The Santa Monica City Council will meet on Sunday to prioritize goals and set measurable criteria for judging the success of future projects.
According to the staff report, staff have asked the City Council to "establish three to five priority strategic goals with measurable three to five year outcomes, with the goal of identifying game changing priorities that will make a difference in community safety, wellbeing, prosperity, quality of life, and sustainability."
The staff report says city govern- ment has at least 24 major project and policy initiatives currently active. According to the report, the limited capacity of the council and leadership staff make it impossible to effectively manage every priority.
"To better serve the community and more effectively mobilize community partnerships, it will be helpful to select and commit to deliver a manageable number of strategic goals," said the report.
According to the report, identi- fying the top goals will not nega- tively impact the remaining proj- ects but will ensure the most important goals are achieved.
The report said the lack of focus has had a detrimental effect on the city's work.
"The energetic engagement of local residents and the pioneering spirit of Councilmembers and staff have propelled the organization to take calculated risks, step forward, and embark on efforts that other municipalities cannot," said thereport. "Yet there are costs to this kind of flat-out appetite to simultaneously do more and better."
The report says councilmembers and staff are spread too thin and are unable to engage in the careful vetting, civic engagement and project management that is the foundation of success.
The report said having council identify clear priorities will facilitate what can realistically be accomplished in the near and long term.
STAFF IDENTIFIED 12 AREAS OF FOCUS FOR THE MEETING.
1. Providing world-class customer service to the community.
2. Establishing a new model for mobility: reduce car trips, increase bicycle usage, decrease bike/pedestrian accidents, create a transportation management organization and increase bus ridership.
3. Reducing homelessness: create 30 perma- nent supportive residences by 2020, provide mental health training to first responders, house more individuals, collaborate on a sobering cen- ter, secure five new detox beds and implement a pilot substance abuse treatment program.
4. Maintaining an inclusive and diverse community by increasing housing accessi- bility: create a 2016 ballot initiative to fund affordable housing.
5. Securing local control of the City land occupied by the Santa Monica Airport
6. Achieving water, energy and climate change sustainability goals: reduce water demand by 20 percent, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, achieve water independence, increase solar installations and increase green food waste diversion.
7. Building on Bergamot and Civic Auditorium assets as community and regional cultural hubs.
8. Providing affordable community-wide gigabit speed fiber and Wi-Fi connectivity: increase fiber optic network and expand free Wi-Fi zones.
9. Strengthening downtown as a commu- nity hometown with local-serving and cul- tural amenities: create additional downtown location for events.
10. Expanding and improving the resilience of community infrastructure: improve sidewalks, rehab streets, replace water and wastewater mains.
11. Taking community civic engagement to the next level: establish six community events a year, implement electronic chit sub- missions, develop an interactive Council Agenda that incites community participa- tion and provides an alternative to attending Council meetings.
12. Building on the partnership with SMMUSD and SMC using City library, human services, and other resources to emphasize Santa Monica as "a learning com- munity" from Cradle to Career and beyond.
The study session will start at 10 a.m. at City Hall.
