Cincinnati City Manager Sheryl Long’s performance review is delayed until January.
It’s been two years since City Council conducted a performance review. The city charter requires an annual “performance and salary review” although it doesn't lay out a process or timeline.
Council member Mark Jeffreys and five others signed on to a motion filed Nov. 12 that would have initiated the process.
“It’s our job,” Jeffreys said Tuesday, adding Council should ask detailed questions and set goals.
The motion outlined a timeline: a “self evaluation” presentation on Dec. 8, discussion in committee on Dec. 15, and final deliberation on Jan. 12 with the public release of Council’s findings.
According to the Clerk of Council’s office, that motion was not referred to committee “at the request of the mayor.”
Jeffreys says that’s because Mayor Aftab Pureval intends to cancel the City Council meeting for the week of Dec. 15, which means the body won't meet again for the rest of the year. The motion will automatically “sunset” at the end of 2025, so Jeffreys says he will re-file it in January with an updated timeline.
The Mayor’s office has not responded to WVXU’s questions about the motion, although Pureval submitted a motion Tuesday to cancel Council meetings for the next two weeks.
Long offers year-end report
Long presented a “year-end review” to Council’s Public Safety and Governance Committee Tuesday, which she described as a “proactive” report “as a way of being transparent and accountable to our elected officials.”
The committee includes four of nine Council members; a fifth, Seth Walsh, was present as a guest during Long’s presentation, but left before Council members began asking questions.
Some of Long’s highlights include the launch of the gun violence prevention strategy, ACT for Cincy, rollout of spending priorities for the sale revenue of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, and city approval of over 200 housing units affordable to households making 60% or less of the Area Median Income.
"We’ve had some highs and lows this year; there were challenges we didn’t see coming, and curveballs that tested our operations," Long said, concluding her 45-minute presentation. "But we relied on what always gets us through — our people and our ability to collaborate with each other."
See her presentation slides at this link, and her full report below (article continues after):
Mayor Pureval appointed Long as City Manager effective Sept. 1, 2022; her year-end review is based on the third year of her leadership, through Sept. 2025.
The presentation was added to the agenda seven minutes before the meeting began. Chair Scotty Johnson has not responded to WVXU’s question regarding whether council members not on the committee were alerted to the presentation or invited to attend.
Council members Jeffreys and Anna Albi asked Long several questions and indicated they had more to ask later on.
Asked what she was most proud of accomplishing in the last year, Long replied that she’s had to make a lot of decisions “that may not have been the most popular.”
“But what I do know is that I have had to make sure that if it’s something that is in the best interest of Cincinnatians, that I’m not afraid to make any decision that there is. And I do make decisions and I am assertive about those decisions and I follow through with them. I think that is a very courageous move to make, that is not an easy move to make, and it’s very difficult at times.”
Indeed, Long has faced criticism from both the public and some members of Council over recent decisions, especially related to public safety concerns. That includes restricting RedBike, e-scooters, and food truck operations in the urban core on weekend nights, and placing Police Chief Teresa Theetge on paid leave pending an investigation into the effectiveness of her leadership. None of these topics were addressed Tuesday.
Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney began her comments with high praise for the manager’s performance.
“Great report,” Kearney told Long. "So many good things going on. You know, you’re really pretty awesome."
Kearney followed up by emphasizing some of her own policy priorities, like expanding the Youth to Work program.
Committee Chair Johnson didn't ask questions, but led a standing ovation for Manager Long and all city employees.
"We’ve got a lot of work to do, but I know we have done amazing work while you have led this city,” Johnson told Long.
What happens next?
A new timeline for Long’s performance review has not been established. Jeffreys and Council member Jeff Cramerding, who are leading the effort, say all nine council members should be involved in the process.
The motion from November outlines ten criteria for the City Manager's performance review.
Five budget priorities:
- Public safety and health
- Growing economic opportunities
- Thriving neighborhoods
- Fiscal stability
- Excellent and equitable service delivery
Five Council priorities:
- Management: recruitment, retention, employee morale, major hires
- Leadership: ability to prioritize, delegate, and lead
- Government efficiencies: remove unnecessary bureaucracy, move projects forward, use data-driven approach
- Relationship with Council and Mayor
- Communication skills: internal and external
"Council members are encouraged to communicate with internal and external stakeholders to gain informal feedback," the motion says. "This will be used to aid them with their own evaluation of the City Manager."
Jeffreys says Council will likely meet at least once in executive session to address the evaluation, in addition to public meetings on the topic.
The city charter requires an annual “performance and salary review” of the City Manager; the process outlined does not address Long’s salary, which is currently $329,241.
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