Scottsdale City Manager Jan Dolan’s self-evaluation and those of three other top officials are expected to be released today following a unanimous City Council decision not to appeal a court ruling.
The Tribune in February sued for the release of Dolan’s self-evaluation, the only written document pertaining to the job performance of the city’s top administrator.
Earlier this month, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled the document is public, while also awarding the Tribune its attorneys’ fees. The council, however, agreed Tuesday to appeal the award of more than $25,000 in fees to the Tribune. The city has spent about $22,000 itself on an outside legal firm.
Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross reiterated her support for not releasing the document because of the promised confidentiality the officials were given, but at this point did not think it was worth an appeal.
“I think we did the right thing,” Manross said.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Paul McMurdie rejected the city’s argument that because the evaluations were prepared for a confidential discussion, the document itself was private.
In December, the Tribune requested the self-evaluations of Dolan, City Attorney Deborah Robberson, City Auditor Cheryl Dreska and City Clerk Carolyn Jagger. The city denied the request. In January, the council voted whether to release the documents, but the 3-3 deadlock kept the evaluations private.
The Tribune has since reiterated its original request for all four self-evaluations.
The evaluations were prepared during last year’s review process, which resulted in raises of between 5 percent and 10 percent for the four officials.
The four did not receive written evaluations, but had oral reviews with the council during a closed session.
Dolan said her self-evaluation is historical, because it was done eight months ago for a period that covered the previous 18 months. Dolan said she is now focusing on council objectives for the future.
