TO:City Council
FROM:Andrew P. Powers, City Manager
DATE:April 28, 2026
SUBJECT: Citywide FY 2026-27 Top Ten Priorities and Goal Setting Study Session
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Receive broad organizational updates from City staff.
2. Receive Community Attitude Survey from True North Research.
3. Establish Citywide FY 2026-27 Top Ten Priorities.
4. Review and, if necessary, revise Citywide Goals and City Council Norms.
5. Find that this action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act.
LEVINE ACT ITEM: No
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Financial Impact to be Determined. Costs associated with preparing this report and the Community Attitude Survey are included in the Adopted FY 2025-26 General Fund Budget. If necessary, funding for new specific priorities and/or projects arising from this study session will be brought forth with budget appropriations as needed or considered during the upcoming biennial budget process.
BACKGROUND:
Each year, City Council establishes the City’s Top Ten Priorities and reviews progress on prior year priorities. The priorities clearly articulate City Council’s objectives and are used to promote accountability. Previous years’ goals have Citywide FY 2026-27 Top Ten Priorities & Goal Setting Study Session April 28, 2026
aligned with the principles established during the Visioning 2064 exercise and will continue to be incorporated in future reviews.
DISCUSSION:
Citywide Top Ten Priorities
At this year’s Priority and Goal Setting Study Session, the City Manager and other staff members will present organizational updates on Fiscal Sustainability, Housing Production, Homelessness, Public Safety, Downtown Project, Environmental Sustainability, Infrastructure Investments, General Plan Implementation, Technology Investments, and Economic Development.
Timothy McLarney with True North Research will provide a summary of this year’s City Community Attitude Survey (Attachment #1). City Council will discuss top priority focus areas for establishing new priorities for FY 2026-27 (Attachment #2).
Specific action items may be linked to each priority to aid staff in monitoring progress. The top ten priorities and related action items will be presented to City Council at a future meeting for approval.
Citywide Goals
The current broad Citywide Goals are included as Attachment #3. These goals are reviewed and reaffirmed annually, however, any substantial changes with budget impact should be considered in conjunction with the City’s budget cycle.
City Council Norms
The current City Council Norms (Attachment #4) serve to augment City Council’s Standards of Operation (Resolution No. 2023-008), Thousand Oaks Municipal Code Ethics Chapter, and related policy documents to provide a more specific “Code of Conduct.” City Council may elect to review and if necessary, amend the City Council Norms.
CITY COUNCIL GOALS COMPLIANCE:
Meets the following City Council goals:
B. Provide municipal government leadership which is open and responsive to residents, and is characterized by ethical behavior, stability, promoting public trust, transparency, confidence in the future, and cooperative interaction among civic leaders, residents, business representatives, and staff, while recognizing and respecting legitimate differences of opinion on critical issues facing the City.
Citywide FY 2026-27 Top Ten Priorities & Goal Setting Study Session April 28, 2026
C. Operate City government in a fiscally and managerially responsible and prudent manner to ensure that the City of Thousand Oaks remains one of California's most desirable places to live, work, visit, recreate, and raise a family.
PREPARED BY:Ryan Roman, Assistant to the City Manager
Attachments:
Attachment #1 – Community Attitude Survey
Attachment #2 – Proposed Citywide FY 2026-27 Top Priorities Attachment #3 – Citywide Goals for FY 2025-26 & FY 2026-27 Attachment #4 – City Council Norms
CMO:120-40\rr\H:\COMMON\City Council\Council Items\2026 Staff Reports\04282026 Goal Setting\042826 FY 2026-27 Top Ten Priorities Staff Report.docx