6 Staff Interview Results
7 Staff Interview Results: Values, Ideals & Interests
Values:
What We
Believe That
Guides Us
● Service & Public Impact: Passion for contributing to the community, ensuring basic services that make "civilization possible," and seeing tangible results. ● Team & Loyalty: Fierce dedication to colleagues and mutual support; feeling like “extended family.”
● Integrity & Honesty: Being honest, communicating openly, and applying common sense.
Ideals:
Desired Future
State That
Inspires Us
● Institutional Stability & Vision: A clear purpose that guides decisions and survives leadership turnover.
● Adaptive & Nimble Governance: Flexible and responsive to change. Able to meet public demands. ● Sustained Quality Services: Maintaining aesthetics, safety, facilities, and a quality workforce.
Interests:
The Drive
That Keeps
Staff Going
● Competitive Compensation & Stability: Achieving pay parity and securing monetary incentives for long-term staff.
● Capacity & Structure: Having a "good full staff" to manage workloads and receiving management support that protects staff autonomy.
● Autonomy & Support: Leaders who protect staff from Council intervention and support them professionally (e.g., training, tools).
● Revenue Generation: Successfully streamlining development to fund core operations. 9 Staff Interview Results: Priority Challenges
Staff Financial
& Retention
Crisis
Pay is the root issue,
turning Fortuna into a
"stepping stone." 34-
hour work week
improves morale, but
is not competitive
compensation, forcing
staff to seek
additional work.
Turnover is high,
contributing to
inefficiency and
morale impacts.
Governance &
Vision Vacuum
Needed: a clear,
institutionalized vision and
sense of purpose. Lack of a
"north star" means staff
waste time. Staff
perception of vision and
governance is low with the
exception of support for
this process.
Maintenance &
Project Planning
New projects (e.g., park
acquisition) often lack
fully burdened cost
calculations for long-term
maintenance and
dedicated staffing,
creating unfunded
mandates. There is hope
the City will stop
acquiring land it cannot
afford to develop or
maintain. Staff are often
"on the verge of
overwhelm" with
maintenance workload.
Communication
& Silos
A lack of internal
coordination creates
functional "islands" and
reduces internal
collaboration. Staff work
is "invisible" to the
public, fueling complaints
that lack context about
the true cost and
complexity of
maintaining core
services. Infrastructure
issues like a lack of
sufficient lighting
contribute to a "ghost
town" aesthetic.
10 Staff Interview Results: Priorities -> Criteria
Priority Issue Key Insights & Barriers (All Depts.) Potential Decision-Making Criteria for Action Staff Financial &
Retention Crisis
Staff retention is the highest priority. Pay is low, causing staff to use the City as a "stepping stone." The 34-hour week is not competitive compensation, so some staff
rely on supplemental gig work.
Pay & Retention: Strategies could prioritize sustainable revenue streams to fund competitive wages and long-term monetary incentives. The cost of turnover/knowledge loss must be calculated and used in Council messaging.
Governance &
Vision Vacuum
Council lacks documented vision and is sometimes
viewed as making decisions based on "personal
agendas." The vision is not institutionalized; it leaves with the City Manager.
Governance: Base GPU and Strategic Plan on a clear, co-created City Purpose Statement that acts as a guiding filter (north star) for all decisions. Mandate training and education for Council on their roles and on the cost and impact of decisions on staff.
Maintenance &
Project Planning
New projects (especially Parks acquisition) often lack
long-term maintenance plans or dedicated staff. This
creates an unfunded mandate on already
overwhelmed crews. Limit land acquisition if City
cannot guarantee maintenance staffing and funding.
Project Planning: Mandate that all capital projects require fully burdened cost calculations for maintenance and staffing and secure signed input from the maintaining department (Parks & Rec, Public Works) before final approval.
Communication
& Silos
Staff feel physically disconnected (field crews from
office staff at City Hall). Public perception is poor;
staff work is "invisible." Internal communication
lacks coordination.
Collaboration & Comms: Implement a formal "invisible work" outreach strategy (e.g., video series). Create structured, nonadmin time for cross-departmental collaboration (e.g., shared training, simplified internal referrals).
11 Staff Interview Results: If They Had Magic Wands…
Staff consistently identified two linked systemic improvements that would create a positive ripple effect:
1. Streamline Development, Generate Revenue & Reconsider Norms:
○ Make the development approval process "cleaner" and more streamlined to attract tax revenue – the current process is "jumbled, ad hoc," and too burdensome. ○ Modernize: historic "small town feel" may no longer be economically (or regulation) viable. ○ Vision must translate downstream into plans and code to avoid conflict with developers and prevent the perception of "spinning wheels."
○ Increase staffing to manage overwhelming workload.
2. Mandate Long-Term Cost Accounting:
○ Maintenance Crisis: Projects (especially grant-funded park acquisitions) are approved without budgeting for
fully burdened maintenance costs or staffing.
○ Decision-Making Criteria: All new projects must
include a fully burdened cost analysis for
maintenance and staffing – key to addressing the
"maintenance crisis" and ensuring sustainability.
Staff Interview Results: General Plan Update
12 Insights related to land use, growth, and long-term planning are highly consistent across departments.
1. The GPU must address the reality that Fortuna is at a pivot point. The main historic industry (timber) is gone.
The desire for a small-town feel conflicts with the need for economic growth and housing density mandated by RHNA requirements.
2. Streamlining Development is Critical: The current development approval process is viewed as a major impediment to economic growth. The GPU should mandate developing a clear, objective, and concise development framework to make Fortuna more competitive while addressing the regulatory burden that makes economic development challenging.
3. Institutionalizing Vision: The GPU is correctly identified as the "guiding document that weathers those changes in City Council and City Manager." The process must ensure the final plan is the "City’s vision," not just the Council's or CM’s.
4. Maintenance Costs for New Assets: The GPU must establish decision-making criteria requiring that all new park acquisition, facility construction, or capital projects (even grant-funded ones) must include a fully burdened cost calculation and funding mechanism for long-term maintenance and staffing.
5. Economic Development Imperatives: The plan should identify opportunities to attract revenue-generating businesses (hotels, big box stores) and address specific local commercial needs (e.g., trucker travel centers).
6. Addressing Housing Gaps: While affordable housing is often seen as state-driven, the plan needs to provide clearer guidance. One staffer suggested prioritizing single-family homes for better community orientation. 13 Staff Interview Results: Cross-Cutting Themes
● The Financial Constraints: The City Council's commitment to fiscal constraint is identified as a "detriment to the city," often seen as a way to avoid making tough decisions(e.g., funding police pay, addressing "sacred cows"). Design question examples:
○ How might we address the legal and safety vulnerability of Council maintaining a fiscal constraint value set? ○ How can we balance fiscal constraint while providing high quality service in all we do? ○ How do the following themes also challenge Council’s prioritization of fiscal constraint in operations? ● The Silo & Communication Deficit: The organization suffers from siloed departments functioning as "islands" and a "big disconnect between field staff and City Hall." Staff lack "organic" time to connect across departments, which stifles collaborative efforts. This leads to proposals being written without engaging necessary departments and inefficiency. ● The Cost of Instability: High turnover in key positions (City Manager, Public Works Director) leads to major organizational discomfort, loss of institutional knowledge (losing what is "in somebody's head"), the necessity of constantly adapting to new leaders' perspectives, and inefficiency. This instability directly correlates with the lack of clear vision. 22 B1. Staff Interview Results: Core Staff Strengths
Theme Description Key Insight
Loyalty &
Teamwork
Fierce dedication to colleagues and supporting
the person “next to me." This strong bond
keeps the organization functioning despite
external challenges.
Some staff sense that peer loyalty is
exploited, leading staff to work high
amounts of overtime and stay despite
competitive pay issues.
Service &
Quality
Staff are highly mission-driven, dedicated to
providing core services ("what makes
civilization possible") and producing the highest
quality work ("best product").
Staff feel their efforts are "invisible work"
and want transparency initiatives to show
the public the dedication involved.
Adaptive
Capacity
Staff are skilled at improvising, pivoting, and
handling high-stress situations (e.g.,
earthquake response). Relationships are strong
enough to "call anyone" for help across
departments.
The organization relies heavily on individual
improvisation due to a lack of institutional
vision and planning stability.
Staff are fundamentally driven by an internal culture of dedication, quality service, interpersonal loyalty, and ability to adapt to changing conditions. 23 Staff Interview Results: City Performance Ratings
Topic & Average Score Ratings Context Key Insights From A Diversity of Staff & Departments Ability to Get Things
Done Effectively:
5.7 Perceived collaboration
and effectiveness
internally and externally.
Staff-to-staff collaboration scores are consistently high (7-9). ● The average score drops due to the impacts of turnover and the influence of Council's challenging decision-making.
Clear Vision, Purpose,
& Steps to Improve the
City's Future:
4.9 Clarity of long-term goals
and strategic direction.
Highly polarized responses. Low average score reflects an absence of clear vision and Council governance.
● Scores range from 1 (noting "no drive for progress") to 10 (due to optimism about the current strategic planning effort).
● The pervasive low scores (2, 3, 4) confirm that the vision is not institutionalized and a governance and vision vacuum.
Clear Guidance on
Affordable Housing &
Economic
Development:
4.2 Perceived effectiveness of
policy and planning in
critical growth areas.
Highly polarized responses. Low score reflects a strategic vacuum and development barriers.
● Scores of 0 reflect the lack of a clear strategy and scores of 8-10 reflect enthusiasm for the current planning process.
● Staff view the current development process as too burdensome and lacking clear prioritization or department leads. Polar examples include frustration with regulatory limits to pride in attracting developers.
24 Staff Interview Results: New & Seasoned Staff
Theme New Staff Seasoned Staff
Vision &
Optimism
Generally more optimistic about current efforts.
One new hire scored vision as 7.5 ("in planning
stages") and another scored it 10 ("really nailing
that") due to the current strategic effort.
Deep cynicism regarding institutional history and longterm commitment. Vision scores are consistently low. Past vision was tied to one individual and "left with him."
Retention
& Pay
Motivated by money and co-workers. Sense that
turnover attracts lower quality staff ("guy that got
fired from last job for being alcoholic").
Appreciates management protecting boundaries.
Retention is seen as the "root issue." They rely on loyalty ("doing it for the people we work with") which they feel the Council exploits. One staffer noted the goal of staying is retirement at 55. They are less reliant on vision/mission statements than on core purpose being supported.
Governance New staff quickly identify the Council's
intervention and "personal agendas" as
problematic. Pain of lack of institutional memory
("it's in somebody's head").
Seasoned staff are frustrated with the Council, for not making "hard decisions“. They observe that leadership
turnover creates perpetual discomfort.
Adaptability Focus on new, creative solutions like using AI for spreadsheets and proposing social media
solutions to show "invisible work."
Highly valued for institutional knowledge and ability to improvise, such as during the 2022 earthquake response
when no set disaster plan existed.
Responses reveal a distinct pattern based on tenure, particularly concerning institutional history and optimism about the City's future vision. 25 Staff Interview Results: Marginalized Communities
Staff noted equitable engagement as crucial:
● Capturing Underrepresented Voices: The visioning process must capture the voices of those "unrepresented or scared" who do not attend public meetings (e.g., Chamber luncheons, Council meetings). City Hall is often noted as "not a comfortable place for the community."
● Equity Implementation: There is significant anxiety among leadership about equity work, fearing it feels "negative, ineffective" or alienating. The approach must be made "more accessible" and clear.
● Targeted Outreach: The importance of deepening relationships with historically marginalized groups was stressed, often requiring staff to go "to them" at community events. Tangible, on-the-ground efforts (like working with organizations on gardens or job creation) are key to build trust.
26 Pay Equity & Advancement
The need for clear advancement
pathways to remove issues like gender
bias in pay was noted. There are
concerns about inequitable pay gaps for
support staff.
● Leadership and Culture: The
transition between City Managers
(implied gender shift) caused
culture shock and adjustment.
Staff noted the need for
acknowledgment and a shift in
management styles between
generations.
● Diversity in Recruitment: The
Police Department specifically
noted looking for diverse talent,
including women.
Staff Interview Results: Notable Insights
Insights from Staff with High Community Engagement
Staff roles involving high public visibility share insights regarding public perception and stress:
● Invisible Work and Public Perception: Staff feel the public is unaware of the "invisible work" (maintenance, process rigor) required to deliver services. Staff feel judged for standing around (e.g. during safety meetings) and must take private breaks to avoid being reported.
● Public Safety Focus: The community heavily values public safety (police presence and quick response) and aesthetics (cleanliness, mowed medians).
However, they often give "mixed signals," valuing the police but not wanting to pay for the service.
● Council: Staff noted that the City Council is responsive to the "same constituents" or the ones “that come to every meeting." This disproportionate influence of a small, vocal minority is seen as steering the government and distracting staff from strategic priorities.
● Solution? Transparency: Staff suggested improving community relations and recruitment by creating a "behind-the-scenes video series" to show the reality of the work.
27 Staff Interview THEMES: Vision, Purpose, & Institutional Clarity Theme Key Points, Insights, & Suggestions
Vision
Vacuum
● The City lacks an institutionalized vision: staff consistently scored the long-term vision very low, noting there is "no drive for progress, no drive for any sort of change." Some staff rated vision very high due to the current effort to update plans – visible, actionable planning efforts can rapidly improve staff perception of the City's vision, even if overall consensus is low. ● The current goal seems only to "maintain status quo." ● Vision must translate downstream into master plans and clear development code to avoid constant arguments with developers and prevent the perception of "spinning wheels." Clear Purpose
Needed
● The City’s purpose should prioritize personnel: Mission, then personnel, then everything else, as nothing gets done without personnel.
● Staff believe organizational decay starts at the top (governance).
Current
Progress &
Hope
● Staff see the current visioning effort as critical and hope it translates into action that survives leadership turnover.
● The current City Manager is viewed positively, "grabbing the bull by the horns" and working to create a clear institutional vision and purpose.
28 Staff Interview THEMES: Governance, Leadership & Accountability Theme Key Points, Insights, & Suggestions
Governance ● Council exhibits at times a “lack of governance” by defferring or not addressing issues. ● Staff feel that decisions are based on fear and pursuing “personal agendas” and “self-interests.” Frugality &
Detriment
● The Council’s value of financial constraint is seen as a detriment to the city and an excuse to not address serious issues (like pay).
● This approach sometimes means “sacrificing the long term just for a short term.” Adaptable
Leadership
● Leadership is distinguished from management: a manager tells people what to do from a desk, while a leader gets out and shows them.
● Leaders should model honesty, vulnerability, and clear communication.
Staff
Autonomy
● Council intervention is harmful, with Council members interjecting themselves as “true employees” or giving directions directly to staff.
● Staff need management that protects boundaries from Council overreach. 29 Staff Interview THEMES: Staffing, Retention & Compensation Theme Key Points, Insights, & Suggestions
Pay as Root
Issue
● Pay is the most persistent reason staff leave.
● Staff noted they would leave for $8 more per hour and that Fortuna is seen as a “stepping stone.”
Morale &
Benefits
● The 34-hour work week is the largest form of compensation. However, it “doesn’t pay the bills.” ● Many staff are forced to supplement income with gig work.
Institutional
Knowledge
Loss
● Turnover kills capacity; the lack of written records means the cost of turnover has “never been analyzed.” Staff believe that the Council does not analyze turnover due to the results potentially being unfavorable
● Losing experienced staff means losing critical knowledge.
Generational
Differences
● Newer staff are viewed as “chasing a paycheck” and having a lack of loyalty. Additionally, newer staff expect acknowledgement and clear advancement pathways. ● Staff believe that there needs to be an exchange of new staff excitement for long-term expertise.
Long-Term
Incentives
● Employees with decades of experience have “no monetary incentive” other than pension/retirement.
● Staff report there is no “next layer of advancement opportunities.” 30 Staff Interview THEMES: Capacity, Workload & Efficiency Theme Key Points, Insights, & Suggestions
Workload
Magnitude
● Staff are “overwhelmed by the magnitude of work.” and believe the City is “biting off more than the City can chew.”
● Workload management is an issue; staff burn out from the pace set by leadership.
Project
Planning
Deficits
● Project approval often happens without budgeting for long-term fully burdened maintenance costs.
● The true costs of projects is often unknown because staff are deterred from tracking time accurately.
Technology
& Systems
● The electronic filing systems are a “mess” and need an overhaul. ● The City is “a step back in technology” from other governments. ● Staff must advocate for basic tools like computers.
Silos and
Disconnect
● Different departments “function as islands," leading to siloed proposals being presented to Council.
● There is a “big disconnect between field staff and City Hall” and a lack of “organic time” to connect.
31 Staff Interview THEMES: Community Engagement & Perception Theme Key Points, Insights, & Suggestions
Community
Values
● Community values safety, family, cleanliness, and special events (Rodeo). ● The City is “family forward” and rallies to protect youth and seniors.
The Disconnect ● The public often complains on social media, unwilling to pay for inflation or taxes to maintain services, and does not understand fund accounting. ● The public is “taking everything for granted now.”
Inclusivity ● Staff need to capture the voices of the “unrepresented or scared” residents who don’t attend public meetings.
● City hall is often noted as not being a comfortable place for the community.
Communication
Solutions
● Staff suggested creating a “behind-the-scenes video series” show the “invisible work, unfiltered to help the public connect with the mission and attract mission-driven recruits.
32 Staff Interview THEMES: Economic Development & General Plan Update Theme Key Points, Insights, & Suggestions
Development
Barriers
● The approval process is complicated and “too burdensome,” thus dissuading developers Revenue
Generators
● Staff suggest streamlining the development process.
● Priority projects include hotels, a trucker travel center at the Mill Site, or a Great Wolf Lodge (indoor water park).
Land
Use/Housing
● General Plan Update needs to focus on implementation, including streamlining the development framework with clear, objective, and concise code. ● Staff recommend focusing on single-family homes over apartment complexes.
Historical
Decisions
● The City’s “friendly city but not so friendly city” approach (e.g., reluctance toward cannabis) closed the door on revenue and foot traffic.