HomeMy WebLinkAbout33. City Manager's Evaluation •
CITY HALL
215 Church Avenue
P.O.Box 1130
Oshkosh,Wisconsin
54903-1130 City of Oshkosh
920/236-5000
OfHKOJH
ON THE WATER
Date: June 21, 2013
CITY COUNCIL
Burk Tower
Mayor To: Steve Herman, Deputy Mayor
Steve Cummings
Deputy Mayor
Steve Herman From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager ---
Deb Allison-Aasby
Jef Hal
Tom schl Re: City Manager's Performance Evaluation and
Employment Agreement
CITY MANAGER
Mark A.Rohloff
Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you on June 18 to discuss Council's
evaluation process of me and ways in which we can further improve an already effective
process. I appreciate the assistance of you and recent Deputy Mayors in refining my
review process and hope that this level of communication and interaction continues in
future performance reviews.
You had asked me for input on several areas, namely the current evaluation form and
possible ways to streamline that document; the use of outside assistance for the
Council in conducting my review; and any other items related to my employment
agreement that I would like Council to consider in the context of my review. I will give
you a brief overview of some of my thoughts.
Current Evaluation Form
It sounds as though some Council members thought that the existing form had some
redundancies in it and that some items, such as importance of measure, were perhaps
unnecessary. We agreed that the form could be streamlined. I have taken a crack at it
based on our discussion and have attached a draft for your review, along with the
current form. I have collapsed several of the categories and folded the language into a
single rating. This brought the form down to three pages and 11 criteria. I am
comfortable with whatever Council feels may be appropriate to have a reasonable range
of criteria available to you.
City Manager's Performance Evaluation and Employment Agreement
June 21, 2013
Page 2
I would also suggest that Council consider replacing the current 4 scale evaluation with
the 5 scale evaluation scale that was recently adopted by Council for the new
Performance Evaluation (PE) system for other city employees. I believe that this is
similar to the previous scale used by Council, but reinforces Council's commitment to
the new PE system. I have added that scale to my draft form. To save space, I only
placed the scale at the top of the form, allowing Council to simply use the 1-5 scale
throughout the remainder of the evaluation document.
We can discuss any other aspects of this form, as I believe that we are already on a
good footing for improving the process without a great deal of other changes.
As for continuing to use the department heads for input, I am aware that some
department heads are reluctant to participate, while others feel comfortable providing
this input. I believe that a broader view of my performance is helpful and appropriate,
but I will leave it to Council how you feel you can best get input from staff, residents,
and other members of our community.
Outside Assistance for Council
Several council members have asked me in the past about how to use staff in the
process of my evaluation. I believe that staff has a role to safeguard formal documents
related to my review once they are adopted in open session. However, my experience
has taught me that it is inappropriate for staff to provide advice to Council on how to
conduct my evaluation, regardless of their expertise in these areas. While staff is fully
capable of providing the type of advice being sought, it represents a conflict of interest
for them to assist Council in evaluating their superior. While I am pleased with the
excellent relationship that my staff and I enjoy with the Council, I want Council to be
comfortable with my evaluation process by reducing the potential for awkward
circumstances during the process itself.
With respect to seeking outside legal or other professional assistance, that step may be
premature at this time. I believe that our meeting represents what we should be doing
at the outset of my evaluation, namely, discussing how we want to approach the
process. If Council or I believes that outside assistance is necessary, we can certainly
discuss the need for outside assistance, and the scope of assistance needed. At this
time, I believe that we can jointly work to put together my evaluation process without
any outside assistance. Should the need change, there are a variety of channels
available through which you can obtain resources to assist you in my evaluation.
City Manager's Performance Evaluation and Employment Agreement
June 21, 2013
Page 3
Items Related to Employment Agreement
I appreciate our discussion regarding my employment agreement and you asking me to
bring to your attention issues of concern to me. While certain aspects of the agreement
may be changed from time to time to stay current with similar agreements, I believe that
Council has addressed a great deal of issues in the employment agreement in recent
years. The only issue that remains is really the most sensitive of all, that being my
salary with respect to the market.
In order to be fair to both Council and me, I would ask that Council perform a similar
analysis of city manager salaries that you did for general employees back in 2011. I
would ask that Council conduct a survey of comparable cities in this area of the Midwest
to determine the appropriate salary range and control point for my position. From that
point, both Council and I would have an idea of what the current market is for
comparable positions. Ignoring comparable data would draw unnecessary attention to
an issue that will be looked upon with a critical eye by the public as well as my fellow
employees. I recognize the sensitive nature of this issue, and believe that Council
needs to have reliable information in front of each of them before they can have any
substantive discussion of my compensation. Because all of this data is public record
and the data set for this type of analysis will be reasonably limited, I believe that Council
could have this work done with minimal cost or effort.
I appreciate the open relationship I have with Council on all aspects of my performance
review. I think that it speaks well to our overall relationship and our ability to address
these sensitive issues in a collaborative fashion. Thank you for providing me the
opportunity to serve you and the city of Oshkosh.
Attachments
2013 Performance Evaluation
Oshkosh City Manager Evaluation Form
This evaluation model takes into account the various job dimensions of the role of a City Manager.
Please provide a rating that best meets your assessment of the City Manager's performance in achieving
the given job dimension. Comment space is provided for personal notations to prepare for the
evaluation meeting. This document will not be collected, rather it is meant to focus Council discussion
and consensus regarding the City Manager's performance evaluation and expectations.
Please rate on the following scale of 1-5:
5 = Consistently exceeds expectations
4= Meets and often exceeds expectations
3 = Consistently meets expectations
2 = Does not consistently meet expectations, needs improvement
1 = Consistently unable to meet expectations, work is unacceptable
1. Staff Effectiveness: Staff is professional and high quality performers. Staff provides reports and
services that are timely, complete, and contain sound recommendations in accordance with the City's
guiding principles and strategic plan. City Manager demonstrates a commitment to deal with non-
performers and hold the organization accountable for results which do not conform to the City's
strategic plan and guiding principles.
Rating (1-5):
Comments:
2. Strategic Leadership: Anticipates and positions the organization to address and respond to
anticipated events and circumstances in accordance with the City's planning assumptions and strategic
plan. City Manager accepts responsibility for undesirable results/delays in accomplishing City's priority
goals as identified in the strategic plan.
Rating (1-5):
Comments:
Page 1 of 3
2013 Performance Evaluation
3. Policy Facilitation: Presents policy-related information completely and accurately and ensures
that City's planning documents are aligned in accordance with the strategic plan. Respects the role of
elected officials in making policy decisions. Ensures that policy decisions and initiatives are
implemented in accordance to the strategic directions and priorities established in the City's strategic
plan.
Rating (1-5):
Comments:
4. Democratic Responsiveness: Demonstrates an appreciation for the unique culture of the
community. Respects and promotes active citizen participation in local governance in accordance with
the City's guiding principles and future goals as identified in the strategic plan.
Rating (1-5):
Comments:
5. Service Delivery Management: Ensures prompt, courteous and accurate responses to requests
from citizens either directly or through the Governing Body in accordance with the City's guiding
principles and strategic plan.
Rating (1-5):
Comments:
6. Organizational Planning and Management: Prepares clear, effective and understandable
budget mindful of planning documents and City goal congruency. Provides accurate assessment of the
fiscal condition of the community.
Rating (1-5):
Comments:
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2013 Performance Evaluation
7. Communication: Demonstrates effective written and oral communication. Conveys
information effectively and matches presentation styles to different audiences.
Rating (1-5):
Comments:
8. Integrity: Fosters ethical behaviors in accordance with City guiding principles. Demonstrates
accountability for his/her actions.
Rating (1-5):
Comments:
9. Interpersonal Characteristics and Skills: Demonstrates the ability to work in harmony with
others, minimizing conflict,fostering good will within the organization, in external relationships, with
the public and other governmental representatives and interest groups in accordance with the City's
guiding principles and strategic directions.
Rating (1-5):
Comments:
10. Organizational Values: Demonstrates and models the organization's mission,vision, and guiding
principles, and goals identified in the strategic plan.
Rating (1-5):
Comments:
11. Professional Development: Demonstrates a commitment to ongoing personal professional
development and continuous organization improvement through continued education and training.
Rating (1-5):
Comments:
Page 3 of 3