HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/05/1999 Work Session
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City of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, APRIL 5,1999
The city of Springfield council met in work session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street,
. Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, April 5, 1999, at 6:03 p.m., with Mayor Maine presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Maine, Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield, Leiken, Lundberg and Simmons.
Also present were City Manager Michael Kelly, City Attorneys Joe Leahy, Tim Harold, Meg
Kieran, and Joe Trudeau, Senior Management Analyst Rosie Pryor, City Recorder Julie Wilson
and members of the staff.
1. City Attorney Performance Evaluation.
Councilor Fitch introduced Human Resources Director Frank Hotchkiss whom introduced this
item.
Mr. Hotchkiss provided a handout, which summarized scoring of the performance evaluation
of the city attorneys.
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The majority of comments made were excellent or good. The following is the summary of
comments:
Number of Responses:
City Attorney 4
City Council 7
Management Team 1 0
Staff/Supervisors 13
1. GENERAL LEGAL COUNSEL
City Council
Management Team
Staff/Supervisors
City Attorney
4 Excellent
3 Good
9 Excellent
1 Did Not Respond
9 Excellent
4 Good
4 Excellent
2. LEGlSLA TIVE COUNSEL
City Council
Management Team
Staff/Supervisors
City Attorney
4 Excellent
3 Good
6 Excellent
4 Did Not Respond
7 Excellent
3 Good
3 Did Not Respond
2.5 Excellent
.5 Good
1 Did Not
Respond
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3. LlTIGA TION
Work Session Minutes
Apri] 5, ]999
Page 2
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City Council
Management Team
Staff/Supervisors
City Attorney
5 Excellent
1 Good
] Did Not Respond
7 Excellent
3 Did Not Respond
7 Excellent
2 Good
4 Did Not Observe
4 Excellent
4. INTERACTION WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES
(This question appeared only on Council evaluation)
City Council
6 Excellent
1 Good
5. CITIZEN REQUESTS
City Council
Management Team
Staff/Supervisors
City Attornev
4 Excellent
2 Good
1 Did Not Respond
5 Excellent
5 Did Not Respond
4 Excellent
9 Did Not Respond
3.5 Excellent
.5 Good
Mr. Hotchkiss said there were no notable areas of major concern or criticism of the City
Attomey's Office (CAO).
Council was provided with the opportunity to ask questions of CAO staff.
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Mayor Maine said in reviewing the summary handout, she was pleased to see so many
comments. She saw a lot of good feedback related to timely follow-up by the CAO on
matters.
The group reviewed the comments made by the Management Team, Staff/Supervisors and
City Attorney. Attachment 1-2 was reviewed. Item 4, Citizen Requests was discussed. This
related to staffing time associated with telephone calls from a specific citizen.
Councilor Lundberg asked how council handled issues of one citizen taking a lot of staff time.
Mr. Kelly said he did monitor these types of situations. He explained that he routinely asks
staff to check into the occurrence of the calls and staff resource and time that is being taken to
handle this situation. When a problem does exist, Mr. Kelley does contact the party and has a
candid discussion with that party regarding this issue.
Councilor Ballew also discussed previous discussion regarding legal needs funneling through
staff and the City Manager's Office prior to being forwarded to the CAO.
Ms. Kieran discussed some incidents in which the CAO may be directly contacted by a citizen
and the handling of that request. An example is that the person could be directed to
appropriate staff first, then through the CAO, as required.
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Mayor Maine explained that she did want citizens to have response and/or assistance as
appropriate, although, wanted the CAO staff to indicate if a particular citizen dominates their
time or if other similar situations exist.
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Work Session Minutes
April 5, 1999
Page 3
Councilor Ballew asked if a written policy existed regarding contact of the CAO staff. Mr.
Kelly explained that this type of policy did not exist, although, the CAO staff could discuss
their retainer agreement and answer specific questions if desired.
Mr. Harold explained how they responded directly to staff along with the method they use in
evaluating projects. He also discussed their (positive) working relationship with department
heads, supervisors and other staff members.
The council reviewed the "council evaluation" comments and commended the CAO staff.
Council was pleased with their support.
Councilor Ballew said that due to the city being a municipal agency, its possible that at some
future date, the council should think about a review of legal services offered and review
associated costs.
Mr. Leahy discussed email use. He said he needed to do a better job of responding to email.
Mr. Leahy discussed a comment noting the need for a better job in providing human resources
training. Mr. Leahy said this is being worked on.
Mr. Leahy discussed a comment noted on the staff report, which related to backflow devices.
Mr. Leahy provided information regarding this issue.
. Mr. Leahy discussed a comment made on attachment 1-6 regarding finishing the issue with
DEQ on Depot property.
Mayor Maine said this was an excellent performance evaluation and thanked them for their
service to the organization.
Councilor Fitch thanked Ginger Connole and Frank Hotchkiss for their assistance in preparing
the staff work on this issue.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.
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Minutes Recorder - Julie Wilson
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Maureen Maine
Mayor