Camarillo City Council
AGENDA REPORT
Date: August 13, 2025
To: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
From: Greg Ramirez, City Manager
Submitted by: Wendy Levy, Director of Human Resources
Subject: Professional Services Agreement with The Mejorando Group
BACKGROUND
The City of Camarillo is committed to becoming a high-performing organization. In recent years, this commitment has led to a deeper investment in staff development, organizational culture, and internal performance systems. As part of this ongoing evolution, the City is developing a comprehensive Training & Development Plan designed to centralize and expand employee learning opportunities city-wide. The plan includes single-session workshops, cohort-based courses, and in person and virtual training— designed to equip employees with the knowledge, tools, and skills to thrive in an evolving public sector environment.
In tandem, the City is building a High Performing Organization (HPO) framework, which integrates employee development, strategic alignment, and accountability into a cohesive model. A key part of this effort is revisiting the City’s Performance Management and Appraisal System to ensure it supports employee engagement, growth, and organizational excellence.
The FY 2025–26 Strategic Plan adopted by the City Council underscores these priorities.
It includes specific goals related to Employee Relations—emphasizing competitive compensation, benefits, and training. It also calls for enhanced professional development, leadership cultivation, and more effective tools for performance evaluation. To align the City’s training and evaluation efforts under this strategic direction, staff initiated an informal solicitation for professional facilitation services.
DISCUSSION
Following a review of three proposals, staff recommends engaging The Mejorando Group, led by Patrick Ibarra, a nationally recognized consultant known for helping municipalities implement high-impact workforce and organizational development programs.
The Mejorando Group proposes a two-pronged approach:
Professional Services Agreement with The Mejorando Group August 13, 2025
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First, the consultant will conduct a series of Focus Groups with employees to gather qualitative feedback on their training needs, perceptions of the work environment, and readiness for organizational change. These sessions will provide meaningful insight that extends beyond survey data, helping the City assess engagement levels, uncover underlying issues, and foster a culture of transparency. Four one-hour focus groups are proposed, scheduled to coincide with the planned training workshops.
The training workshops are designed to identify and build essential leadership competencies through targeted learning that promotes both personal and professional growth. The sessions are grounded in three core objectives: (1) enhancing self- awareness, (2) developing expertise in key leadership skills, and (3) boosting motivation and engagement to deliver exceptional public service.
Second, the consultant will provide expert guidance in modernizing the City’s Performance Management and Appraisal System. This will include facilitating focus groups with high-performing employees, analyzing their input, and delivering a set of actionable recommendations to improve the system’s clarity, alignment, and utility in creating a meaningful system.
All feedback collected will be systematically analyzed. The consultant will categorize common themes, extract key insights, and deliver a concise report that includes both a thematic summary and specific recommendations to guide improvements in training and performance processes.
The full scope of services includes an initial kickoff and data-gathering phase, employee focus groups, specialized high performance and leadership-focused learning workshops, and advisory support for developing both the City’s training plans and performance management strategies.
The proposed fee for these services is $48,750, with travel reimbursement billed separately.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for description of expenditure are included in the (General Fund of Human Resources budget, Account No. 101-1601-418.59-01.
CEQA DETERMINATIONS
Not applicable
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement with The Mejorando Group, in an amount not to exceed Professional Services Agreement with The Mejorando Group August 13, 2025
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$60,000 for the implementation of high-impact workforce and organizational development programs.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Ibarra Mejorando Group Proposal Camarillo June 27, 2025 REFERENCE MATERIALS – AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW AT CITY HALL None