BAYFIELD – It’s one thing for an employer to formulate a succession plan when looking to replace an employee. It’s another thing when that employee is required to come up with such a plan themselves.
Bayfield Town Manager Katie Sickles was bracing for the latter as part of a performance improvement plan for her job after an Aug. 6 motion to terminate her contract. The part about the succession plan bothered the Town Board and some audience members during a discussion Tuesday about the PIP.
In the end, the board – overseen by Mayor Pro Tem Alexis Hartz, who was sitting in for Mayor Tom Au – unanimously voted to remove the PIP outright.
Trustee Brenna Morlan told The Durango Herald that she’s worked in jobs in which the employer came up with a plan to find a replacement, but not one in which an employee was assigned to do that.
“I don’t think it’s unusual to have (a succession plan) as an organization, but I think it is unusual to put it in a performance improvement plan,” she said, adding she’s unsure where the thought of adding that second part came from.
Board Trustee Kat Katsos told the Herald that creating a succession plan is a normal “operating practice” for businesses, but the part requiring Sickles to do it herself was “inappropriate” and “unnecessary.”
“There’s a time and a place for that, and this wasn’t it,” she said. “It was a bad idea.”
Moving forward, Morlan said she hopes the board sees the “immeasurable” value Sickles brings to her position.
Trustee Matthew Nyberg made a motion during the Aug. 6 meeting for the Bayfield Town Board to terminate Sickles’ contract on the grounds that she allegedly hasn’t been acting in the “best interest of the majority of the board” and was allegedly “unwilling to do so.”
The Town Board went into executive session on Aug. 20 to discuss legal questions about the possible termination of Sickles’ contract.
A notice about the performance improvement plan was sent to Sickles on Friday.
According to the plan, Sickles would have had to “demonstrate improvement” in the following areas by Nov. 28:
- Attend and participate in two Bayfield School District board meetings “to discuss progress on developing a relationship with the Bayfield School Board” alongside a current Town Board member.
- Take part in continued training “for interpersonal communications” and report “dates of training and progress.”
- To “establish trust through communication,” schedule monthly meetings with each board member if they wish to do so to answer questions about current policies, projects and grants, ensuring all queries “are addressed promptly and followed up with a written summary within 48 hours after each meeting.”
- Draft a “succession plan” in the next three months for the town manager position by “identifying” two “potential candidates.”
Morlan told the Herald that fourth item was “just wrong.”
“You’re asking somebody in a performance improvement plan to basically replace themselves,” she said.
A resident told the board at the start of Tuesday’s meeting that the fourth bullet point in the PIP was “disgraceful,” claiming residents were left in the dark before emphatically ripping a copy of the document.
Another resident told the board near the end of the meeting that the PIP was a “slap in the face,” adding that Sickles wasn’t being given a chance in her role and that she’s done the best she could in her role.
Morlan made the motion to remove the PIP. Town attorney Michael Goldman approved the suggestion, Katsos seconded the motion, and it was ultimately approved.
Hartz told the board that coming out of executive session, she felt the fourth item on the PIP document was a “necessary exercise” for the board to reach compromise, but ultimately agreed it was “completely unnecessary” as part of the performance evaluation.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate in any way,” she said, adding she wouldn’t sign off on the document.
Hartz confirmed to The Herald that with no PIP, Sickles’ job is safe and no future discussions would take place “at this time.”
Morlan told the board she didn’t agree with any of the terms “from the get-go.” Katsos told the board she was “not pleased” with the way it played out, given it’s a new group with “different experiences” interacting with Sickles.
When asked whether Tuesday’s motion will allow the board and Sickles to move forward for good, Katsos told The Herald that “time will tell,” adding she’s “not sure” whether the topic will be revisited in the future.
Morlan told The Herald she’s “pretty confident” that the matter is over for good, but added “it’s always a concern” that it could resurface in the future.
“I know for me, I will always object to it,” she said.
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com
