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<br />WS – Item 10 <br />WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />Work Session Item No. 10 <br /> <br /> <br />Date: June 5, 2017 <br /> <br />To: City Council <br /> <br />From: Jeff Karlson <br /> <br />Re: Council Review of Department Directors <br /> <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />Mayor Reinert brought up the idea of the City Council giving department directors <br />performance expectations and providing feedback on how they’re meeting those <br />expectations. <br /> <br />It is outside the norm for council members to go through a formal evaluation process for <br />department directors. A council member doesn’t always see the whole picture, or simply <br />don’t understand the complexities of a department head’s job. Because of the political <br />nature of a council member’s role, elected officials tend to be less objective when dealing <br />with issues or when burdened with complaints from residents. <br /> <br />Another factor that could complicate the matter even further is that we recently <br />implemented a new performance management system for supervisors and non- <br />supervisors. One of the biggest problems you would likely run into is that the city <br />administrator and City Council may differ on how a department director is meeting job <br />expectations. <br /> <br />Based on my experience working in Lino Lakes for nearly seven years, there is generally <br />a lack of trust amongst elected officials and staff, which fosters an atmosphere of <br />negativity. From what I’ve been told, this has been true for a long time. <br /> <br />Requested Council Direction <br /> <br />I do not recommend implementing a formal review process for department directors. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />