HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Councilmember Item - Councilmember Peterson - HuntingtoCITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
City Council Interoffice Communication
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
From: Erik Peterson, City Council Member
Date: June 29, 2015
Subject: CITY COUNCIL MEMBER ITEM FOR THE JULY 6, 2015, CITY
COUNCIL MEETING— HUNTINGTON BEACH STRATEGIC PLAN
AND STRATEGIC PLAN RETREAT
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
For the past few years, our City Council and the city's management staff have been
participating in developing an ongoing Strategic Plan Retreat with various goals
Though having and setting goals helps with the management of a City, I believe the
method in doing so is flawed
Like most municipal governments, Huntington Beach is made up of policy -makers (the
City Council), management (the city's management staff), and the people who get
things done (the city's staff) The elected policy -makers review, amend, remove, and
institute city policies
The city's management implements these policies though the rest of the city's staff If a
City Council Member wishes to add, remove, or make a new policy, he/she can do so
through the normal Council Item Agendizing process If management wants to
introduce something to the Council to be added, removed, or reviewed, they can do so
though our City Manager by a Request for Council Action In both cases, the public is
informed of the proposal and can participate through public comment and
correspondence on every single issue raised
The current practice of these all -day, weekday retreats, known as "Strategic Plan
Retreats," to discuss potential new policies and/or city goals, is not the best approach
for including or maximizing public participation Furthermore, Items discussed at these
Strategic Plan Retreats are not always properly agenized This inhibits the public to
comment on items during Public Comments because the public doesn't necessarily
know what will be discussed at the Strategic Plan Retreat
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommend that City Council be removed from the Strategic Planning Retreat and if
the city management wishes to have a Strategic Plan Retreat, the results of that Retreat
should be presented to Council for consideration at a normal Council Meeting
xc Fred Wilson, City Manager
Ken Domer, Assistant City Manager
Joan Flynn, City Clerk
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