Eugene staff report year‑2 progress on 2023–26 strategic plan; some KPIs show gains while housing and safety remain priorities

City staff presented a high‑level Year‑2 annual report on Eugene’s 2023–2026 strategic plan at the Sept. 10 City Council work session, summarizing progress across 15 strategic goals and describing how the plan drives departmental performance measures and upcoming budget work.

Jason Dedrick of the city manager’s office told the council the plan is organized around four focus areas — communications and outreach, urgent community needs, culture of belonging and organizational well‑being — and that each of the plan’s 15 goals now includes 1–3 key performance indicators intended to show whether the city is making progress.

Dedrick said some KPIs show measurable progress: the city is tracking “about two‑thirds” of the way toward its climate action tasks, and positive exits from city‑supported shelters are “trending in a good direction.” He noted the housing‑needs KPI currently shows the city meeting 79% of adopted housing needs. Dedrick emphasized the plan’s dynamic nature and said staff will use survey and operational data to adjust actions where necessary; he added that the plan sunsets in June 2027 and will be refreshed after the next community survey.

Examples of initiatives tied to plan goals - Public safety and downtown: the city cited a range of actions tied to safety KPIs, including downtown rapid response cleanup teams, the street crimes unit, community service officers, MyPD Connect online reporting and use of community safety payroll tax funds to support alternatives to traditional policing. - Homelessness and housing: staff highlighted shelter innovations, supportive services aimed at increasing positive exits from shelters and transitional housing partnerships; projects named included the city‑led mixed‑income development at 1059 Willamette and Ollie Court (a homes‑for‑good project on former city property). - Economic development and jobs: city staff pointed to state‑funded infrastructure plans for the Clear Lake area intended to increase job capacity on designated lands. - Climate and resilience: programs such as the SCORE energy program, equity‑focused tree planting and resilience investments (for example, solar at a Public Works yard) were cited to improve the city’s response capacity. - Organizational improvements: the city is increasing its data governance, offering continuous improvement training (Dedrick said more than 10% of staff have taken such training) and updating workplace policies to support staff retention and performance.

Council questions and concerns Councilors generally praised the level of measurement but pressed staff on limits and interpretation. Councilor Kaczynski asked how staff would handle goals where the current actions may not be sufficient to meet stated targets; Dedrick said the plan is intended to be dynamic and staff will reassess KPI choices, data sources and actions as they learn more.

Councilor Zelenka cited slide figures on shelter exits and housing costs, noting, “the percentage of people in that are homeless that exit to stabilized housing was 51 percent,” and observed that median home prices and rents have risen sharply over three years (slides noted median price up 11% and rent up 22% over that period). Several councilors urged better linking of KPIs to outcomes that matter to residents and more communication about budget trade‑offs.

Next steps and use of the plan Dedrick said the annual report is posted on the city website and will be used to inform departmental planning, budgeting, legislative outreach and cross‑departmental efforts where progress is lagging. He said staff will bring deeper KPI and trend data back to council as related work items arise, and that the city will continue to refine measures and data governance to improve decision making.

Ending Councilors and staff described the plan as a continuing management tool: staff will continue to refine KPIs and return with more detailed data for specific issues such as downtown safety, homelessness and housing during subsequent work sessions and budget briefings.