Reprinted from The Desert Sun
February 6, 2005
No reputable multimillion-dollar corporation would allow its CEO to run the business without an evaluation, yet the Palm Springs city manager worked four years without a performance review.
In Indio, former City Manager Tom Ramirez worked two years without a review, yet the city council felt comfortable enough to schedule a meeting to discipline or fire him.
Cathedral City Manager Don Bradley has had only three reviews in five years.
Each of them - and their counterparts in La Quinta, Indian Wells, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Desert Hot Springs and Coachella - earns a six-figure salary and is charged with leading their communities during these unprecedented times of growth.
Each shoulders an enormous responsibility and on any given day is just one vote away from being fired, yet three cities have been derelict in reviewing their managers; six communities have taken a more responsible approach to reviewing their CEO.
City councils in Palm Springs and Cathedral City have at least recognized their shortcomings and are taking steps to correct them.
They earn anywhere between $120,000 and $170,000 and in some cases are charged with overseeing hundreds of employees and budgets worth as much as nearly $50 million. In some instances, their contracts specifically call for routine performance reviews, but the contract has been ignored.
From Palm Springs to Indio and back to Cathedral City, city managers are doing the best they can with sporadic or no formal feedback or input on their job performance.
Former Indio City Manager Ramirez led the most populous and fastest-growing city for two years and says he never had a performance evaluation, though his contract required it.
"An evaluation is critical," Ramirez said. "It provides input. You have five people you are tying to make happy at any given time. Without that input, it's tough to do."
Ramirez announced his resignation on the evening of July 14, just as the council scheduled a closed-session meeting to discuss firing or disciplining him.
It seems more than a little odd that a majority of the City Council - any city council for that matter - would lay the groundwork to fire or discipline someone who has never been given the benefit of a performance review.
A similar story was unfolding in Palm Springs but the City Council, under Mayor Ron Oden's leadership, came to its senses and realized it had done City Manager David Ready a disservice in failing to review his performance. The review was prompted in large part because a minority of council members questioned Ready's performance.
"I don't know how you hold someone accountable if you're not conveying a clear direction," Oden said. "Without an evaluation, it sends the message that you're doing a good job. We had not done our due diligence."
The City Council now has a formal evaluation tool in place and Ready's goals clearly defined; his performance will be evaluated in six months.
"I'm glad we took the time when we did," Oden said.
Cathedral City City Manager Bradley's performance was discussed last November during the election. Then-Mayor George Stettler was overall pleased with his performance; then Councilwoman Kathy DeRosa was not.
"I believe we have shortchanged him," DeRosa said at the time. "He has no clear expectations. Brad has never been given a clear directive. While I'm not necessarily happy, I hold the political body responsible."
With DeRosa as mayor, things are changing. Evaluation of the city manager is on the City Council's closed-session agenda on Monday.
Bradley, Ready and all other city managers deserve to be treated fairly and like the professionals they are. That means clear expectations - and at the very least annual performance evaluations.
No city manager should find himself ambushed.
