CITY OF
AGENDA REPORT
DATE: March 24, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Phil White, Director of Financ
SUBJECT: Strategic Plan — Request for Direction
Item No. 10
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council direct staff to commence the strategic planning process.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
On January 27, 2025, the City Council adopted 2025 Goals and Establishing a Strategic Plan was one of the five stated goals.
7,0,0 CityCouncil Goals
2025
i) Deliver a Balanced Budget
2) Establish a Strategic Plan
3) Establish a Long -Term Financial Plan
4) Enhance Emergency Preparedness /
Management Capabilities
5) Continue to Enhance Transparency /
Communications Capabilities
A strategic plan is the culmination of community engagement and collaborative development. To best engage the community and to ensure the process integrates modern tools, methods and perspectives, best practice is to hire a consulting firm that specializes in strategic planning. It is anticipated that the process will take 12 months to complete. Staff is preparing a Request For
Proposal for Strategic Plan Development and is seeking the City Council's direction on whether to proceed.
A strategic plan is a roadmap that outlines long-term vision, goals, and strategies for achieving objectives, ensuring that resources are aligned to address needs and priorities. Key elements include:
• Vision: The desired future of Yucaipa
• Mission: How the community will achieve its desired future • Values: The core principles that will guide our actions • Goals: Broad, long-term objectives
• Objectives: Specific and measurable targets to achieve the goals • Strategies: The approaches and tactics to achieve the objectives • Action Plans: Detailed steps and timelines for implementing the strategies Basic expectations such as a balanced budget are documented in a strategic plan, but higher -level goals can be defined for a variety of areas including economic development, land use, parks and recreation, public safety, emergency preparedness, etc. Financial impacts of each of these would be incorporated into a long-range financial plan (a component of the strategic plan). Challenges such as increasing operating costs could be overcome by proactively considering options and alternatives before the situation was dire. Questions of whether to accept new capital projects could be answered by checking compatibility with the plan. To summarize, a strategic plan is a roadmap, always available for reference to see if we are headed in the right direction.
The Finance Committee meeting on March 19, 2025 included this item on its agenda.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The recommendation does not result in a fiscal impact. However, in the scenario that the City Council directs staff to proceed, the City Council can expect that an item will return with additional detail on cost and requesting authorization of a consultant contract.
Approved by:
v ro