Hanford council reviews five strategic goals; asks staff to develop measurable objectives and funding pathways

Hanford City Council reviewed a staff report outlining five city goals adopted at a recent retreat and discussed which measurable objectives staff should prioritize and return with for mid‑year reporting.

The five goals presented were: quality of life, fiscal sustainability, outreach and open governance, customer service, and employer of choice. Staff asked council for direction on which measurable objectives to emphasize and how to sequence work given budget and staffing constraints.

Why it matters: the selected objectives will guide staff priorities, influence budget requests, and frame public reporting on city performance over the coming year.

Discussion highlights

- Measuring public safety and quality of life: several councilmembers noted that broad language such as “public feeling safe in all spaces” is difficult to quantify. Members suggested concrete measures tied to resources — for example, tracking the number of police officers or school resource officers funded through Measure H, response times, or crime statistics — so staff can show clear, quantifiable progress.

- Transient‑occupancy tax (TOT): staff flagged the possibility of placing a TOT increase on the ballot as early as November. Staff said Hanford’s current TOT is 8%; surrounding jurisdictions in the region have rates as high as about 12%. Councilmembers indicated interest in studying a TOT increase and returning with a study session focused on timing and revenue estimates.

- Communications and outreach: council discussed expanding communications capacity to support social media, video messaging and website maintenance. Councilmembers raised the option of hiring interns to assist with web content and social channels as a lower‑cost near‑term approach and noted the communications workload has grown beyond a single staff member’s capacity.

- Customer service, website maintenance and QR codes: staff and council discussed better maintaining the city website and using tools such as QR codes and weekly updates to make service information more accessible; some councilmembers urged fixing existing web maintenance gaps before adding new outreach channels.

- Employer‑of‑choice measures: council discussed ideas to recruit and retain staff, including examining hybrid work policies, exploring down‑payment assistance for employees as an incentive, and identifying grants or programs that could support employee housing incentives.

Next steps

Staff asked council for direction on priority measurable objectives to pursue and said it would return with more concrete proposals and mid‑year reporting plans. Specifically, staff will prepare options for (1) measurable safety objectives tied to personnel and performance metrics; (2) a study of TOT options and ballot timing; and (3) communications capacity options including internship models and budget implications.