REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: Regular Meeting of May 13, 2025
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
SUBMITTED BY: Dante Hall, City Manager
SUBJECT: Quarterly Update on FY 2024-2026 Hercules City Council Strategic Goals RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive and file the report on the FY 2024-2026 Hercules City Council Strategic Goals.
BACKGROUND:
In February 2024, the City of Hercules hired Tripepi Smith Talent Solutions (TSTS) to help the City Council develop a Two-Year Strategic Plan (FY2024-2026). The development of the Council’s Strategic Plan began with a goal-setting workshop on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at the City Hall Senior Center. The workshop facilitated by TSTS provided an opportunity for Council members, City staff leadership, and the public to celebrate recent successes, discuss best practices, strengthen teamwork, and discuss priorities for the next two years.
On May 28, 2024, the Hercules City Council adopted the attached Strategic Plan, which outlines seven goals identified by the City Council, along with the corresponding tactical steps and metrics (Attachment 1).
ANALYSIS:
Strategic planning is a common best practice for all organizations. Identifying broad goals, defining success for the organization, and helping to set a direction for the team that works daily to deliver is a logical management practice. In city governments, this takes on a particularly important role, where the function of the elected leaders is to set targets and priorities for the agency staff and then charge the city staff to work on accomplishing the goals and delivering for the community. An effective strategic planning process informs city staff about the city council's priorities and helps council members resolve their competing priorities and visions for the city they serve.
City managers find the strategic planning process particularly helpful, as it gives them a chance to hear from all council members in a public forum where they can engage in a healthy dialogue about shared missions and visions. This process also supports the city staff leadership team, enabling them to share their expertise and inform elected leaders about areas of concern, potential focus areas, and strategic solutions. The robust exchange can align city staff with the aspirations of the city council and provide a three- to five-year vision for their work and budget priorities.
As part of the strategic planning process, the Hercules City Council also established a work plan with reportable objectives to be implemented. The report is a quarterly update on the progress of the work plan. The mandated obligations of local government remain the core function of the City and need not be fully detailed in the Work Plan, including, but not limited to, public infrastructure, public safety, governmental transparency, financial accountability, and implementation of regulations. This balance between core services and strategic goals is well depicted by the “Iceberg Model” depicted below (Figure 1).
Figure 1 - Nalbandian Consulting & Training, May 2003
To ensure effective implementation, the City Council and community will review progress toward objectives quarterly and adjust the work plan and objectives as needed. The Quarterly Strategic Goals Update is included as part of this staff report (Attachment 2).
Summary Of Plan Status
Of the 29 tactical steps identified in the plan, nine have been completed, and fourteen are on target to meet their anticipated timelines. The timelines for the objectives and tactical steps associated with Goal 4 – “Continue Investing In A Winning Team At City Hall” will require revisions. The City filled a vacancy in the Human Resources Division with a new manager in July of 2024. The position had been vacant for approximately 10 months prior. For this reason, the timeline will need to be extended to allow the new manager to assess the tactical steps required for this objective and develop a plan. Staff would like to extend the timelines of specific tactical steps identified in Attachment 2.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The recommended action carries no fiscal impact. Funding for programs and projects described in the document will become part of the City’s normal annual and long-term planning and budgeting processes.
ATTACHMENTS:
FY 2024-2026 Hercules City Council Strategic Goals Report City of Hercules FY 2024-2026 Strategic Goals Work Plan Update – May 13, 2025