Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Metrics Dashboard topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners debate KPIs and public dashboard as metrics ad hoc seeks quick wins
Summary
The metrics ad hoc discussed turning 49 climate strategies into operational KPIs (bike racks, EV chargers, square feet of turf removed), weighed earth-system indicators versus local operational measures, and agreed members should submit a top-10 priority list to guide a dashboard and a single web-page KPI display.
Commissioner McCloskey and other metrics committee members described efforts to convert the Climate Action Strategies' 49 actions into measurable indicators. The discussion focused on practical, operational measures that can be counted now (for example, number of bike racks, EV charger installations, square feet removed under Cash for Turf) versus higher-level "earth-system" metrics that are more complex to attribute to local action.
McCloskey argued for a pragmatic approach: start with operational indicators the city can track and publish. "There are two types of metrics here: one are the high concepts... and there are other metrics that are going on that have to do with if the city was a winery... we need to cross the line of visibility, bottle it, and get it out to the public," McCloskey said.
Staff and ad hoc members noted limitations: the city website is paused for an ADA compliance upgrade and the city lacks a dedicated web manager to publish a dashboard. Antoinette said the county SCTCA (regional climate authority) already runs a public dashboard and staff are exploring whether Sonoma City can leverage that tool instead of building a standalone system. "We don't anticipate launching anything until the end of the year," Antoinette said regarding a city public dashboard.
Members proposed short-term, accessible KPIs the city could surface quickly: counts of EV charger permits, linear feet of bike lanes, acres or square feet of turf rebates claimed, and a baseline tree inventory. Several commissioners recommended a simple, single-page display with 4-6 operational KPIs while preserving separate strategic indicators tied to greenhouse gas inventories.
The committee asked each member to return their top 10 priority actions from the list of 49 to Antoinette as a pragmatic next step. Staff will continue to explore county tools and third-party software while working on data collection and baseline establishment.
The commission did not adopt any final KPI list or software contract at the meeting; the ad hoc will continue work and report back with a prioritized set of indicators and proposed publication schedule.
