The Portland City Council voted Thursday to adopt a new annual process for setting council strategic priorities, a procedural move sponsors said is intended to create a clearer collective focus for the new form of government.

The resolution establishes an annual period in January for council to identify shared priorities, objectives and measurable outcomes. It authorizes the city administrator and council leadership to work together on pre-work and facilitation logistics and asks that a strategic framework be presented as a resolution no later than Feb. 28 each year.

During lengthy debate, councilors proposed and voted on multiple amendments aimed at clarifying who will facilitate the meetings and how disagreement should be recorded. Councilor Kunal and others proposed an amendment clarifying that the city administrator and council leadership would jointly determine facilitators and that subject-matter experts from the administrator's office be invited to participate; that amendment passed. Councilor Avalos successfully moved an amendment requiring the final framework to "clearly identify areas of consensus, areas of divergence, and unresolved priorities" and to require a one-year review of the process; that amendment also passed.

Several councilors voiced concerns that a strategic framework must not be used as a gatekeeping tool to delay or block individual councilors from introducing legislation. Sponsors said the framework is advisory and would not limit councilors' legislative rights; several councilors asked that the manuscript be revisited after one year to evaluate effects on equity, committee autonomy and legislative responsiveness.

The final resolution passed on Thursday with a recorded vote of 10-2 in favor.

Next steps: The mayor's office, city administrator and council leadership will coordinate facilitator selection and pre-work. Council expects to hold the first formal strategic-priority sessions in January and to place the resulting framework on the February council agenda.