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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda CC 05.24.2011 SpecialNotice of Meeting of the Governing Body of the City of Georgetown, Texas MAY 249 2011 The Georgetown City Council will meet on MAY 24, 2011 at 2:00 P.M. at the Council Chambers at 101 E. 7th Street If you need accommodations for a disability, please notify the city in advance. Regular Session (This Regular Session may, at any time, be recessed to convene an Executive Session for any purpose authorized by the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code 551.) A Call to Order - SPECIAL SESSION TO BEGIN NO EARLIER THAN 2:00 PM B Personnel Action: Discussion and decision regarding the employment status of the City Attorney, Mark Sokolow. The City Council wishes to provide all the legal prerogatives specified by the City Charter and State Law to the City Attorney. Outside attorney Martha Dickie will assist the Mayor with this responsibility during the meeting. Executive Session In compliance with the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Government Code, Vernon's Texas Codes, Annotated, the items listed below will be discussed in closed session and are subject to action in the regular session. C Section 551.074: Personnel Matters: -Discuss with Martha Dickie, outside attorney, the legal aspects of items B and D. D Discussion and possible action regarding potential settlement of all claims with City Attorney Mark Sokolow. E Presentation by the Director of Human Resources for the City of Georgetown of previous evaluations and related information regarding the performance and management of the City Attorney. F Comments from employee(s) relative to the performance of the City Attorney. G Presentation to Council by the City Attorney. The City Attorney will have one hour to present any information he wishes to share. H Comments from the audience. Three minutes will be made available to each person in the audience who wishes to address the Council relative to this issue. Please complete a request form to be allowed to address Council. I Discussion and possible action by the City Council. J Adjournment ` i i I, Jessica Brettle, City Secretary for the City of Georgetown, Texas, do hereby certify that this Notice of Meeting was posted at City Hall, 113 E. 8th Street, a place readily accessible to the general public at all times, on the day of , 2011, at , and remained so posted for at least 72 continuous hours preceding the scheduled time of said meeting. Jessica Brettle, City Secretary City of Georgetown, Texas May 24, 2011 SUBJECT: Call to Order - SPECIAL SESSION TO BEGIN NO EARLIER THAN 2:00 PM ITEM SUMMARY: I�I� WWNIVEIuI, Worn Cover Memo Item # A City of Georgetown, Texas May 24, 2011 Personnel Action: Discussion and decision regarding the employment status of the City Attorney, Mark Sokolow. The City Council wishes to provide all the legal prerogatives specified by the City Charter and State Law to the City Attorney. Outside attorney Martha Dickie will assist the Mayor with this responsibility during the meeting. ITEM SUMMARY: FINANCIAL IMPACT: SUBMITTED BY: Mayor George Garver Cover Memo Item # B City of Georgetown, Texas May 24, 2011 SUBJECT: Section 551.074: Personnel Matters: -Discuss with Martha Dickie, outside attorney, the legal aspects of items B and D. ITEM SUMMARY: FINANCIAL IMPACT: SUBMITTED BY: Mayor George Garver Cover Memo Item # C City of Georgetown, Texas May 24, 2011 SUBJECT: Discussion and possible action regarding potential settlement of all claims with City Attorney Mark Sokolow. ITEM SUMMARY: FINANCIAL IMPACT: SUBMITTED BY: Cover Memo Item # D City of Georgetown, Texas May 24, 2011 SUBJECT: Presentation by the Director of Human Resources for the City of Georgetown of previous evaluations and related information regarding the performance and management of the City Attorney. ITEM SUMMARY: Please see attached for supplemental documents. F"O W'WL WNI EIu1JG[S" SUBMITTED BY: Mayor George Garver ATTACHMENTS: City Attorney City Council. Evaluation Survey City Attorney Staff Evaluation Survey City Attorney Self Evaluation City Attorney City-wide Customer Service Survey Cover Memo Item # E Attachment number Page 1of8 My AUmmy Cound WM This question does not really focus on a major part of his responsibilities for he has little official 1 interaction with the public. About one year ago his ^Ethim"presentation Nthose who were part ofour city committee structure was very poorly done and evoked numerous negative responses from those in attendance. 2 Based on what I have heard from people that has visited with, he needs improvement in this area. 3 1 have received positive comments from constituents about the city attorney, including that their dealings with the city had never gone smoother than they did with Mark and his staff. 4 All persons that have responded their meeting Mark have given him high marks Too much of his time this past year has been spent dealing with issues which related to questions 1 about his performance. Myperception ofhis endeavors concerning this topic suggests that he took the following position, "I am an experienced Attorney any negative comments about my performance needsto be rebuked and or kept fid i |" It has been inted out to me that he gets woefullybehind schedule on variousissues and 3 Mark has demonstrated that he can schedule work and persons in an extremely effective manner Mr. Sokolow demonstrates an inability to prioritize assignments that are important to the City. |notemd, he will spend time and make it a priority to work on issues that are of personal importance to himself to the detriment of City work. An example of this is the fact that he challenged the Attorney General's decision regarding the release of information in his six month evaluation and made it a City challenge. 4 Hehad Vob*forced byCity Council 0owithdraw that challenge. Arecent example ofMr. Soko|mw'n failure to work to meet deadlines was his failure to get a contract in a City Council packet so that the Council could approve services for utility pole inspections. Hedecided that staff had towait to start the project until a contract was seen by City Council even though there were no changes to the contract and itinhis job toreview contracts aok/form. This created adelay ofseveral months and could have negative impacts on the completion of the rk andthe contracts themselves. Item # E City nfGeorgetown Human Resources Page 1 of Attachment number 1 Page 2 of 9 He has little understanding how to relate to staff effectively. It also appears that he has no real appreciation how he could merge in a positive manner with a well run organization which has a quality 1 staff in place. His efforts to change the internal organization for the City were not consistent with his primary responsibilities which are to provide legal services. The overwhelmingly negative evaluations from staff should have shown him how he is in reality being perceived. Instead of accepting these evaluations in a constructive manner he wrote a paper to Council members complaining how one staff member referred to him with a statement that "Old dogs can not learn new tricks". 2 1 cannot answer this because I do not see the day-to-day operations of this department. S Mr. Sokolow is not trusted among City staff, City Council, citizens, or the business community. He continues to micromanage and refuses to recognize the skills and knowledge of staff or City Council members. Mr. Sokolow is extremely defensive and confrontational when questions are asked. This question deals with his supervision of staff. He only has two employees and Council has little opportunity to know how he handles these responsibilities. Since this question raises the issue of listening skills I would offer the following. Clearly staff were not impressed with his listening skills. Since there are two components which deal with this issue I would submit the following. The two parts to listening skills involve a good faith effort to listen courteously to another person. The second part of this process is to take what is offered as constructive or helpful observations and carefully consider the 1 merits. Our Attorney is most defensive about any part of his performance and seems to be angered by any effort to offer advice or observations. As an example he had the befit of being able to read all the evaluations from staff prior to the preparation of his self evaluation. It was quite startling to see that he gave himself the highest possible rating in every category on his self evaluation form. In summary he appears not to listen or consider that based on the evaluation by staff his performance could be improved. I have never before seen a completed self evaluation that did not allow for an acknowledgment that there is room for growth. Item # E City of Georgetown Human Resources Page 2 of 9 Attachment number 1 Page 3 of 9 2 This contradicts what I have heard from various staff, After reading the staff's observations it is obvious that there needs to be improvement in this area. It 3 might be a good idea for the city attorney's office to be placed in the city hall and Human Resources be moved into the attorney's current offices. 4 Mark has communicated issues as expected and even calls me to explain late in the evening when requested Mr. Sokolow often interferes in the areas of assigned authority for City staff, Directors, and the City 5 Council. He expresses ideas orally without providing written legal validation for his decisions. He changes details in contracts and other documents without the authority to do so. He takes action without the authority of the majority of the City Council. This item like the previous item deals with the internal management of his two staff members. There are few opportunities available to offer insights relative to this question. However based on his 1 management of the hiring of our assistant City Attorney it appears that he knows little about contemporary personnel procedures. It also appears that he has little understanding of the importance of followinq EEOC policies and quidelines. 2 1 cannot answer this as I do not see the day-to-day operations of this department. 3 It does appear that, according to the "360" evaluations, that Mr. Sokolow is challenged in this area. 1 1 have had no real opportunity to judge his performance with respect to this question. 2 Looking back over the past year, the attorney had a rocky start with much outside interference. However in that atmosphere, a department was organized and policies were implemented. Legal services were provided and a volume of work has been completed in spite of the negative atmosphere. 3 Mark has achieved the many goals and expectations of the legal department He spends more time on his own goals and objectives. An example of this is that Mr. Sokolow had 4 been informed on several occasions and during his six month evaluation that he must follow the City Charter. Instead of working to follow the Charter, he had it sent to the Justice Department to challenge it's validity. 7. Policy Development Item # E City of Georgetown Human Resources Page 3 of 9 Attachment number 1 Page 4 of 9 1 There have been no real opportunities to evaluate these concepts. 2 1 see no evidence that Mr. Sokolow sincerely supports the goals and values of the City of Georgetown. He still has a problem with the fact that we are not Port Arthur and we do things differently. 1 Has worked with in budget assigned with attempts to minimize expenses. 2 His budget is small and to the best of my knowledge he is operating within the limits of his Council approved budget. 3 Managed the budget to ensure no budget adjustment increases were required. 4 Based on what I have seen of the budget within this department, he has met the aforementioned criteria. This department seems to be within its established budget. His department has saved the city money. His suggestions on the 4A Board have protected the tax 5 payer financially as well. Any complaint from staff about his fiscal conservatism is not listening to the tax payers of Georgetown and the fiscal conservatism they are demanding from all of us within our city bureaucracy. 6 Mark has effectively managed his budget and is saving the City money Item # E City of Georgetown Human Resources Page 4 of 9 Attachment number 1 Page 5 of 9 1 I have no real way to know how he uses his time. Comments from staff would suggest that paper work gets hung up in his office and he has not appropriately delegated some responsibilities to his staff. 2 When establishing the new in-house legal department, Mark worked long hours to get the job done. Mr. Sokolow will spend extra time to get to the bottom of issues. The issue then becomes one of other 3 issues backing up on the work log. On many of the issues he spends a lot of time on, one would expect that he should be able to complete these task in a more rapid manner, which makes one question his knowledge and expertise in various areas. The city attorney has shown dependability by working long hours and being project driven while 4 establishing this new department for our city. He and his staff have worked under great duress, with attacks from within staff as well as from outside of our city. Mr. Sokolow maintains confidentiality to the extreme. He considers everything he says or does to be confidential. He must stop sending every request for public records to the Attorney General's office. 5 Georgetown is a City of open government ............ at least we used to be open. He does not take responsibility for his own actions. He does not accept constructive criticism. His position is that everyone else is wrong and he is right. He is very defensive to the point of making threats. Lately his interpersonal skills seemed to have had some improvement however he still remains a poor listener. He is much too defensive and is not able to handle some issues in a professional manner. 1 To the best of my knowledge he has never received constructive criticism and then said "thank you, I will give what you have said careful thought". Repeating what was offered earlier he appears to believe that in every aspect his performance is outstanding. This belief leaves little room for constructive criticism and growth in his performance. City department heads and certain council members did not make it easy for Mark when he first 2 started working for the city. Never -the -less, he can improve by cultivating better relationships with the various stakeholders. Item # E City of Georgetown Human Resources Page 5 of 9 Attachment number 1 Page 6 of 9 Sadly, Mr. Sokolow came to the city with a take charge attitude. This could have been good, but it 3 turned against him with the city staff. He managed to alienate almost every person that he dealt with on a daily basis. While I have heard that his attitude is getting better, there is still a long way to go before he gains staff and my confidence. Mark seems to be overly sensitive to any constructive comments or questions regarding his job 4 performance. Especially when the comments deal with lack of communication and dealing with other city staff in a professional manner. I would expect a more professional behavior. I have received complaints from all over the City and County regarding Mr.Sokolow's lack of abilities. 5 People are concerned that he is not only incompetent but that his demeanor causes problems and they do not want to work with him. With routine items generally he does exercise good judgement. When anything affects him personally 1 his reactions have not been stellar. It would appear that a majority of staff has some concerns about his overall judgement and his understanding of how this City does business. 2 Mark should ask for council approval prior to filing any lawsuits on behalf of the city. 3 Short of his filing suit on the AG's office on behalf of the City Council (without letting us know of this action), once he does reach a decision, he seems fairly confident in it. 4 During the next 6 months, I would like to see more cooperation between staff and the city attorney's office. It is a 2 way street and all need to work together for the betterment of Georgetown. This topic was also covered in items 2, 4, and 10. 1 can give the very first example of Mr. Sokolow's poor judgment. He exposed the City Council to the opportunity for lawsuits at the first meeting that he attended. We were supposed to vote on taking emergency action to get pumps added a treatment plant so that we would be ready to treat enough water during the next drought. We had to increase our capacity in order to be able to serve the City in a drought and fulfill our contracts to supply water to 5 other entities. He decided, after being here only about a week, that it was not an emergency situation and he threatened the City Council saying that he would not be able to defend us against a lawsuit. He did this in open session and caused enough members of the Council to back off voting on the item that it was postponed. I believe that this exhibited very poor judgment on his part and caused a delay regarding preparing for a very real emergency situation. This issue had been fully vetted by the City Council and the GTEC and GUS boards. As I stated, this was the first instance of poor judgment and there have been more since that time. 1 Feel has accurately advised Council on legal matters. Has corrected some past errors. 2 He has difficulty understanding that his role is to provide legal assistance for the City. He tends to view his position in a broader manner. Item # E City of Georgetown Human Resources Page 6 of 9 Attachment number 1 Page 7 of 9 3 He seems to do this with hesitation, even when he is not ask for his opinion. 4 Mark had to clean up some legal issues created by prior legal counsel and has not provided any legal advice that has provided to be incorrect. 5 The advise he has given council has been accurate to the law, if not popular with staff. 6 Mark has been accurate is advising Council on the many legal issues coming before Council Mr. Sokolow's inaccurate advice has created a lot of problems for individuals and the City. Contracts and other documents are written and rewritten too often to correct his errors. Details are changed 7 without authorization. City Council members, staff, citizens, and business owners lack confidence in Mr. Sokolow's abilities. He spends more time challenging laws instead of abiding by them as stated in previous sections of this evaluation. 1 Too much of his time has been spent on the creation of documents which are self serving. 2 Not so much, but I do not feel that a report is necessary for the council every day or even every week. The city attorney should report ALL items to the city manager, however. 3 The City Attorney has given us timely updates and always tried, even while being interrupted, insulted, and threatened, to explain the legalities of the issues his department is working on. 1 This will be a future requirement. 2 No comments. 3 Not so much that I have received, however, I do not feel that these reports are necessary for the council to review unless the issue is a contentious one. 4 Mark has incorporated legal issues to be submitted with the City Managers weekly report. 1 Better communication is kev at all levels. The setting of specific goals or areas of improvement are most difficult for the scope of concerns listed by staff is more systemic rather than simple suggestions. Summarizing the staff evaluations he is 2 viewed as an individual who is not a good fit for the needs of our city. (When the Georgetown Police Officers were given an opportunity to evaluate the Police Chief the results were so lacking in support that action was taken to remove the Chief from his position. The same situation occurred with the Superintendent of Schools in GISD.) 3 Work with staff to help them stay out of legal trouble and provide documents, contracts, etc. that are clear and concise. Item # E City of Georgetown Human Resources Page 7 of 9 Attachment number 1 Page 8 of 9 4 Continue to provide accurate and timely legal advice to city council and other stakeholders. There needs to be a spirit of cooperation between the city attorney's office, and the staff to achieve the 5 common goals of making Georgetown a city of excellence. Let's assume that no one is going anywhere and start to work together for the common good. 1 Efficient, accurate and timely performance of duties. 2 He should focus his time by providing appropriate responses to requests of Council and Staff in a timely manner. Try to get to the bottom of issues without taking a lengthy time to get there. This shows those around 3 you that you do indeed have the knowledge of what you are working on and it wraps up issues for your office and the office you are working with. 4 Improve relationships with city staff. Communication between the staff and the city attorney's office needs to be better. There needs to be real communication with no one being left out of the loop, no sarcasm, pre -judging, or attitude from any 5 quarter. Things seem to be improving over the past month or so, but it is still not what it should be. A plan needs to be put in place. Perhaps an outside source needs to help direct council to provide that. The philosophical differences that have been discussed in the staff reviews exist and need to be dealt with. 1 While criticism is often difficult to accept his responses to any adverse observations evokes an immediate lengthy and often nonproductive response. 2 You are improving your working relationship with staff; please keep it up! 3 Continue to manage the department within budget. Mark's office needs to be moved into the city hall. Just as the Mayor's office was placed in the City 4 Hall to be closer to those he would be working with. Someone had to be moved for this to be accomplished. Having a physical presence might help with communication and a closer working relationship with Paul, Micki, Jim, etc. 1 He needs to work on his professional presentations. He often rambles and appears not to have a succinct and quality response to questions. 2 Continue to listen intently to the needs and concerns of those asking for your advice. One cannot listen and talk at the same time. 3 Provide leadership to the department and develop subordinates. Council needs to define his role, his job description, and our expectations. His position needs definition 4 from CounciLO We have been dealing in generalities without guidelines for him, then being negative when he does not meet unspecified expectations. Item # E City of Georgetown Human Resources Page 8 of 9 Attachment number Page 8nf8 1 Mark has many good qualities and some that need improvement. Agreater attempt Vocommunicate with departments in a timely |nmyopinion heinnot the Attorney who can best serve the needs ofthis city. H*lacks the support of staff and many others. His image ofhimself uoour City Attorney ionot inconformance with reality. 2 Improvement in performance can only occur when the individual in question realizes that improvement is needed. His self evaluation would indicate that he believes is doing an excellent job. This conviction is not supported by the facts. 3 The position ofthe city attorney innot one ofa*tt. setting only advising staff and council onissues before the city. Threats have been flowing for the past year, we need to act like adults and stop the rhetoric. We have an employee who deserves guidance, direction, and cooperation from the staff and the Council. Hein turn needs to improve his communicate skills, set a plan in motion to implement our requirements, and delegate clearly Nhis department Nmeet deadlines. His department has been under extra ordinary 4 stress and attack, it is amazing that they have fulfilled any commitments. The Council is the only part ofthis equation that iaanswerable Lothe tax payers (our real bouuna). Th*nefom, iiiostaO^a responsibility (not just the attorney's) to carry out the council's initiatives because each councilman io acting onbehalf ofthe constituent's (tax payers) from their district. Those are people wmare all working behalf of |see noreason Voset any goals. Mr. Sokolow'sbehavior has not changed since myfirst evaluation ok his six month review. | found his work Vob*unsatisfactory then and, infact, hseems 0ohave only gotten worse. It was apparent at that time that he had no intention of trying to improve in any area as 6 hedid not accept the notion that heneeded Voimprove. | find hextremely telling that his self evaluation for this review has 100% Exceeds Expectations for every category. Hoobviously did not take Voheart any ofthe comments inthe ^380^reviews submitted bythe staff. | have never seen such total disregard for the concerns of others in all of my years as a personnel manager, my years as a director public d private boards d commissions, and my years on the City Council. Item # E City nfGeorgetown Human Resources Page Oof0 Attachment number 2 Page 1 of 6 1 of 6 Attachment number 2 Page 2 of 6 Item # E 2 of 6 Attachment number 2 Page 3 of 6 2 He is available and usually returns emails and phone calls in a timely manner. Dec 6, 2010 9:20 PM He is committed to details. 4 Remains calm; is accessible; has a law degree. Dec 6, 2010 10:35 PM 6 Experience, approachable, seeks to understand the business Dec 7, 2010 2:52 PM I have not seen any areas that I would consider to be strengths in this past year. Dec 8, 2010 8:34 PM He can have an attention to details; unfortunately, it is not usually the details that he needs to be paying attention to. 10 The Assitant City Atorney is doing a great job with contracts related matters. Dec 9, 2010 8:59 PM 15 16 Item # E 3 of 6 Attachment number 2 Page 4 of 6 12 Being that Mark has many years of experience as a City Attorney, his knowledge base regarding municipal legal issues is broad. It is also evident that Mark cares a lot about his job and he works very well under pressure. He is friendly, honest and tries his best to get along with his fellow coworkers. Mark has also hired an excellent staff who are patient, smart and display an incredible amount of customer service. His staff are hard workers who go out of their way to make sure they can address the needs of fellow staff in a quick and timely fashion. Dec 9, 2010 9:48 PM 14 Calm when staff is upset with him. Dec 9, 2010 10:58 PM 15 None. Dec 13, 2010 6:07 PM 2 He tends to focus on little things with minimal to no risk. He will overturn his Dec 6, 2010 9:20 PM assistant's decision. He questions the decisions being made with and wants to do it based on his previous employers, neither of which I think are model cities. We would rather have a legal opinion on Legality and form of contracts, ordinances, etc. 4 Listen better. Trust other staff and respect their opinions and expertise. Manage time and projects better. Don't be "buffaloed" by individual elected officials. Don't micromanage your staff. Delegate to them if they are truly qualified. Don't waste time, energies and resources on frivilous or trivial matters. Rely on legal experts especially on large projects/items of major consequence. It would be better if Mark could respond to information sent to him, even if to only say he has no issues. He needs to make decisions and put them in writing, so others can use them for issue resolution. He needs to delegate and give responsibility to his staff to make decisions, so more is produced on a timely basis by his office. People look to a City Attorney to be an authority and give opinions, and Mark seems hesitant to make decisions and stay with them. Because of his lack of decision making, fellow staff members do not look to him as the expect or authority figure. He needs to gain staff's confidence to be successful in his job. Dec 6, 2010 10:29 PM Dec 7, 2010 12:27 AM 4 of 6 Attachment number 2 Page 5 of 6 8 Gather all facts first, focus on topic and do not bounce from issue to issue, Dec 7, 2010 5:39 PM understand political climate and culture, 10 Needs to LISTEN. Become more flexible realizing that we (staff) know our areas Dec 9, 2010 6:53 PM of expertise and he is ONLY reviewing for legal format... NOT CONTENT. He often oversteps his role in negoiating contracts, fees and other management responsibility. He can be very inflexible. I often have to be very direct (yell) at him to get his attention. He whines. He doesn't handle the process the same way twice. One time its this way, the next a time a completely different way. My staff does not like to deal with him and will do anything not to have to get him involved. I consider him a roadblock in City workflow. The list can go on and on.... 12 Become more knowledgeable about Municipal Law. Dec 9, 2010 9:03 PM Respond quicker to request. Communicate more effectively. Become more trustworthy. 14 Interpersonal communications, LISTENING SKILLS, lacks complete knowledge of Dec 9, 2010 10:29 PM managerial skills related to his department, poor supervisory skills and simple knowledge of how to supervise employees, certainly needs to be a lot less of a micro -manager but based on his hiring record I can understand his need to review every single document and work product out of the department. When challenged to provide legal advice on issues or legal representation is continually corrected or has to back up and revise legal recommendations because they were not complete to begin with. Causes major delays and leaves the entire organization open to litigation and certainly gives the reputation that getting it right the first time is somewhere other than Georgetown. Item # E 5 of 6 Attachment number 2 Page 6 of 6 Item # E 6 of 6 Attachment number 3 Page 1 of 5 1 of 7 Attachment number 3 Page 2 of 5 Item # E 2 of 7 Attachment number 3 Page 3 of 5 1 Set up a legal department which makes "in house" legal services available to the Dec 8, 2010 4:37 PM Mayor, City Council, City Manager, department heads and affiliated boards and commissions, as for example the City's economic development corporations (GEDCO and GTEC) as well as to their designated staff. One of my primary goals during my first year at the City was to establish an efficient and timely process to provide legal services that meets the needs of the departments. I believe we are working well with City staff to ensure that any material matter requiring legal review or assistance from the legal department is processed in an expeditious manner, especially as it relates to agenda items. We are providing pending project lists to the various department heads with a copy to the City Manager. By doing such, the department head knows what we are working on and the City Manager has an overall view of all the pending projects and can prioritize between competing departmental projects if he deems it necessary. Dec 8, 2010 4:37 PM 1 Completed the D.B. Woods transaction on August 10, 2010 for $ 1,537,917.50 as Dec 8, 2010 4:37 PM to purchase 21.397 acres of land with a non-exclusive access easement to Williams Drive. Item # E 5 of 7 Attachment number 3 Page 4 of 5 1 1 had to start from scratch as to creating the law office. Also, due to space Dec 8, 2010 4:37 PM limitations, the legal department is in a separate building from city hall. Nevertheless, we communicate regularly with the City Manager and attend agenda staff meetings as to stay informed of developments in the City. Also, we have extensive communication via email with other department heads and if necessary, we have conference calls or meetings. 1 Working with city staff on a team basis. We attend the weekly staff meetings with Dec 8, 2010 4:37 PM the City Manager and the directors. We go over the agenda items at least twice with staff as well as have an agenda meeting with the Mayor. In the last year, we have had over 26 council meetings wherein we have worked with staff to review the documents as to make presentations and contracts that are clear, concise and within the legal framework of local, state or federal law. Working with city staff as to reduce the risks and minimize litigation that can be filed against the City. At the present time, we only have the EEOC case of Mosteller, the slip and fall case of Frame and the civil service case of Kevin Stofle. 1 Sometimes, we need additional time to discuss items of concern with the City Dec 8, 2010 4:37 PM Council and to respond to their questions. To meet these concerns, the Mayor and the City Manager has periodically scheduled the workshops to begin at 3:00 p.m. This has been very helpful not only for the discussion of legal items but also for the necessary discussion of more complicated projects prior to the regular agenda. 1 The Council already provides a sufficient budget and office space for our needs. Dec 8, 2010 4:37 PM 1 The attorneys attend seminars and conferences in order to stay up to date on Dec 8, 201PeP4 tM laws relevant to the City of Georgetown. The Council has provided sufficient funding for our training needs. Attachment number 3 Page 5 of 5 1 Each year, we do a seminar on ethics. In the next year, we would like to make Dec 8, 2010 4:37 PM available in house seminars on other topics i.e. contracts, basics of litigation, etc. Also, in the next year, we would like our legal department to be more active in the Williamson County Bar Association program as to providing pro bono legal services for Texas veterans in Georgetown. As to the ranking on the City staff interactions, I have marked the categories as exceeding expectations in that this is a comment on the department as a whole as well as interactions within the legal department. Our relatively new small department is fully equipped and staffed. The department is exceeding my expectations as to providing the availability of a full range of legal services and advice on the myriad of topics that face the City and the various department heads. The legal staff meets frequently during the week and usually on a daily basis to go over the projects as to facilitate the timely delivery of legal advice and the review of documents. We also attend all of the agenda meetings as to facilitate the close interaction with the department heads on their projects and are available for individual one on one meetings as they so request. I am looking forward to augmenting this self -evaluation with oral comments and observations to the City Council. Thank you Item # E 7 of 7 Attachment number 4 Page 1 of 7 1. How often do you use the services of the legal department? Response Response Percent Court Gaily 1.101 Weekly 7.5% 20 Monthly Rs 14.3% 38 Yearly 11.7% 31 Never answered questions 265 skipped question 1 Item # E Attachment number 4 Page 2 of 7 Don't Response Excellent food Only Pair boor Know Count Keeping you informed about the 2,8°l° (7) 13.0°l0 (32) 14.6°l0 (36) 10.6°l0 (26) 8a9°lcs (45) 246 services they provide Providing you with timely service 2.8% (7) 13,0% (32) 13,4% (33) 11.0% (27) 5 .8% (147) 246 Repairs/contacts/inquires are 3,7°I° (9) 12.6°fo (31) 1:4.6°l° (36) 8-1°l0 (20) 1.0°lo (15) 246 performed correctly the first time Are the employees within the 3.6% (9) 19.0% (47) 12.6% (31) 5.3% (13) . % (147) 247 department knowledgeable Promptness in responding to your 4.1 °l° (1 0) 14,2°I° (35) 13.8°l° (34) 9.3°l° (3)' 58e5°lo (144) 246 requests Treating you with professional 6.9°l° (17) 18.6°fo (46) 11.3°l© {28} 5.7°l° (14) 7.5°l0 (14) 247 friendly courtesy Using processes and procedures 2,$% (7) 1.4°la (33) 13.8°I° (34) 9.8°l° (24) 0.2°lo (48) 246 that are easy to understand Overall quality of service 3.7% () 14.2% (35) 13.8% (34) 8.9% (22) 5 .3% (145) 246 answered question 248 skipped question 30 Response Count 51 answered question 51 skipped question 227 Item # E Attachment number 4 Page 3 of 7 Response Count 35 answered question 35 skipped question 243 2 Thankfully 1 have had no reason to utilize their services. Feb 7, 2011 316 PM 3 Mark needs to make a bettereffort to understand the processes already in place Feb 7, 2011 3:19 PM before he makes suggestions/tries to change things. 4 22 Feb 7, 2011 3:20 PM 5 Need to be more timely with Open Records Requests. Need to respond more Feb 7, 2011 3:21 PM quickly to questions and concerns. 6 The City Attorney is not the expert in every area of the City. Therefore please Feb 7, 2011 3:24 PM listen to what you are being told without first thinking it is wrong. We all work hard and have the experience and education to our job, we don't need to tell us how to run our departments. 7 NA Feb 7, 2011 3:27 PM 8 Empower Legal Staff. Trust their abilities to do their job effectively and efficiently. Feb 7, 2011 3: 7 Ply Don't micromanage: 9 1 know these answers are all over the place and this might be confusing. The staff Feb 7, 2011 3:50 PM are very knowledgeable - but the City Attorney (Mark Sokolow) is a major problem. He does not assist us in any way to complete anything. He is a huge hindrance to accomplishing anything. He has no clue of what we do every day and it seems that he just wants to find something wrong with everything we do and to stop anything from moving forward. He is condescending to women and treats them all like first graders. HE will not allow his staff to do their jobs - whihc if he did we would at least get some assistance (and very good assistance) from this department. The service' to the staff from this department is basically non- existent because of Mark Soolow and 1 fear that he will put the City in a major lawsuit soon - if not several. 10 hire a c pete t city attorney Feb 7, 2011 4:18 PM 11 Departments that deal with the public need clear reports and procedures when Feb 7, 2011 4:24 PM dealing with any situation that has strong legal repercussions -medical emergencies or accidents -for example. 12 No change needed at this time; Feb 7, 2011 4:51 PM Item # E Attachment number 4 Page 4 of 7 13 Issues that have to go to the City Attorney are rarely responded to in a timely Feb 7, 2011 4:55 PM manner, and often the response is additional questions or issues and rarely a< direct answer. ;In our work we needdefinitive answers, and they are rarely given. Because of these issues, I tend to avoid contacting Legal unless I absolutely have to, which is not necessarily a good thing. I have had a signed legal document lost and several deadlines missed. That being said, improvements need to be made in timeliness and decisiveness. It would be helpful if the Asst City Attorney and staff had more authority to make decisions without approval of the City Attorney. The previous system of outside legal counsel was much more effective and efficient for our department. 14 1 do not deal directly with Legal, however, our Division/Dept uses Legal routinely Feb 7, 2011 5:05 PM and response time is slow and needs to be improved so as not to hold up the entire project/process which directly and indirectly effects multiple depts. 15 inform emplyees if there are benifits they offer to the employees. Feb 7, 2011 5:17 PM 16 1 don't use this department enough to answer this question effectively but Skye is Feb 7, 2011 6:00 PM helpful. She has been my only contact. 17 1 know we are not attorney's, but he does not have: to talk down to staff. He is very Feb 7, 2011 7:05 PM demanding and does not answer questions in a timely manner, 18 Good job. Feb 7, 2011 7:41 PM 19 There is one Assistant City Attorney, Bridget which rates as Good. The City Feb 7, 2011 7:44 PM Attorney needs to be more reponsive and knowledgeable in Municipal government and quit trying to be a developer. He also needs to learn how to use a computer and email for responses. 20 NONE Feb 7, 2011 8:38 PM 21 Respond and be knowledgeable of governmental practices. Feb 7, 2011 9:3 PM 22 provide general tutorials on contract preparation Feb 7, 2011 9:35 PM 23 Mart with being approachable and letting employees know that you're part of the Feb 7, 2011 10:40 PM= team. 24 Provide a standard contract review process. Do not re -invent the contract after Feb 7, 2011 10:50 PM the assistant attorney has already reviewed a contract. Try to understand what the department's needs are before making recommendations. 25 Never used the legal deer. Feb 8, 2011 2:55 PM 26 Bridgett and Skye do an excellent job. Mark on the other hand is a hinderance to Feb 8, 2011 4:28 PM' work getting done. If anything is at Legal you can count on him causing a holdup of the process. o back to contract legal services. 27 Only have knowledge of one encounter with Legal; and it was not good, they did Feb 8, 2011 5:14 PM not want to provide an opinion or interpretation of a Departmental Policy. 26 Get an attorney that is, willing to help us not hinder us. Feb 8, 2011 7:46 PM 29 Survey Based on Lucas Wilson Feb 8, 2011 10 44 PM 30 Better utilization of staff - a lot goes through that dept and support staff needs to Feb 9, 2011 2:21 PM be allowed to take care of some of that on their own and get it out of there. Be confident, make decisions quicker and move on. Don't create work where it's not needed. Address the subject at hand - don't look for extra issues that distract from what's in question and slow things dawn. Trust that the professionals of each department are knowledgable and know how to do their job - saves time and doesn't break down the bridge of communication. 31 City Attorney could actually delegate to his staff. Mark needs to learn how to Feb 10, 2011 3:34 PM LISTEN and realize he doesn't know everything (anything) about how Georgetown works. Sky and Bridget are really responsive. N4 ONE WANTS TO DEAL WITH MARK. He is very autocratic and isn't a team player, Item # E 4of7 Attachment number 4 Page 5 of 7 32 There is a huge problem in getting a timely response to requests for assistance, Feb 10, 2011 4:28 PM resulting in delays in serving our customers. Information provided is slow in coming and sometimes incomplete. The city attorney is not adept at communication and seems to be focused on trivial issues rather than important issues or the overall picture. He also has a tendency to be disrespectful in communicating with staff, and doesn't seem to be able to focus on any one thing completely. Staff seems to work hard at finding a way around working with Legal, so the City pays for a resource that people activity avoid using which doesn't make a lot of sense. 33 -'Faster turnaround on contract reviews Feb 10, 2011 4:46 PM -'Keep contract reviews focused on legal issues rather than commercial terms (decided by purchaser) 34 The city attorney has been over here a few times and is very unfriendly! Very Feb 10, 2011 9:49 PM dissapointing. 35 Never use legal. Feb 10, 2011 10:45 PM 36 The Legal Department cannot seem to make a decision, certainly not on a timely Feb 11, 2011 12:58 AM basis. That said, Bridget and Skye try to make decisions and move forward, but it doesn't appear that they have the authority or support to make them. I avoid asking Mark questions because he doesn't have an answer. He never asks what we are trying to accomplish and how he can help us get there, but wants to give his personal opinion about how things should or could be or how we should be treating people or doing a project. We don't get "legal opinions", but his personal views. 37 Dont know Feb 12, 2011 2:05 PM 38 none Feb 14, 2011 6:56 PM 39 N/A Feb 15, 2011 8:03 PM 40 Maybe update staff on how they can be of help to us. Feb 16, 2011 5:26 PM 41 Outsource. Feb 16, 2011 5:40 PM 42 information on services they provide; quicker response time; less last minute Feb 16, 2011 6:08 PM responses to reduce confusion or mistakes 43 The city attorney is an embarrassment to the city. His self-serving antics, Feb 16, 2011 6:12 PM incompetence in all things municipal, and inability to maintain anything close to a timely response, make him completely useless. Not only does he hinder the productivity of the city staff, he makes us all look inadaquate, also. He basically undermines the credibility of the city as a whole. So, the answer to you question .... get rid of the city attorney. 44 Mark doesn't seem to understand a lot of the issues I bring to him. He also gets Feb 16, 2011 9:33 PM way of topic when I am talking to him so an issue that should only take minutes seems to drag out much longer than needed and I sometimes feel my original issue wasn't addressed. I love the ladies in Legal because they are much more knowledgeable than Mark, but Trish Carls was awesome and I wish we could bring her back!!! 45 do not utilize Feb 17, 2011 12:56 AM 46 No comment Feb 17, 2011 2:41 PM 47 Communicate and Delegate. Feb 17, 20114.-00 PM 48 Mark and Bridget seem not be on the same page when it come to contracts. Feb 17, 2011 8:58 PM 49 Dont know Feb 18, 2011 2:34 PM 50 The City Attorney (himself) could be a lot more responsive. We have true, first- Feb 18, 2011 3:00 PM hand knowledge of "Lost in Legal," at times, 51 Everyone there is great, except the leader is a headless monkey! Feb 18, 2011�i2# PM M Attachment number 4 Page 6 of 7 1 Administrative support is excellent.: Feb 7, 2011 2:59 PM 2 Skye and Brid ette are great. They are the reason I didn't answer Poor on all of Feb 7, 2011 3:19 PM the questions. I feel like this should have broken into two parts - one for reviewing Mark and another for reviewing Skye and Bridgette. 3 Skye and Bridget work very hard to keep up with the demands on their time. Feb 7, 2011 3:24 PM ' 4 NA Feb 7, 2011 3:7 PM 5 Open Record Requests Feb 7, 2011 3:37 PM 6 Bridget and Skye are very very good to work with. They know what to do and are Feb 7, 2011 3.50 PM very knowledgable about the working of the city and what our staff needs are. They are prompt at getting back to us and do their very best to make up for the assistance that is lacking in the City Attorney. Please make every effort to keep them - they are very helpful. 7 They have proven to be accessible to me when I need them. Feb 7, 2011 4:16 PM' 8 The communication is very good: Feb 7, 2011 4:51 PM 9 The Asst City Atty is helpful and goad to work with, although it appears at times Feb 7, 2011 4:55 PM that she is juggling an overly large amount of work since timeliness is sometimes an issue. Admin staff is exceptionally helpful and knowledgeable, and often my questions can be answed immediately and decisively by staff instead of waiting on the City Attorney. 10 AA and Support staff Feb 7, 2011 5:05 PM 11 n1a Feb 7, 2011 5:17 PM 12 Support staff is excellent. Feb 7, 2011 5:4 PM 13 The ladies are very nice and helpful. I would have checked poor, but the ladies in Feb 7, 2011 7:05 PM the office are wonderful! 14 No problem. Feb 7, 2011 7:41 PM 15 NONE Feb 7, 2011 8:8 PM 16 The legal assistant is very responsive and professional Feb 7, 2011 923 PM 17 Don't know. Feb 8, 2011 2: 5 PM 18 Lucas Wilson Feb 8, 2011 1044 PM 19 Sky and: Bridget do a great job under the circumstances. Feb 10, 2011 :34 PM - 20 outside of the city attorney, the staff 'try to be as helpful as possible, and are Feb 10, 2011 4:28 PM pleasant to work with. 21 Bridget seems genuinely interested in doing a good job and providing good Feb 10, 2011 815 PM service 22 None, that I know of. Feb 10, 2011 9:49 PM 23 Their turn around on papers submitted for review has really improved. Feb 10, 2011 10:25 PM 24 l cannot say that anything is done well in the legal department. Bridget and Skye Feb 11, 2011 12:58 AM try to be helpful, but they seem to be held back by Marks lack of focus and need to control everything. 25 Dont know 26none> 27 N/A 28 Support;staff Is very helpful. 29 Skye & Bridget seem to run the legal department and are helpful; 30 Skye does on excellent job of communicating. 31 do not utilize Attachment number 4 Page 7 of 7 32 NO COMMENT Feb 17, 2011 2:41 PM 33 Bridget knows contract law very well and should be allow be the lead on Feb 17, 2011 8:58 PM contracts. 34 Font know Feb 18, 2011 2:34 PM 35 The Assistant City Attorney Works HARD to overcome the opportunities" afforded Feb 18, 2011 3-00 Pi her by the boss and does well in that endeavm Keep her on! Item # E wow City of Georgetown, Texas May 24, 2011 SUBJECT: Comments from employee(s) relative to the performance of the City Attorney. ITEM SUMMARY: F"O W'WL WNI OIu1, Worn SUBMITTED BY: Mayor George Garver Cover Memo Item # F City of Georgetown, Texas May 24, 2011 SUBJECT: Presentation to Council by the City Attorney. The City Attorney will have one hour to present any information he wishes to share. ITEM SUMMARY: FINANCIAL IMPACT: SUBMITTED BY: Mayor George Garver Cover Memo Item # G City of Georgetown, Texas May 24, 2011 Comments from the audience. Three minutes will be made available to each person in the audience who wishes to address the Council relative to this issue. Please complete a request form to be allowed to address Council. FINANCIAL IMPACT: SUBMITTED BY: Mayor George Garver Cover Memo Item # H City of Georgetown, Texas May 24, 2011 SUBJECT: Discussion and possible action by the City Council. ITEM SUMMARY: F"O W'WL WNI OIu1, Worn SUBMITTED BY: Mayor George Garver Cover Memo Item # I City of Georgetown, Texas May 24, 2011 SUBJECT: Adjournment ITEM SUMMARY: F"O 'WL WNI OIu1, Worn SUBMITTED BY: Mayor George Garver Cover Memo Item # J