VERO BEACH — Despite the fact that the city only has one charter officer — City Clerk Tammy Vock — remaining, the Vero Beach City Council is planning ahead by considering various methods of reviewing those officers’ performance.
Mayor Jay Kramer placed a discussion item on Tuesday night’s agenda compiling several suggested review forms and guidelines. Kramer said he thinks a “team approach” to making sure charter officers are on task is the way to go.
“My proposal is to institute a process of reviewing charter officers using a performance review system that would establish a consensus of goals and objectives for charter officers,” Kramer wrote in a memo.
“The public will have a better understanding of the relationship between the City Council and charter officers,” Kramer added. “The public’s input would also be welcomed in this matter.”
In the agenda packet is a form that Commissioner Craig Fletcher used to review the City Clerk, City Manager and City Attorney when he previously served as Mayor.
The aim is to establish a consistent process that would be completed by council members on an annual basis, in writing, and would become a part of the charter officers’ permanent personnel files.
Though Vero Beach staffers have not received raises the past two years, if economic conditions improved, the reviews could also be used to determine if salary increases are warranted.
Also on the agenda are discussions of pension benefits, sick pay, vacation pay and the banking and cash payout of sick and vacation pay. Last month, council members instructed the staff to come back with a comparison of how Vero Beach employees fare in regard to these benefits as compared with neighboring cities, towns and with county employees.
The Vero Beach City Council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Vero Beach City Hall in the Council Chambers. Meetings are televised live on Channel 13 and streamed live on the internet at www.covb.org.
