Council to discuss Pasco city manager’s performance

Pasco City Council members will meet behind closed doors June 11 for a performance review of City Manager Dave Zabell.

The executive session will start at 8 a.m., with Mayor Matt Watkins announcing in open chambers the anticipated length.

The council then will gather in an adjacent board room with a facilitator.

A city employee’s performance review is one of the allowed exemptions for executive sessions.

Zabell took the reins in August 2014, two months after Gary Crutchfield wrapped up his 30 years leading city government.

Zabell said he has gotten quite a bit of informal feedback from most council members over the past 22 months, but this will be his first formal evaluation since starting.

“Industry-wide it’s good to have annual or regular evaluations so small issues don’t become big issues” and to make sure expectations are being met, he told the Herald. “Focusing on performance on a regular basis I think helps avoid miscommunications in the future.”

Zabell said the employment agreement offered by the city two years ago noted that he would get a facilitated evaluation. He expects the review to be handled in two parts, with his participation after the facilitator meets with council members.

Zabell said he believes the council will talk about a potential pay raise for the city manager.

His starting salary was $175,000 a year. He got a 1 percent cost-of-living adjustment in 2015, and a 2 percent adjustment for 2016.

After Saturday’s session, the evaluator will write a summary with the council’s input and Zabell’s own feedback, and present that for future public discussion, he said.

The earliest any official action can be taken on the review is at the council’s next regular meeting on June 20.

This story was originally published June 10, 2016 at 12:25 PM with the headline "Council to discuss Pasco city manager’s performance."