Gold Hill council ratifies city manager evaluation, authorizes $2,500 bonus and contract review

Gold Hill — The Gold Hill City Council ratified a 12-month performance evaluation of City Manager Lily Morgan on Dec. 19 and directed regional HR consultant RV COG to negotiate amendments to her employment agreement, including the umbrella-insurance requirement and a possible vehicle stipend. The council also approved a one-time $2,500 bonus to recognize Morgan’s performance.

Adrienne Majeski, HR director for the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, presented the evaluation and said the council’s average score across 42 survey questions was 4.4 while Morgan’s self-evaluation averaged 4.7 — both categories she characterized as above “exceeds expectations.” Majeski said five council responses were received and that no single question showed more than a one-point variance between council and self-ratings.

Majeski summarized written comments included in the report, saying councilors praised Morgan’s leadership, professionalism and work to build an effective staff. “She’s an asset to Gold Hill and her constituents,” Majeski said, reading representative remarks included in the packet.

Majeski highlighted recent grant work under Morgan’s tenure, saying the city secured roughly $1,700,000 in grants during 2024, and that Morgan had rewritten some applications to make them successful. That figure was presented as the consultant’s summary of the city’s grant activity during the evaluation period.

Council discussion focused on two contract items Majeski and Morgan flagged: a requirement in Morgan’s employment agreement that she maintain a $1,000,000 umbrella insurance policy for personal-vehicle use while on city business, and the existing severance language. Morgan said the umbrella policy had cost her about $500 since starting in the job and asked the council to consider offsetting that expense or reducing the coverage requirement to the state minimum. Majeski said she had not commonly seen such a requirement and suggested the council could either compensate Morgan for the premium or revise the contract language.

The council also reviewed severance terms (three months initially, increasing to six months after five years) and weighed options for compensation. Morgan said she preferred a one-time bonus to a permanent salary increase to avoid locking the city into higher ongoing costs. Majeski and councilors discussed possible approaches including a percentage-based merit or a fixed bonus; cost-of-living figures around 3–3.5% were offered as context.

By verbal direction, councilors asked RB COG and staff to draft contract amendment language removing or lowering the umbrella-insurance requirement and to propose a vehicle stipend option. The council then moved to adopt Resolution 24R-33, which ratifies the evaluation, acknowledges the city manager’s contributions, directs RB COG to negotiate a contract amendment for the manager, and authorizes compensation as directed by council.

A councilor moved to adopt the resolution and the motion was seconded. On a roll call vote the motion carried. Councilors verbally directed staff to provide a one-time bonus of $2,500 to Morgan; staff were instructed to return proposed amendment language for council review.

The council adjourned after thanking Majeski and Morgan for the presentation and work on the evaluation. The negotiated contract amendments and any formal compensation paperwork will be returned to the council for formal approval at a later meeting.