June 15, 2023
City Manager's Office
DATE: June 15, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Shasa Curl, City Manager
Nickie Mastay, Deputy City Manager
LaShonda White, Deputy City Manager
Patrick Seals, Project Manager
Lilia Corral, Management Analyst
Irene Lozano, Executive Assistant
Subject:
City Council Goal Setting Session
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
November 8, 2023, April 4, 2023, May 22, 2023, May 31,
2023
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on November
8, 2022, to solicit a qualified professional facilitator experienced with working with elected officials or bodies for City Council team building and strategic planning. The proposed contract was on the City Council Agenda
commencing February 28, 2023. On April 4, 2023, the
City Council rejected the proposed contract, but
acknowledged their interest in conducting a retreat and strategic planning session to develop and approve city- wide goals. The City Council met on May 22, 2023, and
established six (6) overarching goal areas for the City.
Subsequently on May 31, 2023, the City Council
reviewed the first two (2) overarching goal areas and
their respective objectives. The City Council requested to AGENDA
REPORT
June 15, 2023
meet again on June 15, 2023, to further review and
prioritize the remaining four (4) goal areas.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
REVIEW the consolidated list of objectives under each of the proposed City Council goal areas, PRIORITIZE
objectives and additional details necessary, and
PROVIDE direction to staff – City Manager’s Office (510- 620-6512).
DISCUSSION:
Background
On November 8, 2022, the City Manager’s Office released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit qualified professional facilitators experienced in working with elected officials or bodies for City Council team building and strategic planning. After all responses were rated, City staff presented a proposed contract to host a City Council teambuilding retreat and to develop a City-wide strategic plan, beginning on February 28, 2023, through April 4, 2023. The City Council did not approve the proposed contract as presented. However, they did emphasize the importance of setting priorities and goals for an amount of $50,000. Subsequently, the City Manager’s Office recommended working with The Gardner Group, LLC, to facilitate the goal-setting session(s).
Goal Setting Session
In order to determine City Council priorities and goals, a Special City Council Meeting was held on May 22, 2023. The City Manager’s Office retained Henry Gardner, former City Manager of Oakland and former Executive Director of the Association of Bay Area Government, to facilitate the session. Mr. Gardner has provided consulting services to the City of Richmond in the past, including work performed in collaboration with the City Manager’s Office, Community Services, and the Police Department. In preparation for the session, Mr. Gardner conducted interviews with the Mayor and Councilmembers with guided discussions focused on goals and priorities for the City.
At the Special City Council Meeting on May 22, 2023, the City Council collectively established the following six (6) City-wide goal areas:
1. Improve the quantity and quality of housing, especially low-income housing and reduce homelessness.
2. Increase revenue and improve economic development.
June 15, 2023
3. Improve the quality of life and community health/improve social determinants of health.
4. Improve public safety.
5. Strengthen the City’s internal infrastructure and processes.
6. Address shoreline issues and ecological sustainability.
All Councilmembers added objectives that fit under each of the overarching goals (Attachment 1).
At the meeting held on May 31, 2023, Councilmember Robinson shared a document that organized and combined the list of objectives and provided a preliminary status of either “in progress” or “aspirational” for each objective (Attachment 2). With the assistance of Henry Gardener and staff, the City Council reviewed Goal Areas 1 and 2, along with their respective objectives. Ultimately, Henry and City staff were requested to review and provide a status update for the remaining Goal Areas 3 through 6 (Attachment 3).
Next Steps
The remaining goals and objectives are scheduled to be reviewed and prioritized at the next Special City Council Meeting on June 15, 2023 (Attachment 4).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – City Council Goals and Preliminary Objectives from May 22, 2023 Attachment 2 – Councilmember Robinson’s List of Combined Goals and Objectives Attachment 3 – Goals and Objectives Combined by Staff
Attachment 4 – Special City Council Meeting Agenda for June 15, 2023