Council rejects ad hoc committee to design city manager performance review; motion to strike passes

Councilors debated a proposal to create an advisory committee made up of fewer than a majority of council members and potentially other officers or employees to design an annual performance review process for the city manager. Several members raised legal and procedural concerns about including non‑council personnel in a committee that assists with an employment review for the city manager.

Opponents said the city manager is an employee of the full council and argued that personnel matters and performance reviews should remain internal to the council, the city attorney and human resources. One councilor urged keeping the review within the existing council process and using a previously developed evaluation tool, noting the council has used similar instruments in the past.

Proponents described the ad hoc committee as a limited research and drafting body that would propose standardized questions and evaluation criteria for the full council to use; they said the committee would not carry out the evaluation alone but would return a proposed process for the entire council’s consideration.

After discussion, a motion was made and seconded to strike the item from the agenda rather than advance creation of an ad hoc committee. The motion to strike passed on a roll‑call vote recorded in the meeting transcript. Council members who spoke argued for preserving confidentiality and collective council responsibility for employment matters. The transcript shows the item will be revisited only if the council chooses to reword and reintroduce the proposal at a future meeting.