Ma
y 2022
City of Hercules
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
Held April 30, 2022
ATTACHMENT 2 - City Council City Council 2022-2023 and Multi-year Priorities
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
Table of Contents Management Partners
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Table of Contents
Workshop Report ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Workshop Overview ........................................................................................................................ 2 Opening Comments ......................................................................................................................... 4 Characteristics of Effective Governing Bodies ............................................................................. 5 Celebrating Accomplishments ....................................................................................................... 8 Strengths and Challenges ................................................................................................................ 8 Key Staff Projects .............................................................................................................................. 9 Council’s FY 2022-23 Goals ............................................................................................................. 9 Council’s Multiyear Goals ............................................................................................................ 10 Staying Focused on Priorities ....................................................................................................... 10 Council Committees....................................................................................................................... 11 Wrap Up and Next Steps............................................................................................................... 11
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
1 Workshop Report
The City of Hercules held a Council goal setting workshop on Saturday, April 30, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the City Hall Senior Center.
The workshop provided an opportunity for Councilmembers to review and discuss priorities, celebrate recent successes, discuss best practices and protocols for meeting management, and strengthen teamwork. This report contains a summary of the results of the priority setting session.
Senior Manager Christine Butterfield and Special Advisor Magda Gonzalez with Management Partners facilitated the workshop.
Council established goals for FY 2022-23 and multiyear goals, as listed below.
Goals for FY 2022-23
• Regional Intermodal Transit Center (RITC)
• Financial sustainability
Multiyear Goals
• Multimodal station (RITC)
• Grow retail and commercial development to serve the community • Long-term financial plan
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
2 Workshop Overview
Objectives
• Review and discuss governance roles, norms and strengthen teamwork
• Discuss best practices and develop Council meeting management protocols
• Establish Council priorities for 2022 and multiyear goals Agenda
• Welcome and call to order by the Mayor
• Public comments
• Comments from the City Manager
• Review and discuss effective governing bodies
• Celebrate recent accomplishments
• Review the City’s strengths and challenges
• Staff presentations of key projects and challenges
• Review and prioritize Council’s top goals for FY 2022-23 • Review and prioritize Council’s multiyear goals
• Establish ground rules to maintain focus on top goals • Wrap up and next steps
Workshop Ground Rules
At the start of the workshop, Christine suggested several ground rules to help the group have a successful workshop.
• Be curious
• Speak one at a time
• Listen to understand
• Show respect for all
• Individually participate in the dialogue
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
3 Participants
City Council
Mayor
Dion Bailey
Vice Mayor
Alexander Walker-
Griffin
Councilmember
Dan Romero
Councilmember
Chris Kelley
Councilmember
Tiffany Grimsley
Executive Staff
• Dante Hall, City Manager
• Patrick Tang, City Attorney
• Lauren Berges, City Clerk/Public Information Officer
• Edwin Gato, Finance Director
• Robert Reber, Community Development Director
• Mike Roberts, Public Works Director/City Engineer
• Christopher Roke, Parks and Recreation Director
• William Imboden, Police Chief
Workshop Preparation
In preparation for the workshop, Christine and Magda held individual interviews with each Councilmember and discussed workshop objectives with the City Manager. They prepared an agenda and PowerPoint
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
4 presentation along with other materials to guide discussions during the session. Additionally, City staff prepared information on the near-term projects and challenges.
The themes pertaining to the City Council’s top goals and priorities that emerged from the individual interviews are listed below. • Community engagement
• Collaboration
• Transparency
• Good governance
• Financial sustainability
• Clear goal setting
• Capital improvements
• Business attraction
• Multi-modal transit plan
Opening Comments
The workshop began with a welcome and call to order from Mayor Bailey, who asked for the roll call with all Councilmembers present. He then invited public comment.
City Manager Dante Hall then offered a few opening comments about why the workshop was important and what he hoped the group would gain from the session. He explained that clear direction from the Council on priorities is needed because of the City’s limited resources. Then Dante turned the session over to the facilitators.
Christine provided an overview of the day to help develop a shared understanding of the workshop’s purpose, agenda, and objectives. She reviewed the ground rules and explained the purpose of the “bike rack,” which is a time management tool that tracks items that are raised but will not receive attention during the workshop. The following items were added to the bike rack during the session:
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
5 • Establish protocol for additional information gathered by Councilmembers
• Determine how to move past a financial crisis mindset • Establish standards for presenting information and reports in a systematic way
• Develop strategies for managing work and workload
• Establish performance metrics
• Determine feasibility of morning or late-night study sessions • Ensure website and all communication are current and updated • Find new and improved ways to communicate with the
community
• Update Council subcommittee policies and procedures
• Invite former mayors to speak with Council at a separate session • Provide Council with updates on OPEB and other policy issues/ questions (e.g., financial policies)
Characteristics of Effective Governing Bodies
The facilitators presented a refresher on best governance practices to set a framework for discussing and establishing short-term and multiyear goals. Christine posed five questions to the group pertaining to Council’s governing practices. Councilmembers wrote down their answers, then shared them with the group. The questions asked and a summary of the responses are provided below.
What do we expect from one another?
• Transparent communication
• Preparation for meetings
• Respectful and professional behavior; we know people are watching
• Integrity, honesty, mutual respect
• Be nice to one another
• Feel free to ask questions and contribute to discussions • Be ready to state your opinion
• Don’t take things personally
• Take notes
• Doing research outside of staff work is helpful
• What should be the protocol for sending that information to the City Manager to share with other Councilmembers?
• We don’t always have to agree
• Consider others’ perspectives
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
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6 What do I expect from myself?
• Build relationships with teammates
• Engage with the community
• Everything that was mentioned in the first question discussion; I hold myself to the same standards as others
• Do not come with pre-assumptions
• Listen
• Follow the golden rule
What are our Council’s strengths? We…
• Share an interest in long-term success of the City
• See ourselves as a united team
• Feel Hercules is a wonderful, unique place
• Value and listen to our diverse community
• Have respect for the Brown Act
• Avoid “gotcha” behavior
How can we maximize our strengths?
• Have more in-person community events to build relationships • Adapt and improve as needed; foster continuous improvement • Hired Dante as the City Manager
• Leadership, new skillset among the staff
• Align policy and resources
• Embrace technology and new ways of approaching things • Communicate with the community; report back to the community as issues get resolved
• Get over the idea that we are in crisis
• Look at other strategic plans that look into the future to maximize our resources and impact
What would make us (Council) more successful as a team? • Build trust and relationships
• Fully support the items that are moved forward
• Acknowledge climate so we can plan accordingly
• All items on list of strengths above
• Get to know Councilmembers better (This was hard during COVID, but we have the opportunity now)
• Encourage senior Councilmembers to support and guide new Councilmembers in terms of process
• Have informal discussions
• Understand each other’s perspective and experience
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
7 • Don’t assume intent
• Communicate more with the community
o Communicate updates/changes
o Update website information
Magda explained that effective governance is a team sport and that personal commitment to working together is required for good governance. Council reviewed the Institute of Local Governments (ILG) article, “Attributes of Exceptional Councils.” Magda explained that effective councils share a unity of purpose; understand roles and responsibilities; foster a positive governance culture; and establish norms, protocols, and procedures. The six attributes of exceptional councils are listed below.
Magda asked the group if there was anything that resonated from the ILG article. A summary of the responses offered are provided below. Council members agreed that they should:
• Be proactive to join training,
• Contact City Councils from other cities,
• Collaborate and “stay in our lane”, and
• Understand the process and roles.
Exceptional City Councils…
1. Have a sense of team – a partnership with the city
manager to govern and manage the city
2. Clear roles and responsibilities that are understood and adhered
3. Honor the relationship with staff and each other
4. Routinely conduct effective meetings
5. Hold themselves and the city accountable
6. Have members who practice continuous improvement
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
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8 Celebrating Accomplishments
After a brief stretch break, the group reconvened to celebrate some of the City’s recent accomplishments. The purpose of this discussion was to celebrate and reflect on recent successes. The City Council and staff mentioned the accomplishments listed below.
• Passed the Hercules equal pay ordinance
• Completed Safeway (market, gas, Peet’s Coffee)
• Achieved one officer per 1,000 population
• Implemented Hercules connect (to communicate with residents) • Held the value of diversity discussion regarding the “hate”/flag policy
• Installed new streetlights and solar panels
• Launched Greening of Hercules Campaign
• Created the Police Chief Advisory Board
• Held successful townhall meetings
• Built regional and statewide relationship
• Filled potholes
Strengths and Challenges
Magda reviewed the themes that emerged from the Council interviews pertaining to the strengths and challenges the City is currently facing. A summary of these strengths and challenges is provided in Table 1 below.
Table 1. Hercules’ Strengths and Challenges
Strengths Challenges
• Waterfront development
• Hope for the future
• Recovery from the Great Recession fiscal crisis
• Plan to construct a regional intermodal transit center (RITC)
• Providing youth amenities and services
• Attracting retailers to downtown around the train
station
• Partnering with neighboring jurisdictions
• Making Hercules a destination
• It's a beautiful community!
• Maintaining financial sustainability
• Funding for RITC
• Siloed (physically) neighborhoods
• Improving City services and neighborhood
improvements
• Facilitating amenities
• Community involvement
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
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9 Key Staff Projects
The City Manager led the group through a discussion of key projects over the next two years. The list of projects includes the following:
• Hotel development
• Senior Center services
• Capital improvement plan (CIP); update and improve the plan to include all the City’s needs (facilities, roads, etc.) and a financial plan
• Financial sustainability, including utility users' tax (UUT) renewal • Other post-employment benefits (OPEB)
• Staffing issues
o Recruitment and retention
o Institutional knowledge
o Path to promote
• Housing Element update
• Parks Master Plan (address deferred maintenance)
• Trees and sidewalks (addressing liability)
Council’s FY 2022-23 Goals
Christine reviewed the themes from the Council interviews pertaining to goals for the next fiscal year. The group discussed each goal, including strategies for implementation. Then Council participated in a dot voting exercise to establish top priorities. The goals and voting results are shown below. Bold items indicate a Council priority.
• Renewal of UUT renewal (2 votes)
• Community engagement (1 vote)
• Regional Intermodal Transit Center (RITC) (3 votes)
• Financial sustainability (3 votes)
• Community safety (1 vote)
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
10 Council’s Multiyear Goals
Magda reviewed themes from the Council interviews pertaining to multiyear goals. Again, the group discussed each goal to develop a shared understanding of what they hope to accomplish in the next three to five years. Then Council participated in a voting exercise to establish top multiyear priorities. The goals and voting results are shown below.
Bold items indicate a Council priority.
• Community engagement strategy (1 vote)
• Multimodal station/RITC (4 votes)
• Grow retail and commercial development to serve the
community (4 votes)
• More community programs and amenities (0 votes)
• Long-term financial plan (5 votes)
• Long range planning (1 vote)
• Complete the sidewalk network (0 votes)
Staying Focused on Priorities
Next, there was a discussion about what would help the Council/staff team stay on track, given the City’s limited staff and financial resources.
Staff committed to align programs, projects, and activities with budget, staffing, and workloads; build priorities into the budget and workplans; and provide periodic updates to Council.
Christine explained that only about 10% of staff capacity is available to dedicate to work on the new goals and suggested that Council minimize referrals and defer new projects that would divert staff and budget resources from the established priorities. Council engaged in a discussion about how they would remain focused on the priorities and how they would hold one another accountable. A summary is provided below. • Hold briefings on progress made on the goals
• Connect staff reports to goals
• Use metrics
• Communicate goals to the community along with their rationale • Exhibit personal commitment to the goals
• Say “no” to new goals
• As new issues emerge invite Council to reprioritize goals • Clarify the process for amending goals
• Ask and evaluate staff hours and other resources needed to invest in new and changing priorities
• Create a report with resident requests/ideas; add it to list of potential projects, priorities
City Council Goal Setting Workshop
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11 Council Committees
Councilmembers discussed guidelines and protocols for their committees.
A summary is provided below.
• Council committees include
o Education
o Economic Development
o Traffic/Public Safety
• Conduct committee meetings quarterly
• Agendas developed with input from staff and the City Council (include items from the list of Council requests maintained by the City Manager’s Office)
• Distribute committee agendas to Council
• Provide committee updates at Council meetings
• Budget items must be approved by the Council
• Develop clear policies, procedures, and authority levels for each subcommittee
Wrap Up and Next Steps
Magda then reviewed next steps. She explained that staff would prepare an action plan for each of the goals, which will be presented during a future Council meeting. Magda also shared that Management Partners would prepare and submit this report.
Reflections from Council
To conclude the workshop, Councilmembers were asked to share one word about what was useful in spending the day together. These are provided below.
• Positive,
• Refreshing,
• Good discussion,
• Productive, and
• Teambuilding.