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City administrator outlines approach for Portland council’s strategic priorities
Summary
City Administrator Raymond Lee told the governance committee that facilitated retreats, pre‑work and clear metrics can help the council set priorities and align administration and elected leaders; members debated timeline and whether to use an outside facilitator before the budget.
City Administrator Raymond Lee met with Portland’s governance committee on Jan. 12 to discuss how the council might set and track its strategic priorities through retreats, pre‑work and periodic check‑ins.
Lee recommended facilitated, intentional sessions — in some cases multi‑day retreats — and said pre‑work should focus council members on the essential "must‑do" items for the city and how success will be measured. "What I would say for some of the pre work, really think about what are those key things that you say the city has to do no matter what," Lee told the committee.
Why it matters: Lee said clearly defined priorities help administration align budgeting, staffing and performance measurement to council direction. He urged quarterly check‑ins and dashboards to show progress and recommended civic engagement to shape broader strategic planning beyond a single priority‑setting session.
Committee questions and timing: Members asked whether the Jan. 31 deadline for an initial conversation is feasible and whether an outside facilitator should lead the session or the city administrator. Some members favored a rapid, staff‑led process to inform budget discussions; others urged caution, saying a thin or poorly facilitated session risks wasting participants’ time.
Vice Chair Ryan urged concrete pre‑work — a short list of top priorities from each councilor and a shared glossary of terms (goals vs. priorities vs. strategies) to keep the process focused. Several members said initial work should be used to inform the budget and that a deeper retreat could follow later in the year.
Next steps: The committee agreed to begin pre‑work immediately, with staff and the city administrator coordinating facilitator options and timing; the committee planned follow‑up before the full council work session. The session was a discussion item only and did not include any formal votes.
