Thursday, December 09, 1999
Shirey review will be done in open council
BY ROBERT ANGLEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A performance review for Cincinnati's top administrator Wednesday never made it behind closed doors.
In its first meeting, the new City Council suspended a planned executive session on the employment and compensation of City Manager John Shirey, saying it needs to be done openly and as quickly as possible.
“I would like to have it approved in a week or so,” said Mayor Charlie Luken, who on Tuesday had requested a session closed to the public to start the review process.
Instead, the mayor asked council members Wednesday to come up with a list of questions that he could use to build a “consensus” and then meet with Mr. Shirey.
Councilman Paul Booth, who also had requested the executive session, agreed with hammering out the process quickly in public. “We don't want to hold the city manager hostage,” he said.
In June, the previous City Council voted to wait six months before finalizing Mr. Shirey's performance evaluation. They asked him to address six issues before December.
Mr. Shirey told the council Wednesday there “is only one item remaining” on the list and he will distribute a report to the council next week.
An engineer by training, Mr. Shirey has held the $149,000-a-year job since 1993. He oversees day-to-day operation of Cincinnati's 7,000 employees and manages a $900 million budget.
Items on Mr. Shirey's list included hiring an assistant city manager to deal with downtown and neighborhood development, improving neighborhoods, following through with council plans and improving economic development.
Councilwoman Alicia Reece questioned whether the timing for the review was being handled too quickly, particularly since the council has to deal with serious budget issues next week.
“As a business person, I think our first priority should be the budget,” she said. “I don't want our minds clouded by the city manager ... who proposed the budget.”
Mr. Luken said the timing could be dealt with. “You didn't set the timetable, and I didn't set it. If we keep our eyes on the ball, we can get it done in one week.”
As if to underscore the point, Mr. Luken ended the council meeting a little more than 30 minutes after it began, possibly one of the shortest meetings on record.
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