The new, complimentary ICMA Manager Evaluations Handbook  is intended to highlight the value of a formal manager evaluation process and to assist local elected officials in the design of an effective evaluation tool. Local government managers and administrators are encouraged to reference and review the handbook with an eye toward working with their elected bodies to develop formal, mutually agreed-upon processes for their own evaluations.

The 2012-2013 ICMA Executive Board, led by President Bonnie Svrcek, acknowledged the need for local government managers and their elected bodies to put more focus on the manager evaluation process. Accordingly, the board created a task force of managers from across the United States, representing more than a dozen communities, to develop this handbook.