02-26-2025 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor Fischer and Members of City Council FROM: Chris Heineman, City Administrator Laura Linehan, Assistant City Administrator / Community Relations Manager DATE: February 26, 2025 RE: Strategic Planning Retreat Background and Data Overview ACTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED: For information and discussion purposes only. Staff is providing strategic plan background and several reports for consideration at the upcoming strategic planning workshop on February 28 and March 1. BACKGROUND: Prior to the adoption of the 2019 Strategic Plan, the City Council held annual goal-setting workshops with members of the Planning and Parks Commissions and representatives from other local community organizations. This process was effective in developing four to five goals or priorities but wasn’t aligned with the annual budget process. This lack of alignment hindered the development and implementation of a long-term vision. Therefore, following the seating of the 2018 elected council members, staff proposed engaging Hue Life to complete a city-wide strategic plan at a City Council workshop on February 13, 2019. The goal of the proposed strategic planning initiative was to establish a practical vision for the community and identify the city's steps to achieve that vision. Following several strategic planning sessions, interviews with Council members and Commission members, and feedback from staff, a five-year strategic plan was presented for City Council adoption on September 11, 2019. Four strategic directions shaping first-year imperatives and two-year results action items were adopted as part of the strategic plan. A majority of the 2019 strategic plan initiatives were accomplished by early 2022, despite the COVID- 19 pandemic. As a result, staff proposed a strategic planning update session with Hue Life on April 22 and April 23, 2022, to discuss accomplished items, future direction, and new initiatives. With the seating of several new City Council members in 2022, a strategic plan update was proposed rather than undertaking a new strategic planning process to ensure buy-in and continuity of strategic direction. At the April strategic plan update meetings, council members and staff participated in a session targeted at reviewing and re-envisioning the 2019 Strategic Plan. The 2022 Strategic Plan update was presented at the workshop on July 13, 2022, and was formally adopted by the City Council on September 28, 2022. To ensure strategic planning initiatives are continuing to fruition, staff established a re-occurring meeting every six weeks and has provided the City Council with updates regarding the status of the action items. Additionally, staff updates a public-facing progress report on the city website following the six-week check-in meetings.