City manager outlines six priority initiatives, referral process and near-term projects; council receives report

The Bakersfield City Manager presented the city’s annual work plan and referral-tracking process to the City Council on Aug. 27, detailing six priority initiatives, an operational review of departments, and a list of near-term projects staff will pursue. Council voted to receive and file the report.

The manager said the council’s six priorities are enhancing criminal justice accountability (with a focus on jail bed capacity and regional diversion), revitalizing the urban core, completing undeveloped parks, improving performance management and internal efficiency, advancing a Habitat Conservation Plan, and pursuing smart growth and master-planned communities.

On parks, the city manager said the MLK Park phase one project recently received a federal grant of $11 million to build the first half of the park. The manager also described a downtown vision plan and a specific redevelopment plan for Chester Avenue, plans for a parking pilot supported by a grant to implement electronic parking monitoring and payments, and continued work on historic-preservation tools including the Mills Act for eligible downtown properties.

On permitting and development, staff reported rollout of an electronic permitting program that created “instant permits” for some high-volume permit types that the manager said can be processed in “10 or 15 minutes,” and described ongoing permit streamlining for larger reviews such as site plan review. The city is also preparing RFPs for downtown and neighborhood planning processes and advancing an ADU incentive program with an administrator contract expected this fall.

The manager said the Habitat Conservation Plan framework is supported by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and that the plan will require an environmental impact report (EIR), which the manager estimated could take through the end of the fiscal year or longer. An urban conservation easement is being developed in parallel.

On internal operations, staff described an operational review of departments to identify efficiencies and possible staffing adjustments tied to the budget process, a staffing study, and development of data dashboards and performance-management automation. The manager also said the police department will implement a real-time information center intended as a “force multiplier,” and the fire department will receive inspection-efficiency tools.

Councilmembers asked questions about pacing, measurement and council engagement. Council member Coleman requested council workshops on operational-review findings; the manager said staff will provide workshops after the first quarter and return recommendations when service-level changes or policy revisions are needed. Council member Weir criticized the pace of progress and urged clearer visioning and targets.

The manager described the city’s referral-tracking approach: staff log formal referrals from the dais, categorize referrals and sometimes apply a four-hour rule that limits initial staff time spent on a referral to four hours before returning to council with a recommendation about whether to continue. The manager said most referrals now fall outside the six priorities and staff are focusing resources on referrals tied to those priorities.

At the end of the discussion the council voted to receive and file the report; the clerk recorded the motion as approved with Council members Arias and Gonzalez absent and Council member Weir voting no. The meeting later recessed to a closed session on unrelated litigation and reconvened before adjourning.