HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-02-22 City Council (13)City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: ADMINISTRATIVE
SERVICES
DATE:FEBRUARY 22, 1999 CMR:149:99
SUBJECT:COUNCIL PRIORITIES FOR FISCAL YEARS 1999-00 AND
2000-01
This is an informational report and no Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
The process of setting Council priorities enables the Council to identify the issues which it
believes requires an intensified effort during the coming fiscal year. Typically, the Council
selects two or three priorities for the ensuing fiscal year. Since 1988, the Council has gone
through a process to establish Council priorities that involved several rounds of idea
generation, voting and discussion. Having gone through this process in October 1997,
Council confirmed the selection of three priorities for fiscal year 1998-99 and 1999-00:
Traffic Management and Safety; the Infrastructure Plan; and Implementation of the
Comprehensive Plan.
In December 1997, Council directed staffto discontinue the existing Council pri0rity-setting
process and fold a new Council priority-setting process into the Mission Driven Budget,
beginning in fiscal year 2000-01. The Council envisioned a new priority setting process that
would save time for Council members and staff and better facilitate the linking of Council
priorities with funding and resource allocation decisions.
DISCUSSION
Since the City is embarking upon a two-year budget process, staffplans to incorporate the
Council priorities selected for 1998-99 and 1999-00 (Traffic Management and Safety, the
Infrastructure Plan, and the Implementation of the Comprehensive Plan) into the 1999-01
Budget. This means that staff would have to transition to the new process for establishing
Council priorities with the next two-year budget, the 2001-03 Budget, instead of in 2000-01..
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Although this delays the transition to a new priority-setting process, it is necessary in order
to synchronize the selection of priorities with the City’s two-year budget cycle.
Staffplans to develop a concept for the new Council priority-setting process for referral to
the Policy and Services Committee, which Council would approve and implement in time
for the start of the 2001-03 Budget.
RESOURCE IMPACT
The selected Council priorities will be incorporated into the preparation of the two-year
budget for fiscal years 1999-00 and 2000-01 and will be reflected in departmental key plans
and resource allocation decisions.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
The process of setting priorities enables the Council to determine the issues which it believes
are matters of importance to Palo Alto, requiring an intensified effort during the coming
fiscal years.
PREPARED BY: Melissa Cavallo, Assistant Director of Administrative Services.
DEPARTMENT HEAD APPROVAL:
CARL YEATS,/ -
Director of Ad~ini Services
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
cc: N/A
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