CITY OF SAN MATEO
CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 1 Section Name: STUDY SESSION Account Number: 10-1311 File ID: 25-10283 TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: City Manager's Office
MEETING DATE: September 02, 2025
SUBJECT:
City of San Mateo Strategic Plan — Update
RECOMMENDATION:
Provide final direction on the Strategic Plan and strategic planning process.
BACKGROUND:
October 7, 2024 City Council Study Session
On October 7, 2024, the City Council reviewed staff’s proposal to develop a Strategic Plan (Plan), which will provide a framework to help guide the implementation of the City’s current planning documents. The Plan will be a living document for the City Council to use in determining both short- and long-term priorities, with support from staff recommendations.
It will also serve as an instrument in guiding the City’s Annual Budget process and help prioritize projects based on the availability of funding in a given fiscal year, provide a context for immediate decisions relative to crisis or opportunity, and integrate key elements from long-term planning documents, such as the General Plan and Capital Improvement Program.
The October 7, 2024 Agenda Report provided details, the report is available here: Discussion and Adoption of Strategic Planning Process for the City Council.
To inform the Plan, the Council agreed to rely upon information from the General Plan (i.e. the Ten Big Ideas), the community “Conversations” outreach effort, 2025 Community Survey, and 2024 Faith/community Leaders Round Table meeting, which are summarized in Attachment 4.
At this meeting, the Council agreed on the structure of the Strategic Plan which incorporates the following elements:
• Mission Statement: The guiding benchmark for Council decisions, developed and approved by the City Council. • Strategic Initiatives: Major categories reflecting the long-term concerns and interests of the City, developed by the City Council.
• Priority Initiatives: Priority initiatives will receive priority in both directional and financial decisions. These priorities may span several years but are reviewed annually.
• Goals: High-level outcomes established by the Council, related to Strategic Priorities, with typically 2-4 goals per priority. • Activities: Approved and funded projects and programs that align with the Strategic Priorities, developed by staff, though reflecting Council interests and direction.
• Reports: Though not a structural part of the Strategic Plan, the Council will receive a minimum of two status reports on all Activities annually.
CITY OF SAN MATEO
March 14, 2025 City Council Strategic Plan Facilitated Discussion On March 14, 2025 the Council engaged in a half-day facilitated discussion to begin developing the Strategic Plan. The Council developed the following elements:
San Mateo Mission Statement
Cultivate a vibrant, safe community through collaboration, innovation, and sustainability.
San Mateo Strategic Initiatives
Climate Resiliency Infrastructure
Transportation Housing
Economic Development Healthy Community for All Ages
Public Safety Land Use
Organizational Health and Good Governance Community Engagement and Communications San Mateo Priority Initiatives
Climate Resiliency Infrastructure
Transportation Housing
San Mateo Values Statements: The Council asked staff to develop these based on the Values in the General Plan and directed staff to also add Integrity as a Value.
Prosperity Inclusivity
Diversity Resiliency
Integrity Balance
Staff Strategic Plan Development
In addition to the Mission, Values, and Strategic Initiatives, staff drafted the Values Statements, Strategic Initiative Descriptors, and Goals. The draft Plan with all these components can be seen in Attachment 1. The City Manager’s Office held 10 internal meetings with Executive Team members and their key staff to draft Strategic Initiative Descriptors and Goals for each Strategic Initiative and Priority Initiative. Then, the Executive Team engaged in a half-day facilitated discussion to review the Strategic Plan elements. At this meeting, the Executive Team came to a consensus on the Values Statements, Values Statement descriptions, Strategic Initiative Descriptors, and Goals.
To ensure the Plan is workable for future staff and councilmembers, staff is recommending two adjustments that differ from the Council’s direction on March 14:
1. Staff recommends changing the term “Activities” to “SMART Activities” (Attachment 2) and to make all the Activities in the Plan SMART Activities. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
2. The Executive Team recommends removing “Balance” as a value because it is more relevant to the City’s General Plan than this Plan. The Value “Seeking to balance competing community priorities amidst regulations and resource constraints” was viewed as negative rather than aspirational.
Next Steps
The City Manager’s Office in coordination with the Executive Team will develop SMART Activities based on General Plan Goals, Workplans, and the City Council’s Priority List developed during the 2025 Blue Sky process. This team will also provide a summary of each department’s day-to-day core services. The summary of core services is important because it shows the work each department is doing in addition to the discretionary actions in the Strategic Plan. The SMART Activities and core services will be developed for Fiscal Year 2026/27, and examples of both can be seen in Attachment 2.
Formal adoption of the Plan and the Plan process will be brought back to the Council on consent at the September 15 City Council meeting.
The two-year budget process (Fiscal Year 2026/27 and 2027/28) and the 2026 Blue Sky will be guided by the Strategic Plan,
CITY OF SAN MATEO
and a finalized document that shows Fiscal Year 2026/27 (and beyond) SMART Activities and core services will be brought to the Council for approval in Spring 2026.
The Strategic Plan will offer a comprehensive framework for City Council to utilize when making decisions for both long- term and immediate priorities. This Strategic Plan will enable the City to move in an intentional, strategic direction over a longer timeframe. This is critically important to ensure resources are used to carry out Goals and SMART Activities with the utmost efficiency and impact while the City contends with a structural deficit.
New Blue Sky Process
Adopting this new Strategic Plan process did not interfere with the February 2025 Blue Sky goal-setting process for Fiscal Year 2025/26. Council members submitted their three top priorities for consideration, the community had the opportunity to submit public comment, and staff are currently implementing the Fiscal Year 2025/26 priority list. However, if approved, the Blue Sky goal-setting process will be modified in 2026 to align with the new Strategic Plan priorities identified by City Council while also ensuring opportunities for community input in accordance with both law and Council practices. The intention of this Strategic Plan is to be a dynamic document that has the ability for Goals and SMART Activities to be updated annually. It is also a management tool that will help guide the City on a short- and long-term basis.
The proposed new Blue Sky process would include the following:
• Council affirmation of Strategic Initiatives and Strategic Priority Initiatives: at this time, the Council can decide to change Strategic Initiatives or increase or decrease the importance of a specific initiative, which will result in more/less resources going towards the Goals and SMART Activities within that area. • Staff provide a recommended list of new SMART Activities: based on long-range planning documents and staff identified organizational and community needs, staff can provide new SMART Activities as a starting point for Council consideration. • Public Input on Strategic Plan SMART Activities and the annual budget process: the public would continue to be able to weigh in on future Activities and priorities for the City, and how they may impact the City budget. • Council new SMART Activities: this gives the Council an opportunity annually to add up to three new Activities to the Strategic Plan for consideration. The expectation is for the City Council to bring all new Activities to Blue Sky rather than be brought up during the Reports and Announcements section of the City Council meeting agenda. Additionally, the recommendation is for Councilmembers to identify which Activities are coming off the list or moving down in priority to accommodate the proposed new Activity. All Activities will be finalized as part of the annual budget approval process. All Activities, both new and ongoing, are prioritized as to inclusion, scope, and timelines within the final annual budget.
Reporting
Staff recommend reporting to the Council twice per fiscal year to provide transparency on progress and outcomes of approved SMART activities. These reports will provide the Council and community with information and help guide future decisions.
To ensure the Strategic Plan is embedded in all City work and processes, staff developed a calendar that shows how the Strategic Planning process and annual budget process will work in tandem (Attachment 3).
Strategic Plan Alignment Section of Future Agenda Reports To inform the City Council and community about how City Council agenda report items are furthering the completion of SMART Activities, Goals, and the Strategic Plan, staff recommends including a new section of future agenda reports titled “Strategic Plan Alignment”. In this section, staff can identify which strategic initiative area their item aligns with the City’s Strategic Plan.
Question For City Council
1. Does Council have any recommended changes to the strategic planning process outlined in this report and attachments?
2. Does Council have any recommended changes to Attachment 1 – the draft Strategic Plan?
CITY OF SAN MATEO
BUDGET IMPACT:
There is no budget impact with the adoption of the Strategic Plan framework and process.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This item is not a project subject to CEQA, because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5).)
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
Att 1 – Draft Strategic Plan
Att 2 – Example SMART Activities and Core Services
Att 3 – Strategic Plan Calendar FY26-27
Att 4 – Strategic Plan Outreach
STAFF CONTACT
Zachary Reda, Senior Management Analyst
[email protected]
(650) 435-0823