The Sunnyvale City Council voted 5-0 Wednesday to adopt a series of changes to how it receives, vets and advances proposals from council members, boards and commissions, including renaming so-called "study issues" as "council priority projects." Mayor Klein, Vice Mayor Sall, and Council members Mellinger, Srinivasan and Chang voted for the change; Council members Cisneros and Lay were absent and the vote carried 5-0.

The revisions were presented by consultant Jan Perkins and city staff as a package intended to cut staff workload, clarify terminology and accelerate projects the council identifies as priorities. "We're recommending that for clarity that we rename those study issues as council priority projects," Perkins told the council during the presentation of the final report. The consultant described 15 recommendations grouped around the proposal phase, implementation and resourcing.

City staff and the consultant told council that the current process generated dozens of study papers each year and that much staff time was spent preparing papers that never advanced. The new process eliminates most of those write-ups up front, cancels the January study-issues public hearing, and instead consolidates discussion into a broader February workshop that includes a fiscal outlook, staff capacity review and a focused review of a limited set of council priority projects proposed by council members.

Under the new rules, each council member may sponsor up to three council priority project proposals for the coming year; boards and commissions will be offered one annual opportunity to suggest items for inclusion. Staff proposed clearer written forms for proposals and a tighter timeline so items do not drift year-to-year. The plan also calls for a publicly available project dashboard for status updates and a one-year time limit on items that are deferred repeatedly.

Council members asked for safeguards for smaller "just do it" items that do not rise to priority-project status; city manager Tim Kirby and staff said they expect many such items to continue to move through direct city-manager discussions and routine budget amendments rather than formal study papers. The approved policies also allow council to amend the approach if it does not perform as intended.

The council and staff framed the changes as process improvements rather than a narrowing of council authority. "This is about the working relationship between staff and council," Kirby said during the debate, adding the changes could be adjusted after a trial period. Supporters said the changes will free staff time for implementation and reduce the number of proposals that sit in limbo for years.

The council directed staff to post the new policy language and to implement the transition plan for the coming budget cycle. The motion carried 5-0 with Council members Cisneros and Lay absent.