06-01-2009 City Council Special Meeting PacketCity of Grand Island
Monday, June 01, 2009
Special Study Session Packet
City Council:Mayor:
Margaret Hornady
City Administrator:
Jeff Pederson
City Clerk:
RaNae Edwards
M
o
6:00:00 PM
Edith Abbott Memorial Library
211 N. Washington Street
Larry Carney
Scott Dugan
John Gericke
Peg Gilbert
Chuck Haase
Robert Meyer
Mitchell Nickerson
Bob Niemann
Kirk Ramsey
Jose Zapata
Call to OrderCity of Grand Island City Council
A - SUBMITTAL OF REQUESTS FOR FUTURE ITEMS
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notification will be provided. If the item is scheduled for a meeting or study session, notification of the date will be given.
B - RESERVE TIME TO SPEAK ON AGENDA ITEMS
This is an opportunity for individuals wishing to provide input on any of tonight's agenda items to reserve time to speak.
Please come forward, state your name and address, and the Agenda topic on which you will be speaking.
MAYOR COMMUNICATION
This is an opportunity for the Mayor to comment on current events, activities, and issues of interest to the community.
Call to Order
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call
This is an open meeting of the Grand Island City Council. The City of Grand Island abides by the Open Meetings Act
in conducting business. A copy of the Open Meetings Act is displayed in the back of this room as required by state
law.
The City Council may vote to go into Closed Session on any agenda item as allowed by state law.
City of Grand Island City Council
Item -1
City Council Goals Retreat
Monday, June 01, 2009
Special Study Session
City of Grand Island
Staff Contact: Jeff Pederson
City of Grand Island City Council
Council Agenda Memo
From: Jeff Pederson, City Administrator
Meeting: May 1 & 2, 2009
Subject: City Council Goal Retreat
Item #’s: 1
Presenter(s): Jeff Pederson, City Administrator
Chris Fabian, Senior Management Advisor, ICMA
Jon Johnson, Senior Management Advisor, ICMA
Background
A City Council Special Study Session Retreat was held February 21, 2009 with the
primary focus on the general fund budget, capital improvement plan prioritization and
goal setting. Work was begun that day on a new set of City Council goals, however time
did not permit completion of that process.
Following adoption of the current City Budget in the Fall of 2009, I initiated several
activities aimed at addressing fiscal and financial challenges that the budget process had
exposed to me. One of those activities was the development of the Financial Trend
Monitoring System, which is a diagnostic tool that helps us understand the current
fiscal/financial condition of the City looking backwards. This was a collaborative effort
of several of the management staff, and the FTMS was presented to the City Council on
January 20 of this year.
Concurrently, City administration began a process to identify a framework to use to
pursue long-term fiscal and financial stability. On December 12 of 2008, City
administrative staff and Mayor Hornady participated in an ICMA webcast entitled “Fiscal
Distress”, “How to Identify the Right Solutions”. Central to the presentation was the
theme of improving fiscal health and wellness through a multitude of tools and policies
including historical trend monitoring. It is my belief that the information in the webcast
was both consistent with the direction that we want to head and could be very useful in
creating a road-map for the process.
Associated with this is the concept of using prioritization as the focus for the setting of
goals as well as the allocation of resources. Prioritization requires the City Council to
identify (or re-establish) it’s high-level goals for the City, which will then serve as a basis
for decisions on the funding of programs within the City budget.
Preparation of the Proposed 2010-2011 City Budget is underway. I held a Budget Focus
Workshop with Department Directors on March 25, during which information was shared
and discussed with respect to the major issues of the budget. As part of the budget
request process, department directors were asked to prepare an inventory of all programs
within their respective budgets. The process of doing this re-acquainted Department
Directors with all programs currently in place in their Departments, and it put them in a
position to begin to prioritize programs for future funding decisions based on the priority
of the programs as each relates to the major goals of the City.
Discussion
The International City/County Managers Association (ICMA) will facilitate a goal and
mapping exercise to achieve a defined set of strategic goals and objectives. Staff will
gain council guidance for the budget process and overall service delivery through
strategic goal planning but more significantly this will become the commencement of
achieving fiscal health and wellness through prioritization if desired by council.
The City of Grand Island is considering Fiscal Health and Wellness, with specific
emphasis on the Prioritization Process, as a means to achieve a “lasting paradigm shift”
in the way the organization approaches goal-setting, decision-making, resource allocation
and service delivery. The following proposal overview is developed to outline ICMA’s
recommended path to Prioritization, in addition to these essential project objectives:
§ Develop an inventory of all programs and services offered by the City.
§ Identify the costs associated with offering each program and service.
§ Establish and articulate the core goals and objectives of the City to external as
well as internal stakeholders, thus providing a “roadmap” to determine that
decisions made are leading Grand Island in the “right direction”.
§ Involve the City Council in establishing strategic goals, results and outcomes
thus setting the direction for City management and staff to develop and
undertake specific strategies, initiatives and projects in support of these
broad, high-level objectives.
§ Undertake a strategic process that will achieve these objectives without forcing
the organization to move at a faster pace than it is currently positioned to do, thus
ensuring a successful shift in direction and philosophy.
An agenda, goals, and Public Management article “Getting Your Priorities Straight” are
attached.
Recommendation
It is recommended that City Council create a set of Strategic Goals and Objectives to
assist staff and council in appropriately guiding the long range planning of the City’s
services, programs, and capital projects.
Page 1 of 1
City of Grand Island City Council Study Session Agenda
Monday, June 1st & Tuesday, June 2nd 2009
The City of Grand Island is embarking upon Fiscal Health & Wellness, with specific emphasis on
the Prioritization process, as a means to achieve a “lasting paradigm shift” in the way the
organization approaches goal-setting, decision-making, resource allocation and service delivery.
Two City Council Study Sessions will serve to establish the foundation of Prioritization –
identifying and defining the City’s Goals. These Goals are critical to Prioritization, in that they
will provide the basis for evaluating the City’s programs.
Workshop Objectives
§ Introduce the concepts and process associated with Fiscal Health & Wellness model,
with specific emphasis on the Prioritization process,
§ Provide forum for City Council to ask questions, and get answers to questions they have
about the objectives of Fiscal Health & Wellness, and how the approach could work in
the City of Grand Island,
§ Validate, Adjust and Ultimately Finalize City of Grand Island’s Goals (which will serve as
the foundation for the City’s Prioritization process)
§ Define the City’s Goals by way of “Goal-mapping” technique
Study Session Agenda (Day 1 and Day 2)
§ Introduction (City Administrator Jeff Pederson)
§ Fiscal Wellness Presentation – “Prioritization” – (Jon Johnson and Chris Fabian)
§ Facilitated Discussion: City of Grand Island Goals – (Jon Johnson and Chris Fabian)
· Review Product of City’s Goal-setting Work from Spring 2009, and Address:
§ What are our Goals (as differentiated from our values, initiatives, etc)?
§ Are our Goals comprehensive (is there anything missing)?
· Validate and Finalize City of Grand Island’s Goals
§ Facilitated Goal Mapping Exercise – (Jon Johnson and Chris Fabian)
· Define each Goal, through Goal-mapping Technique
· Consider “Governance” Goal for Governance Programs
§ Integration of Prioritization with Budget Process – (Jon Johnson and Chris Fabian)
§ Next Steps – (City Administrator Jeff Pederson)
CITY OF GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA
MINUTES OF CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL STUDY SESSION (RETREAT)
February 21, 2009
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a Special Study Session (Retreat) of the City Council of
the City of Grand Island, Nebraska was conducted at the Law Enforcement Center, 111 Public
Safety Drive on February 21, 2009. Notice of the meeting was given in the Grand Island
Independent on February 11, 2009.
Mayor Margaret Hornady called the meeting to order at 8:40 a.m. The following members were
present: Councilmember’s Gericke, Nickerson, Zapata, Ramsey, Dugan, Haase, Gilbert,
Niemann, and Meyer. Councilmember Carney was absent. The following City Officials were
present: City Administrator Jeff Pederson, City Clerk RaNae Edwards, and Assistant to the City
Administrator Paul Briseno.
GOAL SETTING:
City Administrator Jeff Pederson asked that council take a look at goal headings which would
identify areas of major priorities from each councilmember. The following areas were identified:
· Citizen Participation – Transparent
· Sanitary/Storm Water
· CIP Funding – Adequacy
· Financial Stability to Sustain City Programs
· Groundwater Mitigation/Maintenance/Expansion
· Technology for Efficiency
· State Fair Resource Needs/Management
· Quality of Life Programs/Facilities – Build Out & Expansion
· No Cash Deficits in Funds
· Public Safety - Posture
· Code Compliance Mission/Adequacy
· Community Beautification
· Operational Funding for Programs/Facilities
· Energy Efficiency/Environment Stewardship
· Infrastructure Growth/Strategic & Sustainable
· Affordable Housing/Impact Costs
· Customer Improved Government
· Prioritizing Resources
· Long Range Focus/Planning
· Integrated Solid Waste Management
Mr. Pederson thanked the council and stated further meetings would be held to further prioritize
these goals.