TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Nadine Nader, Assistant City Manager
Kendra Davis, Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
City Council Retreat: May 3, 2017 (Assistant City Manager Nader).
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Recommended Action
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
No fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
In March 2017, the City held its General Municipal Election for three City Council seats and the position of City Treasurer. After receiving the certified election results from LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office, three new Councilmembers and the re-elected City Treasurer were sworn in.
Historically, a City Council retreat has been held to integrate and orient a new City Council and to provide an opportunity to discuss expectations of the City Council and City Manager, the priorities of the Councilmembers and current City initiatives. At the retreat on May 3, 2017, Councilmembers will have the opportunity to discuss the following:
• City’s current and proposed budget and its financial position;
• Current workload and Work Plan;
• City Council meeting procedures
Julia Novak will facilitate this City Council Retreat. Ms. Novak assisted the City Council in creating its current Strategic Plan, which was adopted in January 2016. During that process, she facilitated two City Council retreats, two community meetings and interviews with internal staff to help construct the Strategic Plan. She is well-versed in assisting elected officials in establishing a foundation for shared governance and navigating the imprecise nature of good governance. For more information on Julia, please visit <http://thenovakconsultinggroup.com/>.
As stated before, the documents attached to this report are intended to serve as reference materials for the City Council to review in preparation for its discussions at the retreat.
DISCUSSION:
This retreat provides an opportunity for the newly formed City Council to work together as a governing body and discuss City Council priorities, expectations, resource capacity and their roles and responsibilities. This discussion will provide a foundation moving forward as the City Council is asked to approve the second year of the City’s two-year budget for FY 2017-2018 and the proposed five-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for FY 2017-2021, as well as provide direction on future policy initiatives.
• Governing Together: City Council will explore a series of questions (Attachment 1) that share their individual thoughts on what it means to govern well and govern together. This will demonstrate the metrics of success for individuals, as well as create an outline for how the group hopes to succeed.
• Expectations and Obligations: The City Council will share the expectations they have for their colleagues and the City Manager. It will also give the City Manager an opportunity to share expectations the organization has of the City Council. Together, the City Council and the City Manager will identify shared expectations and create mechanisms for holding one another accountable to these expectations as the groups work together. Also included are examples of expectations and obligations that the City Manager has shared in the past (Attachment 2).
• Governance Roles: Facilitator Julia Novak will introduce six governance roles that she and Dr. John Nalbandian have identified as being necessary for the Mayor and City Council to fulfill as they govern. They will also look at how those roles contribute to or detract from group effectiveness (Attachment 3).
• Budget Overview: The City’s Finance Director will provide an update on the FY 2016-2017 Budget and a review of the FY 2017-2018 Proposed Budget. Additionally, historical staffing information, pension information, past program service level changes in response to organizational and community needs, and other budget-related information will be discussed.
• Organizational Workload / Work Plan: Along with the City’s Executive Staff, the City Council will review the City’s Strategic Plan (Attachment 4), which was approved in January 2016, as well as the City’s Work Plan (Attachment 5). This will give them a better idea of the priorities established by the previous City Council and the current workload of City Staff. The City Council will also be asked to review the list of recent City Council referrals and projects that are pending further City Council direction. The City Manager will share a workload assessment tool, which will be used by staff to respond to City Council referrals that may require a reprioritization of work (Attachment 6).
• Priorities: The City Council will be asked to outline how their priorities connect to the City’s Strategic Plan and current Work Plan and engaged in a goal-setting session.
• Procedures and Protocols: The City Attorney and City Manager will review common procedures and protocols for the City Council, including the meeting management protocols (Attachment 7), agenda structure (Attachment 8), how future agenda items are recorded and recommended (Attachment 9), City Council review of Planning Commission items (Attachment 10), and more.
• Resource Appendix: (Attachment 11) This appendix contains items that the City Council may find helpful as resources, including a matrix of resource-heavy Major Projects currently underway, a list of efficiencies achieved within the City by department, an article written by Dr. John Nalbandian that may contribute to the City Council discussion on City Council roles and responsibilities, and the City’s Sunshine Policy.
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
The City noticed this meeting using its standard protocol, which includes publication of the agenda on the City website at least six days in advance, e-notification to subscribers and posts on all social media platforms. The agenda packet for this retreat was also made available at City Hall, the Manhattan Beach Public Library and the Manhattan Beach Police Station.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
Attachments:
1. Governing Together Questions
2. Expectations and Obligations from Previous City Council Retreats
3. Governance Roles
4. City-wide Strategic Plan
5. City Work Plan
6. Workload Assessment
7. Resolution No. 16-0049
8. Sample City Council Agenda
9. Forecast Agenda
10. Municipal Code Chapter Addressing City Council Review
11. Resource Appendix