Trustees fired Downie after the hearing, finding him at fault of five disciplinary charges.
Although Downie had been employed by the Fairfield Twp. fire department since 1975 and had been chief in either full or part-time capacity for 25 years, only two formal evaluations were found in his personnel file when it was examined by this newspaper. Downie, who earned $72,875 a year, was evaluated once in 2001 and 2003.
In both evaluations, he scored at or near the top rankings in each individual appraisal.
An examination of townships in Warren and Butler counties shows the more employees a government has, the more likely it is to have formal, written evaluations. This in not always the case in smaller townships, however.
In Warren County’s Franklin Twp., the roster of employees is so small, there is no formal process, said the administrator, Helen Campbell, who said the township has six full-time employees and four part-time ones.
“We have so few, if someone’s not doing their job, they know about it. It’s not a formal process. We’re evaluated all year long,” Campbell said.
The Ohio Township Association has no official policy on evaluations, said its executive director Matt De Temple.
“Obviously it’s a good human resource practice to regularly evaluate employees. Most experts say you should do that at least annually. It’s kind of a best practice, but we have no specific policy,” he said.
All cities surveyed in the two counties said they have formal evaluations of their employees.
Nadine Begley of the city manager’s office in Middletown, and Nadine Hill of the personnel department in Hamilton confirmed that all employees in both cities receive formal and written evaluations. Hill pointed out that union contracts often require them.
Deerfield Twp, which has 50 full-time and 60 part-time employees, has no formal evaluations, but is considering implementing them, said Deerfield Administrator Bill Becker.
“There hasn’t been a system. It’s somewhat informal because we have a small staff,” Becker said. Deerfield Twp. has a population of more than 32,000 and a budget of more than $20 million.
Asked what prompted the need for formal evaluations, Becker said, “Nothing in particular, other than that there is nothing. It’s better documentation and management tools,” he said.
Becker was previously city manager and police chief in the city of Middletown, which has more than 100 employees. Deerfield Twp. had evaluations in the past, but turnover throughout the years resulted in them falling by the wayside, he said.
In the much more populous West Chester Twp., there is a formal evaluation process, according to public information officer Barb Wilson. For non-contract employees, pay has to be approved by the township trustees. For contract employees, raise amounts are negotiated by bargaining units, she said.
West Chester Twp. employs 249 full time workers, and 73 part-time workers. There are also 11 seasonal employees.
Liberty Twp., which has 53 full-time employees and 65 part-time employees, performs formal evaluations.
“The employee and the supervisor independently fill out an appraisal form consisting of 80 percent performance factors which are based on the individual job description; for example job knowledge, decision-making, employee management; and 20 percent goal performance (which are established in the prior year’s evaluation; for example complete a certification, review a current process to make it more efficient),” said Caroline McKinney, economic development director.
Fairfield Twp. employees undergo “ongoing verbal evaluations,” although fire department employees have been receiving written evaluations for about a year, said Michael Rahall, Fairfield Twp. Administrator.
“Eventually, we will have written evaluations across the board,” said Rahall.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2836 or eric.robinette@coxohio.com.
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