City of Alameda - File #: 2023-3366

• File #: 2023-3366
• Type: Regular Agenda Item
• Body: City Council
• On agenda: 9/19/2023
• Title: Work Session on the Draft City of Alameda Three-Year Strategic Plan (Fiscal Years 2023-2026). (City Manager 10021030)

Title

Work Session on the Draft City of Alameda Three-Year Strategic Plan (Fiscal Years 2023-2026). (City Manager 10021030)

Body

To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council

From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The City of Alameda’s (City) draft three-year Strategic Plan (2023-2026) (Exhibit 1) outlines the projects planned to help accomplish the City Council’s vision and priorities and shape the future of the City. While the City Council can make modifications to the Strategic Plan at any time throughout the year, each year, staff will provide City Council with a formal progress report on the Strategic Plan that includes revised project lists for City Council review and approval.  Then, every three years, City Council will revisit the vision and priorities and create a new Strategic Plan.   

City Council most recently met about the Strategic Plan on April 24, 2023, to review and prioritize an initial list of projects. Staff then launched an employee and community engagement effort and worked with the City’s Executive Management Team (EMT) to refine these project lists and their proposed timelines. The input received by City Council, community, and staff was reviewed and incorporated into the draft Strategic Plan now before City Council for feedback. Staff will then incorporate this additional feedback into a final Strategic Plan that will return to City Council before the end of the year for approval.

BACKGROUND

A strategic plan is a vital tool for local governments to ensure that the vision and strategic priorities set by the City Council are clearly communicated to employees and the community, that projects are developed to meet City Council priorities, and that City government is accountable for meeting community needs and priorities.

On December 8, 2022, the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to create a Strategic Plan for the City. One proposal was received and CivicMakers, a strategic consultancy firm that specializes in strategic planning, community engagement, and program and service design, was selected. On February 7, 2023, City Council approved an agreement with CivicMakers to draft a three-year Strategic Plan for the City.

CivicMakers began the project by interviewing the Mayor, Vice Mayor, and City Councilmembers individually to learn about the vision and high-level priorities of each City Councilmember and receive their input on the strategic planning process.

City Council Workshops

On March 6, 2023, the City Council participated in a public workshop with CivicMakers and the City’s EMT. The workshop focused on developing a shared vision for the future of Alameda and understanding the strategic priority areas necessary to achieve that vision. CivicMakers led an interactive discussion to lift up feedback from the City Council and workshop participants. 

Using feedback received at the March 6 workshop, City staff drafted project lists to help accomplish the City Council’s draft strategic priorities. CivicMakers then surveyed the City Council and EMT to solicit preliminary feedback on an updated vision, strategic priorities, and proposed projects. This work helped clarify which projects would be considered in the draft Strategic Plan.

On April 24, 2023, the City Council participated in a second public workshop with EMT and CivicMakers in the community room at Mastick Senior Center. Significant work was accomplished, including reviewing and revising the draft vision statement, strategic priority areas, and associated project lists, as well as hearing from the public. Exhibits 2 and 3 provide summaries of the feedback provided at both retreats.

Community and Staff Engagement

Using the materials produced for the City Council workshop, staff launched a community and staff engagement effort to provide information about the draft Strategic Plan being developed, answer questions, and seek feedback. Engagement opportunities for community members included four in-person pop-up workshops with more than 100 participants at well-trafficked locations around the city (see table below for dates and locations), two online workshops, and an online survey shared on the City’s website, social media, and at events, which received 868 responses. Of note was the variety of the feedback received and the shared sentiment of feeling lucky to live in Alameda and grateful for the opportunity to participate. 

Pop-up Workshops for Community Input

Engagement opportunities for City staff included department staff meetings, an all staff Zoom meeting, interactive posters on display at twelve locations (for staff to review information and add comments in real time), and an online survey that was shared by email and received 112 responses.

Interactive posters for staff input

The online survey asked the same questions of staff and the community, and included a draft vision statement and strategic priority areas, draft project lists, and the ability to share open-ended feedback. Data was collected separately from staff and community members.

Engagement Dates and Locations

Community Pop-Ups • Tuesday, May 30, 9am-1pm, Alameda Farmers Market • Tuesday, May 30, 6-7pm, Zoom  • Friday, June 2, 12-1pm, Zoom  • Saturday, June 3, 9am-1pm, Alameda Farmers Market  • Monday, June 5, 5-6pm, Lincoln Park • Tuesday, June 6, 6-7pm, City Hall

Staff Gallery Walks • City Hall (1) • City Hall West (1)  • Alameda Municipal Power (1) • Alameda Free Library (1) • Police Station (1) • Fire Stations (4) • Recreation & Parks (1) • Maintenance Service Center (1) • Fleet Garage (1)

 The feedback received on the draft vision statement and strategic priority areas was generally positive, with both staff and community members supportive of the language used. However, there were some differences in the feedback received, with community members placing more importance on infrastructure and City staff emphasizing public transportation. Here are highlights from the feedback gathered:

•                     Both City staff and community members generally prioritized issues under housing and safety the most, agreeing on the need for more affordable housing and in support of expanding police presence in high crime areas.

•                     Both City staff and community members desire more direct prioritization of diversity, equity, and inclusion, specifically around equitable access to qualify of life resources (i.e. mental health services, housing, ADA resources).

•                     Community members place more importance on infrastructure, specifically a desire for the City to invest in infrastructure that supports car usage and is environmentally friendly.

•                     City staff emphasized the importance of investing in public transportation due to the City adding more housing and projecting an increase in Alameda’s population.

Please see Exhibit 4 for a comprehensive report of the feedback received throughout our community and staff engagement efforts.

DISCUSSION

Draft Strategic Plan

The City Manager’s Office and CivicMakers used the feedback received from our engagement efforts to prepare a draft Strategic Plan that will guide the City's priorities for the next three fiscal years. Please see Exhibit 1 to review the draft Strategic Plan, which includes a Vision Statement, an expanded Vision Statement, five Strategic Priority areas, and a series of workplan projects that are aligned with the City Council’s Strategic Priorities.

The draft plan organizes workplan projects by Strategic Priority area, project timeline, and the City departments leading or supporting each project, as shown in the graphic below.

What’s Included in the Draft Strategic Plan?

The projects included in the draft Strategic Plan reflect the following iceberg illustration, where projects that fall under the City’s Strategic Priority areas lie above the surface. Essential operations and completed projects that require ongoing monitoring and attention become part of the City’s day-to-day work of providing services to the public.

Following the City’s robust outreach efforts, staff reviewed the project lists carefully and removed projects that fell into the category of providing ongoing essential services and had already been completed, as well as added projects that for various reasons had not been added into the draft three-year Strategic Plan.

During this process, staff identified four projects that require additional direction from the City Council before being adding to the workplan:

o                     Establish a cell tower leasing policy;

o                     Make Narcan (naloxone) available to the community to prevent opioid overdoses;

o                     Consider developer assessments/fees to help fund climate mitigation projects; and

o                     Review public participation at City Council meetings.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

The City’s draft vision, strategic priorities, and project lists are anchored in equity, meaning that the City is committed to putting equity at the forefront of our decision-making to ensure that we are meeting the needs of all Alameda residents. As a first step, the City is creating a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Plan that will be transmitted to the City Council later this year. The City intends to work with employees across all departments to implement the DEIB Plan.

Next Steps

Staff will incorporate feedback into a final plan for City Council approval by the end of this year. For ongoing monitoring and updating of this three-year Strategic Plan (2023-2026), staff will provide semi-annual progress reports to City Council, included with the regular budget cycle.  Additionally, all staff reports for City Council agendas will include a reference to any corresponding strategic priorities. City Council will also review and update all Strategic Plan projects annually, aligned with the budget cycle.

ALTERNATIVES

•                     Provide specific feedback for incorporation into the three-year Strategic Plan that will be brought back to City Council for final approval.

FINANCIAL IMPACT

There is no financial impact to the City from providing feedback on the draft Strategic Plan. However, projects identified in the plan may require financial contributions from the City that would be subject to future City Council approval.

MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE

This action is consistent with the Alameda Municipal Code.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

This action does not constitute a “project” as defined in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 and therefore no further CEQA analysis is required.

CLIMATE IMPACT

There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the feedback on this report.  However, there are numerous projects in the Strategic Plan that are in alignment with the City’s adopted Climate Action and Resiliency Plan and are intended to address sea level rise, reduce greenhouse gases and address resiliency.

RECOMMENDATION

Provide feedback on the draft City of Alameda three-year Strategic Plan.

Respectfully submitted,

Sarah Henry, Communications and Legislative Affairs Officer

Financial Impact section reviewed,

Margaret O’Brien, Finance Director

Exhibits: 

1.                     Draft Strategic Plan

2.                     City Council Strategic Retreat #1 Summary Report

3.                     City Council Strategic Retreat #2 Summary Report

4.                     Community and Staff Engagement Report