Gilroy council forms subcommittee to design formal city administrator evaluation and hire consultant

The Gilroy City Council voted unanimously to form a three-member subcommittee and to engage a consultant to design a formal annual performance-evaluation process for the city administrator.

Mayor Greg Bozzo, Councilmember Ramirez and Councilmember Klein will serve on the subcommittee, which the council directed to interview and select a facilitator and return with a recommended process and policy. The council also approved proceeding with consultant engagement; staff estimated an initial cost of about $15,000 for consultant startup work.

City Administrator (referred to in the meeting as Jimmy) presented the proposal and said a documented, best-practice evaluation would align the city's strategic goals, annual work plans and the administrator's performance. "It is very important that the oversight of that and that evaluation process is really the cornerstone of our relationship and to see how the organization is doing," the city administrator said during his presentation. He noted the International City and County Management Association (ICMA) 3-60 model and said a formalized process would support his effort to obtain a credentialed manager designation.

Councilmembers described the proposal as a way to standardize and document a process that has been informal in prior years. Several members said a neutral facilitator would help "herd the cats" and produce a repeatable policy. The subcommittee will interview consultants, recommend a selection to the full council and return with a proposed timeline and materials for council approval.

The motions to appoint the subcommittee and to engage the consultant passed by roll call, 7-0.