City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: City Manager
Meeting Date: January 21, 2025
Report #:2501-3968
TITLE
2024 Council Priorities and Objectives Q4 Report
RECOMMENDATION
This is an informational report that provides progress updates on the 2024 Council Priorities and Objectives approved by the City Council on March 25, 2024. No action is needed.
BACKGROUND
On January 29, 2024, the Council held its annual retreat to approve the 2024 Council Priorities.1 The Priority Setting Guidelines define a priority as a topic that will receive unusual and significant attention during the year. At the conclusion of the retreat, the City Council approved the following priorities:
• Economic Development and Transition
• Climate Change and the Natural Environment: Protection and Adaptation • Housing for Social and Economic Balance
• Community Health, Safety, Wellness and Belonging
Over a series of meetings, the Council reviewed the proposed Objectives and on March 25, 2024, Council approved all the 78 Objectives meant to reflect potential Council actions, be measurable and time-bound to make real progress in advancing Council Priorities.2 These are summarized in Attachment A of the report.
ANALYSIS
1 City Council Retreat January 29, 2024
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=13339 2 City Council Meeting March 25, 2024
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=15043
Progress on Council Priorities is measured by the accomplishments of its subset objectives and reported on a calendar quarterly basis. Calendar Q4 spans the months October through December 2024. A summary table of all 78 objectives is listed in Attachment A, including an estimated completion date, which is also measured in calendar quarters. A narrative on each objective update is found in Attachment B, it includes:
Project Description- Describes overall project goals and outcomes which may span beyond the calendar year.
2024 Milestone- Describes activities and outcomes planned for the calendar year as some projects are multi-year in length and are broken up into phases.
Project Status-
•Completed - Project as described in the 2024 milestone is overall complete, though some minor/non-substantive follow-up may still be needed. •On-Track- Project is expected to be completed as specified. Any changes in project scope or timing due to Council direction or action will remain labeled On Track with the new estimated timeframe.
•Behind Schedule/Not Started - The project estimated completion date may be delayed due to operational issues, capacity constraints (such as vacancies in staffing), or project has not started by the estimated completion date.
•On Hold/Dropped - Project is not actively in progress or will no longer move forward in the current year. Reasons may include the issue is no longer relevant, operational constraints, or is stalled/dropped due to council direction.
Estimated Completion - The calendar quarter in which the objective is expected to be completed.
Department Lead - Identifies the lead department and project manager responsible for coordinating progress.
Quarterly Update - a brief progress update on the project describes work reflected in the respective calendar quarter. Any delays or project issues will be reflected in this section.
The year-end review of the 78 Council objectives supporting Council priorities, in the fourth quarter, a total of 60 (77%) have been completed or are on track with new Council direction, 17 are behind schedule (22%), and 1 (1%) is on hold. Objectives with a revised estimated completion date are notated with an asterisk (*) in the revised estimated completion quarter and explanation in the Quarterly Update section of the objective summary in Attachment B.
Council Priority Area Completed
On
Track
Behind
Schedule
On Hold/
Dropped Total
Economic Development & Transition
(ED&T)
9 0 3 0 12
Climate Change and the Natural
Environment: Protection and
Adaptation (CC&NE)
17 0 6 0 23
Housing for Social and Economic
Balance (HSEB)
15 2 4 1 22
Community Health, Safety, Wellness
and Belonging (CHSW&B)
15 3 3 0 21
TOTAL 55 5 17 1 78
The highest number of objectives was accomplished in the Economic Development and Business Transition priority, boasting a 75% completion rate, followed by Community Health, Safety, Wellness and Belonging priority with 71%. As noted in the table above, 5 objectives (6%) remain categorized as On Track. These objectives are labeled as On Track either because they represent ongoing efforts or because the scope of the project was revised due to Council direction, which subsequently impacted the estimated completion date. These objectives are On Track based on the revised scope and timeline.
One objective was placed On Hold in the Housing for Social and Economic Balance priority for reasons outside of the City’s control. Objective HS&EB 56. Finalize development plan to maintain affordability and improve conditions at Buena Vista Mobile Park was placed on hold due to actions taken by the Housing Authority. Staff is working with the Housing Authority to better understand its reasons for pausing the redevelopment and to determine next steps.
The Behind Schedule category makes up 22% of objectives for a total of 17, with the majority in the Climate Change & Natural Environment: Protection and Adaptation. However, almost 65% of those are estimated to be completed by Q1 2025.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Resource impacts for the objectives’ 2024 milestones have been identified and resourced through the FY 2024 and FY 2025 budget processes; however, any changes to scope may result in additional resources needed. Staff will assess any scope changes and bring forward recommendations for additional resources if needed as part of the FY 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
In March 2024, Council was presented with community engagement strategies based on the approved 2024 Priorities and Objectives.3 There are various levels of community engagement and communication strategies to support each project, including internal coordination among City departments.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The Council informational report on this item is not a project as defined by CEQA because the Council review of 2024 Priority Objectives is continuing administrative or maintenance activity.
CEQA Guidelines section 15378 (b)(2).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: 2024 Council Priorities and Objectives Q4 Summary Table Attachment B: 2024 Council Priorities and Objectives Q4 Update APPROVED BY:
Ed Shikada, City Manager
3 Community Engagement Strategies:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/viewer?id=0&type=7&uid=97ef19a0-2521-4f09-aa0b-a804f7dad50c