The Haines Borough Assembly recently reviewed manager David Sosa’s first 60 days on the job, but failed to give any details on the assessment.
The assembly voted 5-0 at its June 10 meeting to enter into executive session to review Sosa’s first two months with the borough. Mayor Stephanie Scott summarized the 30-minute discussion in one sentence, saying the general consensus was the assembly is “very pleased” by Sosa’s performance and is looking forward to Sosa’s “long tenure.”
Scott, who put the review on the agenda, said she wanted Sosa to have the opportunity to talk freely with his boss – the assembly.
“The assembly is the only resource that the manager has as far as feedback,” Scott said. “I thought it would be good to establish that we care about our employee and we’re there to help, as well as to offer constructive feedback.”
Assembly member George Campbell said he believes Sosa handles controversial situations well and delegates tasks appropriately. “I feel like we are getting better information at the assembly level, and he is doing his job. He’s making decisions,” Campbell said.
Still, “there are always things that can be done better,” Campbell said, using the recent installation of a $12,500 trailer behind the borough administration building as an example.
“There was some information about the trailer that wasn’t conveyed as well as it could have been,” Campbell said. “We were told one thing about the trailer at the meeting, and what has actually happened is something different.”
After a year on the job Sosa should be able to work out all of the kinks with the “little things,” Campbell said. “The trailer is just something we can point at, but in the realm of importance, it is kind of a small thing.”
Assembly member Debra Schnabel said she was also pleased with Sosa’s performance, overall. His strategic thinking, approach to problem-solving and presence out in the community are some of Sosa’s strong points, Schnabel said.
“I perceive that under Sosa’s direction a lot of the work of the government will get tightened up,” Schnabel said. “The assembly will have more options and information on issues instead of discovering them themselves.”
Schnabel said she was impressed with an earlier statement by Sosa that he didn’t want to rely on an insular, “staff-centric” decision-making system. To that end, she said she would like to see the “assembly/managerial relationship nurtured and developed better.”
Scott acknowledged that the informal review didn’t take into consideration staff feedback on Sosa’s performance, nor do formal evaluations. “We really don’t have a mechanism for that. There’s a firewall between the staff and the assembly. The assembly guides policy and it’s the staff that implements the policy under the direction of the manager,” she said.
While “there haven’t been any mass resignations,” Scott said she’d like to provide a mechanism for staff to offer feedback during Sosa’s first formal evaluation, which should occur at the six-month mark.