To the editor:
On Jan. 11, 2010, the Caribou City Council went into two executive sessions following the regular scheduled monthly business meeting. The second executive session was to job-evaluate the position of city manager for the year 2009. I chose not to participate and gave the city council members my reason. But first some history: For the past four years, during the month of January, I have requested that we meet as a council and set a list of goals, with objectives to achieve those goals, from which the city manager, whomever he is, can steer the ship. I've also believed that the council needed to job-evaluate the person holding the position of city manager, whomever he was, on achieving those objectives, during the last meeting in December of that year, to allow outgoing councilors their official input.
Progress: My second year on the council, 2007, the Caribou City Council unanimously voted to accept this policy. It was later placed into the City of Caribou's Personnel Policy Manual. It is listed under Section 2-113 EVALUATIONS, page 8.
Lack of progress: That's where the unanimous vote of the council remained. No evaluation of the city manager's position was done for 2007 and 2008, despite my yearly request. I didn't think there was going to be an evaluation done in 2009 either, until November of 2009 when I was handed a job evaluation packet. In the packet was a list of goals on which I was to base my evaluation. I am troubled by the fact that the council did not meet at the beginning of the year to compile this list of goals, nor did I have any input during the year, and that I was now seeing this list for the first time and being asked for constructive input. Input based on a list of goals put together by the manager. Sorry, I'm not going to play second fiddle. (This, in my opinion, has been and continues to be a failure of the city council not the person, whomever it is, in the city manager's position. A good manager should make a list absent of a council list.)
Reason given to council for not participating: I did not feel that I could fairly job-evaluate the Caribou City Manager's position without that manager having a set of goals and objectives from the council. The City Council should set the goals with the manager leading the "charge" in achieving the objectives. Letting the manager set the goals goes against the reason I ran for the Caribou City Council in the first place. I could not job-evaluate this position fairly and in a constructive manner. This is no way the fault of the city manager.
Look into the future: During this executive session, I again requested that the council start the year with a meeting to set the goals and objectives for the city manager, and council leadership set a meeting sometime after the 2010 budget process is complete to do this. That would put this meeting sometime into July, not the first of the year as stated in the policy manual. (Being on the council, I find the rules to be fluid depending on the desired outcome of the majority, regardless of policy or city charter.) The trouble I have in not maintaining the policy anniversary date is that the budget is my major reason for seeking a position on the Caribou City Council. Any input during the budget process without a defined set of goals and objectives will be used against me as "you are trying to micro-manage the city manager." How many times have you heard this? Damned if I do, damned if I don't. From where I sit, after the budget is set, what's the point of setting goals for the rest of that year?
There are different methods of problem solving that council leadership both past and present could draw from in addressing the very difficult issues that this community has and will face. This includes the problem of having to deal with someone like "farmer" Mark. But without the benchmark of rules and adhering to them, I don't stand a chance to influence the path of this ship. Four years on the council has proven that to me. I now know the real meaning of "change comes slowly".
"Farmer" Gloria and I have not been afraid to try new things to help make our farm more sustainable and prosperous. From the beginning with pick-your-own strawberries to the latest corn maze, the public has witnessed these adventures in success. What you should not forget is that there have been many that were not successful; situations known only to our bankers to whom we have caused many nightmares. We do not call them failures; they just did not meet the goals and objectives that we had set for ourselves. Although we took that new knowledge, all for the better, to the next adventures, we first had to realize that further work on that project would bear little fruit. This realization is not an easy thing to accomplish. Gloria and I have found that the energy and excitement in starting a new project can be met with an equal, but opposite, level of energy and disappointment. We have also noticed that the first loss is most often your best loss and the trick is to know when to move on.
Based on the last four years’ of realization, councilor "farmer" Mark needs to move on and stop interfering with the majority. However I will not give up my seat on the council or my monthly vote on the financial report. But with my character being the way it is, "farmer" Mark needs something to do that will hopefully bear fruit in a constructive way for the city of Caribou. When "farmer" Gloria and I decided to give the City Council a try, we set a goal that, if elected, we would "give it our best effort" for six years. I made it through four years, two more to go.
"Farmer" Gloria is now accusing me of acting like a spanked puppy. "Love" is hard to find when you're on the city council. Wishing everyone the best in this new year.
Caribou
