HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 9/27/2022 - Memorandum From Teresa Roche Re: Preparation For September 27 Annual Performance Review Workshop
Human Resources Department
215 N. Mason, 2nd Floor
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6535
Date: September 21, 2022
To: Mayor and City Councilmembers
From: Teresa Roche, Human Resources
CC: Rupa Venkatesh, Assistant City Manager
Sarah Kane, Executive Assistant, City Council
RE: Preparation for September 27 Session 4:00 to 5:30pm
___________________________________________________________________
I hope all are well. This memo provides context and content for next Tuesday ’s Council session
in the Colorado River Room.
The intention of the session is to discuss and decide on the aligned approach you want
for the annual performance review process for your three employees this fall.
Attached are:
• A document highlighting the Council Compensation Committee discussion on what they
suggested should continue and change in the process. At the top of page two, you
will read the guidance on selecting a new consultant for the Council.
o A new RFP was done, and ILG’s Strategic Services from Denver was
chosen. They have extensive experience working in the public sector with
organizations such as the City of Denver, Adams County, Colorado State
University, Colorado Legislature, Colorado Judicial Branch, City of Brighton, and
the Town of Timnath and specific expertise in working with elected officials to
evaluate their employees. References were done with Timnath and Brighton, and
all feedback was positive.
• The outline created by ILG’s Jen Volmer and Anne McCord for September 27. It was
requested that they come prepared with a suggested process for you to react to,
and they want to emphasize that the outcome will reflect your intentions.
• ILG’s slides for the session.
• For reference only, a copy of Resolution 2019-099 Of The Council Of The City Of Fort
Collins Adopting An Updated Process For City Council Evaluation Of The Performance
Of The City Manager, City Attorney And Chief Judge And Establishing Benchmark
Cities.
I want to thank the Council Compensation Committee for their continued partnership and
counsel.
If you have any questions, please let me know. I am back at Purdue until Saturday evening for a
board I serve on, and you can reach me on my mobile at 970-481-3754.
TR
1
Council Compensation Committee Feedback
• Frequency and timeline of performance discussions in 2023.
• There was an agreement to schedule a performance dialogue two times a year.
• The biggest concern is when a new Council comes on board during an election
year; it is challenging to do an evaluation mid-year. This concern may be moot if
the timing of the election changes to November. If not, more must be done in
onboarding to prepare new Councilmembers.
• There is not an expressed need to act on the earlier thought about quarterly
check-ins as Councilmembers meet at least monthly with the City Manager and
City Attorney. The reports from the Chief Judge provide relevant information to
the Council.
• Use a facilitator to interview the Council and write the annual performance summaries for two or
all three employees.
• There was an agreement to work with a facilitator, and the following ideas were shared:
• Councilmember Peel suggested we begin with a few open-ended questions before
the specific questions are asked, such as: what is your feedback in general, and
what concerns might you have? She also questioned the possibility of a survey
with ratings so the Council could see emerging trends—a best of both worlds of
dialogue and a survey to get a fuller view that their employees could also
complete.
• Councilmember Pignataro and Gutowsky suggested we consider a different
facilitator.
• Councilmember Pignataro wondered about the possibility of the ratings being
done by each Councilmember yet not shared.
• There was an agreement to ask the chosen facilitator to offer ideas, including a
dialogue on which questions to ask for the evaluation.
• There was a discussion about the pros and cons of finding a local facilitator.
• There was support for having a facilitator for the annual evaluation dialogue
session.
• Discussion on what materials their employees should prepare for the mid-year and annual
evaluations.
• Councilmember Gutowsky stated that what is happening now is great.
• Councilmember Pignataro agreed and said, “less is more.”
• Councilmember Peel said a self-rated survey would be helpful in addition to the summary
and suggested limiting the evaluation questions to five.
• What else do Councilmembers need to evaluate the performance of your employees and coach
and develop them?
• There was an agreement to schedule a development session on how to give feedback and
coach others before November, making it optional to attend.
• There was a strong sentiment expressed to build more into the onboarding process for
Councilmembers, such as providing a position description and other information from the
three employees. There was a suggestion to have an onboarding session focusing on
evaluation methods for Councilmembers.
2
• What should we consider in the RFP?
• Professionalism—writes well with no grammar or spelling errors
• Fair
• Municipal experience a plus
• Confidentiality
• Consultant has the capacity to do the work well and not be rushed.
• An area of expertise; has done this before.
• 360 reviews as a consideration—would provide a more balanced perspective and give great
insight. PFA and PRPA do this. Start with direct reports first, possible expansion with
community partners in the future. Consider the number asked to ensure you have a broad
pool. Use an online tool and include open-ended questions.
• Are there other ways to evaluate the Judge in other municipalities?
• Other Discussion Items:
• Market analysis of the employees’ pay ranges and discussion of merit increases—new ways
to do this part of the process? Bring the 2019 resolution on the performance management
and compensation process for Council-appointed employees to the October Council
Compensation meeting.
• How to onboard new Councilmembers in 2023? What else needs to be considered besides
what was mentioned in the July 18 meeting? Rupa is working on this; she is the lead, and a
list of topics and approaches are already in motion--want to be sure to include the
Municipal Court and the Chief Judge.
• Need to figure out a way to get more insight into the court. Consideration of scheduled
reports?
City of Fort Collins – Council Workshop
September 27, 2022
Presenters: Anne McCord and Jennifer Volmer, ILG Strategic Services [“ILG”]
During the meeting, Anne and Jen will collaborate with Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and Council Member on
strategies to provide strong performance feedback relevant to the City Manager, City Attorney, and
Chief Judge. ILG will discuss best practices and align with the vision and expectations of the group.
ILG has been successful conducting similar reviews using a confidential online survey tool to assess
performance. Typically, incumbents are evaluated on their performance according to job expectations /
strategic objectives and their leadership characteristics. It is also important to assess opportunities for
improvement and areas where the incumbent is excelling. Interviewing key stakeholders including the
Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and Council Members provides additional feedback for each position under
review.
• Survey participants may include
o Direct Reports
o Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and Council Members
o Self Review
Proposed Timeline:
• October 3: Finalize process
• October 5: Communicate the process to participants
• October 10-24: Assessment process is completed
• October 24-November 4: ILG compiles data for each incumbent
• November 7-18: ILG debriefs with relevant parties1
• November 17: ILG provides final report for each incumbent
• November 22: Reviews
1 This may include facilitating a development session with Council Members on how to give feedback, coach and
develop talent.
EXECUTIVE EVALUATIONS
City Manager City Attorney Chief Judge
ILG STRATEGIC SERVICES
OUR TEAM
Over 50 years combined experience in
strategic HR services.
Anne McCord, SPHR
Jen Volmer, PHR
EXECUTIVE EVALUATIONS
OPTIONS INCLUDE:
Performance review form
Confidential Online survey
Interviews with key stakeholders
Self Evaluation
Performance against metrics
Sample process
Interviews Self
Evaluation
Survey Report
TIMELINE
3 Oct.
Finalize
process
5 Oct.
Communicate
the process to
participants
10–24 Oct.
Assessment
process is
completed
24 Oct. – 4
Nov.
ILG compiles
data for each
incumbent
7–18 Nov.
ILG debriefs
with relevant
parties
17 Nov.
ILG provides
final report
for each
incumbent
22 Nov.
Reviews
RESOLUTION 2019-099
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
ADOPTING AN UPDATED PROCESS FOR CITY COUNCIL
EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CITY MANAGER,
CITY ATTORNEY AND CHIEF JUDGE AND ESTABLISHING BENCHMARK CITIES
WHEREAS, the City Manager, City Attorney and Chief Judge are appointed by the City
Council under the provisions of the City Charter; and
WHEREAS, the Chief Judge is appointed for a two-year term, and the City Manager and
City Attorney serve terms of indefinite duration; and
WHEREAS, the City Council is responsible for managing the performance of all three of
these employees and fixing their compensation; and
WHEREAS, it is essential that these employees perform their duties with integrity,
professionalism and effectiveness; and
WHEREAS, the more formal review of these employees' performance takes place near
the end of each calendar year; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has by resolution developed and approved a process for
conducting the annual reviews, which Council has from time to time updated and revised; and
WHEREAS, the City Council established an ad-hoc committee known as the Direct
Reports Compensation Committee to review, discuss and recommend a total compensation
strategy including benchmark cities, to be applied to its direct report employees; and
WHEREAS, the Direct Reports Compensation Committee unanimously approved a
motion to recommend to City Council a list of benchmark cities for each of its direct report
employees as set forth in the document attached hereto as "Exhibit A;" and
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to supersede all prior resolutions establishing such
review procedures, and adopt the procedures set forth below, which revise that process to allow
the use of facilitation services to assist with the gathering and exchange of information related to
the Annual Reviews.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS that the annual, formal evaluation of the City Manager, City Attorney and
Chief Judge shall be conducted in accordance with the following guidelines:
Section 1. Each year and after consulting with the Chief Human Resources Officer,
the Mayor shall set a date for an annual review meeting with the Council for the City Manager,
City Attorney and the Chief Judge (the "Employees") as part of the annual, formal evaluation
("Annual Review"). The City Clerk will include the scheduled date or dates on the Six-Month
Calendar for Council agenda planning.
Section 2. The Annual Review process shall be conducted as follows:
A. Human Resources, if requested, will contract with an appropriately qualified
consultant (the "Facilitator") to assist with gathering and exchange of information
related to the Annual Reviews.
B. Human Resources will coordinate the development of an evaluation form or set of
questions to be used in the evaluation process for each Employee, working with
the relevant Employee, the Facilitator, and the Mayor or his or her designee.
C. Human Resources will ensure the evaluation form or questions for each Employee
are provided to each Councilmember prior to the date of the Employee's annual
review meeting with the Council.
D. Each Employee will provide his or her self-evaluation and additional information
he or she considers appropriate to the Council prior to the date of the Employee's
annual review meeting with the Council.
E. If a Facilitator is requested, the Facilitator will coordinate with Human Resources,
the Employees and individual Councilmembers to arrange for and meet with each
Councilmember to collect evaluation input for each Employee. If a Facilitator is
not requested, Human Resources will coordinate with the Employees and the
individual Councilmembers to arrange for and meet with each Councilmember to
collect evaluation input for each Employee.
F. The Facilitator or Human Resources will prepare and di stribute to all
Councilmembers and the appropriate Employee a report describing and
summarizing the evaluation input obtained prior to such Employee's annual
review meeting with the Council.
G. Human Resources, the Facilitator and the Employees may provide to Council at
any time any additional information requested by a Councilmember or considered
pertinent in relation to the Annual Review process.
H . All Councilmembers, irrespective of their evaluation of the Employees, are
encouraged to meet individually with the Employees to discuss their performance.
I. Prior to any salary or benefits discussions, Human Resources will provide
relevant information regarding each of the Employees to the Council and to the
appropriate Employee.
J. Each Employee will also provide to Council his or her compensation requests for
the ensuing year and any proposed contract revisions prior to the scheduled salary
and/or benefits discussion between the Employee and the Council.
Section 3. The annual, formal evaluation of the Chief Judge shall be conducted in
accordance with the foregoing guidelines, except that, in addition, each year in which the Chief
Judge is requesting reappointment, Human Resources or the Facilitator shall provide to
Municipal Court prosecutors, defense attorneys who have worked on Municipal Court cases, and
attorneys who have appeared at Liquor Licensing Authority meetings an evaluation form for use
in evaluating the performance of the Chief Judge. The Chief Judge and the Chief Human
Resources Officer shall prepare the form in consultation with the Mayor. Human Resources or
the Facilitator shall compile the names of all persons submitting completed forms, together with
a composite of the ratings and comments on the completed forms and shall provide this
information to Council together with the evaluation input.
Section 4. Any change in the compensation of the Employees shall be approved by
the Council by ordinance. That ordinance shall be adopted by the Council so that the change in
compensation will take effect the first full pay period of the ensuing year. If the Council and
either Employee agree upon any revisions to the Employee's employment contract for the
ensuing year, a resolution approving such revision(s) shall be adopted upon first or second
reading of the salary ordinance.
Section 5. The City Council approves the list of benchmark cities for each of its
direct report employees attached hereto as "Exhibit A" to be used for the next two years. On a
biennial basis, the City Council or a committee established for such purpose will review and
consider whether to revise or update the list of benchmark cities. In making compensation
decisions, the Council may consider such other market information as it from time-to-time
determines to be appropriate.
Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins this 1st
day of October, A.O. 2019.
ATTEST:
-3-
RESOLUTION 2019-099
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
City Manager
Target Market: National
Benchmark Cities:
• Anaheim, CA
• Ann Arbor, MI
• Asheville, NC
• Austin, TX*
• Boulder, CO
• Durham, NC
• Eugene, OR*
• Greensboro, NC
• Hayward, CA
• Irving, TX
• Mesa, AZ
• Naperville, IL*
• Oklahoma City, OK
• Palo Alto, CA
• Plano, TX
• Sacramento, CA
• Santa Monica, CA
• Savannah, GA
• Tallahassee, FL
• Wilmington, NC
EXHIBIT A -BENCHMARK CITIES
*Cities in which the City Attorney reports to the City Manager
City Attorney
Target Market: National
Benchmark Cities:
• Anaheim, CA
• Ann Arbor, MI
• Asheville, NC
• Boulder, CO
• Durham, NC
• Greensboro, NC
• Hayward, CA
• Irving, TX
• Mesa,AZ
• Oklahoma City, OK
• Palo Alto, CA
• Plano, TX
• Sacramento, CA
• Santa Monica, CA
• Savannah, GA
• Tallahassee, FL
• Wilmington, NC
-1-
EXHIBIT A
Chief Judge
Target Market: Colorado
Benchmark Cities:
• Arvada
• Aurora
• Boulder
• Greeley
• Lakewood
• Longmont
• Loveland
• Thornton
• Westminster