Palo Alto CAO committee finalizes evaluation materials, sends timeline and prompts to council consent

The Palo Alto CAO Committee on May 12, 2025 reviewed a revised schedule, self‑evaluation prompts and interview questions for the fiscal 2024–25 performance reviews of council‑appointed officers and agreed to place the materials on the full City Council consent calendar for approval.

The discussion matters because the committee’s process will guide evaluations of the city manager, city attorney, city clerk and city auditor; shape any future compensation recommendations; and determine whether the reviews will include more objective performance measures (KPIs) and clearer documentation for public review.

Dan Rich, a consultant with Municipal Resources Group, told the committee he had proposed tightening the prompts and better aligning the CAO self‑evaluation questions with the interview questions he will ask council members. “The key objective here is really just not to have the process drag out too long,” Rich said, describing his goal of completing interviews by mid‑August if possible.

Committee members discussed scheduling at length. The draft timeline included an interview window of July 28–August 8, but several members said holding interviews after the council’s summer recess (the packet referenced early August return dates) would be more…