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November 1S t 1993
THE HONOPJCBLE CITY COUNCIL
PALO ALTO, ~~IFORNIA
Members of the Council:
Report, in "&r ief
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~t th-e Council study session held on November 9, the Council
identified three priorit.ies for fiscal year 1994-~5.. Be::;ause the
discussion and selection of Council priorities occurred in a study
:session, it was done by consensus and no formal action could be
taken. Council is nov requestea to confirm the selection of the
priorities and direct staff to incorporate the implementation of
these priorities into the bud,;et 'Which will be developed for fiscal
year .1994-95.
The Purpose of.,Setting Priorities
At the beginning of the 1987 calendar year, the Council initiated
a process for selecting its priorities for the ensuinq year. The
intent of the prQCess, which the Council has continued to utilize
eacb year, has been to identify issues which are matters of major
import~nce to Palo Alto and ~hich require the concerted effort of
the City in order to accomplish goals, resolve prohlems, and
implement new policies. Typically, two or three issues have been
selected each year and several, because of their magnitude, have
carried over for more than one year.
By designating apriority, council sends a message to the City
organization, and the community as well, that heightened attention
and resources are to be directed toward the; issue. In doing so,
the council Members commit their own personal involvement also.
In prior years, priorities have been selecte~ on a calendar year
ba.sis and associated with a Mayor's term. Beginning this year,
priorities are being selected on a fiscal year basis to assure
coordination with the development of the budget.
Counc,i,~_~ior-j ties for 1994-::_? __ -2
To begin the priority-setting process, Council Members individually
SUbmitted their suggestions for priorities. Council Members then
assigned points to the various issues which all had sugge~ted.
CMR 601:93
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When the points were totaled# three issues commanded the greatest
number of ~ints: orq.!lDiaatlonal .evie",# Pa.lo Al'to'. BeoDo.ie
Futur_* and Pale Alto's RelatioDebip with Bast palo Alto.
Two of the priorities, Palo Alto's Economic Future and Palo Alto's
R~lationship with East Palo Alto, have heen the Council's
priorities during 1992 and 1993. organizational Review, while not
a spEcific priority in a previous year, was an element contained in
the goals set fer the Economic:: Future priority i.1 1992 ~
In the course of the discussion at the November 9 study session,
Council Members requested information from staff concerning the
a.llocation of departmental resourCfi!;S to these priorities.
Acknowledging that a priority such as the Organizational Review
involves numerous steps before the recommendations ~ill be fully
implemented, the council also requested information on what aspects
of the priorities could be accomplished in fiscal year 1994-95.
Upon confirmatio:'\ ot the priorities by the Council, attention to
the priorities will be incorporated into the 1994-95 budget
guidelines. under the direction of the City Manager, departments
that have responslbilities related to the priorities will develop
a workplan, qoals and objectives that are translated into portions
of their overall budget proposals. The Council's opportunity to
review and approve the. proposed scope of activity and le\.~el of
commitment that the City will make to each of the priorities will
occur during the course of the budqet hearings.
Recommendation
it is recommended that the Council confirm the selection of the
following three priorities for fiscal year 1994-95: organizational
Reviev, Palo Alto's Eco~omic Future, and Palo Alto's Relationship
with East palo Alto; and direct staff to incorporate these
priorities into the development of the budqet.
Re~ctfullY submitted s
~r:IA'];;,~
Assistant to the City Manager
Related CMRs
CMR:500 93
CMR:557 93
CMR:582 9J
CMR 601:93
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