Council directs staff to design evaluation policy for direct hires; legal confirms evaluations are public records

Chandler City Council on May 22 unanimously directed staff to develop a written performance evaluation policy and criteria for council’s direct hires, including the city manager and other senior appointed officials.

Council member Harris introduced the item, saying the intent is to establish clear, merit‑based evaluation tools to govern merit raises and contract alignment. “When we give out merit based performance raises, we need to make sure that there's an evaluation tool to evaluate our direct hires,” Harris said.

Council and staff discussed public‑records implications. Acting legal counsel confirmed the records of evaluations are public records: "The record of the evaluation would be a public record," counsel stated during the hearing, and clarified that if an evaluation contains privileged attorney‑client legal advice it must be redacted prior to public release. The council asked staff to design a process that protects privileged material while ensuring transparency in evaluation outcomes.

Council members debated timing and scope; several said annual reviews aligned with contracts are appropriate. Members also asked staff to consider models from other cities and to present draft policy for council review. The motion to direct staff to draft the evaluation policy passed unanimously.