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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: 26-10874 TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: City Manager's Office
MEETING DATE: February 07, 2026
SUBJECT:
City Council "Blue Sky" Goal Setting Workshop
RECOMMENDATION:
Review the Strategic Plan, the current City Council Priority List for Fiscal Year 2025/26, and the proposed City Council Blue Sky Activities for Fiscal Year 2026/27.
BACKGROUND:
With the adoption of the City’s first Strategic Plan (Attachment 1) on September 15, 2025, the Blue Sky goal setting workshop will now fold in the City’s Strategic Plan into the City Council goal setting process. Similar to past years, this includes a three-step deliberation process resulting in the adoption of Blue Sky Strategic Plan SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) Activities that represent the City Council’s priorities. The City Council Blue Sky workshop scheduled for February 7, 2026, is the first step in the goal setting process for the upcoming year. At this meeting, City Council will review the Strategic Plan, the status of the Council’s current Blue Sky Priority List, and identify new Blue Sky Activities for consideration. The meeting will include a public comment period at the start of the meeting, followed by a facilitated discussion amongst the Council to review the current Priority List and the Council’s proposed Blue Sky items.
As discussed at the September 2, 2025, City Council Special Meeting, the added Blue Sky process will include the following elements:
Public Input on existing and proposed City Council priorities: the public would continue to be able to weigh in on priorities for the City.
Council affirmation of Strategic Initiatives and Strategic Priority Initiatives: at this time, the Council will review the Strategic Plan and 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. At the Blue Sky Workshop following the overview of the Strategic Plan, the Council will review the existing priorities (Attachment 2), which are divided into categories based on their estimated time frame for completion: 1 Fiscal Year; 2-5 Years; and more than 5 Years. The status of each of the priorities as reported in November 2025 is indicated. Also included is a staff recommendation about whether to remove or convert each priority into a SMART Activity. Priorities recommended for retention include those on which staff have yet to commence work or which are in progress and remain a priority for the City. Priorities recommended for removal are those which are either complete or expected to be complete by the end of the fiscal year. If an item expected for completion should become behind schedule and carry over to the next year, staff would convert them to a SMART Activity and add it to the list for FY 26/27. Also proposed for removal are priorities which are
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embedded in staff work and will take place regardless of whether the City Council tracks them on its priority list or not. Following the review of the items on the existing priority list, the Council will then review and engage in a facilitated discussion about the list of potential new Blue Sky items submitted by each Councilmember (Attachment 3).
oThe Council has an opportunity annually to add up to three new Blue Sky 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. oEach potential new Blue Sky Activity needs support from a minimum of three Councilmembers to move forward to the next step. Additionally, as part of the consideration process for new priorities, staff has included Attachment 4, which provides a high-level overview of major Citywide initiatives currently underway. These items are on internal departmental work plans and not reflected in the Council Priorities, but absorb a great deal of City resources, including financial and staffing resources. This information is intended to help the Council weigh its priorities in consideration of the significant work plan items currently underway.
The next step in the goal setting process, currently scheduled for March 16, 2026, will be a second study session where staff will share the proposed new SMART Activity list with proposed work plans, a refined estimate of resources required, and seek Council feedback on the wording of the proposed SMART Activities and work plans. The City Council will receive public comment on this draft list at the meeting and direct staff to make any edits. The final step in the process, which will occur at an April 2026 City Council meeting, will be a consent calendar item where City Council will approve the SMART Activities list for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Staff will then present a progress report on the SMART Activities in the fall of 2026.
Additionally, 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, beginning July 1, 2026, staff will include a new section of 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.
BUDGET IMPACT:
There is no budget impact from this agenda item. The resources required for the final list of priorities identified by the City Council will be taken into consideration as part of the development of the fiscal year 2026 - 2027 budget.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This workshop 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 - City of San Mateo FY 2026/27 Strategic Plan
Att 2 - FY 2025/26 City Council Priority List
Att 3 - FY 2026/27 City Council Proposed Blue Sky Activities Att 4 - FY 2026/27 Staff Work Plan Items Not on Council Priority List
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STAFF CONTACT
Zachary Reda, Senior Management Analyst
[email protected]
(650) 435-0823