City of Sacramento
City Council - 2PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2025-01822 11/18/2025
Adoption of the Outcomes from the City Council Priority and Goal Setting Workshop on September 30, 2025
File ID: 2025-01822
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Pass a Motion adopting the three Council identified priorities from the City Council offsite meeting on September 30, 2025: Economic Development, Public Safety, and Homelessness and supporting foundational principles and strategic goals.
Contact: Leyne Milstein, Interim City Manager; [email protected], City Manager’s Office
Presenter: Leyne Milstein, Interim City Manager; [email protected], City Manager’s Office
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Council Workshop September 2025 Summary Report
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The City of Sacramento continues to face significant and ongoing budgetary challenges, despite having closed a $62.2 million funding gap during the previous fiscal year. An estimated General Fund budget gap of approximately $60 million remains for Fiscal Year 2026/27.
This fiscal outlook underscores the need for continued fiscal discipline and strategic decision-making, focusing our resources on Council priorities.
On September 30, the Mayor and Council engaged in an offsite strategic priority and goal-setting process. The purpose of the workshop was to identify and commit to organizational priorities, align limited human and financial resources with the Council’s vision, and ensure the City continues to deliver core services effectively amid fiscal constraints.
To support this effort, the City Manager’s Office retained the services of a qualified consulting firm that designed and facilitated the workshop, which was tailored to assist the Mayor and Council in both immediate and long-term priority-setting. This session served as an opportunity for the new
File ID: 2025-01822 11/18/2025
Mayor and Council to engage in shared visioning and governance discussions.
Key outcomes of the workshop included:
· Consensus on three top priorities: Economic Development, Public Safety and Homelessness. Council indicated the importance of showing, when this is presented in the future, that the three priorities are interrelated, and that the City’s day-to-day services are essential to the well-being of the community.
· Input on success measures and elements to be included in the City Manager’s Workplan o Input received at the workshop will be organized and consolidated and presented in early 2026 as outlined below.
· Concurrence with the concept of creating Strategic Goals. · Strengthened teamwork within the Council and with executive staff.
The three priority outcomes inform staff resource deployment, operational planning, and fiscal prioritization. Together with the foundational principles, strategic goals, and citywide workplan, these priorities form a connected framework that guides how the organization aligns policy direction, long- term objectives, and daily operations. Following Council adoption, staff will develop and present a citywide draft workplan aligned with these principles, priorities, and goals.
Foundational Principles and Strategic Goals:
In addition to the priorities, the consultant reviewed and studied the city budget and developed broad strategic goals that were presented at the offsite, and can be found in Attachment A.
Developing and defining broad strategic goals helps ensure that department workplans and Council priorities are coordinated toward measurable outcomes. Priorities are urgent focus areas and are interconnected with the broad strategic goals.
At the workshop, Council provided concurrence on the concept of broad strategic goals.
The Interim City Manager, Assistant City Managers, and Department Directors refined the consultants’ suggestions to capture the Council’s discussions at the workshop and developed the following foundational principles and strategic goals that are more tailored to who we are and what we do.
Foundational Principles:
· Equitable Investment (service & infrastructure)
· Fiscal Sustainability
· Accountability
· Good Governance (ethical/strategic/innovative)
File ID: 2025-01822 11/18/2025
Broad Strategic Goals:
Definitions
Safe and Engaged
Community
A resilient community where people feel safe and connected. A city that commits to reducing harm; responds effectively to emergencies and builds trust.
Provide Quality
Infrastructure
A city built on resilient well maintained sustainable infrastructure, parkland, and recreational facilities that support present and future needs.
Vibrant Economy
and Community
Livability
A dynamic, inclusive city recognized as a creative and economic leader - where arts, culture, recreation and innovation power growth, connection and opportunity for all.
Strategic goals are intended to be statements of desired outcomes over time and provide structure for a forthcoming citywide workplan. Strategic goals that accompany workplans help cities navigate fiscal realities, maintain focus on core services, and move intentionally toward a sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future.
Workplan Development:
Workplans are essential tools for effective governance, translating Council priorities into an actionable roadmap. The workplan provides clarity, accountability and direction. It ensures that limited resources-financial, human, and operational-are directed toward the highest priorities, maximizing community impact. In addition, through defined metrics and milestones, workplans allow for progress measurement and accountability.
With Council’s input and continued support from the newly appointed City Manager, staff will present in early 2026 to Council a workplan that will align with the priorities set by Council.
Policy Considerations: The adoption of Council priorities will inform the development of a balanced budget as required by the City Charter.
Economic Impacts: Not applicable.
Environmental Considerations: Not applicable.
Sustainability: Not applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
Rationale for Recommendation: The adoption of Council priorities, foundational principles, and
File ID: 2025-01822 11/18/2025
broad strategic goals reflect Council’s discussion and direction at the September 30, 2025 Council priority and goal setting workshop.
Financial Considerations: Given the City’s current financial challenges the adoption of Council Priorities will guide the development of the Fiscal Year 2026/27 Proposed Budget and consideration of resource allocation outside of the budget process.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
City Council Priority Setting Workshop
Summary Report
Held September 30, 2025
City of Sacramento , CA
City of Sacramento Page 1
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
The City of Sacramento, California, held a City Council Workshop on September 30, 2025. The workshop was planned and facilitated by Raftelis. It was held at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and was open to the public.
Participants
The City Council and members of the City’s Executive staff participated in the workshop, as follows:
City Council Executives
• Mayor Kevin McCarty
• Lisa Kaplan, Councilmember, District 1
• Roger Dickinson, Councilmember, District 2
• Karina Talamantes, Councilmember, District 3
• Phil Pluckebaum, Councilmember, District 4
• Caity Maple, Councilmember, District 5
• Eric Guerra, Councilmember, District 6
• Rick Jennings, Councilmember, District 7
• Mai Vang, Councilmember, District 8
• Leyne Milstein, Interim City Manager
• Maraskeshia Smith, Incoming City Manager
• Gustavo Martinez, Chief Assistant City Attorney
• Farishta Ahrary, City Auditor
• Mindy Cuppy, City Clerk
• John Colville, City Treasurer
• Mike Jasso, Assistant City Manager
• Ryan Moore, Assistant City Manager
• Amy Williams, Chief of Staff to the City Manager
Facilitators: Jan Perkins, Julie Gieseke, and Sheryl Trent of Raftelis
Retreat Objectives
• Understand Individual and Shared Interests
• Council Consensus on Top Citywide Priorities
• Clarity on Follow-Up Steps
• Strengthen the Council Team
City of Sacramento Page 2
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Workshop Agenda
• Welcome and Opening Comments from the
Mayor
• Opening Comments from the Interim City
Manager
• Review Retreat Objectives and Agenda
• Discuss Teamwork and Governance
• Council Visioning Together
• Share District Interests
• Setting Our Citywide Path Forward
• Achieving Our Priorities
• Public Comments
• Wrap-Up and Closing Comments
Key Outcomes of the Day
• Council consensus on three top Priorities
Council indicated the
importance of showing, when
this is presented in the future,
that the three Priorities are
interrelated, and that the City’s
day-to-day services are essential
to the well-being of the
community.
• Council input about success measures and some elements to be included in the City Manager’s Work Plan (input received at workshop will be organized and consolidated). • Council concurrence with the concept of creating Strategic Goals (to be defined and the set to be confirmed by the Council).
• Strengthened teamwork within the Council and with executive staff.
Follow-up Steps
• Interim City Manager to return to the Council in November 2025 for formal Council affirmation of three Priorities and Strategic Goals
• Incoming City Manager to return to the Council in Spring 2026 with a Work Plan to implement the Priorities
Economic
Development
Homelessness Public Safety
City of Sacramento Page 3
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Welcome from the Mayor and Interim City Manager
After calling the meeting to
order, the roll was called. The
Mayor reported out on a closed
session, taking action to appoint
a new City Manager on a 9 -0
vote, effective January 5, 2026.
The contract will be voted on
October 14. He then welcomed
incoming City Manager ,
Maraskeshia Smith.
The Mayor welcomed the
Council, staff, and public to the
meeting and stated that the
focus today would be on the
Council team and Charter
appointees. He stated that the purpose is to r eflect on where we are at in late 2025 a nd to have an important discussion about our ideas and vision. He commented that problems cannot be solved unless we are together and have aligned priorities moving forward.
Interim City Manager Leyne
Milstein stated that this priority-
setting workshop has been a
long-held goal and will create a
runway for a positive transition
for the permanent City
Manager.
She said that t his is the
beginning of setting the
direction for the future, a shared
set of values, mission, vision
and priorities. These decisions
will support the City’s ability to
move forward for our
employees and our residents
together.
City of Sacramento Page 4
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Icebreaker
An opening icebreaker was conducted, during which
Council and staff shared their hometowns and a “fun
fact” about them. This graphic to the right illustrates the exercise.
Teamwork and Governance
Effective teamwork and governance are keys to
moving a city forward and achieving priorities. As
part of the discussion of teamwork and governance,
the facilitator reviewed the following material:
• Institute for Local Government Article,
“Attributes of Exceptional Councils”
• City of Sacramento’s Adopted City Council
Norms and Expectations from the Council’s Rules of Procedure
During the pre-workshop interviews, members of the Council shared what they view as the attributes of an effective Council – City Manager/Staff team.
The facilitator asked the group: “What stands out?” Comments included:
• Co-create together
• Good communication
• Moving in the same direction
• Appreciation of staff
• Everybody knowing each other’s roles: policy vs. operational • We are all in public service, here to serve the public • Mutual respect (staff, Council, public)
City of Sacramento Page 5
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Working in small groups, the
Council and staff discussed the
following question: “What can
we do to strengthen our
teamwork as a Council?”
Themes that emerged were:
• Clear communication
• Value of spending more time
together
• Seek greater understanding of
one another
• Be more efficient (save time)
Comments by table:
Table 1 Table 2 Table 3
• What we are doing today
– list of shared objectives
and vision
• De-siloing between the
Districts
• Cross-pollinating
between the Districts
• Sharing more about
what’s going on in the
Districts
• Getting a better
understanding of the
unique challenges of
each District
• Procedural: remote
meetings in different
Districts when there is a
hot item
• Mechanics of how the
sub-committees work;
can we reset those to
create a better structure?
• Council understanding
their roles
• Operating from shared
definitions on items
• Having the intent of
policies and actions
identified, including them
in motions, so it is clear
to staff
• When staff bring items,
ensure the Council can
have a full understanding
• Enough time set on the
agenda to have deep and
honest discussions
• Trying to potentially do more
team building activities (like
here today) to help understand
each other, and understand
values better
• Understand philosophies
• Clear communication: not just
to assume that you understand
• Appreciating the power of “no”
closes down the conversation
• Appreciating that sometimes
we have measures in front of
the Council that are divisive;
take the time after the meeting
to engage and remove any
issues to be cohesive moving
forward
City of Sacramento Page 6
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Council Visioning
In introducing this section, the facilitator offered a Framework for Getting to Results, as follows:
The first element is vision. The facilitator led the City Council through a visioning exercise to think about the future of Sacramento, highlighting what members of Council hope to be true about their community in 10 years. They were asked to reflect on two questions:
• What is true today about Sacramento
that you hope will still be true in 10
years?
• What is not true today about
Sacramento that you hope will be
true in 10 years?
Responses are captured in the graphic to
the right and in the table below.
After the vision statements were reported
out, the facilitator asked for observations
from the group. Comments included:
• We are here together to work on this
• We are not that far apart in what we
want; where we want to go
• A lot of alignment in what we want
to see
• We all have different strategies, and
that is where the tension arises
• We have big hopes and dreams
• We have a strong chance of making it
happen if we can work together
• We all love Sacramento
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City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
What is True Today About Sacramento That
You Hope Will Still Be True in 10 Years?
What is Not True Today About Sacramento That
You Hope Will Be True in 10 Years?
Pride in our community
• Being Sacramento proud
• Sense of community
• Strong neighborhoods
• Embracing being a government town
• Best sports fans
• Growing excitement of visiting Sacramento
• Small town friendly as City/region grows
Open Space and Environment Stewardship
• Valuing our open space and preserving it
• Mature tree canopy
• City that values its trees, parks, and rivers as
a community asset
• City has a strong commitment to address
climate change
Diverse and Inclusive Community
• Community has a voice
• Celebrating our diversity and cultures
• A City that is diverse because it is welcoming
and creates pride for generations to stay
• It’s people, cultures, and neighborhood make
Sacramento “Sacramento”
Housing
• Homelessness will not be our #1 problem
• Homeless living outside on the streets and
along trees
• A home for everyone
• Affordable housing
Built Environment
• Less empty buildings
• Developed waterfront
Operations of the City as part of a larger
environment – regional
• City has close working relationships with other
government entities, including schools
Quality of Life
• Great employment options
• City has quality parks for all
• More community engagement
• Every child has an opportunity to follow dreams
• City has livable neighborhoods for all
• Close the gaps in outcomes, so that race,
income, and gender identity do not predict one’s
success
• We cannot fully fund all our core needs to
improve the quality of life for our residents
• Implement the racial equity resolution
Transportation
• Robust transit
• Airport transit
• Light rail to the airport
• Zero traffic deaths
• Public transportation
• Investment in infrastructure
• City/region has transportation networks with
multiple choices for trip modes
City of Sacramento Page 8
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Sharing District Interests
Council members shared insights about their individual
Districts by reflecting on the following questions:
• What do our Districts have in common?
• What is unique about my District?
• How does the well-being of Sacramento contribute
to the well-being of my District?
Overall observations from the group:
• Important for Council to understand
commonalities and differences so we can
understand the realities
• Economic prosperity impacts every one of our
challenges and everybody
City of Sacramento Page 9
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Responses from members of the Council are captured in the following table.
What Do our Districts Have in Common? How Does the Well Being of Sacramento Contribute to the Well Being of My District?
• Each District is diverse
• Everyone wants to live in a safe neighborhood
with schools and jobs
• Share heavy industrial development
• Desire for great neighborhoods
• Very aligned
• Value sustainability, diversity
• Have strong immigrants
• Share the river
• All need streetlights
• How we deal with poverty
• How we deal with homelessness
• Economic opportunities to benefit under-resourced
Districts
• When one District succeeds, the whole City succeeds
• Need to invest in our low-income neighborhoods
• Need to step back and look at where the needs are
• Low income means different things in the various
Districts
• Identify unique needs within the Districts
• Economic justice
• Transportation to get people to jobs is important across Districts
• Create well-paying jobs to help all
• A better Sacramento raises more resources to address
all the infrastructure needs
• Infrastructure cost burden is too much for private
development
• Well-being of the City is a place where our generations want to stay
Some Unique Aspects of Each District
A few unique aspects were noted during this discussion, as follows:
• D1: 30% of affordable housing in entire City; school district is largest employer • D2: Annexed into the City in the early 1960s; used to be the City of North Sacramento; annexed them with the promise that they would get a lot of investment and infrastructure improvements, none of which materialized; lack of sewer system • D3: Confluence of two rivers; beautiful waterfront; good tacos • D4: Central business district, economic hub of the City • D5 and D7: Shared land, swapping; both have great parks; both have great youth baseball • D5: Little League 1969 World Champions; Executive Airport (opportunity and challenge); some of the more challenging socio-economic indicators in the City • D6: Legacy of redlining; Old Highway 99; site of old Saigon; built out for veterans after WWII; largest manufacturing in the region; DOD still located here • D7: Running along the river: River Parkway; levees (challenge and opportunity); safest District in the City; highest socio-economic indicators in the City • D8: 50/50 renter ownership; lack of grocery stores; lack of jobs City of Sacramento Page 10
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Setting Our Citywide Path Forward
The City Council reflected on some key accomplishments. The question was posed, “What has contributed to these accomplishments?” Highlights of comments provided are shown in the following graphic, and in the
following list:
• Our 6,000 employees
• Creativity and innovation
• Necessity is the mother of
invention
• Holding to the values, putting
them into practice
• Doing more with less
• Willingness to try new things,
to work together, to let’s
figure it out and make it
happen
• A belief in Sacramento: we
can do and be better
• Councilmembers who are
relentless
• Persistence
• We have problems, but we
have successes
Key challenges were also noted.
Among those mentioned were financial, homelessness, housing, aging infrastructure, public safety/youth violence, the need for enhanced teamwork, and the need to operate through a racial equity lens.
City Council Priorities
As part of the discussion of setting priorities, the facilitator distinguished between priorities and important things.
The value of setting a few top priorities is to name what will be the key focus of attention over the coming year or more. The following graphic describes the attributes of a priority.
City of Sacramento Page 11
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
The City carries out significant work on behalf of the community. The services offered daily through each City department are essential for a high quality of life in Sacramento. Those are embedded in the budget.
List of Priorities for Discussion
A list was presented based on the Councilmember interviews. The facilitator asked for comments from the Council, including whether anything was missing.
Comments included:
• Infrastructure and transportation are two very different things. They were separated out for purposes of considering top priorities.
• The topics of housing and homelessness were discussed as either being combined or being kept as two distinct topics; the comment was made that they are interrelated and being worked on together. After discussion, it was determined to keep them separate for the purposes of setting priorities.
• The question was posed as to whether the budget is something that should be a priority since we do this anyway and is key to getting any of the other priorities accomplished. • Public safety is essential.
• Fiscal sustainability and some of the other items listed are values statements from our residents, and we are stewards of the resources. To achieve all the demands, the Council has to focus on fiscal health to deliver on multiple important things. • Land use, utilization of land (parks, housing, etc.). • We have to focus on the priorities to be able to deliver on critical things. • Need shared definitions on these topics.
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City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Determining a List for Voting
Council members utilized Mentimeter to vote on their top three priorities. After Council discussion, the final list (in alphabetical order) for purposes of voting was:
• Budget and fiscal health
• Climate change
• Economic development
• Equity
• Homelessness
• Housing
• Infrastructure
• Public safety
• Transportation and mobility
• Youth investment
Final Top Three Priorities
After two rounds of Mentimeter voting, the items receiving a majority of Council votes were:
Members of Council commented that these are all linked and interrelated, as well as with core City services. There is an interest in having a graphic to show this visually when it is presented.
Measures of Success and Input for the Work Plan
Then, to understand what members of Council have in mind in terms of measuring success for these three priorities, working in small groups, two questions were discussed:
• How should success be gauged for each of those three Priorities over a period of time? • What input to the City Manager would Councilmembers like to provide for the Work Plan pertaining to these three Priorities?
Numerous measures of success were suggested at the three tables. Highlights of responses are shown in the following graphic.
Economic
Development
HomelessnessPublic Safety
City of Sacramento Page 13
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Full List of Suggested Measures of Success
The brainstorm results are shown in the following table. The suggested measures will be organized, consolidated, and utilized as the City Manager’s Work Plan is prepared. The Interim City Manager noted that most of these are being tracked and can be incorporated.
Suggested Measures of Success for Each Priority
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• Need to increase non-
residential tax base
• Grow our number of
businesses, measure that
growth
• Increase in visitation and
Transient Occupancy Tax
revenue
• Increase in total private
investment, construction
values
• Tax revenue
• Extension of hotel rooms
and hotels
• Increase in tourism
• Opening of new businesses
• Increase in housing stock
• Expansion of creative
economy
• Permits issued
• New films
• Sales tax
• Big economic projects moving
forward
• Business Operations Tax
revisions on ballot
• Number of new businesses
opening, where, and how large
• Financial health of our major
employers
• Recruiting new industries and
sectors
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City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
• Trends in median
household income
• More specificity about job
growth in different industry
sectors, to help define the
future of the City
• Better align the Greater
Sacramento Economic
Council with the specific
needs of Sacramento and
investment opportunities
• Expansion of the soccer
team to Major League
Soccer (MLS)
• How do we market the City
to attract new investments
• Building vacancy rates
• Permits issued
• Unemployment rate
• Workforce training
opportunities in union halls
• Are university graduates
staying in the community?
PUBLIC SAFETY
• Fewer homicides
• Fewer violent crimes
• Retention and recruitment
of fire and police
• Maintenance of response
times
• Looking at how to measure
comparatively to other
jurisdictions (e.g., Elk
Grove, Roseville)
• Street design for pedestrian
safety
• Making sure we have clear
goals and clear strategies
• Identified timelines
• Crime statistics falling
• Youth violence reduction
• Measure L benchmarks,
where is money going, are
investments returning?
• High school graduation
rates, leading to a career
path
• Alternative response model
• Reduction in illegal
fireworks
• Reduced payouts for public
safety incidents
• Identified resources
• Crime rate reduction
• Overdoses
• Shooting incidents
• Community perception (311,
surveys)
• Pedestrian safety incidents
reduction
• Response times for police, fire,
and code
• Agreed upon definition of
public safety (more than just
police and fire)
• Public health and safety (clean
streets)
HOMELESSNESS
• Decrease in unsheltered
homeless
• Fewer large encampments
• Fewer calls for service
• Lower point in time (PIT)
count
• More appropriate housing
stock, better options for all
tiers
• Clean and safe streets
• Reduction in dumping
• Longer duration of tracking
in Homeless Management
Information System (HMIS)
we know where they end up
• Better relationships with
other partners
• Reducing PIT count
• Looking at numbers in
coordinated access system
to reduce
• Number of people getting
into housing
• Ratio of people coming into
vs. out of homelessness
• Partnership enrollments
• Public perception of
community
• 311 calls on homelessness
• Decreasing inequities in
homelessness
• Looking at City/County
partnership goals, update them
• Using racial equity impact
analysis on all of these items
• Set goals for a finite period of
time, tracking them over time
• Increasing staff relationships
and communication with
County
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City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
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Additionally, suggestions were offered as i nput to the City Manager for the Work Plan for each Priority. These are noted in the following table.
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
PUBLIC SAFETY HOMELESSNESS
• Investment in downtown,
mid-town, Old
Sacramento
• Prioritization of
investments, where is the
best
• Continuous cycle of
learning and investment
• Take care not to displace
families due to economic
development
• Employers attracted
should be well paying
employers
• Childcare opportunities
• Hiring more police officers
• Looking at maturation of
311 to make sure it’s
addressing mental health
• Reduction in public safety
overtime
• Increased use of technology
• Reduction in calls for
service
• Staff retention
• More staff training
• Youth violence prevention
plan
• Better at gathering data
• Better at measuring success
• Evaluating results
• Build relationships with
partners
• Develop long-term plan for
permanent housing options
• Streamline our development
process to develop lower costs
to build and permit shelters
and interim housing
Strategic Goals
The potential of creating four Strategic Goals was discussed. Doing this would provide a broader framework for the priorities. All City departments and employees would be able to relate to at least one of the Strategic Goals.
The Strategic Goals presented for purposes of illustration (not intended to be final) are shown in the graphic below. The facilitator explained that each would be refined and defined. The Strategic Goals, once finalized, are intended to be statements of desired outcomes.
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City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Council Concurrence: Council was asked if they concurred with establishing broad strategic goals and if generally this framework would be of interest. The consensus was that “yes,” it would be valuable.
The City Manager will return with suggested Strategic Goals with definitions. Councilmembers commented that definitions of each will be important, and that it should be noted that the majority of the City’s budget is focused on achieving the Strategic Goals.
Achieving Our Priorities
During the pre -workshop interviews, Councilmembers shared what they thought would help or hinder achieving Council priorities. These were reviewed at the workshop with some modifications made during discussions.
Councilmembers commented that it was important to communicate to employees that the day-to- day work of City employees is essential, and that not all work must be directed toward the top three priorities. There are many other important aspects of the work of the City of Sacramento that must be recognized. The facilitator noted that the distinction between “priority” and “important” may be useful here, since all services provided are important, but the Coun cil has identified its top three priorities for focused attention. It is not to detract from the other important work of the City.
Councilmembers also commented that communicating the priorities and how they fit in with the other important work of the City will be valuable to the organization. The Interim City Manager said it is their office’s intent to do that once the Work Plan is completed.
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City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
As part of the discussion of achieving the Council’s priorities and staying focused, the Council discussed ways to address District needs that arise. Suggestions offered were:
• Recognize District needs and that they differ:
o Important to understand the unique challenges and characteristics of each District o Each District could communicate its own set of priorities so that others understand what they are
o Create objective criteria, prioritize projects in each District based on those criteria, fact-based, data-driven
o Allocate resources based on needs
• Improve systems within Council Offices:
o Improve efficiency in how Council offices track constituent issues (create a consistent method)
o Rather than reinventing the wheel when a new councilmember comes in, create a standard procedure and centralized system (improves relationships, improves communication, kind of like 311 for constituent requests) • Modify the Council Member Proposal Request form to add Council priorities and assess the impact on those of the proposal
• Clarify how communication between staff and Council should occur, based on the incoming City Manager’s preferences
• Use technology to help address some of the concerns that come to Council members (drones for code enforcement issues, for example)
• Keep open lines of communication
• City Manager’s Office to bring forward options; put those options into buckets, how do we triage and keep track of them, regardless of solution
• An answer can be “not now” rather than “no” depending on the gravity of the issue
Other comments about how to stay focused on priorities for success:
• Use Committees, recognize the Council’s top priorities when making recommendations or decisions
• Staff can bring back ideas about how better to use the committees (more effective ways) • Just implemented a new process around Council items, can add some more about priorities and financial decisions
Potential Future Sessions
The Council was asked if they would be interested in future work sessions. Feedback included:
• Once there is a Work Plan, have a session like this for further discussion: how are we doing, what are we missing, and updates
• Get off-site at least once a year in a public forum
• Important to take this back to the community, using a template to get feedback • Fall is a good time for priority setting as we move into budget setting—annual process (earlier than end of September)
• Strategic planning and more visioning should follow
City of Sacramento Page 18
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Wrap-up
As the workshop came to a close, members of the Council and Executives each shared a key takeaway from the day.
Council
• Agreed on priorities, affirming
• Jan did a great job of moderating, moved through the agenda, great visuals, good to have all of us in the room at the same time
• Worked together to come up with a plan, pleased with today • Looking forward to it all year, great start, more to do, hope we do it, see what this engagement will yield
• Today was a good day, appreciate the commonality of us all, we have an opportunity to be together, sitting and talking, and move forward
• Glad we hired our City Manager
• I learned a lot about everyone at the tables, understand colleagues and staff, very excited about next steps
• Ability to brainstorm was helpful in a free format, very respectful, no early judgment about ideas, allowed for a lot of conversation
• We all come from different spaces, when said out loud have much in common
City of Sacramento Page 19
City Council Workshop Held September 30, 2025
Trusted Advisors Transforming Communities
Staff
• Fantastic to have an informal setting and hear unscripted thoughts, good policy dialog • Nice to see people come together
• Sharing of space
• Good productive start will yield progress
• Happy to see that Council landed on priorities, collegial, a lot of commonalities • Shared experiences, not a formal setting, navigational marks that are shared • Impressed how engaged everyone was, focused on the conversation and each other • Incredibly important to know objectives, support of service operations • To be able to sit in, will ensure the alignment brings value
Next Steps
The facilitator explained that this workshop report would be prepared, and that staff would follow up on the Priorities, Strategic Goals, and Work Plan. All will be brought back to the Council for affirmation. These next steps are detailed on page 2 of this report.