City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: STUDY SESSION
Lead Department: City Manager
Meeting Date: January 12, 2026
Report #:2511-5583
TITLE
Review and Discuss 2025 Q4 Council Priorities & Objectives and format of the 2026 City Council Annual Retreat. CEQA Status – Not a project.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council receive and discuss the completion status of 2025 City Council Objectives and review the planned format of the 2026 City Council Annual Retreat.
BACKGROUND
On January 25, 2025, the Council held its annual retreat to approve the 2025 Council Priorities.1 The Priority Setting Guidelines define “priority” as a topic that will receive significant attention during the year. At the conclusion of the retreat, the City Council approved the following priorities:
Climate Action and Adaptation, & Natural Environment Protection Economic Development & Retail Vibrancy
Implementing Housing Strategies for Social & Economic Balance Public Safety, Wellness & Belonging
Over a series of meetings, the Council reviewed the proposed Objectives, defined as a discrete project or milestone intended to be achieved within the year, and on May 5, 2025, Council approved 70 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.
1 January 25, 2025 City Council Annual Retreat:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=15926 2May 5, 2025 City Council Meeting:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=16065
At its December 9, 2025 meeting5, the Policy & Services Committee reviewed the 2025 Priorities and proposed they be continued into 2026 as part of its second year in a two-year cycle. Per the Handbook guidelines, the Committee also provided recommendations about the process that will be used at the Annual Retreat. This Study Session is an opportunity for the City Council to discuss the Committee’s recommendations.
ANALYSIS
Progress on 2025 Council Priorities & Objectives
Progress on Council Priorities is measured by the accomplishments of its subset objectives and reported on a quarterly basis. This report spans Q4, reflecting activity through the months October to December 2025. A summary table of all 70 objectives is listed in Attachment A, including estimated completion 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.
2025 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 2025 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 - 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.
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.
5 December 9, 2025 Policy & Services Meeting:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/api/compilemeetingattachmenthistory/historyattachment/?historyId=94d50f 6d-46cd-4ddb-aadc-f5309e294b9e
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.
To date, of the 70 Council objectives supporting Council priorities, in the fourth quarter, a total of 51 (73%) have been completed or are on track with new Council direction, 16 are behind schedule (23%), and three (4%) are 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.
Policy & Services Recommendation for 2026 Council Priorities and Annual Retreat At its December 9, 2025, meeting, the Policy & Services Committee reviewed the 2025 Priorities and proposed they be continued into 2026 as part of its second year in a two-year cycle. Per the Handbook guidelines, the Committee also provided recommendations about the process that will be used at the Annual Retreat. The Policy & Services Committee recommended that the 2026 Annual Retreat focus on bridging Priorities and Objectives by discussing where there may be mid-level goals that specify intended outcomes within each Priority to guide Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Inclusive, and Equitable (SMARTIE) implementation. In advance of the Retreat, staff would invite individual Councilmembers to suggest potential mid-level goals. Retreat time would then focus on finalizing and prioritizing those goals. The approach would be designed to finalize these goals at the Retreat, and not require subsequent City Council action for approval. Staff would then advance tactical objectives in pursuit of the goals and periodically report on progress.
The Committee also discussed creating tiers among the Objectives, noting that some are more time-sensitive or higher priority than others. This structure would help staff direct resources toward the most critical Objectives that advance mid-level goals, while still acknowledging the importance of lower-tier Objectives. The Committee emphasized the importance of reducing the overall number of Objectives to a manageable set and removing those included primarily for visibility or tracking purposes. Only Objectives that meet the SMARTIE criteria should be included. For example, the two tiers could be defined as follows:
Tier 1 Objectives: Objectives that are mission-critical, SMARTIE, and must be achieved to meet legal, operational, safety, or strategic requirements. Would require active management, escalation and regular reporting.
Tier 2 Objectives: Value-adding initiatives that are important, improve quality or advance longer-term goals, but flexible in timing and dependent on capacity or completion of Tier 1 priorities. These do not create immediate risk if delayed.
Staff requests Council confirmation of the proposed process.
The Retreat will also provide the opportunity to discuss and confirm Council Ad Hoc Committees that will continue in 2026. Staff is preparing a summary of 2025 Ad Hoc Committees in preparation for the Retreat.
Proposed Retreat Agenda
The Committee recommended the agenda include:
Overview and orientation to retreat focus
Discussion of suggested mid-level goals
Selection and prioritization of mid-level goals
Discussion of Council ad hoc committees and other strategies to achieve goals Next steps
Finally, the Committee unanimously recommended engaging an outside facilitator to allow full participation from all Council members.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
No resource impact is expected at this time. This discussion will inform the Annual Council Retreat scheduled for January 24, 2026.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Staff will be seeking community engagement on 2026 Council priorities and areas of focus via Open Town Hall survey in December and January 2026. Additional opportunities for feedback will be available during the Council retreat, as well as through direct email correspondence to City Council.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This item is not considered a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is presented as a study session only, with no formal action requested from the City Council.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: 2025 Council Priorities and Objectives Q4 Summary Table Attachment B: 2025 Council Priorities and Objectives Q4 Update APPROVED BY:
Ed Shikada, City Manager