East Palo Alto City Council January 21, 2023 Agenda Page 1 of 2
EAST PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA
STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT
January 21, 2023, 9:00 AM
EPA Government Center
2415 University Ave, First Floor
East Palo Alto, CA 94303
NOTICE
This City Council meeting will be conducted in accordance with City of East Palo Alto Resolution adopted in accordance with Assembly Bill 361. All members of the City Council will participate in the meeting by video conference, with no physical meeting location available to the public.
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1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
(Government Code Section 54957.7(a))
3. STAFF REPORT
1. City Council Priority Setting for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Recommendation: It is recommended that the City Council:
1.Review the attached supporting documents to evaluate the progress made and status of the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 City Council Strategic Priorities;
2. Define the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 City Council Strategic Priorities;
3. Solicit input from the community regarding the City Council’s Strategic Priorities; and
4. Direct the Administration to return to the City Council in March or April 2023 for final adoption of the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 City Council Strategic Priorities.
4. ADJOURNMENT
This AGENDA is posted in accordance with Government Code Section 54954.2(a) This Notice of Availability of Public Records: All public records relating to an open session item which are not exempt fr om d isclo su re pursuant to the Public Records Act, that are distributed to the majority of the City Council will be available for public inspection at th e Ci ty Clerk’s Office, 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, CA at the same time that the public records are distributed or made available to th e City Council. Such documents may also be available on the East Palo Alto website www.cityofepa.org subject to staff’s ability to p ost the documents prior to the meeting. Information may be obtained by calling (650) 853-3100.
The City Council meeting packet may be reviewed by the public in the Library or the City Clerk's Office. Any writings or documents pert aining t o an open session item provided to a majority of the City Council less than 72 hours prior to the meeting, shall be made available for public inspection at the front counter at the City Clerk's Office, 2ND Floor, City Hall, 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, California 94303 during normal bus iness hours .
Information distributed to the Council at the Council meeting becomes part of the public record. A copy of written material, pictures, et c. s hould b e provided for this purpose.
East Palo Alto City Council Chambers is ADA compliant. Requests for disability related modifications or accommodations, aids or s ervices may be made by a person with a disability to the City Clerk's office at (650) 853-3127 no less than 72 hours prior to the meeting as required by Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the federal rules and regulations adopted in implementation thereof.
DECLARATION OF POSTING
This Notice is posted in accordance with Government Code §54954.2(a) or §54956. Members of the public can view electronic agendas and staff reports by accessing the City website. Under penalty of perjury, this Agenda was posted to the public at le ast 7 2 hours prior to the meeting.
POSTED: January 21, 2023
ATTEST:
James Colin
City Clerk
EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: January 21, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Patrick Heisinger, Interim City Manager
BY: Patrick Heisinger, Director of Emergency Services/Interim CityManager SUBJECT: City Council Priority Setting for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Review the attached supporting documents to evaluate the progress made and status of the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 City Council Strategic Priorities;
2. Define the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 City Council Strategic Priorities;
3. Solicit input from the community regarding the City Council’s Strategic Priorities; and
4. Direct the Administration to return to the City Council in March or April 2023 for final adoption of the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 City Council Strategic Priorities.
Introduction
This staff report provides an overview of the City Council Strategic Priority Setting (Priority Setting) process for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024, as well as a status update related to the most recently adopted FY 2022-2023 City Council Strategic Priorities (Priorities).
The 2023-2024 Priority Setting session has been scheduled for Saturday, January 21, 2023.
Background
The City Council conducts an annual Priority Setting process to designate high-priority initiatives, ordinances, and/or projects. The goal of the Priority Setting process is to allow the Administration to focus limited staff and financial resources on initiatives that City Council identifies as the highest priorities. The most recent Priority Setting session was held on January 8, 2022.
Consistent with past Priority Setting sessions, staff recommends the City Council continue with the following guidance:
3.1 Packet Pg. 3
• Method of Defining a Priority;
• Two (2) Year Approach to Priority Setting; and
• Enhanced Transparency with regard to the Priorities.
Method of Defining a Priority
For the purposes of developing the City Council Strategic Priorities for a given year, a Priority shall be any item that requires:
• Additional city resources to implement (e.g. funding for staffing or new projects/programs);
• Cross-departmental coordination or engagement of partners and entities outside of the City; or
• An increase in level-of-service for any Core Service or previously budgeted activity; and
• Specific goals articulated in terms of defined subtasks/objectives that may lead to achievement of a larger multi-year goal.
Two (2) Year Approach to Priority Setting
Consistent with the two most recent Priority Setting processes, the City Council developed a number of Priorities that would be achieved over a two-year period. Due to the fact that these priority projects are considered major efforts, it is more realistic to expect that completion of many of these goals will require at least two years. Acknowledgement of the two-year approach will provide staff, City Council, and the community with a reasonable understanding of the timelines associated with each goal.
Since this cycle of Priorities has been in place for two years, an ongoing two-year cycle will essentially become a rolling list of Priorities. Substantial progress has been made on several Priorities that were identified in past years, meaning that the City Council may identify new Priorities that may be added through the 2022-2023 Priority Setting process.
Although the City Council has full discretion to divert from this approach, staff recommends that the two-year approach be continued in order to build upon recent momentum in each area of the Priorities described below.
Enhanced Transparency with regard to the Priorities
The following enhanced transparency efforts will be continued in next Priority Setting process:
• Priorities described in detail in a living document on the City’s website. • Mid-year City Council Update each December provided by the Administration regarding progress in achieving the current Priorities.
Adoption of City Council Priorities for FY 2022/2023
On March 16, 2022, the City Council adopted a resolution that established the FY 2021-2022 Priorities, in two categories:
• Specific Priorities for FY 2022-2023; and
• A detailed Priority Workplan (Workplan), articulating the goals and subtasks/objectives within each Priority.
3.1 Packet Pg. 4
The chart below illustrates the Priorities and the City staff team member identified as lead responsible for implementation:
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES for FY 2022-2023
Priority Staff Lead
Promote Housing, Economic and Workforce Development Chen Implement the Comprehensive Transportation and Mobility Plan Javed Promote Public Health and Safety Various
Ensure Our Financial and Organizational Health Oku
Improve the City’s Water Infrastructure Javed
Implement the Facilities Master Plan Heisinger/Javed
Enhance Community Services and Parks Renfield
Priority Implementation Status
On December 15, 2022, staff provided the City Council with a comprehensive status on all priorities. The staff report and supporting documentation for that update is located here (link to staff report).
Analysis
Core City Services
The City, through our City departments, provides a number of services to our residents which may be understood to be functions of ongoing City operations, actions that are based in legal or regulatory obligations, or activities that were approved through the City’s budget process. (Core Services) The current complement of Core Services is detailed by Department in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1
CITY OF EAST PALO ALTO CORE SERVICES BY DEPARTMENT
Department Director/Lead Core Services
City Manager’s Office Patrick Heisinger
• Lead and Manage the City
Organization.
• Parks Capital Planning
• Community Programs
• Strategic Initiatives (e.g.
Education)
• City Clerk/Public Information
Activities
• Human Resources
• COVID-19 Response
City Attorney’s Office John Le
• Provide legal advice to the City
Council and City staff.
• Draft documents that help achieve
the City Council’s Strategic Plan
and the City Manager’s priority
3.1 Packet Pg. 5
action items.
• Defend the City’s interest in court
and administrative hearings and
initiate legal action to protect the
City and/or improve the quality of
life of the residents of East Palo
Alto.
Finance Department Tomo Oku
• Financial Management, Reporting,
Auditing.
• Budget Planning, Development,
Forecasting.
• Treasury, Tax and Fee
Administration.
• Capital Financing and Debt
Management.
Police Department Acting Chief Liu
• Patrol Division: Provide 24/7.
• Investigations Division: Provide
Investigative follow-up of serious
crimes.
• Administration Division: Provide
Administrative leadership of the
department, Records/Warrant/DOJ
compliance, PRA/staff Public
Service Counter, Evidence and
Court liaison.
Community and
Economic Development
Department
Amy Chen
• Citywide Land Use Planning.
• Development Plan
Review/Building. Construction
Inspection.
• Administration of the City’s
Affordable Housing Strategy/Rent
Stabilization Program.
• Business and Workforce
Development.
Public Works
Department
Humza Javed
• Capital Improvement Programs
Implementation.
• Public Works Maintenance.
• Environmental Programs Solid
Waste Management, Stormwater
Compliance, Sustainability.
• Oversee the maintenance and
operation of the City Water
System.
• Issuing permits for any work to be
performed on City right-of-way
(Encroachment Permits) and
Transportation Permits.
• Performs various reviews related to
private development projects.
3.1 Packet Pg. 6
As previously discussed with City Council, most City resources and staffing are primarily dedicated to the ongoing day-to-day delivery of core services, leaving limited management and other staff capacity available to focus on new initiatives and priorities.
City’s Financial Outlook for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24
As the City entered the fourth year of the pandemic in the fiscal year 2022-23, the financial impact has become clearer and new economic challenges have emerged: supply chain disruption and high inflation. Current economic concerns revolve around the Federal Reserve’s approach to the implementation of monetary policy to lower high inflation and how higher interest rates will impact the national and local economy over the next two years. Balancing the General Fund budget in the fiscal year 2023-24 will remain a challenge due to continued revenue disruption, service cost pressures, and deferred infrastructure challenges.
Revenue projections in the fiscal year 2023-2024 will remain highly uncertain and include the following negative elements: 1) lingering COVID-19 revenue losses in Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), 2) slow growth in tax revenues due to continuing current economic environment, including high inflation and slowdown in housing market, 3) lacking business diversity in tax revenue resources (Sales tax and TOT), 4) property tax funding shortfalls related to state legislation regarding school funding and in-lieu vehicle license fees, 5) extended gaps in taxable development projects and uncertainty in timing of development completion due to underlying infrastructure challenges and need to analyze and support specific plan update in the Ravenswood Business District. On the contrary, positive elements of revenue projections include additional revenues from Measure L approved by voters in November 2022 raising approximately $1.5 million.
Baseline General Fund expenditures are projected to increase due to expected increases in personnel costs led by a strong labor market and other service costs resulting from high inflation. The City will also need to address unfunded capital improvement plans, for aged water infrastructure in addition to the local matching requirements for available grants, which will most likely cause General Fund encroachment.
We anticipate a budget process similar to FY 2022-2023 with continued challenges in maintaining current, temporary expenditure reductions, and in absorbing anticipated cost increases. We further note that the City Council adopted the reserve management policy in September 2021 which has changed the structure of General Fund balance classification impacting the available unassigned fund balance.
Next Steps
After the FY 2023-2024 Priority Setting session on January 17, 2023, staff will return to the City Council with an updated City Council Priority Workplan in March or April 2023. The updated draft will identify detailed targets, tasks, and timelines for each item, as well as any resources needed and constraints (if applicable). Any items added during the Priority Setting process may be reflected in the new City Council Priorities or in the City Department workplans.
Attachments
3.1 Packet Pg. 7
1. Discussion Outline
3.1 Packet Pg. 8
DISCUSSION OUTLINE
City of East Palo Alto Priority Setting
(January 21, 2023)
A. Welcome
B. Overview
C. Communications Exercise
D. Accomplishments
E. Review of Prior Work
F. Review of Priorities
1) Promote Housing, Economic and Workforce Development
2) Implement the Comprehensive Transportation and Mobility Plan 3) Promote Health and Public Safety
4) Ensure our Financial and Organizational Health
5) Improve the City’s Water Infrastructure
6) Develop and Implement a Comprehensive Facilities Master Plan 7) Enhance Community Services and Parks for Residents
G. Review of Goals by Each Priority
H. Council Operations
I. Wrap-up and Next Steps
3.1.a
Packet Pg. 9
Attachment: Discussion Outline (2542 : City Council Priority Setting for Fiscal Year 2023-2024)