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ITEM 8.3.
MEMORANDUM
Mayor & City Council
Pat Klaers, City Administ r
July 31,1995
SUBJECT: Personnel Services
Per direction from the City Council, staff has been working on putting together a proposal
for doing employee performance evaluations. This was one of the motions that was
approved with the Comparable Worth Plan.
The Comparable Worth Committee, Lori, Sandy, Phil, and Tom, and I have met twice to
discuss how the city should approach initiating a performance evaluation system. At the
second meeting we invited the personnel employee from the League of Minnesota Cities
to meet with us and explain their services. League representative, Kay McAloney, is the
former personnel director for the City of Ramsey and has worked with a number of
communities in developing performance evaluation systems. Attached for your review is
the proposal from the League of Minnesota Cities to develop an Elk River performance
evaluation system.
• It should be noted that any performance evaluation system is dependent upon good job
descriptions. The City of Elk River job descriptions need to be updated in order to be in
compliance with the ADA law. In review of the attached proposal, we believe that the
estimate for the job descriptions is high and that the estimate on performance evaluation
is low. Everything will be billed out on an hourly basis so the city will only be charged
for services that we receive. It is believed that we can get our city job descriptions
updated and get a performance evaluation system implemented for about $5,000. Some
of these expenses would have to be incorporated into the 1996 budget, but we have one
third of this amount already in the 1995 budget. This is the requested amount up front if
the proposal is accepted. Staff has not looked at any other consultants to provide these
services to the city, but we do not believe we could find better service or quality work at a
better price than what is offered from the League.
If this proposal is accepted, we would need to work with Kay on the job descriptions first
and then work on the performance evaluation system. Our goal is to get through both
processes within a year and conduct our first round of written employee performance
evaluations in the fall of 1996. We prefer one system for all City employees but we still
need to discuss and review the plan with the Police Sergeants who do written evaluations
on the Police Officers (union).
• Recommendation
Staff recommends that the attached proposal from the League of Minnesota Cities is
accepted.
13065 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 490 • Elk River, MN 55330 • (612) 441-7420 • Fax: (612) 441-7425
JUL 2 1 1995
July 20, 1995
Pat Klaers
City Administrator
City of Elk River
13065 Orono Parkway
Elk River, MN 55330-0490
Dear Pat:
For your evaluation, please find the League of Minnesota Cities' proposal for personnel services.
In the following pages, you will read about the League's capabilities and intentions regarding these
• projects. We are confident that we can meet your needs in the specific areas of creating and
updating your job descriptions, and creating and implementing a performance evaluation system.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit this proposal. It was a pleasure to meet with you,
Finance Director Lori Johnson, City Clerk Sandy Thackeray, Parks/Streets Superintendent Phil
Hals and, briefly, Police Chief Tom Zerwas to discuss the process. I look forward to working
with you.
Sincerely,
a
Kay E. McAloney
Personnel Advisor
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CITY OF ELK RIVER
PROPOSAL
Submitted by
Kay E. McAloney
Personnel Advisor
League of Minnesota Cities
Personnel
Services
Department
July 20, 1995
U
Phase 1 Tob Descriptions:
During our meeting we discussed job descriptions for your 34 job classes. Staff explained that
job descriptions have not been updated to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
in that they do not indicate essential elements of each position, and there are several jobs without
job descriptions.
We would be prepared to present you with some examples for as many positions as we have
available, review each job description in draft and final format, schedule departments to perform
updates (one department at a time), and provide telephone and fax assistance. This assumes that
you will have a project manager at the City that I can work with throughout the process. We also
discussed that you would like to do as much administrative work as possible, in-house. I would
provide you with samples, you would use your current job description to reformat and insert ADA
requirements, then forwazd to me (by department) for review. Once one department is complete,
we would move to the next.
We estimate the above services at two hours per job class. This would include review,
administrative time, telephone and fax assistance, and facilitating the process. As previously
stated, this assumes that the typing of each job description would be completed in-house, and that
you would have a project manager to work with me on the process. We bill actual hours, so if
one position took 1.50 hours, you would be billed at 1.50 hours. Likewise, if a position took 2.50
• hours, you would be billed at 2.50 hours.
(As a note, when offering the entire process for creating job descriptions, the League normally
estimates 4.50 hours per job class. This includes an interview with an employee from each job
class and creating a job description where outdated ones or none previously existed.)
Administrative, telephone, and fax time - 68 hours @ $60 hour =$4 Q$Q..QQ
$4,080.00
Phase 2 Performance Evaluation System:
Once the job descriptions are up-to-date for each position, we can begin the process for the
performance evaluation system.
At our July 10, 1995 meeting we reviewed a completed sample of a performance evaluation form
and how it would pertain to the position of City Administrator, and the fictitious Pat Patterson.
As we previously discussed, this form is used in conjunction with your job descriptions (Part B),
which allows for position specific evaluation. There is also a portion of the evaluation that
pertains to general traits necessary for all employees (Part C), such as teamwork, communication,
. decision-making, organizing and planning, initiative, dependability, etc. Part D asks for goals
for the next review period, and is designed to get supervisors and employees talking about
• employee development. Part E has a continuum to rate the employee overall, and an explanation
paragraph directly below it. There are signature lines for the employee, the supervisor that
completed the evaluation, and one for the City Administrator. As we previously discussed, a
supervisor should not meet with an employee to discuss the evaluation prior to the Finance
Director and the City Administrator having reviewed it for consistency. There is one addition to
Part C for only supervisors, and includes general traits necessary for supervisory personnel, such
as delegating, training/coaching, motivating employees, etc.
When the supervisor is notified that it is time to evaluate an employee, the employee should be
given a copy of the Self Appraisal Form. Employees should have approximately one week to
complete this form and return it to their supervisor. These forms have been extremely useful in
completing the employee's evaluation form and provides for meaningful discussion during the
evaluation meeting. When the Self Appraisal and the Performance Evaluation forms are complete,
and after review by the Finance Director and City Administrator, the employee should be given
a copy of the review prior to the evaluation meeting. This way the employee is not surprised by
anything they will be discussing during the evaluation meeting. It is common to have supervisors
give it to the employee the day before the meeting is scheduled, so that the employee can mentally
prepare for the meeting. Usually after the meeting all signatures are made and the original of the
Self Appraisal Form and the Performance Evaluation is placed in the employee's personnel file.
There is a provision on the Performance Evaluation Form for the employee to have two weeks to
make written comments on the Evaluation Form that will become an attachment to the original.
• As also discussed, using a form already available at the League's office will be more cost effective
than the creation of a new form. This form would allow flexibility to make changes to fit your
needs. The cost of this proposal is based on the form that we discussed at our July 10, 1995
meeting.
There would need to be at least two trips to your City. One meeting would be with all of the
employees this new system would impact. This meeting is extremely important to the process.
Employees do not necessarily have to agree with the system selected by the City, but allowing
employees to express their comments and concerns contributes to an easier implementation.
During this same trip I would also meet with the Committee to discuss concerns and input
gathered from the employee meeting. I estimate meetings during this trip at approximately 5
hours.
From this trip I would return to my office and either amend the form based on comments, or send
a letter and a copy of the proposed form to all employees and bargaining unit representatives. The
employees will have a week or so to write their comments down regarding the form. They should
give them to the Finance Director, anonymously, and she would collect them and forward them
to me after a certain deadline.
The second meeting's purpose is to provide training for evaluators in completing the appraisal
forms. This would include any supervisor or department head that would be charged with
. completing an appraisal and/or meeting with employees for an evaluation meeting. I would
estimate this meeting at approximately 4 hours.
• Other than the two trips, you and I would need to spend time on the telephone and fax amending
the form, as necessary, pursuant to any Committee directed changes.
F.ctimated cost of Phase 2 breaks down as follows:
First trip meetings - 5 hours @ $60 hour
Second trip meetings - 4 hours @ $60 hour
Telephone and fax time - 4 hours @ $60 hour
Administrative time- 7 hours (typing, copying, etc.) @ $60 hour
Mileage for 2 trips (60 miles round-trip) @ $.30/mile
Travel time for 2 trips (2 hours per trip) @ $30 hour
_ $300.00
_ $240.00
_ $240.00
_ $420.00
_ $ 36.00
_ ~ 120.00
$1,356.00
Rates for League Personnel Services are as follows:
Mileage (actual) at $.30/mile Postage for mailings -actual
Travel time at $30/hour Meeting time at $60/hour
Telephone time at $60/hour Administrative time at $60/hour
If you have any questions, comments, or revisions to the above arrangements, please feel free to
call me at 490-5600. If you accept the proposal, please sign and return one of the enclosed copies
of this letter along with the signature page. I am prepared to begin working on this project
• immediately upon acceptance of this proposal.
Payment for the work will be as follows:
1/3 of the estimated total upon your acceptance of this proposal. Balance to be paid at the
end of the project.
I look forward to working with you on this project.
Sincerely,
~~ ///
Kay E. McAloney
Personnel Advisor
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The terms contained herein for services are accepted and the above constitutes a contract between
the League of Minnesota Cities and the City of Elk River.
League of Minnesota Cities
By
James Miller, Executive Director
City of Elk River
By
Patrick Klaers, City Administrator
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