5A
Date: November 13, 2025
To: Chair and Members of the City Council Strategic Plan Committee From: Aram Chaparyan, City Manager
By: Danny E. Santana, Assistant City Manager | [email protected] Subject: City Manager – Accept and File Update on the City Council Strategic Plan Implementation Program. Expenditure: None.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council Strategic Plan Committee:
1) Accept and file an update on the Council Strategic Plan Implementation Program; and, 2) Recommend to City Council to Accept and File the Council Strategic Plan Implementation Program update.
FUNDING
There is no funding required for this action.
DISCUSSION
The City’s Strategic Plan was approved by the City Council May 18, 2021, setting the strategic vision for the City for the next 10 years. In an effort to aid and track progress on the implementation of this plan the city leverages a software platform, AchieveIt, and is available on the City’s website at: https://www.torranceca.gov/government/city-departments/achieveit. This platform provides a centralized and automated solution to collect and share updates on progress. The software automatically notifies staff when updates are due, collects and stores them within the platform directly, and immediately posts for the public to view on our city website.
On September 26, 2023, the City Council approved the Council's Strategic Plan Committee recommended approach to implementing the Strategic Plan that included:
1) Distinguish between 'Operational' and 'Strategic' priorities; collecting monthly updates on strategic sub-goals and quarterly updates on operational subgoals; and 2) Meet semi-annually to review progress on plan implementation.
Staff from all departments identified new and existing efforts that align with the 249 sub-goals contained within the 57 Priority Goals under the 11 Strategic Priorities. Further, these efforts were determined to be either operational or strategic in nature. Of the 249 sub-goals included in the adopted Strategic Plan, 154 were identified as Operational and 95 as Strategic. The following analysis provides the Committee with an overview of progress made between April 1, 2025 and September 30, 2025.
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Staff continue to provide monthly updates for strategic sub-goals and quarterly updates for operational sub-goals. As shown below, during the period of April 1, 2025 and September 30, 2025, 41 Sub-goals were accomplished, including 14 Strategic and 27 Operational. The number of items in the ‘Achieved’ category increased from 168 to 209 (84% of the 249 Sub-goals) and the number of ‘On-Track’ items reduced from 80 to 40. Staff continues to ensure the number of ‘Off-Track’ remains low, ending the period at zero. Finally, work associated with all Sub-goals have commenced during this reporting period.
Of the 95 "Strategic" measures, there has been an increase from 58 (61%) to 72 (76%) that have been "Achieved" and a decrease from 36 (38%) to 23 (24%) that are "On Track" and expected to be completed within the timeline identified by the associated Department. Of the 154 "Operational" measures, there has been an increase from 110 (71%) to 137 (89%) of those "Achieved and a decrease from 44 (29%) to 17 (11%) that are "On Track" to be completed within the timeline identified. Staff have provided a table of achieved subgoals (Attachment A) for further details. The greatest progress was made within the Education, Diversity, and Enrichment priority area, which accounted for 13 Sub-Goals. Additional achievements included 5 Sub-Goals each under Appearance, Character, and Quality of the Community; Communication and Civic Involvement; and Economic Development and Housing.
It is important to note that the Strategic Plan Dashboard is live, based on the latest data and submissions from departments, and will therefore vary from the static figures included in this report as it includes updates and accomplishments that may have been realized October 1 st forward. This is the result of staff leveraging the AchieveIt platform, which automatically posts 2 Strategic Plan Committee
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public updates, minimizing the burden of updating this communication platform. The Committee and the greater public can get progress updates continuously as staff leverages this technology to be more transparent and timely in its updates.
Tags
The cross-departmental team supporting the Strategic Plan’s Implementation, known as the AchieveIt Champions, continue to leverage the concept of tags for efficiently implementing the overall strategic plan by focusing on projects that complete a wide swath of the plan. Several accomplishments were directly tied to key initiatives, including 4 Sub-Goals completed through the Housing Corridor Project, another 4 through the Social Media Communication Strategy, 8 through the City Website Project, and 2 through the Real-Time Response Center.
In reviewing the Strategic Plan, the AchieveIt Champions identified an additional ‘Tag’ label in the area of coordination with the Torrance Unified School District. Since the launch of the Plan, a total of 10 KPIs aligned with the City and District Ad-Hoc efforts that have been advanced as a of the joint adopted strategic collaboration agreement in the areas of facility usage, promoting safe school environments through school engagement and School Resource Officer full staffing, and Career Technical Education efforts bringing City career series to District high schools These expanded six identified targeted initiatives, tracked via Tags in AchieveIt, support the advancement of 73 sub-goals, which represents 29% of the City’s Strategic Plan. Due to the overlapping nature of efforts some subgoals are addressed through multiple project efforts.
By continuing to focus on high yield projects and initiatives, it allows for an efficient focus of limited financial and staffing resources. The table below outlines the number of sub-goals associated with each of the projects previously described (some projects address the same sub-goal):
Project Number of
related
sub-goals
Subgoals
Achieved
Subgoals
On Track
Housing Corridors 10 10 0
Real Time Response Center 3 3 0
Signage & Wayfinding 6 1 5
Social Media Communication Strategy 28 27 1
City Website 29 24 5
City-District Ad-Hoc Committee 12 10 2
The City Manager’s Office recommends a continued emphasis on strategically designed projects that assist in addressing a multitude of Strategic Priorities, Goals and Subgoals. This approach can accelerate achievement of the Strategic Plan’s desired objectives.
Highlight Feature: Incorporation of Budget KPIs
During the City Council’s first public Budget hearing on May 6, 2025, updated Strategic Plan Performance Indicators were included for all departments. These revised Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are now aligned with the City’s adopted Strategic Plan and its associated strategic priorities where applicable. The updated KPIs enhance the ability to benchmark departmental performance objectively and are specifically tailored to reflect each department’s goals and sub-goals, ensuring that progress toward strategic objectives is measurable and ongoing.
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Staff are leveraging the AchieveIt software to automatically collect data, with the system going live on the September 30, 2025, with quarterly reporting period. Going forward, staff will include these KPIs in the Annual Budget, First Quarter Budget Review Report, and Mid-Year Budget Review Reports. Once two additional reporting periods are reported on (through March 2026), the City will share a publicly available KPI Dashboard on the City’s website. Staff is currently leveraging the City’s existing AchieveIt software licenses—resulting in no additional cost and utilizing a platform already familiar to staff. The KPI Dashboard will be designed to mirror the existing Strategic Plan interface and will feature consistent and transparent performance reporting. For reference, Attachment 2 includes the updated Strategic Plan Performance Indicators by department and the result of the first reporting period. Staff will continue to evaluate the KPIs and make recommendations to City Council, when appropriate, to potentially expand or revise the listing to further improve tracking.
Strategic Plan Mid-Point Assessment
The Strategic Plan (“Plan”) mid-point assessment involves two components, the Community Profile-Environmental Scan and the Statistically Valid Public Opinion Survey of the residential and business communities. The Community Development Department has obtained two separate consulting firms, PlaceWorks, Inc. and FM3 Research, to conduct the Community Profile- Environmental Scan and the Statistically Valid Public Opinion Survey, respectively. Staff is working with the two consultants to evaluate the City’s progress in implementing the Plan’s 249 subgoals. Data is being collected via interviews with City staff and surveys with both the business and residential community. Currently it is anticipated that staff will receive the findings for both reports by mid-December. Staff is planning on presenting the completed report to the Strategic Plan Committee during the next semi-annual update in late spring 2026 with the final results and recommendations of the Plan’s mid-point assessment. A brief overview of each component is discussed below.
Community Profile/Environmental Scan
The Community Profile-Environmental Scan is intended to help identify key indicators and performance measures that collectively will make up the profile. The indicators will correspond to the strategic priorities, goals and sub-goals of the Plan, which will help provide a comprehensive picture of Torrance and how the City and community have been doing in achieving the vision of the Plan. To date, PlaceWorks has conducted 14 interviews with City staff. There are still 3 remaining interviews scheduled, which should be completed by the end of next week. Once completed, a draft report will be submitted to staff for review.
Statistically Valid Public Opinion Survey
The Statistically Valid Public Opinion Survey objective is to collect impartial, reliable and valid data to assess the requisite goals and sub-goals outlined in the current Plan. The survey data will provide an up-to-date assessment of the City’s success in addressing and/or achieving identified strategic priorities, goals and sub-goals as well as future trends. Similar to the Community Profile-Environmental Scan, staff anticipates receiving the draft report by mid-December.
Conclusion
Under the direction of Mayor and Council, the City continues to make meaningful advancement in the implementation of the City’s Strategic Plan and Staff recommends that the Strategic Plan Committee Accept and File the Strategic Plan update and forward such recommendation to the full City Council.
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ATTACHMENTS
1. April 1, 2025 – September 30, 2025 Achieved Goal/Sub-Goal Matrix
2. Strategic Plan-Budget Key Performance Indicators by Department
3. 2021 Strategic Plan (Document link:
https://www.torranceca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/65284/637565245707470000)
5 Priority Goal # Op/Strategic Tags Name
Achieve a community design that exemplifies balanced land usage in a manner that recognizes and optimizes the changing nature of retail, industry, employment, an age diverse population and other factors that impact land uses.
1.2.2 Strategic Housing Corridors Promote compatibility of adjacent land uses.
1.3.1 Operational Social Media
Communication Strategy
Identify and bring awareness of historic sites, community heritage and community resources in all areas of the City.
1.3.2 Operational Social Media
Communication Strategy
Encourage restoration, rehabilitation and maintenance of historical sites.
1.3.4 Operational Social Media
Communication Strategy
Add a strong public education component to the existing historic preservation program for the City.
1.3.5 Operational Preserve the historic character of Downtown Torrance during revitalization efforts.
Utilize a full range of information resources to share local issues with the community
2.1.1 Strategic City Website Provide rapid, easy, read-only access to all non-confidential city data by the public
2.3.2 Operational Identify diverse groups and under-served populations
2.3.3 Operational Create and maintain active dialog with these diverse groups and under-served populations
2.4.1 Operational Continue to encourage participation in leadership programs.
2.4.4 Operational TUSD Ad-Hoc Committee Improve connections and collaboration between the education community, the public and local government.
Attract and retain businesses 3.2.7 Operational Provide a supportive technology infrastructure
3.3.1 Strategic Housing Corridors Allow for and encourage flexible, creative and innovative land uses and development types (for example, mixed-use, live/work and live/work /sell uses, and shared meeting spaces).
3.3.4 Operational Support and incentivize entrepreneurs in bringing new green businesses to the City.
Maintain a residential and commercial/industrial balance that supports the economic needs of the community
3.4.1 Strategic Housing Corridors Develop land use policy that supports a healthy economy without compromising the residential community's needs and quality of life.
Promote economic health through education and training
3.5.3 Operational TUSD Ad-Hoc Committee Facilitate and encourage business partnerships for inspiration and recognition in science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
4.1.2 Operational TUSD Ad-Hoc Committee Review and expand the existing joint-use agreement to achieve optimum use of City/TUSD buildings and facilities, including coordinated scheduling.
4.1.3 Operational TUSD Ad-Hoc Committee Re-commit to the use of city resources to increase safety and security on school sites.
4.1.4 Strategic TUSD Ad-Hoc Committee Expand inter-agency cooperation for sharing library resources.
4.2.1 Strategic TUSD Ad-Hoc Committee Increase collaboration among all schools, community organizations, City and businesses.
4.2.2 Operational Provide personal enrichment through varied adult education opportunities.
4.2.3 Operational Better communicate and publicize all educational opportunities and resources.
Encourage and embrace the benefits of a diverse and inclusive community
4.3.3 Strategic Strive for understanding, respect, cooperation and inclusion among diverse community members and groups.
4.4.1 Operational Social Media
Communication Strategy
Optimize the creative use of the Cultural Arts Center.
4.4.2 Strategic Facilitate culturally enriching programs, opportunities and events.
4.4.4 Operational City Website Use arts and language to foster a greater understanding of diversity and inclusion.
4.5.1 Operational Assess and implement recreational programs to preserve and enhance opportunities.
4.5.2 Operational Coordinate organized youth sport activities with public, private, and non-profit organizations.
Promote public service through volunteer opportunities 4.7.3 Operational Maintain a centralized, web-based database to connect volunteers with volunteer organizations and opportunities for service.
5.2.1 Strategic City Website Develop and implement a plan to define, communicate, and address the full spectrum of homelessness, in collaboration with the Social Services Commission, other social service agencies, and regional partners.
5.2.2 Operational Connect people who are homeless, leaving homelessness, or who are in danger of becoming homeless to needed services to help stabilize their housing situation. The focus of services should be transitioning out of homelessness.
5.2.3 Operational Explore the creation of transitional housing with provision of social services to aid homeless in maintaining stable living conditions.
5.3.1 Operational Actively enforce the City’s short-term vacation rental ordinance to ensure dwelling units are retained for residential use and to protect neighborhoods from potentially adverse impacts of transient lodgers.
5.3.2 Strategic Explore methods of expanding existing neighborhoods to include more local-serving uses for walkability and to promote self-reliance.
Establish Torrance as a premier 21st century City through the dynamic and secure usage of digital technologies.
6.3.1 Strategic Real Time Response
Center
Explore new technologies and digital solutions for City challenges (i.e., artificial intelligence , ”Big Data ”, etc.).
Infrastructure
Preserve and protect the integrity of Torrance’s existing single-family neighborhoods while accommodating future housing need.
Expand the educational opportunities for development of the individual potential of youth, adults and seniors of all abilities Establish the city as a center of culture
Strive to be a leader in the creation of current and relevant recreational opportunities that meet the needs of all citizens
Take a holistic approach to address homelessness in the City, acknowledging and understanding that homelessness is a complex issue with multiple causes and that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Appearance, Character
and Quality of the
Community
Communication and
Civic Involvement
Economic Development
Education, Diversity and
Enrichment
Preserve and celebrate the heritage of historic sites throughout the City.
Strengthen the relationship between the City, residents, and community- based organizations with emphasis on measurable outreach to under-served Promote opportunities for civic and public/private collaboration and partnerships
Provide a supportive environment for entrepreneurial endeavors Strengthen the commitment for collaboration between City of Torrance and Torrance Unified School District [TUSD]
Housing
6 ATTACHMENT 1
6.4.1 Strategic Pursue opportunities for City-wide access to broadband, cable, fiber optics, and other emerging technologies.
6.4.3 Strategic Real Time Response
Center
Improve public services and quality of life through “Smart City” technologies.
Mobility Balance land use practices for mobility management. 7.2.2 Operational Housing Corridors Encourage opportunities for satellite and shared work centers in a variety of land uses and development types.
Deliver high quality services in a timely and cost effective manner. 9.2.4 Operational Solicit and incorporate feedback, input and ideas from all stakeholders, employees, residents, businesses, and visitors.
Maintain a skilled, knowledgeable, creative, and well-trained workforce.
9.5.5 Operational Maintain quality recruitment and high standards for hiring through use of job-oriented, performance based standards.
Safe, Secure & Equitable
Community
Mitigate public health and safety risks from the use of Hydrofluoric/Modified Hydrofluoric Acid (HF/MHF) in the alkylation process at the Torrance Refinery.
10.7.3 Strategic Ensure that all City of Torrance emergency plans include HF/MHF releases in all credible scenarios (i.e., natural and/or human-made disasters), and coordinate with all stakeholder agencies in planning and training efforts.
Stewardship of the
Environment
Establish Torrance as a leader in environmental responsibility and sustainability.
11.1.4 Operational Seek out funding sources outside of the City, including state and federal funds, public-private partnerships, institutional investors, and insurance and financial institutions to aid the City in implementing their sustainability plans.
Infrastructure Establish an infrastructure road map that encourages an ecosystem for technology development and implementation.
Responsive, Accountable
and Cost Effective
Government
7 # Level Name Status Metric Description Current Value Last Comment Plan Department’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) On Track 1 Department City Attorney On Track
1.1 KPI Closure rate on civil litigation cases On Track Stay above baseline of 70% 220.00% 5 opened/11 closed.
1.2 KPI Closure Rate on Work Requests On Track Stay above baseline of 60% 75.00% 351 opened/262 closed
1.3 KPI Total number of training opportunities provided by the City Attorney's Office
Off Track Stay above baseline of 1 0.00
2 Department City Manager On Track
2.1 KPI Percentage of Strategic Plan Subgoals Off Track On Track Stay below target of 5% 0.00% As of end of June 2025, there were 0% KPI projects that were off- track.
2.2 KPI Number change of unhoused individuals within the City Off Track Stay below target of 0 20.00% This data includes total unsheltered persons not in a dwelling and those unsheltered persons in an improvised dwelling, but does not include those in an interim housing facility.
2.3 KPI Viewer Retention Rate (greater than 15 seconds) On Track Stay above baseline of 70% 69.91% 3 Department Community Development On Track
3.1 KPI Number of revitalized and redeveloped commercial properties through the City's Commercial Facade
Improvement Program
Off Track Stay above baseline of 1 0.00 A total of 3 applications submitted. Of the 3, 1 has a sign contract with the City and the other 2 are being processed.
3.2 KPI Code Compliance Closure Rate Off Track Stay above baseline of 85% 82.90% Total number of complaints for period was 75, with 34 complaints closed and 41 complaint still open.
3.3 KPI Customer Satisfaction Rate at Permit Center On Track Stay above baseline of 90% 93.00% CDD is slightly above the baseline value.
3.4 KPI Customer Wait Time at Permit Center (minutes) On Track Stay below target of 20 8.00 Average wait time well below target goal of 20 minutes. 4 Department Community Services On Track
4.1 KPI Number of public art pieces installed Off Track Stay above baseline of 2 0.00 Pending City Council's approval of artwork and locations, six ultility boxes will be wrapped by early 2026.
4.2 KPI Number of Library visitors: Main Library On Track Stay above baseline of 39,000 39,261
4.3 KPI Number of Library Visitors: Branch Libraries On Track Stay above baseline of 52,500 52,655 El Retiro, Henderson, North Torrance, Southeast, and Waleria
4.4 KPI Average enrollment rates of offered classes Off Track Stay above baseline of 75% 74.00%
4.5 KPI Average number of days to close Service Requests Off Track Stay below target of 5 7.00 5 Department Finance On Track
5.1 KPI Average number of days to complete a Budget Transfer Off Track Stay below target of 3 5.70
5.2 KPI Average number of days to process Change Order On Track Stay below target of 3 2.30
5.3 KPI Number of audit findings from 3rd party independent audits Off Track Stay below target of 1 3.00
5.4 KPI Number of public engagement meetings On Track Stay above baseline of 1 1.00 Measure SST Citizen Oversight Committee
5.5 KPI Number of Business Licenses On Track Stay above baseline of 13,500 13,987 6 Department Fire On Track
6.1 KPI Performance of 1st unit on-scene for all Fire incidents at the 90th percentile (minutes)
On Track Stay below target of 6.4 7.83 7 min 50 sec at the 90th percentile (Q3 2025)
6.2 KPI Performance of 1st unit on-scene for all EMS incidents at the 90th percentile (minutes)
On Track Stay below target of 6.07 7.75 7 min 45 sec at the 90th percentile (Q3 2025)
6.3 KPI Percentage of initiated (performed) state-mandated inspection
Off Track Stay above baseline of 100% 90.00%
Strategic Plan Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
8 ATTACHMENT 2
6.4 KPI Number of TUSD campuses that received fire and life safety training
On Track Stay above baseline of 30 80.00
7 Department General Services On Track
7.1 KPI Number of days to complete facility work orders On Track Stay below target of 3 2.50 Work orders continue to be completed in less than 3 days.
7.2 KPI Percentage of City Fleet Vehicles that are zero-emission Off Track Stay above baseline of 100% 10.00% As of now, percent of City fleet that are zero emission is at 10%.
Will continue to grow as new vehicles arrive.
7.3 KPI Number of days to complete central services work orders On Track Stay below target of 3 3.00 Most jobs completed in 3 days or less. Some jobs take longer due to complexity.
7.4 KPI Number of days to complete graffiti work order On Track Stay below target of 2 1.00 Graffiti work orders are usually completed within 24 hours. 8 Department Human Resources On Track
8.1 KPI Percentage of benefits eligible employees who attend the Benefits Fair
Off Track Stay above baseline of 40% 36.00% The estimated total for Benefits Fair(s) attendance was around 465. The total amount of benefits eligible employees is 1,303.
Therefore the percentage of benefits eligible employees that attended the Annual Benefits fair is 36%.
8.2 KPI Average number of days to establish eligibility lists (Safety) On Track Stay below target of 90 54.00 The average number of days it takes to establish eligibility lists for safety is 54. Please note this number is based on 3 recruitments.
8.3 KPI Average number of days to establish eligibility lists (Non- Safety)
On Track Stay below target of 90 46.00 The average number of days it takes to establish eligibility lists for non-safety is 46. Please note this number is based on 28 recruitments.
8.4 KPI Average number of days to process Personnel Action Forms Off Track Stay below target of 3 3.08 The average number of days during this period was 3.08. There are several factors that increased the average during this time. The availability of an employee to go through exit interviews, sending the PAF back for corrections, and discharges that can be complex.
8.5 KPI Average number of days to complete NeoGov Requisition On Track Stay below target of 2 1.92 The average number of days to complete NeoGov Requisitions during this quarter was 1.92.
8.6 KPI Average number of days to enroll employees in benefits On Track Stay below target of 30 17.68 The average number of days it takes to enroll employees in benefits during this quarter was 17.68.
8.7 KPI Citywide Vacancy Rate Off Track Stay below target of 10% 11.90% 9 Department Information Technology On Track
9.1 KPI Percentage of service requests completed within two hours Off Track Stay above baseline of 98.5% 98.00%
9.2 KPI Percentage of unplanned maintenance incidents On Track Stay below target of 10% 5.00%
9.3 KPI Cyber Security Incident Closure Rate On Track Stay above baseline of 100% 100.00%
9.4 KPI Percentage of employees who complete cybersecurity training
On Track Stay above baseline of 90% 92.00%
10 Department Police Department On Track
10.1 KPI Average Police Response Time to Emergency Priority One Calls
Off Track Stay below target of 7 8.48 Average for the quarter is 8 minutes 48 seconds
10.2 KPI Number of community engagement meetings/events/forums On Track Stay above baseline of 12 27.00 27 events for Q3 11 Department Public Works On Track
11.1 KPI City's Pavement Condition Index (PCI) rating On Track Stay above baseline of 70 76.00
11.2 KPI Percent of local water supply sold Off Track Stay above baseline of 55% 29.00%
11.3 KPI Number of street trees Off Track Stay above baseline of 44,500 39,095 286 trees planted between 7/1/25 - 9/30/25 12 Department Transit On Track
9 12.1 KPI Percent of Bus On-time Performance On Track Stay above baseline of 80% 80.90% Continues to meet or exceed the 80% baseline
12.2 KPI Total Transit Ridership (All Bus, TCTP and future Microtransit) by annual passenger trips
On Track Stay above baseline of 500,000 591,134
12.3 KPI Average vehicle revenue miles between mechanical failures On Track Stay above baseline of 6,000 28,026.33
12.4 KPI Percentage value of fare box recovery Off Track Stay above baseline of 4% 3.77% 10