FOR THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 5, 2022
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: City Council
FROM: Jason Stilwell
City Manager
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSED 2022-24 CITYWIDE PRIORITIES
WORKSHOP AND MINUTES
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council adopt a Resolution confirming City Council priorities for 2022-2024 and approving Minutes from the February 11, 2022, Goal -Setting Workshop.
BACKGROUND:
In years past, prior to staff compiling the City's Biennial Budget, staff has routinely assisted the City Council in developing a list of overall Citywide priorities and/or goals to be addressed during the next two-year period. Staff, once again, engaged the services of an outside facilitator (Jan Perkins from Management Partners) to assist the City Council in the biennial process.
DISCUSSION:
On February 11, 2022, Ms. Perkins assisted the City Council in formulating priorities for the next two years in anticipation of the upcoming budget cycle. The sessions dealt with City Council norms, appropriate roles and responsibilities of both City Council and City staff, a discussion on City priorities for staff to work on during the upcoming two-year budget period.
This year the City Council again identified an over -arching principle of priorities as follows:
Consensus on Priorities
• Complete the General Plan Update
• More recreation for families
• Continue to focus on public safety
• Streamline business permits for small-business owners to help them be compliant with the law
Exhibit A of the Resolution is an overview of the February 11, 2022, City Council Workshop proceedings, as provided by Management Partners, and staff recommends that the City Council consider accepting the Report as the minutes for the February 11th Workshop.
JASON STILWELL
City Manager
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MARIA, CALIFORNIA, CONFIRMING CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES FOR 2022-2024 AND APPROVING MINUTES FOR THE FEBRUARY 11,
2022, GOAL -SETTING WORKSHOP
WHEREAS, in years past, prior to staff compiling the City's Biennial Budget, staff has routinely assisted the City Council in developing a list of overall Citywide priorities and/or goals to be addressed during the next two-year period; and WHEREAS, this year, the City again engaged the services of an outside facilitator (Jan Perkins from Management Partners) to assist the City Council in a goal -setting workshop on February 11, 2022; and
WHEREAS, the sessions addressed City Council norms, appropriate roles and responsibilities of both the City Council and City staff, and a discussion on City priorities for staff to work on during the upcoming two-year budget period; and WHEREAS, the City Council continues to prioritize initiatives and projects to further the vision of Santa Maria being a smarter and safer community; and WHEREAS, the workshop was very productive with the City Council identifying four priorities that they would like staff to address during the next two-year period.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Santa Maria, California, that they confirm the consensus of the Citywide priorities for 2022-24 as reflected in the Management Partners Report, and adopt said Report as the minutes of the February 11, 2022, workshop (Exhibit "A").
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Santa Maria, California, held on this 5th day of April 2022.
Mayor
ATTEST:
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Chief Deputy City Clerk
City Attorney
EXHIBIT A — Workshop Report/Minutes
APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
Department Director
City Manager
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222
February 2022
Management
Partners
EXHIBIT A
City Council Workshop
Table of Contents Management Partners
Table of Contents
Workshop Report 1
Workshop Overview 2
Welcome and Opening Comments 4
Governance Principles and Norms 4
Discussion of Specific Items Related to Council Norms and Protocols 7 Accomplishments of the City 8
Financial Outlook 9
Priorities for FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25 9
Wrap Up 11
Attachment A — Financial Outlook Presentation 12
Attachment B — Status of Priorities 15
i
City Council Workshop
Workshop Report
Management Partners
Workshop Report
The City of Santa Maria held a Council workshop on Friday, February 11, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the Minami Community Center. The workshop provided an opportunity for Councilmembers to reflect on what it means to have high-performance governance, confirm governing principles and norms, develop a shared understanding of the City's fiscal outlook, establish priorities, and strengthen teamwork. This report contains a summary of the results of the workshop.
Jan Perkins (Vice President) and Julie Hernandez (Special Advisor) with Management Partners facilitated the workshop.
The Council reaffirmed its norms and principles for governing. The City Council's top four priorities for the next two years, as determined through dot voting, are listed below.
• Complete the General Plan update
• Provide more recreation for families
• Continue to focus on public safety
• Streamline business permits for small-business owners to help them be compliant with the law
City Council Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
Workshop Overview
Objectives
• Confirm Council governing principles and norms
• Understand the City's financial outlook
• Reach Council consensus on priorities for the next budget cycle • Strengthen teamwork
Agenda
• Welcome and call to order by the Mayor
• Public comments
■ Review agenda for the day
• Discuss governance principles and norms
• Review recent accomplishments and financial outlook
■ Review priorities status worksheet
■ Discussion of priorities
▪ Reaching consensus on priorities
• Wrap up and next steps
Participants
Mayor and Council
Mayor
Alice Patino
Councilmember
Etta Waterfield
Mayor Pro Tem
Mike Cordero
Councilmember
Carlos Escobedo
Councilmember
Gloria Soto
2 City Council Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
Executive Staff
• City Manager Jason Stilwell
• City Attorney Thomas Watson
• Assistant City Manager Andrew Hackleman
• Finance Director Mary Harvey
• Chief of Police Marc Schneider
• Fire Chief Todd Tuggle
• Chief Information OfficerJeffrey Marecic
• Chief Human Resources Officer Linda Le
• Director of Community Development Chuen Ng
• Interim Public Works Director Brent Fulgoni
• Recreation and Parks Director Alexander Posada
• Utilities Director Shad Springer
Workshop Ground Rules
At the start of the workshop, Jan suggested the following ground rules to help the group have a successful workshop.
• Seek consensus
• Listen to understand
• Stay focused
• Assume good intent
• Speak up if we need course correction
Workshop Preparation
In preparation for the workshop, Jan held individual interviews with each Councilmember and discussed workshop objectives with the City Manager and executive team. Management Partners prepared an agenda and slide deck along with other materials to guide discussions during the session. 3 City Council Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
Welcome and Opening Comments
The workshop began with a welcome and call to order from Mayor Patino. In addition to Councilmembers, the City Manager and City Attorney were present for the initial part of the workshop. The Mayor invited members of the public to speak.
City Manager Jason Stilwell then offered opening comments about why the workshop was important and what he hoped the Council and staff would gain from the day's discussions. Jason turned it over to the facilitators, who reviewed the objectives, agenda, and ground rules for the workshop.
Jan also explained the purpose of the bike rack, which is a time management tool. The following items were added to the bike rack during the workshop, for future follow up.
• If broadband is provided by the City, can certain content be restricted? ■ Facility naming policy needs clarification
• Economic development and jobs are an important part of the General Plan update
• We should focus on support and protection of young, low-income youth prior to law enforcement interaction via partnerships
Governance Principles and Norms
The Council, City Manager and City Attorney engaged in a discussion about Council governance. The purpose of this segment of the workshop was to review the Council's norms and governance resolution and determine, as a group, whether they were still being followed. The conclusion was that they remain relevant and important.
Jan provided a summary of what the Council reported as currently working well.
These items are provided below.
4 City Council Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
Council...
• Communicates well with the City Manager
• Has cordial and respectful interactions
• Is generally working well with a citywide perspective • Follows the resolution of governing citywide; provides customer service to anyone calling individual Councilmembers
• Has dialogue with the district person if a member is called by someone in the district about a major issue
Exceptional City Councils
Jan presented a refresher on best governance practices to set a framework for discussing Santa Maria's governance norms. Jan briefly reviewed the Institute of Local Governments (ILG) article titled, Attributes of Exceptional Councils.
Jan explained that effective Councils share a unity of purpose; understand roles and responsibilities; foster a positive governance culture; and establish norms, protocols, and procedures. The six attributes of exceptional councils are listed below.
Exceptional City Councils....
1. Have a sense of team — a partnership with the city manager to govern and manage the city
2. Clear roles and responsibilities that are understood and adhered
3. Honor the relationship with staff and each other
4. Routinely conduct effective meetings
5. Hold themselves and the city accountable
6. Have members who practice continuous improvement
Councilmembers offered comments about what resonated from the ILG article.
Highlights of their comments are listed below.
• Fostering a sense of team is important; we can debate issues but still be a team.
• We need to honor our relationship with City staff.
• Having a sense of team and clear roles is important.
• Even though elections are by district, we need to govern citywide and be dear about our roles.
• Accountability is important; mandates are statewide and we cannot control them but we can be accountable for what is within our control. • We need to be accountable for Commissioner appointments and whether they are attending meetings.
• We should clarify roles and responsibilities of a Councilmember when a candidate is elected to Council.
• It is important for Councilmembers to support the majority vote on issues, even if they do not agree with the result of the vote. 5 City Council Workshop
Workshop Report
Management Partners
Norms
The City Council agreed that its current norms remain relevant and important as written.
For Council/Staff Relationships
• Being respectful and agreeing to disagree at times
• Engaging in two-way communication
• Having all viable alternatives and information
provided
For Councilmember Relationships
• Being respectful and agreeing to disagree at times
• Respecting that we all want to effectuate positive
change
• Encouraging positive communication and dialogue
• Supporting decisions once made
Roles and Responsibilities
The group reviewed the roles and responsibilities of the Council, Mayor, City Manager, and City Attorney. Comments included:
• Council's role is to discuss and make decisions about items on their meeting agendas.
• The Mayor and Councilmembers all have a responsibility to forward emails from residents to City staff members if they are better able to answer and respond to issues.
• Councilmembers should copy the City Manager on emails to help ensure that the appropriate staff person receives and responds to inquiries from the public. These practices protect the City and Council, while keeping the appropriate people involved.
6 City Council Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
Discussion of Specific Items Related to Council Norms and Protocols Jan presented a slide that included seven specific items that were raised during Council interviews related to Council norms and protocols. The seven items and a summary of the discussion pertaining to each, are provided below.
1. Ensuring that we protect our tradition of civility as we move forward Council agreed that this is foundational for them.
2. Maintaining respectful relationships with staff in and out of Council meetings
Council and staff agreed that Council maintains respectful relationships with staff. Councilmembers discussed how being prepared for Council meetings and meetings with the City Manager can help reinforce those good working relationships, though lengthy agenda packets can be challenging.
3. Reinforce importance of asking questions of staff in advance of the Council meetings — no surprises
Councilmembers commented that posing questions to staff in advance of Council meetings reinforces civility, supports staff, and offers staff a chance to come to meetings prepared with answers and solutions.
4. Review protocols for asking questions or making comments during the Council meeting
Councilmembers should normally ask questions of staff rather than the public. When there is a need to better understand something that a member of the public has (such as a developer with a proposal in front of the Council) Mayor determines when and how to ask for that additional information.
5. Procedure for a Councilmember to place an item on the agenda The procedure is that the Mayor determines whether or not to place a requested item from a Councilmember on the agenda.
6. How to "spread around" making motions
Councilmembers commented that they can be mindful of this.
7. Procedure regarding the Mayor Pro Tem appointment
The Mayor makes the appointment. She noted that she needs someone who can take over in situations that arise at the last minute.
Councilmembers noted that they would want to be given the opportunity to serve in this role, even if they are working full time. 7 City Council Workshop
Workshop Report
Management Partners
Accomplishments of the City
After a brief stretch break, the executive management team joined the Council for the remainder of the workshop. Jan reviewed a list of key accomplishments over the past two years that Councilmembers highlighted during their interviews with her. The following slide was presented.
Highlights of City
Accomplishments
1 • Grand opening of AT Still University Medical School • Agricultural Education and Career Technical
Education Campus
• Housing project and entertainment area in the
center of town
• South gateway to Santa Maria on airport property
being planned
• Support of Police Department
• No layoffs during Covid
• Had LEAF fund to help during economic downturn
Management
Partners i
•
•
•
More translations of documents
Finalized bike lanes
Made accommodations for business during the
pandemic
Funding assistance for utilities, rent
Maintained city services
City Manager leadership during pandemic
Staff really showed their commitment to the
community during pandemic
Set up hotspots for children to use for their
schoolwork
fl
Councilmembers commended the City Manager and staff
for moving and navigating through the pandemic. They
noted that the City had fewer staff and yet they
persevered. In addition, the no layoffs policy during the pandemic was sincere and effective.
Another accomplishment mentioned was how well the
City continues to support its first responders.
8 City Council Workshop
Workshop Report Management Partners
Financial Outlook
City Manager Jason Stilwell reviewed the City's financial outlook with the group.
His presentation included a forecast of general fund revenue and uses, projected PERS costs, funding shortfalls, fiscal trends, and financial challenges.
The slides presented by the City Manager are included in Attachment A. His key priority is to maintain service levels, as shown in this slide.
Maintain Service Levels
Prioritize services and costs we have
committed to
Attract and retain staff to maintain
service levels
Be thoughtful about adding additional
ongoing costs
Priorities for FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25
The City Manager reviewed the priorities worksheet (see Attachment B) and highlighted progress and plans for the next two years. Councilmembers asked questions and made comments.
The full list of priorities that were reviewed are shown on the following slide.
The left-hand column contains the priorities from 2020 that are still considered important to Councilmembers. The right-hand column contains priorities that were identified in interviews with Jan Perkins as also important for the coming two years.
9 City Council Workshop
Workshop Report
Management Partners
Combined List of Priorities
Refer to Worksheet
2020 Priorities
1) Encourage new affordable housing projects, special
needs projects
2) Streamline business permits for small business owners to help them be compliant with the law
3) Provide resources to support the recommendations of
the Mayor's Task Force for Youth
4) Finalize and implement the downtown specific plan,
with a mixture of private and public investments
5) Proceed with efficient and timely development
processing and permitting to take advantage of the
current economy and demand
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
Other Councilmember Priorities
Continued focus on public safety
Complete the General Plan update
Recruitments/fill vacancies
Community broadband
Covid-related business assistance
More recreation for families
Streamline permit process for small
residential improvement projects
Increase community outreach and
engagement
Voting on Priorities
Councilmembers then participated in a dot voting exercise to determine their top priorities. Each Councilmember selected their top four priorities. Those items receiving the most dot -votes are listed in Table 1 below.
Table 1. Council's Top Priorities
Council Priorities
Complete the General Plan update
More recreation for families
Continue to focus on public safety
Streamline business permits for small-business owners to help them be compliant with the law
10 City Council Workshop
Workshop Report
Management Partners
Wrap Up
Next Steps
Jan reviewed the next steps for the City Manager, staff, and Council. She highlighted the importance of a Council -staff partnership to achieve the City's strategic objectives.
The City Manager will return to Council to present an
operationalized action plan for each of the top priorities. Jan also noted that Management Partners would prepare and
submit this summary report.
Reflections from Council
To conclude the workshop, Councilmembers, the City Manager and City Attorney each shared comments about what was useful in spending the day together in this session. Highlights of these reflections are provided below. ■ I appreciate Council taking the time to participate today. • The openness and ability to speak freely allowed by this process is beneficial; it is not as structured as Council meetings. • This workshop was a conversation rather than a debate. • We had candid discussions.
• There was more focus on future priorities.
• it was nice to have the opportunity to have face time with staff. ■ We were able to discuss multiple topics. It would be nice to have more direct interaction with department directors, to learn what they want from Council.
• I appreciate the opportunity for interaction rather than just at our structured Council meetings.
11 City Council Workshop
Attachment A — Financial Outlook Presentation
Management Partners
Attachment A — Financial Outlook Presentation
Five Year General Fund Revenue and Uses
Is4
IoW
'so
Ma
Management
Partners
Five Year
General Fund & Measure U
Revenue and Uses
.Fi�Il Maria
�Teri.alPIOW
Pension Costs by Fund
Total PEAS Cost Estimate
General rood and All Other Funds
Baud on OW Pavrdl
��i�lllll
M Ml
Partners
Maintain Service Levels
Prioritize services and costs we have
committed to
Attract and retain staff to maintain
service levels
Be thoughtful about adding additional
ongoing costs
Managemenr
vanno nr
12 City Council Workshop
Attachment A — Financial Outlook Presentation
Management Partners
Staff Priorities: Focus on the Basics
Recruitment and retention to be
able to provide our core services
Planning for utilities needs to meet
added population growth
Completing the General Plan
update
Maintaining financial stability and
increasing revenue
Managemem
Partners
Implementing the Police and Fire
Departments' Strategic Plans
Implementing new technology (ERP,
permit processing, broadband)
Maintaining our infrastructure
(streets, parks, facilities)
Code enforcement
Address impacts of homelessness
Smart City Safe City
Da
Funding Shortfalls
• To balance the budget over the years City has cut funding to:
Workers'
Comp, nnation
prcrnnuns
Liability
nsurance
Tree
maintenance
Building
maintenance
Park repair
Vehicle
maintenance
Flood control
Street
maintenance
(Mt u nded
staff vacancies
Sidewalk
repair
Part m!;
structures
• Pay now or pay more later
• Prioritize over time returning funding to these commitments Managemem
Partners
Rightsize Reserves
• "Pay it forward to future City
Councils as past did for us"
• In 2010-11 adopted General
Fund Prudent Reserve
✓ Calculated formula to $19.SM
• Reserves to only be used for
emergencies
✓ Catastrophe
✓ Revenue loss due to policy
change (I.e., State takeaways)
✓ Mid -year revenue drop greater
than 5%
Management
VLr Mrs
aa
fiscal Trends- Cory of Santa Mani
Governmental Activities
)011.0 a X11►a1
13 City Council Workshop
Attachment A — Financial Outlook Presentation
Management Partners
Fiscal Challenges
Fiscal Challenges
• Inflation risk
• Economic changes
• Housing costs
• State mandates
• Measure U: "maintain and enhance"
• Infrastructure investment
• Be employer of choice
pa pemen'
Partnersa
Our
Response
AMMIEIN
"Smart City Safe City
'Economic Development
"General Plan
"Staff Development
"Technology and efficiencies
"Strengthen reserves
Why Are We
Responding
This Way?
Partners
Our Approach
✓Maintain a steady course forward
✓Meet community expectations
✓We want to improve public
services
1We value our employees
✓We want a smarter and safer city
•
14 City Council Workshop
Attachment B — Status of Priorities
Management Partners
Attachment B — Status of Priorities
City of Santa Maria
Summary Information Presented for Discussion
City Council Workshop February 11, 2022
The following contains the priorities adopted by the Council in February 2020, along with priorities identified by Councilmembers during their individual interviews with facilitator Jan Perkins in December 2021. Comments about the overarching principle of maintaining financial stability were also offered and are summarized below. Information has also been provided about several key City projects that are underway that will continue into FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24. This information was discussed at the workshop and the next two years' top priorities were set following the discussion.
Overarching principle: Maintain financial stability
• Councilmember comments from interviews: Build up the LEAF fund, address PERS liability and other unfunded liability Priori Item
Councllmember
Comments
Status Information From Staff
Section 1. Status of Council's Tier 1 Priorities Set in February 2020
1. Encourage new affordable Still important The Community Development Department continued to encourage development of affordable housing projects, special housing. Staff has provided review and recommended approval of several affordable housing needs projects projects, including the SB 35 senior housing project (160 units) located at Santa Maria Way and Miller, Centennial Square apartments (164 units) at Plaza and Miller, and Centennial Gardens (160 units) at Battles and Depot. The Building Division issued 383 approved permits for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in Calendar Year 2021, following 183 ADUs in 2020.
2. Streamline business permits Still important, Community Development and Finance staff continue to work on streamlining the business license for small business owners to especially in light of the process. Finance is leading this effort; it is meeting with a developer to discuss best practices as part help them be compliant with pandemic; takes too of developing procedures for internal staff. We are also waiting on implementation of an upgrade to the law long to process permits our Community Development permitting software (and adoption of a new ERP) to have the tools to have a 'one -stop -shop" or online portal for business licenses. Community Development continues to work with the Chamber of Commerce by providing direct assistance to customers seeking business license assistance. Building Division staff continues to provide plan review and inspection services in a timely manner to help businesses open quickly.
15 City Council Workshop
Attachment B —Status of Priorities Management Partners
3. Provide resources to support
the recommendations of the
Mayor's Task Force for Youth
4. Finalize and implement the
downtown specific plan, with
a mixture of private and
public investments
5. Proceed with efficient and
timely development
processing and permitting to
take advantage of the current
economy and demand
Still important to
support our youth;
consider a youth
commission to heighten
Its visibility
Still im portant; State
mandates impeding
progress
Still important; need to
understand whether
rules need to be
changed
Status Information From Staff
Mayor's Task Force on Youth Safety continues to host events, including a job skills program, coordinated by the Recreation and Parks Department.
The Recreation and Parks Department held numerous youth -oriented events, including The Patch at Los Flores Ranch Park.
Community Development staff continues to provide support toward neighborhood and Downtown revitalization, through its administration of Community Development Block Grant funds, and in planning efforts in Downtown.
The Santa Maria Public Library To -Go Bookmobile, launched in October 2020, continues with service to sites throughout the City.
Developer team is underway. Staff is making progress on the implementation of the Downtown Specific Plan. Four City -controlled parcels have been identified for redevelopment, and we have interest and potential development concepts for the four sites. Public Works is supporting the effort by contracting for and managing the traffic study. Staff is continuing efforts on the General Plan, which will ensure land inventory for future housing growth.
Staff continues to review and process plans and permits in an expeditious manner. One example is our work with Paynter Realty and the development of Enos Ranch West. The developer is on an aggressive construction schedule, and City staff is taking all steps necessary to ensure the applicant meets target timeframes, while ensuring compliance with building codes.
Section 2. Other Councilmembers' Priorities as Noted in December 2021 Interviews
1. Public safety
Ensure a continued
focus on this
2. Complete the General Plan Important to stay
u • • e focused on this
3. Recruitments/fill vacancies Important to fill
vacancies
4. Community broadband Important for residents
and businesses
5. Covid-related business Small businesses are still
assistance struggling as a result of
the pandemic
Continue to fill vacancies, provide technology (CAD-RMS, plate readers) 2022 for naps and policies; 2023 for adoption
Approximately 10% of the City workforce is vacant in multiple departments (about 60 positions); problems getting sufficient candidates that are qualified to do the work Ongoing project; part of regional initiative
Parklets will continue, sign ordinance in abeyance for supporting businesses 16 City Council Workshop
Attachment B — Status of Priorities
Management Partners
Priori Item
Councilmember I
Comments
Status Inf • rmation Fr. m -
6. More recreation for families
7. Streamline permit process for
small residential
Improvement projects
8. Increase community outreach
and engagement
Low-income families
need recreational
activities
Need to make it easier
for homeowners to get
permits for
improvements they wish
to have done
Be more proactive in
promoting what City is
doing and get more
people involved in city
activities
Need for additional parks in northwest area of City; area for soccer field in southwest part of City Online portal being created for applications which will streamline homeowner permits Expanded social media reach achieved with thousands of followers. Bookmobile visits underserved neighborhoods. Police Department hired first outreach coordinator. National Night Out very popular.
Expanded public meetings to include Zoom enabling remote testimony. Redistricting meetings held in neighborhoods within all quadrants.
Highlights of Other Major Projects
Status/Issues
1. Improve roads, buildings, sidewalks and other bask
infrastructure
2. State housing mandates
1 3. State organics mandates
4. New landfill construction
Councllmembers stated a commitment to focus on the basics with City funding before adding new Initiatives
Impacts on City's water and sewer systems and who pays for increased usage and need for larger pipes as a result of accessory dwelling units (ADUs)
Increased fees to refuse collection customers; questions about frequency of collection (public health 1 issues)
5. New sewer treatment plant to be planned
Requires staff time to manage this large project
Will be a major, expensive project requiring significant staff time to plan and manage; funding to be 1 determined
17