San Mateo council studies draft strategic plan; members press for clearer fiscal language and public context

At a Sept. 2 special session of the San Mateo City Council, Zach Grama, senior management analyst in the city manager’s office, presented a draft city strategic plan and asked the council for feedback on structure, priorities and the proposed planning calendar.

The draft, Grama said, sets a mission and values, identifies 10 strategic initiatives and highlights four priority initiatives—climate resiliency, transportation, infrastructure and housing—that staff say need additional resources. It also proposes a set of SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time‑bound) activities, regular reporting and an annual “Blue Sky” meeting to align strategy and the biennial budget.

Council members said the framework will be useful but asked staff to make a short contextual summary available to the public, and several urged stronger, explicit wording on fiscal responsibility. “This document is so necessary, and it's going to be so foundational,” Council Member Diaz Nash said. “Fiscal responsibility needs to be called way up in priority.”

Grama told the council the draft leans on the city’s General Plan 2040 and other existing analyses, and that staff can add an environmental overview or a brief SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) summary if the council wants it included in the public document. He said staff intend the strategic plan to be a living document that will be updated as activities and funding change.

Key elements presented

- Mission and values: The draft mission reads, in part, to “cultivate a vibrant, safe community through collaboration, innovation, and sustainability.” Values cited include prosperity, inclusivity, diversity, resiliency and integrity; staff noted four values were drawn from the General Plan 2040 and integrity was added by council direction from an earlier off‑site meeting.

- Priority initiatives and SMART activities: The plan organizes long‑range concerns into initiatives, and the top four priority initiatives are targeted for additional directional and financial support. Staff showed an example SMART activity for infrastructure: a construction project to address structural and accessibility issues at the Marina Library scheduled for work in 2025–26 with completion targeted by February 2027.

- Reporting and cadence: Staff recommended twice‑annual status reports on SMART activities and outlined a calendar that links the Blue Sky meeting, two report‑outs (one in November and one in May), and the budget adoption process so the council and public can track progress and resource alignment.

Council comments and staff responses

Several council members asked that innovation be both visible in the plan text and measurable through the SMART activity reporting. Diaz Nash suggested adding a short public‑facing context page (a SWOT summary) so newcomers can understand the sources that informed the priorities; other members supported that approach.

On fiscal matters, council members pressed for clearer emphasis. Grama and other staff noted fiscal sustainability is embedded in the organizational health and good governance initiative and offered to add or strengthen language so it appears more prominently among values or goals. The council discussed retaining flexibility to add or reprioritize activities midcycle if urgent needs arise, with staff saying the plan is intended to be adaptable and that Council direction given outside the Blue Sky process would be incorporated and could be used to reprioritize existing SMART activities.

Why it matters

Staff said the plan will act as a framework for council decision‑making and for aligning the upcoming two‑year budget and future Blue Sky priority setting. Council members said clearer public context and explicit fiscal wording will help the document function as a lasting public guide rather than a document that “goes on a shelf.”

Next steps

Staff will prepare a short public summary (including a one‑page context/SWOT overview if the council agrees), refine language on fiscal sustainability and innovation, and return the draft strategic plan to the council for formal adoption. Staff said a finalized list of FY 2026–27 SMART activities and core services will be brought to council for feedback in spring 2026. No formal action or vote was taken on the draft plan at the Sept. 2 study session.