, this 26th day of August 2024. THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA Sue McClure, Mayor AYES: Wells, Crites, Barnwell, Calhoon, Finch, Osenga, McClure NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None ATTEST: Kris Peck City Clerk (City Seal) 1 Resolution 2024-044 City Council Agenda Statement Meeting Date: August 26, 2024 To: City Council From: Kris Peck, City Clerk Subject: Resolution 2024-044: A Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Seward, Alaska, Amending The City Council Rules Of Procedures, Rule 16, To Reflect Changes Made To The Annual Evaluations Of Appointed City Officials Background and justification: The City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk are city officials appointed by City Council. These three appointed city officials receive an annual evaluation from the council, typically held in executive session. The current evaluation process outlined in the City Council Rules of Procedure contains several steps and involves a tabulation team that compiles the individual comments and ratings into one anonymous form to be used during the executive session. However, since the employee is actively receiving feedback from all members of the council during the evaluation, the effort made to keep the comments anonymous becomes null. Council members have nothing to hide when it comes to providing feedback as they are not the ones being evaluated. Everyone involved in the evaluation process operates to a high degree of professionalism. A minor change to the evaluation form has been made to include a N/A column if the evaluator feels that the category does not apply. The pre -fabricated definitions have been deleted and instead there is a small box to make comments or notes. Rather than turn the evaluation forms over to the tabulation team, the council member would bring the form with them to the executive session to use during the evaluation. The other change being made with this resolution is the timing of the annual evaluations. Currently, in the Rules of Procedure, the evaluations are to take locked into place for January, February, or March of each year. This framework has led to inconsistent and truncated evaluation periods. This resolution would allow for the annual evaluation to coincide with the employee's start date. The changes are reflected in an amendment to Rule 16 of the City Council Rules of Procedure, Evaluation of Appointed Officials. Resolution 2024-044 Annual Evaluation Session: This annual meeting should be scheduled in January, February and cycle. The annual evaluation should be scheduled at a council meeting that falls in close proximity to the anniversary date of the employee's first day of work. This evaluation is regularly scheduled and follows this process: Self -Evaluation: The employee shall complete a self -evaluation using his/her the respec blank evaluation form as a guide. He/she The employee may write comments rather than use the rating system if he/she they so choose. It is the responsibility of the employee to complete and distribute hard copies of these self -evaluation reports to the council members no less than two (2) weeks 10 days prior to the actual Annual Evaluation Session. Council Evaluation: No less than two (2) weeks 10 days prior to the employee's evaluation date, the City Clerk will provide the necessary blank evaluation forms to the City Council. The tabulation of the council members' scoring and comments will be assigned to two appointed council members; these two people form the tabulation team. Completed evaluation forms should be turned in to the tabulation team no less than three (3) days prior to the Annual Evaluation Session. Evaluation Tabulation: The tabulation team will tally and average the scores, and combine all comments anonymously onto one tabulated evaluation form. This tabulated form should be made available for Council members at the Annual Evaluation Session. Evaluation & Goal Setting In Executive Session: The Annual Evaluation Session will be held in Executive Session and the time scheduled for the Evaluation Session should be sufficient to do the job in a professional manner. "Round Robin" comments by Council members are permitted. Council members will bring their completed evaluation forms to the evaluation. It is also during the Annual Evaluation Session that the employee's goals are discussed and agreed upon by all parties. Finalizing Evaluation & Goals With Employee: Within one (1) week of the Annual Evaluation Session, the tabulation team should create a final draft of the employee's tabulated evaluation form that also includes the agreed upon goals, tabulated score, and comments, and should meet with the employee to review. At this meeting, the tabulation team and the employee will sign the document as an acknowledgement of the understanding. The final step will be for Council-te will determine any personnel decisions as a result of the evaluation, to conduct an assessment of the evaluation process and suggest amendments to the procedures, if necessary. At the conclusion of the current evaluation, the next evaluation cycle automatically begins, DISPOSITION OF EVALUATION FORMS Certain information concerning the performance of an individual being evaluated under these procedures is not a public record, except as described in this section, and is not subject to disclosure under AS 40.25. Resolution 2024-044 Revisions to CCROP Rule 16 Additions in yellow Deletions in grey RULE 16. EVALUATION OF APPOINTED OFFICIALS PURPOSE OF EVALUATION The purpose of providing periodic evaluations of the City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Manager is: • To give the employee timely feedback on their performance and to identify areas in which they are doing well, along with areas in which improvement may be needed. Evaluation should lead to positive action. • To clarify and strengthen communication between the employee and the Council as it relates to their respective expectations for their position. ▪ To serve as a method for gathering data relevant to subsequent personnel decisions. STATEMENT OF CITY COUNCIL'S RESPONSIBILITIES Evaluating the performance of the City Manager, the City Clerk, and the City Attorney is a significant responsibility of the City Council. Conducting an effective evaluation is hard work, but it does not have to be a bad experience. With a clear procedure and open lines of communication, chances are good that the experience will result in a more productive working relationship. FREQUENCY AND TIMING OF EVALUATIONS Evaluation is an ongoing process. To be most beneficial, it is suggested that evaluation sessions be held at least annually. Nothing in these evaluation procedures precludes the Council from exercising its authority to appoint or terminate the services of the City Manager, the City Attorney, or the City Clerk; or to exercise its authority as set forth in any employment contract with said employees. OVERVIEW OF STEPS INVOLVED IN EVALUATION PROCESS Special Performance Evaluation Session: This ad hoc meeting may be scheduled at the will of the Council to provide feedback and address any areas needing improvement. There are no evaluation forms or standard processes defined for this evaluation since it is ad hoc. Initial 6-Month Evaluation Session: This session should be scheduled for a council meeting roughly 6 months from the hire date. By default, this initial evaluation would be done in executive session. The goal is to provide feedback and address any areas needing improvement. There are no evaluation forms or standard processes defined for this evaluation. This evaluation pertains to newly hired City Manager or City Clerk. The City Attorney would receive an initial 6-month evaluation only if the firm itself was newly contracted with the city. Resolution 2024-044 Individual Council evaluation forms and the employee's self -evaluation forms are to be destroyed after executive session by the tabulation team evaluated employee. These forms are not considered a public record. Overall tabulation f rm and criteria forms are considered a public record, as well as these procedures and shall be maintained in the employee's contract folder. Resolution 2024-04 Annual Evaluation Form Appointed City Officials Employee Name: Position: Review Date: Appraisal Period: From: To: Evaluated Competencies Excellent Good Poor N/A Comments Job knowledge Work quality ❑ ❑ Reliability ❑ ❑ Service excellence ❑ ❑ Teamwork Accountability ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Judgment ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Communication ❑ ❑ Cooperation ❑ ❑ Attendance ❑ ❑ Plan & Organize Leadership ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Decision -making ❑ ❑ Form adopted TBD 202• Page 1 of 2 Employee Name Position RA3wiutipp-i2024-044 From: To: (use separate sheet of paper as needed for the following questions) Noteworthy accomplishments during this review period: Action plan for areas needing improvement: Professional development goals/plan: ***This evaluation form is to be destroyed after the annual evaluation has taken place*** Form effective: TBD 2024 • Page 2 of 2