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Council sets timetable to define priorities and schedule strategic-planning workshop; adopts 5-minute general-public comment limit
Summary
Council agreed to hold a strategic-planning kickoff in June and two July workshops to prioritize work aligned with the city plan; councilors also amended meeting rules to allow up to five minutes for general-public appearances and discussed adopting group norms and revising committee and staff-role policies.
Councilors discussed how to convert the city plan into an actionable annual or strategic plan that will guide the council’s agendas and budgeting. Staff proposed a two-part July workshop series (July 9 and July 23) to identify top priorities and to translate them into an annual work plan. Several councilors urged moving more quickly and holding a special meeting in June to decide the structure and scope of the plan so staff can start the work sooner.
City Manager Kathleen Murphy and staff said they would "clear the decks" in May and June to prepare materials and sought council guidance on whether a narrow, short-term work plan (two to three goals) or a broader strategic plan mapped to the city plan’s chapters was preferred. Councilors and staff agreed to schedule an earlier June session to define the format and then follow with the July workshops to set priorities and timelines.
On related governance items, council reviewed draft rules of procedure and group norms. Council discussed public-comment timing and approved a change increasing the default time for general business/public appearances from three minutes to five minutes; council removed a conflicting rule limiting general-appearance subjects to 10 minutes. Councilors also asked staff to revisit material for gender-neutral language in ordinances and to consider visible reminders of group norms in meeting spaces.
Ending: Staff will propose dates for a June priority-setting meeting and will proceed with the July workshops if the council confirms the approach; updated rules of procedure and group norms will be published and staff will follow up on ordinance language cleanup and meeting-technology adjustments.
