CC Minutes - 01/13/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Mr. Carlson responded by stating that the executive managers had a session on how to improve goal-setting process so that it works better for staff. He said that it was beneficial to maintain the broader goals and then to move to the next level down and identify on what parts of the activities of the City of Eugene did the council want to make an extra effort. He stressed the importance of the action priorities needing to be realistic within the context of the current financial environment. For example, while he felt that having many recreational and cultural services was desirable, he also felt that it was unrealistic to ask for much new activity in those areas given that had been identified as a lower budget priority. Mr. Carlson suggested that action priorities should state what accomplishment was being sought by the pursuance of the priority, rather than the method by which it should be sought, and that they should include what quantifiable results would satisfy the goal. He reiterated that staff reductions had changed the amount of time staff could spend addressing these action priorities. Mr. Torrey asked the staff, to provide an example of how council should word a goal that would address developing an approach to funding the after-school program which is slated to lose its funding at the end of this year. Mr. Carlson suggested that the wording for such an action priority would be: "Maintain or enhance after-school activities for youth." He said that it would give the topic area of interest and would provide something that would be measurable by which programs could be designed. He added that the programs could be accomplished by school districts, private nonprofits, or by the City itself. Mr. Kelly declared that his goal was to not let things get a whole lot worse. He stressed the importance of having a specific measurable outcome to a goal and also to having a "feedback loop" for staff to keep the council informed of progress on the goals. Ms. Bettman commented that leaving much of the goal achievement and monitoring of outcomes to staff could overload staff. She wondered if the level of resources that would take had been fully considered. She added that many good ideas come through elected officials, citing former Mayor Ruth Bascom's promotion of the bike path as an example. She reiterated that she wanted to promote an increase in the owner-renter ratio in the neighborhoods adjacent to downtown. Ms. Nathanson noted that the University of Oregon had been in conversation with the City regarding strategies to reduce problems and violence. She thought this should be a long-term strategy and that the conversation that was occurring should be included in the current report as positive progress. She felt it was notable, that given the amount of work that the City Council and staff had taken on, so much had been accomplished. Ms. Taylor recognized that staff was overworked. She advocated for more reporting on the progress of the goals and for more council input in the prioritization of projects within the different departments. Mr. Carlson responded that staff does report every six months, but that he felt there was room for improvement. He said that, when feedback was provided regarding the action priorities, it was necessary to consider how much more work could be assigned to staff and whether staff could realistically accomplish it. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 10 Work Session