Tacoma council members form OSAC to coordinate administrative work; set biweekly Friday meetings

Mayor Victoria Woodards called to order the Operations Strategy and Administrative Committee special meeting on June 13, 2025, where council members agreed on the committee’s purpose, meeting design and schedule to coordinate council projects and staff work.

The committee, to be known as OSAC, will focus on coordinating council calendars and staff time, helping plan the city manager recruitment and charter-review work, and creating consistent tools for council communication, members said. Ben Thurgood, assistant director and the committee’s designated staff liaison, will assemble materials and invite subject-matter staff when needed. City Manager Hyung said he would use the committee as an avenue to prepare administrative recommendations during the interim period.

OSAC’s stated aim is to reduce duplication of effort and “deconflict” staff work by giving council members a single forum to surface, coordinate and prioritize administrative items before they go to the full council. “The thought of this committee came out of the last city manager’s review when we were talking about … how do we as a council share what we're working on, so that staff isn't going in 4 or 5 different directions,” Woodards said.

Committee members agreed the mayor will chair OSAC, with ad hoc substitutions when the mayor is unavailable. The group adopted a conversational meeting style (allowing back-and-forth discussion rather than strict slide‑by‑slide Q&A), but decided formal recommendations moving to the full council will be recorded as motions so they are clear in the public record. Members asked that minutes explicitly record the committee’s consensus on recommendations so staff and colleagues can act without ambiguity.

On logistics, members set a regular meeting cadence of every other Friday, 10:30 a.m.–noon, to coincide with existing “federal updates” Fridays where practical and to minimize schedule conflicts. Thurgood will work with staff to schedule recurring meetings and avoid clashes with meetings of the full council. Members also asked for an agenda template with standing items that include roll call and approval of minutes, the city manager moment (emerging items/priorities), the work-plan topic of the day, recap/next steps, and a brief communications reflection on how the committee’s outputs will be shared.

Members described OSAC’s immediate priorities to include the city manager recruitment process and council staffing questions. “I have to prepare the administrative moves I have to do … having that blessing or sanction from this committee would make wonderful sense as I take that recommendation to the full council,” City Manager Hyung said, referring to staffing and commission (CBC) support issues he plans to bring to the group.

Staff support expectations include circulating a meeting packet in advance, preparing one‑page templates showing the committee’s preferred data points for decision topics, and identifying subject-matter presenters (HR, Planning, etc.) when necessary. Members favored working drafts and staff recommendations that are conversational rather than highly formalized at first, with Thurgood serving as the facilitator and point person for packet assembly.

At the close of the meeting the committee confirmed its name (OSAC) and adjourned by voice vote after a motion to adjourn was made and seconded.

Looking ahead, OSAC members asked staff to prepare a draft work plan and a statement-of-purpose document before the next meeting and to bring materials to support discussion of the city manager recruitment and council staffing issues.