SEQUIM — Steve Burkett succinctly summarized his approach after his first year as Sequim city manager, and with an eye to the coming year.
“I want to get a lot done quickly,” Burkett said.
After the City Council offered mostly praise of Burkett’s first 12 months at City Hall during his performance review last Friday, it looks like the road is clear for Burkett to carry that goal forward — and quickly.
He will get no raise, though, until at least after Jan. 1, city leaders said, in light of the budget challenges ahead.
Under his $120,000-a-year contract, Burkett can receive a maximum raise of about $6,000, based on merit and the cost of living.
“He’s worked hard and certainly deserves a raise based on merit, but there is the budget to consider,” Mayor Ken Hays said.
Council member Ted Miller said in a prepared statement on behalf of the council, which recruited him to do so, that the council gave “nearly perfect marks” to Burkett for his responsiveness to the council and the public, his organizational skills, his strong interpersonal skills, for strong leadership, for being knowledgeable and his financial management.
“The review was overwhelmingly positive,” Miller said.
“Burkett is balancing the budget in these tough times without dipping into reserves,” he added.
“He assisted the council in establishing responsible financial policies and is reforming the entire long-term budget process.”
Accomplishments
Asked what he’s done since he was hired in October 2009, Burkett fired off an e-mail with 25 accomplishments listed, throwing in 15 goals for 2011.
For this year, he cites everything from meeting with all of the city’s 73 employees to hiring a new city engineer and police chief.
His 2011 goals include implementing the City Council policy agenda and priorities, hiring a new planning director and improving public communications and outreach.
About the only criticism the council handed Burkett was to improve his community connection, one that he hopes to achieve with new communications and marketing manager Barbara Hanna.
To that end, Burkett plans a survey that will interpret residents’ satisfaction levels when it comes to city services and what they see as important future issues.
“I was very pleased with the performance appraisals,” he said at his Cedar Street office earlier this week.
He’s been burning the candle at both ends, preparing and delivering a 2011 city budget document for the council this week with more than $18 million in projected expenditures, up 2 percent from this year.
Sequim faces a $300,000 gap between revenues and expenditures.
Up for council consideration is a 6-8 percent utility tax increase for water, sewer and garbage service, and service and expenditure reductions proposed for right-of-way maintenance, police and human services contracts.
‘Amiable perfectionist’
Saying morale at City Hall is the best he’s ever seen, Hays called Burkett “an amiable perfectionist.”
“He tries hard to get everybody to achieve the highest performance possible, but he does it in a positive way,” Hays said.
The council conducted Burkett’s performance appraisal in closed executive session at the Transit Center west of City Hall last Friday.
Dave Mercier, a former city manager and consultant, acted as an intermediary between the council and Burkett.
“So we weren’t inhibited in any way,” said Mayor Pro Tem Laura Dubois, who, along with Hays and Miller, praised the review process.
Dubois, a financial consultant, and Hays, an architect, both lauded Burkett for his fiscal savvy that has led the council to new budget policies.
“I’m very pleased with what he’s done,” Dubois said of Burkett creating city budget reserves and sound financial policy.
Financial plan
Burkett said with financial stability planned in the short term, he must still develop a long-range financial plan that will ensure future balanced budgets and help the council devise a strategic planning process.
Big on the council’s agenda is zoning reform, a re-examination of high-density growth in the city and whether it should be concentrated close to downtown.
“We’ve got some cow pastures that are zoned for some of the highest density we have,” Burkett said, adding that they are mostly away from the downtown core.
He cited hiring new Police Chief Bill Dickinson and City Engineer Paul Haines as part of his plan to create a new management team.
Burkett made several administrative changes during his first year on the job.
Former Police Chief Robert Spinks, who acted as city manager before Burkett was hired, was asked by Burkett to find another job in March.
Frank Needham, in charge of capital projects for the last five years, was given two weeks’ notice in May.
Dennis Lefevre, city planning director for more than eight years, resigned in October. The move was a “mutual decision” made in response to a change in philosophy on the part of the community and City Council, Burkett said.
Burkett hopes to fill that key position early next year.
“I learned a long time ago that you are only as successful as the people you work with,” Burkett said, adding he does not envision any other changes to his management team.
“The department heads . . . are the leaders along with me who run the entire city,” he said.
Since he came on board, Burkett said he has had to eliminate only two positions, leaving the city staff at 73.
He sees no layoffs in 2011 but can’t predict beyond that, citing an uncertain economy.
“The city’s net loss has been $1.2 million the past five years,” he said. “It’s pretty clear that had to stop.”
The 65-year-old Burkett has said he plans to spend the final years of his career in Sequim before retiring in the town.
With all the challenges facing him, Burkett — who formerly served as city manager in Shoreline, Tallahassee, Fla., and Woodland, Texas — said he wants to remain in Sequim so long as he’s having fun and the council thinks he’s doing a good job.
“I’m not trying to build my resume for the next job,” he said.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
