Personnel and Public Employees Committee Special Meeting - May 25, 2021
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Personnel and Public Employees Committee Special Meeting - May 25, 2021
The Personnel and Public Employees Committee (P&PE) held a special teleconference meeting on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, beginning at 10:06 a.m. and adjourning at 10:56 a.m. The committee addressed three items: an update on the Animal Care Services Citizens Advisory Committee, a nomination for the Planning and Design Commission, and a proposal to establish annual performance metrics and evaluations for Council-appointive officers.
Public Comments & Testimony
- One member of the public spoke on Item 1 (Animal Care Services Citizens Advisory Committee), opposing any changes to the existing committee structure and describing the proposal for changes as "ridiculous."
- No public comments were received on Items 2 or 3.
Discussion Items
- Item 1: Animal Care Services Citizens Advisory Committee Update – Staff (Phillip Zimmerman, Animal Care Services Manager) requested postponement to August 2021 to allow time for a community survey via the City Auditor’s office and for drafting an updated ordinance. The survey aims to gather input on social equity issues, access to affordable veterinary care, and services for unhoused residents with pets. Several committee members noted prolonged community frustration, with the process having begun in October 2020. A motion was made and seconded to bring the item back in June 2021, proceed with interviews and appointments to the current committee, while allowing staff to continue the survey and community outreach for future restructuring. After debate, the motion passed 3-1.
- Item 2: Nominations for the Planning and Design Commission – Councilmember Harris nominated Alix Ogilvie for Seat K (requiring a licensed architect, LEED architect, landscape architect, contractor, or licensed engineer with design interest). The nomination was seconded and approved unanimously (4-0). The nomination will be forwarded to the Mayor for appointment.
- Item 3: Establishing Annual City Council Appointive Officer Performance Metrics and Evaluations – Chair Ashby presented a proposal from the Mayor for P&PE to assume responsibility for annual performance reviews of charter officers (City Auditor, City Attorney, City Clerk, City Manager, and OPSA director). The committee discussed creating performance matrices, holding public workshops, and setting a calendar. A motion to accept this responsibility passed unanimously (4-0). The committee directed staff to arrange a planning meeting (not a formal committee meeting due to Brown Act limits) to develop an agenda and timeline, estimating six months to finalize.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (Animal Care Services): Motion passed 3-1 (Member Harris dissenting) to continue the item to the June 29, 2021 meeting, with direction to staff to proceed with applicant interviews, make one-year appointments to allow future restructuring, and continue community outreach and survey development.
- Item 2 (Planning and Design Commission): Unanimous vote (4-0) to nominate Alix Ogilvie for Seat K.
- Item 3 (Performance Metrics): Unanimous vote (4-0) to accept responsibility for annual performance evaluations of Council-appointive officers, with next steps including a staff-led planning meeting to develop a workshop structure and timeline.
Meeting Transcript
Council members, we are live streaming, so I'd refrain from speaking. Ready? We have 30 seconds. Okay. We're live streaming. We can start the meeting. Uh Wendy or Mindy, whichever your mic is pretty loud, might want to bring that down just a scoche. Okay. It might be me too close. Yeah, that could be it. Okay. That's a little bit of yeah. Great. Okay, Red QR. Go for it. I'll call the roll. Member Harris. Present. Member Lilowy. Here. Member Valenzuela. Here. Chair Ashby. Here. We have a quorum. Thank you very much. And your mic sounds much better. I appreciate it. Wanna welcome everyone to this early morning edition of the personnel and public employees community. This is the earliest one I have ever done in my 11 years on this committee. So thank you for joining me. Uh let's see. First of all, let me just say right away. I know there are some folks who reached out to council members and to city staff about the animal care services advisory committee update being on the consent calendar. That is actually just a misprint. That is on for discussion as well today. It just was accidentally placed in the consent column. And I believe that is our first item up, though. Madam Clerk, am I right? Yes, ma'am. I do have a question for you before we take that item. Are there any callers in the queue for it? At this point, we do not have any calls in the queue. Okay, I'd like to just then take the item two first and come right back to the animal care services if we could. And somewhat ironically, one of the ones that we chose actually moved. So we get to go back, and I think it will be easy for us to select our next option because we we uh we had a clear a clear winner for that spot. And so I know council member Harris would like to make this nomination, and I'd be happy to second it, but Mr. Harris. Yeah, thank you, Chair Ashby. I really appreciate it.
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