CITY OF MENIFEE
SUBJECT: Strategic Plan Workshop
MEETING DATE: March 5, 2025
TO: Mayor and City Council
PREPARED BY: Mandy Stephens, Management Analyst
REVIEWED BY: Rebekah Kramer, Deputy City Manager
APPROVED BY: Armando G. Villa, City Manager
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Review and discuss the 2023-2028 Strategic Plan and consider adjustments to the Plan objectives and performance measures.
DISCUSSION
The Strategic Plan (“Plan”) establishes the City’s vision for the future and sets a roadmap for meeting current and future needs. The City is now in the second year of the current five-year planning period extending from July 1, 2023 through June 2028. As we head towards the mid- point of the five-year planning period and prepare to develop the next biennial budget extending from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027, it is important to closely review the goals and objectives outline in the Plan and ensure that adjustments are made to meet the needs of the City’s growing community and continue to support the overarching strategic priorities established in the Plan.
Any recommended modifications to the goals and objectives established in the Plan would be integrated into the Plan prior to the adoption of the biennial budget.
Background
The 2023-2028 Strategic Plan was developed based upon information gathered through the completion of an environmental scan and a series of stakeholder interviews, business and resident focus groups, employee and community surveys, and City Council workshops conducted during the course of a seven-month period. This information was used to identify key issues and priorities for Menifee residents. The information gathered from each of these sources was presented during a four-hour workshop held with the Mayor and City Council on January 10, 2023.
Based upon the information received during the workshop, the draft Plan was prepared for review and consideration during a second Council workshop held on February 15, 2023. After receiving input from the Mayor and City Council during the February workshop the Plan was adopted on March 1, 2023.
City of Menifee Staff Report
Strategic Plan Workshop
March 5, 2025
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7 5
The 2023-2028 Plan includes the City’s Mission and Vision Statements and establishes the guiding principles, strategic priorities, and objectives for the current five-year planning period.
Performance measures designed to monitor progress toward meeting the established goals and objectives are also included. Each of these components are summarized below.
Mission and Vision Statements
A mission statement describes the organization’s purpose or reason for existing. During the Plan development process the City’s Mission Statement was restructured and enhanced to include transparency as an essential element in fulfilling the City’s purpose.
Mission Statement: The City of Menifee provides essential services through teamwork, leadership, and transparency to improve the quality of life of our community.
A vision statement defines an organization’s aspirations and desired future state. This should be a concise, forward-looking, inspirational statement aimed at improving the City. Incorporating the feedback provided by the Mayor and City Council during the Plan development, the City’s vision statement was refined as shown below.
Vision Statement: Menifee is a premier, safe, thriving, and inclusive city that offers vibrant neighborhoods and panoramic scenic vistas with a rich history, flourishing arts, cultural amenities, and diverse recreation opportunities that make Menifee a desired place to live, work, play, and stay.
Guiding Principles
Guiding principles reflect the moral values that establish the standard for behavior and attitudes within an organization. The four guiding principles included in the Plan represent the expectations for how the City conducts its business, makes decisions, and delivers programs and services to the community.
Guiding Principles
1.People-Focused and Connected – We create a sense of community by serving residents, businesses, employees, and visitors with compassion, kindness, and respect.
2.Accountable and Fiscally Responsible – We use City resources responsibly and take actions to retain the trust of our community.
3.Responsive and Transparent – We are honest, reliable, responsive, and open in our decision-making; creating environments for people to engage where all voices are heard.
4.Solution-Oriented and Proactive – We look to strengthen and enhance our community by anticipating needs, being innovative, and making decisions that are forward-thinking.
Strategic Priorities and Goals
Strategic priorities represent the most important areas of focus for the organization during the five-year planning period. The strategic priorities identified in the Plan are representative of the feedback provided by the Mayor and City Council following a review of the factors impacting the City identified through the environmental scan and community engagement process.
City of Menifee Staff Report
Strategic Plan Workshop
March 5, 2025
2 5
7 5
Strategic Priorities
1.Connectivity and Mobility – Enhance accessibility and link the community with sustainable infrastructure to meet the City’s needs.
2.Unique Identity - Engage in thoughtful and collaborative planning with stakeholders to develop a distinct sense of place that leverages the community's historic and scenic assets and makes the City a highly attractive and desired destination for residents, businesses, and visitors.
3.Community Engagement and Social Infrastructure – Create opportunities to bring people together, and enhance communication to amplify accessibility, increase awareness, and proactively deliver information to maintain quality of life and build a strong community.
4.Thriving Economy – Encourage intentional smart growth and support the City’s business community so that residents have access to businesses, housing, employment, and well- paying jobs.
5.Safe and Vibrant Community – Provide exceptional public safety and maintain the City's attractive look and feel so that Menifee is one of the safest cities where residents and visitors are secure in their neighborhoods and surrounding spaces.
The 31 objectives outlined in the Plan are designed to support the vision for the future and fulfill the City’s strategic priorities and goals. Performance measures are established to monitor progress. Based on the Plan, specific capital and operational projects are prioritized and included within the City’s Operating and Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budgets. The implementation plan tracks the progress made in executing the goals and objectives established by the Mayor and City Council in the Plan. Updates regarding the progress made in implementing the Plan are provided biannually, with the last update provided on February 5, 2025, for the six-month period extending from July 1 through December 31, 2024. This workshop is intended to provide an opportunity to review the existing goals and objectives and make recommendations to staff to add, remove, or modify Plan priorities.
Completed Plan Objectives
The following objectives have been completed since the Plan’s adoption. The attached implementation plan provides a summary overview of the status of each of the objectives identified in the Plan.
•In September 2023, the Fire Department completed their goal of implementing automatic aid agreements with the City of Murrieta and Riverside County Fire Department which will assist in reducing response times. (Goal 5.A.1)
•In April 2024, the Fire Department completed the goal of developing a citywide response map with future planned development and road infrastructure improvements that guide fire service facilities and resource allocations. (Goal 5.A.4) •The Communications division has exceeded the established goal of amplifying and diversifying communication to enhance community awareness by producing and broadcasting two original videos per month and increasing the number of residents registered to receive City alerts with 110 original content videos produced since the Plan’s City of Menifee Staff Report
Strategic Plan Workshop
March 5, 2025
2 5
7 5
adoption and a 128% increase in city website and newsflash subscriptions. (Goal 3.A.4 and 3.A.5).
•The Complete Streets Plan (CSP), designed to integrate multi-model infrastructure for thoroughfares throughout the City, was adopted on July 17, 2024. The Public Works Department is now working to prioritize and implement the CSP recommendations as part of the City’s CIP in alignment with the City’s strategic priorities.
Recommended Adjustments for Consideration
Following a thorough review of the objectives outlined in the Plan, several adjustments have been identified for City Council review and consideration based upon operational and community need.
Connectivity and Mobility
•Modification of the objective to “Create a traffic mitigation plan to reduce congestion on Menifee’s streets and roadways” to “Implement traffic mitigation plans to reduce congestion on Menifee’s streets and roadways” (Goal 1.A) This modification provides a more clearly defined deliverable with the implementation of existing plans already in place, including the CSP, the General Plan (GP), and the Active Transportation Plan (ATP).
•Change the objective from “Develop a transit mobility plan, identifying transportation options within the City” to “Implement multimodal transit mobility plans to identify “last mile” opportunities to connect residents to public transportation options within the City” (Goal 1.B). The term “last mile” refers to closing gaps in transportation that occur in growing communities like the City of Menifee. By focusing resources on “last mile” projects the City will be better positioned to ensure that commuters are able to travel safely and efficiently to their destinations without encountering missing infrastructure. •While staff actively pursue available grant funding that aligns with the City’s operational needs and strategic priorities the award of grant funding is outside of the City’s control. It is also important to note that many grants are issued cyclically on a biennial basis rather than annually. As such, staff recommends modifying the objective to “Increase grant funding for capital projects year-over-year through June 2028” to “Actively identify and pursue grant funding opportunities for capital projects” (Goal 1.4).
Community Engagement and Social Infrastructure
•Develop a "Youth in Government Program" by January 2026 to educate students on municipal governance, encourage civic participation, and provide mentorship and career development opportunities for Menifee’s youth.
•In October 2023, after review and consideration of the feasibility of conducting a statistically validated biennial residential satisfaction survey, the City Council elected not to move forward with initiating this performance measure. In place of conducting a comprehensive residential satisfaction survey staff will gather community feedback through various plan development initiatives, such as the Placemaking, Identity, and Tourism Master Plan.
City of Menifee Staff Report
Strategic Plan Workshop
March 5, 2025
2 5
7 5
Thriving Economy
•The goals of “Create an Incubator Feasibility Plan by December 2023” (Goal 4.A.1) and “Acquire facility for Business Incubator Program by December 2024” (Goal 4.A.4) have been paused pending further evaluation of business development needs and facility priorities. Staff recommends a reassessment of the City’s business incubator needs to align with economic conditions and investment opportunities. The Menifee Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) is being updated to identify key industries and emerging market opportunities. This analysis will help refine the strategy to support entrepreneurship, attract investment, and align the incubator initiative with the current needs of the business community for maximum economic impact.
The proposed Plan refinements further enhance the City’s ability to support the established strategic priorities and meet both operational and community needs. Based upon input received from the Mayor and City Council during the March 5 workshop, the Plan will be revised and presented for adoption prior to the adoption of the next biennial budget.
STRATEGIC PLAN OBJECTIVE
The Strategic Plan update addresses all the Strategic Plan objectives.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2023-2028 Strategic Plan
2. 2023-2028 Strategic Plan Implementation Task Summary