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Agenda 09/26/2023 Item #16K 2 (The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney)09/26/2023 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney OBJECTIVE: To complete the performance appraisal of the County Attorney. CONSIDERATIONS: The County Attorney reports directly to the Board of County Commissioners. In order to ensure that the County Attorney Office work performance is coordinated with the direction of the full Board, an annual appraisal and merit consideration are provided in the County Attorney Employment Agreement. The Agreement provides in relevant part as follows: “Section 8: Performance Evaluation The Employer shall review and evaluate the performance of the Employee in accordance with the performance-based merit system as provided in Section 7. Written evaluations based on said performance system will be provided by each County Commissioner to Employee prior to September 1, 2009, and prior to each September 1st thereafter for the term of this Agreement. A summary of all evaluations will be prepared by the Board Chair for the Board and Employee including the recommended merit wage adjustment. A merit system wage adjustment will take effect on October 1, 2009 and each October 1st thereafter for the term of this Agreement. An updated performance merit system for Employee will be developed in good faith between the Board of County Commissioners and Employee and adopted by the Board prior to October 1st of each fiscal year for implementation in the next fiscal year.” Section 7 provides in relevant part as follows: “Section 7: Salary B. Employer and Employee shall negotiate in good faith to establish, within one hundred and twenty (120) days after execution of this Agreement, a performance based merit system through which the Employee shall be eligible for a merit adjustment upon the successful completion of measurable goals and objectives to be completed or attained by the Employee during the 2009 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter during the term of this Agreement. Such annual performance based merit adjustment shall not exceed a maximum of te n percent (10%) of the Employee’s annual base salary. The minimum increase for satisfactory performance under such performance based merit system will equal the average percentage salary adjustment provided to all County employees for the given fiscal year or three percent (3%) whichever is greater. All such merit adjustments shall be included in the Employee’s base salary.” The annual work plan (Action plan) was previously developed with the Board. The County Attorney has been available to meet individually with commissioners and has provided a self-appraisal relating to the performance standards for review. A copy of the Performance Appraisals conducted by each Commissioner is included in the back-up, together with a Summary of all the evaluations. As in past years, the County Attorney waives any merit adjustment. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with this item. GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: There is no growth management impact associated with this item. RECOMMENDATION: The Board of County Commissioners completes the annual performance appraisal process for the County Attorney. Prepared by: Jeffrey A. Klatzkow, County Attorney 16.K.2 Packet Pg. 2258 09/26/2023 ATTACHMENT(S) 1. Jeff Klatzkow Self Evaluation - Action Plan for FY 22-23 (PDF) 2. Summary Sheet - Commissioner responses 2023 (PDF) 3. McDaniel JAK evaluation - 2023 (PDF) 4. Hall JAK evaluation 2023 (PDF) 16.K.2 Packet Pg. 2259 09/26/2023 COLLIER COUNTY Board of County Commissioners Item Number: 16.K.2 Doc ID: 26211 Item Summary: The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney Meeting Date: 09/26/2023 Prepared by: Title: Legal Assistant – County Attorney's Office Name: Wanda Rodriguez 07/25/2023 3:11 PM Submitted by: Title: County Attorney – County Attorney's Office Name: Jeffrey A. Klatzkow 07/25/2023 3:11 PM Approved By: Review: County Attorney's Office Colleen Greene Additional Reviewer Completed 09/20/2023 3:54 PM Office of Management and Budget Wanda Rodriguez Level 3 OMB Gatekeeper Review Skipped 09/20/2023 3:49 PM County Attorney's Office Jeffrey A. Klatzkow Level 3 County Attorney's Office Review Completed 09/20/2023 4:48 PM County Manager's Office Geoffrey Willig Level 4 County Manager Review Completed 09/20/2023 5:05 PM Board of County Commissioners Geoffrey Willig Meeting Pending 09/26/2023 9:00 AM 16.K.2 Packet Pg. 2260 Page 1 of 10 FY 2022 / 2023 Action Plan and Self Analysis Jeffrey A. Klatzkow, County Attorney The County Attorney is charged with the responsibility of planning, directing and reviewing the activities and operations of the Office of the County Attorney. The County Attorney is the legal advisor and counsel for the Board of County Commissioners, its advisory boards and advisory committees. The County Attorney also provides legal counsel to and assists the County Manager and his agencies in order to facilitate the goals and objectives established for the County Manager by the Board of County Commissioners. The County Attorney, through the assistant county attorneys and supporting staff, represents the County in wide-ranging complex litigation relating to implementation of government policies and capital projects, eminent domain, personal injury, property damage, workplace/personnel matters, finance and land use. In addition to litigation, he is counsel to the County’s divisions and departments for their daily operations. In this regard, the County Attorney is responsible for the review of all policy documents (resolutions), legislation (ordinances and special acts), and the drafting, legal review and revision of all contracts, real property conveyance documents and other Board signatory documents. The County Attorney’s Employment Agreement with the Board of County Commissioners provides for an annual evaluation of the County Attorney's performance. By custom, this performance has been measured against performance objectives set forth in that year’s annual Action Plan, by rating each of the performance objectives on a 1 to 3 scale, with 1 being Below Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds Standards. Individual evaluations are then totaled and averaged to determine the Board's collective position. The following is the County Attorney’s Action Plan for the 2022-2023 Fiscal Year. The Action Plan is based on the broad areas generally expected to be performed by the Managing Partner of a significant law firm, including: legal advice; leadership and organizational direction; communications; fiscal management; and personnel management. 16.K.2.a Packet Pg. 2261 Attachment: Jeff Klatzkow Self Evaluation - Action Plan for FY 22-23 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 2 of 10 Goals for Fiscal Year 2022-2023: I will continue to initiate changes to create a more efficient work environment. This will include hiring and retaining the best employees, focusing on how to conduct business with better customer service results, and making internal changes that result in a more efficient and effective work product. The County Attorney Office has completed its restructuring to assure that Requests for Legal Services are completed promptly, and that there will be overlapping areas of expertise within the Office. To increase our efficiency, this effort will require further improvements in our planning, assignment of responsibilities, and establishment of accountability to assure continued enhancement within the Office. Specific areas that I propose as part of next year’s action plan are: 1. Oral Presentations at Meetings. I will continue to work to assure that both the County Attorney's and the County Attorney Office's presentations at Board of County Commissioners’ meetings, advisory board meetings, and workshops are clear, concise and effective. All presenters will be charged with making presentations that avoid legalese and focus on the legal issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner. Self Analysis: No change from prior years. As a general rule, this Office continues to endeavor to follow former County Manager Jim Mudd’s approach of the three B’s with respect to Board presentations: that “you be brief, be brilliant, and be gone.” Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 16.K.2.a Packet Pg. 2262 Attachment: Jeff Klatzkow Self Evaluation - Action Plan for FY 22-23 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 3 of 10 2. Written Legal Advice. Both the County Attorney and the County Attorney Office will provide professional, objective, unbiased legal advice to the Board of County Commissioners, its advisory boards and committees, the County Manager and his agencies and employees as necessary for formulation and implementation of legislative policies and projects. Responses will avoid legalese and focus on the legal issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner. Self Analysis: The continuing direction to all attorneys is to keep their writing clear, concise, and to the point. Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 3. Processing Requests for Legal Services. This year, this Office’s response time to Requests for Legal Services (RLS’s) continued to exceed 90% of all RLS’s being processed within 48 hours. There will always be a number of legal assignments, due to their complex nature, that take weeks and even months to complete. Accordingly, this Office will continue to achieve a 48- hour (or less) turnaround time on 90% of all future Requests for Legal Services received from the Board of County Commissioners and County Manager agencies. A report will be run from Total Office (this Office’s data management system) to determine turnaround time. This will include preparation and review of documents for legal sufficiency prior to consideration by the Board of County Commissioners for Board action, including, but not limited to, agreements, contracts, deeds, leases, bonds, ordinances, resolutions, and other legal documents requested by County Commissioners, the County Manager, or the staff. Self Analysis: The response time to Requests for Legal Services (RLS’s) this year was 94% of all RLS’s being processed within 48 hours. This past year the Office handled 3,314 RLS’s, which was substantially similar to the prior year (3,105). As always, a number of legal assignments, due to their complex nature, take weeks and even months to complete. I believe the Office has fully achieved my goals in this area, the results of which are demonstrated in the next Goal and Objective, which is Client Satisfaction /Peer Review. Before my tenure as County Attorney, the average response time for an RLS was 11 days, with 3% of RLS’s processed within 48 hours. 16.K.2.a Packet Pg. 2263 Attachment: Jeff Klatzkow Self Evaluation - Action Plan for FY 22-23 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 4 of 10 Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 4. Client Satisfaction/Peer Review. Client satisfaction continues to be a major goal of this Office. In furtherance of this goal, a number of years ago I instituted a practice in which performance evaluation reports are sent to the various Division Administrators and Managers each year to assess the performance of each attorney in the Office. The reports rate the attorneys on a 1 to 3 scale, with 1 being Below Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds Standards. Individual evaluations are then totaled and averaged to determine this Office’s collective score, with a goal of 75% rating level for exceeding expectations. Client reviews will factor into each of the Assistant County Attorney’s performance evaluations. Self Analysis: Once again this year, an Attorney-Client Feedback form was provided to Department Heads and select Managers, to solicit their opinions regarding the service they receive from the County Attorney Office. These results are utilized to shift workloads if departments are not satisfied with our services; they are also utilized in the attorney’s individual annual performance evaluations, and in restructuring decisions. The following is a chart showing a comparison of 2008 (my first year as County Attorney) and 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 overall client feedback. As you can see, during my tenure as County Attorney we have eliminated the “Does Not Meet” portion of the evaluation. This year this Office attained an 84% “Exceeds” expectation, with 16% “Meets” expectations. Commissioner Comments: 16.K.2.a Packet Pg. 2264 Attachment: Jeff Klatzkow Self Evaluation - Action Plan for FY 22-23 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 5 of 10 Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 5. Fiscal Management. I will continue to develop and effectively administer an annual budget for the Office of the County Attorney in conformance with policies adopted by the Board of County Commissioners, while at the same time improving the quality of this Office. Self Analysis: Prior to my tenure as County Attorney commencing April 2008, this Office was budgeted for $3,173,600 (when we had 31 full time employees). The current request is for $3,602,700 (5.2% increase) for this upcoming Fiscal Year (with 15 actual full-time employees, and 18 budgeted). Based on the Board-directed wage adjustment on September 27, 2022, the personal services budget increased 6.2%. The County Attorney Office budget increase would have otherwise been -0.1% consistent with budget guidance. The remainder of the County Attorney 21% 56% 21% 1% 94% 6% 0%0% 83% 17% 0%0% 89% 11% 0%0% 84% 16% 0%0% 94% 6% 0%0% 94% 6% 0%0% 84% 16% 0%0%0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Exceeds Meets Does Not Meet N/A Comparison of 2008 through 2017-2023 Attorney - Client Feedback Overall Results 2008 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 16.K.2.a Packet Pg. 2265 Attachment: Jeff Klatzkow Self Evaluation - Action Plan for FY 22-23 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 6 of 10 Office budget is basically flat. This Office has consistently met or exceeded Board budget direction. The reduction in personnel was accomplished with an increase in service; over time, the Office evolved into doing more with less. Overall office efficiency was increased by managing out inefficient employees, by cross-training, by reassigning work to higher performers, and by replacing legal secretaries with paralegals who can do higher level work. Going forward, as the County’s business and population grows, I expect the Office will slowly grow. Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 6. Public Records and Sunshine Law. This Office will continue to educate and update County staff, and advisory board members through periodic workshops/seminars, (e.g. Sunshine Law, Public Records Act, State and local ethics law). This Office will also conduct seminars with staff on various topics of interest. Self Analysis: During the past year, this Office conducted 5 presentations/workshops/seminars to County staff and advisory board meetings. We continue to provide on-line resources as an option, which are more convenient for people to access but lack the “human” touch. 10/20/22 Sunshine, Public Records, Ethics, and Procurement 11/2/22 – Sunshine, Public Records, Ethics for Developmental Services Advisory Committee (DSAC) 11/16/22 – Sunshine Law, Public Records, Ethics for the Immokalee CRA 2/9/2022 – Sunshine, Public Records, Ethics for the Bayshore CRA 4/19/2023 - Sunshine, Public Records, Ethics for the Public Arts Committee Our Power Point presentations and Video presentations relating to Government in the Sunshine, Public Records Act, Ethics Laws and Social Networking are available on the internet at www.colliercountyfl.gov on the County Attorney web page for viewing by advisory board members, staff and the public. 16.K.2.a Packet Pg. 2266 Attachment: Jeff Klatzkow Self Evaluation - Action Plan for FY 22-23 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 7 of 10 A Public Records Manual providing general information, guidelines for handling public records requests, general and specific exemptions and an update highlighting legislative updates were provided to various departments including Communication and Customer Relations, Human Resources, Domestic Animal Services, Security, Risk Management and Emergency Medical Services. Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 7. Litigation. We will continue to effectively and efficiently manage litigation using primarily in-house counsel and secondarily through the use of outside counsel as needed. We will keep the Board abreast of the County’s litigation through quarterly reports for the Board with respect to current litigation, including potential or anticipated legal issues that may come before the Board of County Commissioners. Self Analysis: This Office manages the County’s litigation. To keep the Board informed, a number of years ago I commenced the process of providing the Board with quarterly reports of our litigation activity. Currently, there are a total of 40 open cases. There are 26 general litigation cases including 17 personal injury cases, one employment case, and six small claims cases. In support of the Vanderbilt Beach Road Expansion and Extension, the County Attorney’s Office filed 43 eminent domain cases to acquire title to 206 parcels. The first case was filed on November 9, 2020 and all parcels were acquired by September 2021. The County has settled 197 parcels for full compensation with 9 parcels pending for mediation and/or trial. I expect substantial resolution of these last parcels to take 12-18 months with the primary issue being parties that are not represented by counsel and parties whose whereabouts are unknown. Since March of 2013, there has not been a single case where the County has been at risk for a material judgment. The reasons for this include proactive management of the land use process, which has virtually eliminated land use disputes, and the insertion of a right to terminate for convenience provision in the County’s standard form contracts while assigning the Deputy County Attorney to work daily and directly with the Procurement Department, which has virtually eliminated contract and vendor payment disputes. 16.K.2.a Packet Pg. 2267 Attachment: Jeff Klatzkow Self Evaluation - Action Plan for FY 22-23 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 8 of 10 This past year the Office closed 41 general litigation cases, including 23 eminent domain cases. A copy of the most current Quarterly Litigation Report (Draft October 2023), with updates from the prior report is attached. Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 8. Advertising. We will continue to ensure that all Public Hearings and ordinances are properly advertised. Self Analysis: Beginning in 2009, with the assistance of the County Manager’s Office and the Clerk to the Board, this Office has monitored all legal advertisements for public hearings before the Board of County Commissioners. The purpose was to ensure that all legal ads met statutory and Code requirements and were made part of the record as back-up material for the agenda item. Since then, our oversight has expanded to include legal ads for the Planning Commission. 16.K.2.a Packet Pg. 2268 Attachment: Jeff Klatzkow Self Evaluation - Action Plan for FY 22-23 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 9 of 10 In addition to working with departments in drafting legal ads, our Office receives copies of all ad requests, which are reviewed by the assigned attorney before they are forwarded to the Naples Daily News. Support staff then verifies that the ads are published correctly. Our goal in taking on this responsibility is to avoid the delays, waste, and the potential for legal challenge associated with defective advertising. We also actively seek to reduce costs by combining ads where possible and by not running ads that are not required. In the past year, our office has reviewed approximately 87 ads for items appearing on the Board of County Commissioners’ agenda and 53 ads for items appearing on the CCPC agenda. Ads continue to be significantly lower than prior years, presumably due to the pandemic. Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 9. Agenda Items. We will continue to ensure that all Board approved contracts, ordinances, plats and other documents are properly processed, recorded, and codified with Municode. Self Analysis: We have been fully successful in monitoring and processing Board approved documents from approval, Chairman’s signature, delivery to the Clerk to the Board and submission to Municode for codification as appropriate. On average there are 40+ agenda items per meeting that require the Chairman’s signature with some items containing multiple documents. All documents must be compared with the item in the agenda system for accuracy and processed through to the Clerk to the Board. Most ordinances must be submitted to Municode for codification. Commissioner Comments: 16.K.2.a Packet Pg. 2269 Attachment: Jeff Klatzkow Self Evaluation - Action Plan for FY 22-23 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 10 of 10 Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 10. Advisory Boards. A number of years ago the Board tasked this Office to manage its Advisory Boards. We continue to advertise new openings and bring appropriate Executive Summaries to the Board. Self Analysis: We have successfully integrated and managed this task with existing staff. We coordinate with the Communications and Customer Relations Division to make sure that the new openings are posted, and the current information is posted on the County’s website. We coordinate with the various advisory board liaisons to get recommendations for appointments, resignations, etc. We then bring the items to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration. Since September 2022, 215 advisory board applications were received and processed, and 60 agenda items were prepared and taken to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration. Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 16.K.2.a Packet Pg. 2270 Attachment: Jeff Klatzkow Self Evaluation - Action Plan for FY 22-23 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) LoCastro Hall Saunders Kowal McDaniel Oral Presentations at Meetings 3 3 Written Legal Advice 3 3 Processing Requests for Legal Services 3 3 Client Satisfaction / Peer Review 3 3 Fiscal Management 2 3 Public Records and Sunshine Law 3 3 Litigation 3 3 Advertising 2 3 Agenda Items 3 3 Advisory Boards 3 3 Averages Per Commissioner 2.8 3 16.K.2.b Packet Pg. 2271 Attachment: Summary Sheet - Commissioner responses 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) 16.K.2.c Packet Pg. 2272 Attachment: McDaniel JAK evaluation - 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) 16.K.2.c Packet Pg. 2273 Attachment: McDaniel JAK evaluation - 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) 16.K.2.c Packet Pg. 2274 Attachment: McDaniel JAK evaluation - 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) 16.K.2.c Packet Pg. 2275 Attachment: McDaniel JAK evaluation - 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) 16.K.2.c Packet Pg. 2276 Attachment: McDaniel JAK evaluation - 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) 16.K.2.c Packet Pg. 2277 Attachment: McDaniel JAK evaluation - 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) 16.K.2.c Packet Pg. 2278 Attachment: McDaniel JAK evaluation - 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) 16.K.2.c Packet Pg. 2279 Attachment: McDaniel JAK evaluation - 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) 16.K.2.c Packet Pg. 2280 Attachment: McDaniel JAK evaluation - 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) 16.K.2.c Packet Pg. 2281 Attachment: McDaniel JAK evaluation - 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 1 of 10 FY 2022 / 2023 Action Plan and Self Analysis Jeffrey A. Klatzkow, County Attorney The County Attorney is charged with the responsibility of planning, directing and reviewing the activities and operations of the Office of the County Attorney. The County Attorney is the legal advisor and counsel for the Board of County Commissioners, its advisory boards and advisory committees. The County Attorney also provides legal counsel to and assists the County Manager and his agencies in order to facilitate the goals and objectives established for the County Manager by the Board of County Commissioners. The County Attorney, through the assistant county attorneys and supporting staff, represents the County in wide-ranging complex litigation relating to implementation of government policies and capital projects, eminent domain, personal injury, property damage, workplace/personnel matters, finance and land use. In addition to litigation, he is counsel to the County’s divisions and departments for their daily operations. In this regard, the County Attorney is responsible for the review of all policy documents (resolutions), legislation (ordinances and special acts), and the drafting, legal review and revision of all contracts, real property conveyance documents and other Board signatory documents. The County Attorney’s Employment Agreement with the Board of County Commissioners provides for an annual evaluation of the County Attorney's performance. By custom, this performance has been measured against performance objectives set forth in that year’s annual Action Plan, by rating each of the performance objectives on a 1 to 3 scale, with 1 being Below Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds Standards. Individual evaluations are then totaled and averaged to determine the Board's collective position. The following is the County Attorney’s Action Plan for the 2022-2023 Fiscal Year. The Action Plan is based on the broad areas generally expected to be performed by the Managing Partner of a significant law firm, including: legal advice; leadership and organizational direction; communications; fiscal management; and personnel management. 16.K.2.d Packet Pg. 2282 Attachment: Hall JAK evaluation 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 2 of 10 Goals for Fiscal Year 2022-2023: I will continue to initiate changes to create a more efficient work environment. This will include hiring and retaining the best employees, focusing on how to conduct business with better customer service results, and making internal changes that result in a more efficient and effective work product. The County Attorney Office has completed its restructuring to assure that Requests for Legal Services are completed promptly, and that there will be overlapping areas of expertise within the Office. To increase our efficiency, this effort will require further improvements in our planning, assignment of responsibilities, and establishment of accountability to assure continued enhancement within the Office. Specific areas that I propose as part of next year’s action plan are: 1. Oral Presentations at Meetings. I will continue to work to assure that both the County Attorney's and the County Attorney Office's presentations at Board of County Commissioners’ meetings, advisory board meetings, and workshops are clear, concise and effective. All presenters will be charged with making presentations that avoid legalese and focus on the legal issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner. Self Analysis: No change from prior years. As a general rule, this Office continues to endeavor to follow former County Manager Jim Mudd’s approach of the three B’s with respect to Board presentations: that “you be brief, be brilliant, and be gone.” Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 3 16.K.2.d Packet Pg. 2283 Attachment: Hall JAK evaluation 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 3 of 10 2. Written Legal Advice. Both the County Attorney and the County Attorney Office will provide professional, objective, unbiased legal advice to the Board of County Commissioners, its advisory boards and committees, the County Manager and his agencies and employees as necessary for formulation and implementation of legislative policies and projects. Responses will avoid legalese and focus on the legal issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner. Self Analysis: The continuing direction to all attorneys is to keep their writing clear, concise, and to the point. Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 3 3. Processing Requests for Legal Services. This year, this Office’s response time to Requests for Legal Services (RLS’s) continued to exceed 90% of all RLS’s being processed within 48 hours. There will always be a number of legal assignments, due to their complex nature, that take weeks and even months to complete. Accordingly, this Office will continue to achieve a 48- hour (or less) turnaround time on 90% of all future Requests for Legal Services received from the Board of County Commissioners and County Manager agencies. A report will be run from Total Office (this Office’s data management system) to determine turnaround time. This will include preparation and review of documents for legal sufficiency prior to consideration by the Board of County Commissioners for Board action, including, but not limited to, agreements, contracts, deeds, leases, bonds, ordinances, resolutions, and other legal documents requested by County Commissioners, the County Manager, or the staff. Self Analysis: The response time to Requests for Legal Services (RLS’s) this year was 94% of all RLS’s being processed within 48 hours. This past year the Office handled 3,314 RLS’s, which was substantially similar to the prior year (3,105). As always, a number of legal assignments, due to their complex nature, take weeks and even months to complete. I believe the Office has fully achieved my goals in this area, the results of which are demonstrated in the next Goal and Objective, which is Client Satisfaction /Peer Review. Before my tenure as County Attorney, the average response time for an RLS was 11 days, with 3% of RLS’s processed within 48 hours. 16.K.2.d Packet Pg. 2284 Attachment: Hall JAK evaluation 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 4 of 10 Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 3 4. Client Satisfaction/Peer Review. Client satisfaction continues to be a major goal of this Office. In furtherance of this goal, a number of years ago I instituted a practice in which performance evaluation reports are sent to the various Division Administrators and Managers each year to assess the performance of each attorney in the Office. The reports rate the attorneys on a 1 to 3 scale, with 1 being Below Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds Standards. Individual evaluations are then totaled and averaged to determine this Office’s collective score, with a goal of 75% rating level for exceeding expectations. Client reviews will factor into each of the Assistant County Attorney’s performance evaluations. Self Analysis: Once again this year, an Attorney-Client Feedback form was provided to Department Heads and select Managers, to solicit their opinions regarding the service they receive from the County Attorney Office. These results are utilized to shift workloads if departments are not satisfied with our services; they are also utilized in the attorney’s individual annual performance evaluations, and in restructuring decisions. The following is a chart showing a comparison of 2008 (my first year as County Attorney) and 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 overall client feedback. As you can see, during my tenure as County Attorney we have eliminated the “Does Not Meet” portion of the evaluation. This year this Office attained an 84% “Exceeds” expectation, with 16% “Meets” expectations. Commissioner Comments: 16.K.2.d Packet Pg. 2285 Attachment: Hall JAK evaluation 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 5 of 10 Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 3 5. Fiscal Management. I will continue to develop and effectively administer an annual budget for the Office of the County Attorney in conformance with policies adopted by the Board of County Commissioners, while at the same time improving the quality of this Office. Self Analysis: Prior to my tenure as County Attorney commencing April 2008, this Office was budgeted for $3,173,600 (when we had 31 full time employees). The current request is for $3,602,700 (5.2% increase) for this upcoming Fiscal Year (with 15 actual full-time employees, and 18 budgeted). Based on the Board-directed wage adjustment on September 27, 2022, the personal services budget increased 6.2%. The County Attorney Office budget increase would have otherwise been -0.1% consistent with budget guidance. The remainder of the County Attorney 21% 56% 21% 1% 94% 6% 0%0% 83% 17% 0%0% 89% 11% 0%0% 84% 16% 0%0% 94% 6% 0%0% 94% 6% 0%0% 84% 16% 0%0%0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Exceeds Meets Does Not Meet N/A Comparison of 2008 through 2017-2023 Attorney - Client Feedback Overall Results 2008 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 16.K.2.d Packet Pg. 2286 Attachment: Hall JAK evaluation 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 6 of 10 Office budget is basically flat. This Office has consistently met or exceeded Board budget direction. The reduction in personnel was accomplished with an increase in service; over time, the Office evolved into doing more with less. Overall office efficiency was increased by managing out inefficient employees, by cross-training, by reassigning work to higher performers, and by replacing legal secretaries with paralegals who can do higher level work. Going forward, as the County’s business and population grows, I expect the Office will slowly grow. Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 2 6. Public Records and Sunshine Law. This Office will continue to educate and update County staff, and advisory board members through periodic workshops/seminars, (e.g. Sunshine Law, Public Records Act, State and local ethics law). This Office will also conduct seminars with staff on various topics of interest. Self Analysis: During the past year, this Office conducted 5 presentations/workshops/seminars to County staff and advisory board meetings. We continue to provide on-line resources as an option, which are more convenient for people to access but lack the “human” touch. 10/20/22 Sunshine, Public Records, Ethics, and Procurement 11/2/22 – Sunshine, Public Records, Ethics for Developmental Services Advisory Committee (DSAC) 11/16/22 – Sunshine Law, Public Records, Ethics for the Immokalee CRA 2/9/2022 – Sunshine, Public Records, Ethics for the Bayshore CRA 4/19/2023 - Sunshine, Public Records, Ethics for the Public Arts Committee Our Power Point presentations and Video presentations relating to Government in the Sunshine, Public Records Act, Ethics Laws and Social Networking are available on the internet at www.colliercountyfl.gov on the County Attorney web page for viewing by advisory board members, staff and the public. 16.K.2.d Packet Pg. 2287 Attachment: Hall JAK evaluation 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 7 of 10 A Public Records Manual providing general information, guidelines for handling public records requests, general and specific exemptions and an update highlighting legislative updates were provided to various departments including Communication and Customer Relations, Human Resources, Domestic Animal Services, Security, Risk Management and Emergency Medical Services. Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 3 7. Litigation. We will continue to effectively and efficiently manage litigation using primarily in-house counsel and secondarily through the use of outside counsel as needed. We will keep the Board abreast of the County’s litigation through quarterly reports for the Board with respect to current litigation, including potential or anticipated legal issues that may come before the Board of County Commissioners. Self Analysis: This Office manages the County’s litigation. To keep the Board informed, a number of years ago I commenced the process of providing the Board with quarterly reports of our litigation activity. Currently, there are a total of 40 open cases. There are 26 general litigation cases including 17 personal injury cases, one employment case, and six small claims cases. In support of the Vanderbilt Beach Road Expansion and Extension, the County Attorney’s Office filed 43 eminent domain cases to acquire title to 206 parcels. The first case was filed on November 9, 2020 and all parcels were acquired by September 2021. The County has settled 197 parcels for full compensation with 9 parcels pending for mediation and/or trial. I expect substantial resolution of these last parcels to take 12-18 months with the primary issue being parties that are not represented by counsel and parties whose whereabouts are unknown. Since March of 2013, there has not been a single case where the County has been at risk for a material judgment. The reasons for this include proactive management of the land use process, which has virtually eliminated land use disputes, and the insertion of a right to terminate for convenience provision in the County’s standard form contracts while assigning the Deputy County Attorney to work daily and directly with the Procurement Department, which has virtually eliminated contract and vendor payment disputes. 16.K.2.d Packet Pg. 2288 Attachment: Hall JAK evaluation 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 8 of 10 This past year the Office closed 41 general litigation cases, including 23 eminent domain cases. A copy of the most current Quarterly Litigation Report (Draft October 2023), with updates from the prior report is attached. Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 3 8. Advertising. We will continue to ensure that all Public Hearings and ordinances are properly advertised. Self Analysis: Beginning in 2009, with the assistance of the County Manager’s Office and the Clerk to the Board, this Office has monitored all legal advertisements for public hearings before the Board of County Commissioners. The purpose was to ensure that all legal ads met statutory and Code requirements and were made part of the record as back-up material for the agenda item. Since then, our oversight has expanded to include legal ads for the Planning Commission. 16.K.2.d Packet Pg. 2289 Attachment: Hall JAK evaluation 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 9 of 10 In addition to working with departments in drafting legal ads, our Office receives copies of all ad requests, which are reviewed by the assigned attorney before they are forwarded to the Naples Daily News. Support staff then verifies that the ads are published correctly. Our goal in taking on this responsibility is to avoid the delays, waste, and the potential for legal challenge associated with defective advertising. We also actively seek to reduce costs by combining ads where possible and by not running ads that are not required. In the past year, our office has reviewed approximately 87 ads for items appearing on the Board of County Commissioners’ agenda and 53 ads for items appearing on the CCPC agenda. Ads continue to be significantly lower than prior years, presumably due to the pandemic. Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 2 9. Agenda Items. We will continue to ensure that all Board approved contracts, ordinances, plats and other documents are properly processed, recorded, and codified with Municode. Self Analysis: We have been fully successful in monitoring and processing Board approved documents from approval, Chairman’s signature, delivery to the Clerk to the Board and submission to Municode for codification as appropriate. On average there are 40+ agenda items per meeting that require the Chairman’s signature with some items containing multiple documents. All documents must be compared with the item in the agenda system for accuracy and processed through to the Clerk to the Board. Most ordinances must be submitted to Municode for codification. Commissioner Comments: 16.K.2.d Packet Pg. 2290 Attachment: Hall JAK evaluation 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney) Page 10 of 10 Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 3 10. Advisory Boards. A number of years ago the Board tasked this Office to manage its Advisory Boards. We continue to advertise new openings and bring appropriate Executive Summaries to the Board. Self Analysis: We have successfully integrated and managed this task with existing staff. We coordinate with the Communications and Customer Relations Division to make sure that the new openings are posted, and the current information is posted on the County’s website. We coordinate with the various advisory board liaisons to get recommendations for appointments, resignations, etc. We then bring the items to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration. Since September 2022, 215 advisory board applications were received and processed, and 60 agenda items were prepared and taken to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration. Commissioner Comments: Below Standards Meets Standards Exceeds Standards 1 2 3 Rating 3 16.K.2.d Packet Pg. 2291 Attachment: Hall JAK evaluation 2023 (26211 : The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney)