COUNCIL POLICY MANUAL
7.3.26 – Page 1
Policy 7.3.26 Study IssuesCouncil Priority Projects Process POLICY PURPOSE:
One of Council’s primary roles is to include establishing City policy and direct ing City resources, through policy creation/revision/deletion, . It does so by creating new policies and revising/deleting old policies by majority vote and by directing limited resources to areas of highest priority that align with Coucnil’s defined Strategic Goals. The Council’s time and staff resources are limited; therefore, the Council Priority Project (CPP) process provides a structured method for identifying, prioritizing, and analyzingimplementing new policy initiativespriority projects—including policy exploration, feasibility studies, one-time projects, budget or service level changes, or other initiatives —in in an efficient and effective manner.Council’s time is limited, however, as is the number of policies it is able to consider in any given year. The study issues process provides a method for identifying, prioritizing and analyzing policy issues in an efficient and effective way. It provides a structured approach for addressing the large number of policy issues that are raised and considered by Council for study each year.
This policy establishes required standards for the Council Priority Project process.
Administrative or operational details not addressed herein willshall be established under the authority of the City Manager. It is the purpose of this policy to identify those aspects of the City’s Study Issue process for which Council has established required standards. Those aspects of the City’s Study Issue not addressed by this policy are considered administrative or operational in nature, and shall be established under the authority of the city manager.
POLICY STATEMENT:
1. Study Issue SponsorshipProposal of Council Priority Projects A. Each Councilmember may propose up to three (3) Council Priority Projects per year.
B. Each Board or Commission may, upon majority vote, forward one (1) idea per year for Councilmembers to consider incorporating into their proposals. Board or commission ideas shall be forwarded in list form only, without staff-prepared reports or rankings. A reference list of ideas will be maintained on the City’s website .
Councilmembers may , at their discretion , incorporate ideas from boards or commissions into thei r three (3) proposals.
C. Members of the public may provide suggestions for Council Priority Projects during Oral Communications at any Council meeting, via emails to Council, at the annual priority projects Wworkshop, and/or the annual budget hearing. A Council sponsored study issue must receive the support of at least two councilmembers in order for staff to prepare a study issue paper, and for the issue to be considered at the Council Study Issues Workshop.
Attachment 9
(See Updated Attachment 9, posted 20251020)
COUNCIL POLICY MANUAL
7.3.26 – Page 2
2. Selection of Issues for StudyCouncil Priority Projects Workshop A. All Council Priority Project proposals (to include budget/service level changes and new project ideas) must be submitted to the City Manager between November and January. Staff will provide a consistent, consolidated format for submittal.
B. In February, Council willshall hold an annual Council Priority Projects Workshop (usually in February) to:
1. Review Council Strategic Goals (every other year).
2. Review current Council Priority Projects and other significant Workplan projects.
3. Receive a fiscal and staffing capacity update from the City Manager.
4. Consider new priority project proposals from Council, taking input from Boards/Commissions, and the public.
5. Council shall determine which priority project proposals have majority Council support to advance to staff analysis, within the framework of available capacity defined by the City Manager.
Any substantive policy change (large or relatively small) is subject to the study issues process (i.e. evaluated for ranking at the Council Study Issues Workshop).
Policy related issues include such items as proposed ordinances, new or expanded service delivery programs, changes to existing Council policy, and/or amendments to the General Plan. Exceptions to this approach include emergency issues, and urgent policy issues that must be completed in the short term to avoid serious negative consequences to the City , subject to a majority vote of Council.
3. Deadlines for Councilmember-Proposed Study IssuesAnalysis and Budgeting
A. After the workshop, staff willshall prepare a summary report (3–5 pages) for each priority project advanced by Council.
B. After further analysis, t he City Manager willshall determine which Council priority projects can be implemented within available funding and staff capacity and willshall include those recommendations in the Proposed Budget.
C. Council willshall approve final Council priority projects as part of the annual budget.
A. New Council-proposed study issue topics are due to the city manager no later than three weeks in advance of the annual study issues workshop. If the public hearing is held less than three weeks before the workshop, councilmembers may also sponsor issues introduced by the public at the public hearing, but must do so during that Council meeting.
Attachment 9
(See Updated Attachment 9, posted 20251020)
COUNCIL POLICY MANUAL
7.3.26 – Page 3
B. Any Council-generated study issues proposed later than three weeks in advance of the annual workshop , with the exception of those sponsored under A. above , shall be considered in the next year’s study issues process.
4. Drop or Deferral of IssuesMid-Year Additions
New projects should only be added outside the annual process if they meet one of the following criteria:
• Emergency (natural disaster, pandemic, civil unrest)
• New outside funding opportunity that is time sensitive • New multi-agency opportunity that cannot be delayed
• Community safety issue that must be addressed in near term • Changes in laws or mandates requiring immediate City action
Such requests shall be initiated by Colleague Memo or City Manager recommendation and require majority Council approval. The City Manager will advise on how mid -year additions will impact other priority project timelines or other significant work plan items.
A. At the Study Issues Workshop, Council shall drop, defer, or rank in priority order each proposed study issue. Any issue that is dropped by a majority vote of Council will not be eligible for consideration at the next year’s Workshop unless sponsored by a majority of the Council . Any issue that is deferred shall automatically be returned for Council’s consideration the following year.
5. DeferralsProject Ideas Reference List
A. Proposals not advanced or funded shall not automatically carry forward ; they may be resubmitted by a Councilmember as project proposals in a future year.
B. A reference list of items not moved forward from the prior year’s workshop and of current year suggested Board or Commission ideas will be maintained online and updated annually by staff.
6. Tracking and Accountability
The City Manager willshall maintain a public-facing dashboardprovide periodic reporting on the status of Council priority projects.PPs and major departmental projects.
6. Ranking Method
Council shall vote utilizing a combination of Forced Ranking (for departments with ten or fewer issues to rank) and Choice Ranking (for departments with eleven or more issues to rank) for ranking study issues at the annual workshop. Specifically, • Forced Ranking (for ranking ten or fewer issues) – Councilmembers individually and simultaneously rank each issue that was not deferred or dropped. Ranking are from Attachment 9
(See Updated Attachment 9, posted 20251020)
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7.3.26 – Page 4
“1” to the total number of issues, with “1” representing the highest priority issue for study. Each number can be used only one (no ties) and each issue must receive a ranking.
• Choice Ranking (for ranking eleven or more issue) – The total number of items to be ranked (after deferring or dropping issues) is divided by three and each Councilmember is given the resulting number of votes (rounding up). For example, if there are twelve issues, each Councilmember will receive four votes. Councilmembers allocate their votes, one each, to their highest priority issues. Some issues will receive votes and others may not. A tally is made of votes received for each issue. Two -way ties between issues are resolved by quick hand votes of the Council. The final ranking is determined by the number of votes received.
This method shall also be utilized by boards/commissions when ranking study issues for Council consideration.
7. Number of Study Issues Conducted Each Year
Following Council’s determination of study issue priorities, the city manager shall advise Council of staff’s capacity for completing ranked issues. Council reserves the right to expand that capacity by increasing budgeted resources.
(Adopted: RTC #08 -180 (June 24, 2008); Amended: RTC #08 -344 (December 2, 2008) ; Amended: RTC #10-017 (January 26, 2010; Amended RTC #25-0569 (October 11, 2025))
Lead Department: Office of the City Manager
Attachment 9
(See Updated Attachment 9, posted 20251020)