HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-14-2021 Community Forum Agenda Packet - Special Joint Meeting of Council and REOC
City of San Luis Obispo, Council Agenda, City Hall, 99 0 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo
City Council / REOC Agenda
JOINT SPECIAL MEETING
Thursday, January 14, 2021
Based on the threat of COVID-19 as reflected in the Proclamations of Emergency issued by both the Governor of
the State of California, the San Luis Obispo County Emergency Services Director and the Investment Oversight
Committee of the City of San Luis Obispo as well as the Governor’s Executive Order N-29-20 issued on March 17,
2020, relating to the convening of public meetings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of San Luis
Obispo will be holding all public meetings via teleconference. There wi ll be no physical location for the
Public to view the meeting. Below are instructions on how to view the meeting remotely and how to leave public
comment.
Additionally, members of the City Council are allowed to attend the meeting via teleconference and to participate
in the meeting to the same extent as if they were present.
Using the most rapid means of communication available at this time, members of the public are encouraged
to participate in Board meetings in the following ways:
1. Remote Viewing - Members of the public who wish to watch the meeting can view:
➢ Please click the link below to join the webinar from your computer or mobile app:
➢ https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86770775763?pwd=My91eXoxZVJZaFg0TS9JZVVwK3FNQT09
➢ Meeting ID: 867 7077 5763
➢ Passcode: 414292
➢ To join by Telephone, dial: +1 (669) 900-6833
➢ Meeting ID: 867 7077 5763
➢ Passcode: 414292
2. Public Comment - The City Council will still be accepting public comment. Public comment can be
submitted in the following ways:
• Mail or Email Public Comment
➢ Received by 3:00 PM on the day of meeting - Can be submitted via email to
emailcouncil@slocity.org or U.S. Mail to City Clerk at 990 Palm St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401.
All emails will be archived/distributed to councilmembers, however, submissions after 3:00 p.m. on
the day of the meeting may not be archived/distributed until the following day. Emails will not be
read aloud during the meeting.
• Verbal Public Comment
➢ In Advance of the Meeting - Call (805) 781-7164; state and spell your name, the agenda item
number you are calling about and leave your comment. The verbal comments must be limited to 3
minutes. All voicemails will be forwarded to the Council Members and saved as Agenda
Correspondence. Voicemails will not be played during the meeting.
➢ During the meeting – Join the meeting (instructions above). Once public comment is called raise
your virtual hand, your name will be called, and your mic will be unmuted.
All comments submitted will be placed into the administrative record of the
meeting. If you have questions prior to the meeting, contact the office of the
City Clerk at cityclerk@slocity.org or (805) 781-7100.
January 14, 2021 Joint Special Meeting Agenda
City Council / Citizens Revenue Enhancement Oversite Committee Page 2
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Via Zoom
Thursday, January 14, 2021 Login information on cover page
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Heidi Harmon
ROLL CALL: Council Members Carlyn Christianson, Jan Marx and Andy Pease,
Vice Mayor Erica A. Stewart, and Mayor Heidi Harmon
REOC Commissioners Christopher Ellwood, Matt Quaglino,
Tony Skapinsky, Vice Chair Jim Hamari, and Chair Jeannette McClure
COMMUNITY FORUM
*Times are estimated
6:00 PM Welcome/Opening Remarks Mayor Heidi Harmon &
Derek Johnson, City Manager
6:15 PM Welcome & Instructions Sommer Kehrli, Facilitator
6:25 PM 2021-23 Financial Plan Process: Brigitte Elke, Finance Director
6:35 PM Community Input (Polling Exercise) Sommer Kehrli, Facilitator
7:05 PM Self-Selecting Breakout Sessions Hosted by various City Staff
8:15 PM Community Input Part Two (Polling Exercise) Sommer Kehrli, Facilitator
8:25 PM Public Comment Teresa Purrington, City Clerk
8:55 PM Closing Remarks Mayor Heidi Harmon
9:00 PM ADJOURNMENT
The next Regular City Council Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 6:00 p.m., to be
held via teleconference.
The City Council will hold a Special Meeting on Saturday, February 6, 2021 at 8:30 a.m., to be held via
teleconference.
JOINT SPECIAL MEETING OF THE
CITY COUNCIL
AND
CITIZENS’ REVENUE ENHANCEMENT OVERSIGHT COMMISSION
January 14, 2021 Joint Special Meeting Agenda
City Council / Citizens Revenue Enhancement Oversite Committee Page 3
LISTENING ASSISTIVE DEVICES are available for the hearing impaired--please see City Clerk.
The City of San Luis Obispo wishes to make all of its public meetings accessible to the
public. Upon request, this agenda will be made available in appropriate alternative formats to
persons with disabilities. Any person with a disability who requires a modification or
accommodation in order to participate in a meeting should direct such request to the City Clerk’s
Office at (805) 781-7100 at least 48 hours before the meeting, if possible. Telecommunications
Device for the Deaf (805) 781-7410.
City Council regular meetings are televised live on Charter Channel 20. Agenda related writings
or documents provided to the City Council are available for public inspection in the City Clerk’s
Office located at 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California during normal business hours, and
on the City’s website www.slocity.org. Persons with questions concerning any agenda item may
call the City Clerk’s Office at (805) 781-7100.
Department Name: Finance
Cost Center: 2001
For Agenda of: January 14, 2021
Placement: Community Forum
Estimated Time: 3 hours
FROM: Derek Johnson, City Manager
Prepared By: Brigitte Elke, Finance Director
SUBJECT: 2021-23 FINANCIAL PLAN PROCESS: COMMUNITY FORUM
DISCUSSION
Background
A cornerstone of the community engagement process in developing the City’s two-year financial
is the Community Forum (Forum) where the community has the opportunity to engage and give
voice to the desired programs and initiatives for the City Council to consider. The Forum is also
intended to meet the requirements regarding the City’s local sales tax, by providing an
opportunity for the Revenue Enhancement Oversight Commission (REOC) to “review and
discuss the use of the revenue generated by the Local Revenue Measure.” As such, the
Community Forum is a joint meeting of the City Council and the REOC. The Forum is one of
several opportunities for the community to provide input on their top priorities which is
illustrated on the following chart:
The Forum follows the completion of the community priorities survey and several input sessions
before the Council. The results of the survey were presented at the January 12, 2021 City
Council meeting as part of the 2021-23 Budget Foundation: Economic Outlook, Budget Policies,
and Capital Improvement Plan Review. The results of the community priorities su rvey can be
found on the City’s website.
Format
Due to the shelter-in-place orders and the inability to host in-person gatherings, the Forum will
be 100% virtual. The community forum will be held on Zoom (cloud-based video
communication application) and utilize PollEverywhere, an online interactive polling tool
designed to capture live input from attendees. The Forum will mimic the in-person “workshop”
and will still allow for interaction and conversation with the Council, REOC, staff and the public.
Similar to previous Forums, the meeting will be facilitated by a third-party individual who will
guide community members through the agenda and indicate when the scheduled activities are
taking place. The Main Session will be live streamed on Channel 20 and on the City’s YouTube
channel and both the Main Session and Breakout/Input Stations will be recorded and available
after the Forum.
The details of the virtual forum include:
a. Welcome/Opening by the Mayor and City Manager
b. Welcome & and instructions for the Community Forum (e.g., how the session will work,
basics on Zoom and PollEverywhere, timeline, etc.) by the Facilitator
c. A brief presentation on the 2021-23 Financial Plan process and themes from the
completed online community priorities survey by the Finance Director
d. Live polling to engage attendees by the facilitator
e. Self-selecting breakout sessions on specific topics identified by the online community
priorities survey
f. A second live polling with participants after their engagement from the breakout sessions
g. Public Comment
h. Closing by the Mayor
Similar to the Forum for the 2019-21 Financial Plan, the online Community Forum will feature
breakout/input sessions on the following topics which mirror the top results of the online
community priorities survey:
Breakout/Input Stations
a. Homelessness
b. Economic Stability, Recovery, and Resiliency
c. Climate Action
d. Open Space
e. Housing
f. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
g. Infrastructure Maintenance
h. Downtown Vitality
i. Other
j. Local Revenue Measure
k. Bi-lingual Discussion Room
The Forum has incorporated several new engagement opportunities for community members that
primarily speak Spanish. These opportunities include a Bi-lingual Discussion Room that will be
facilitated by bi-lingual City staff.
The written questions used in the live polling, through PollEverywhere, will also be translated in
Spanish. Open City Hall, the City’s online survey platform, also provides a built-in feature to
translate the online survey into a number of different languages to ensure equal access for all
community members. A bi-lingual City employee will announce these features in Spanish at the
beginning of the Forum to ensure all attendees are aware of the opportunities for input and
engagement.
Community members will be able to engage in conversation with the City Council, REOC
Commissioners, and City staff at each breakout/input station. There will also be the opportunity
for community member to suggest new goals at the “Other” station. Input from community
members, through PollEverywhere, will be uploaded to Open City Hall and made available on
Friday, January 14th until January 25, 2021. Through the Open City Hall online survey,
participants will be provided ‘dots’, similar to previous Community Forums but in an online
version, where they can assign their dots to their top priorities identified at the Forum.
Public Comment Component
The workshop will be followed by an optional public comment session where community
members have an opportunity to further address the City Council and the REOC.
Local Revenue Measure Annual Citizen Oversight Meeting
The Community Forum will also be the City’s Annual Citizens’ Oversight Meeting for the Local
Revenue Measure (LRM). This allows for the integration of the LRM into the City’s budget and
goal-setting process. The estimated revenue and proposed use of the fund generated by LRM
shall be an integral part of the City’s budget and goal-setting process, and an opportunity for
meaningful participation by citizens in determining priority uses of these funds.
With the passage of Measure G-20 in the November 3, 2020 election, the LRM was extended at
a new, 1.5 cent rate. The language on the Measure G-20 ballot measure provides the types of
uses that could be funded. The language on the ballot was:
Measure G-20 (Community Services/Investment)
Shall an ordinance to provide funding to protect City of San Luis Obispo’s
financial stability; maintain fire/community safety, health emergency/disaster
preparedness; protect creeks from pollution; address homelessness; keep public
areas clean/safe; retain local businesses; maintain youth/senior services, streets,
open space/natural areas, and other general services, by extending voter-
approved funding at a 1.5¢ rate, providing approximately $21,600,000 annually
until ended by voters; requiring audits/all funds used locally, be adopted.
While the ballot language provided examples of the types of uses that could be funded - based on
community input received before placing the measure on the ballot – the LRM is a general-
purpose tax providing Council with flexibility to respond to new circumstances and community
challenges.
Goal Setting Workshop
The input provided by the community during the Forum will be summarized and made available
to the City Council in preparation of the Goal Setting Workshop on February 6, 2021.
Public Engagement
In order to reach as many residents as possible, the City utilized a broad range of public
engagement and outreach efforts leading up to the Community Forum.
Those efforts included:
1. Community Priorities Survey – available on the City’s website and postcards were mailed
in the November utility bill. Letters were also mailed to 200+ community groups and
interested parties
2. Press release and news item sent in January
3. Social media posts
4. Dedicated Community Forum webpage (slocity.org/communityforum)
CONCURRENCES
This item is an interactive virtual Council/REOC workshop to gain community feedback for the
goal setting process. It has been an integral part of the budget process and involves the entire
City organization.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to the recommended action in this
report, because the action does not constitute a “Project” under CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted: Yes Budget Year: 2020-21
Funding Identified: Yes
Fiscal Analysis:
Funding
Sources
Current FY Cost Annualized On-
going cost
Total Project Cost
General Fund $11,555 NA $11,555
State
Federal
Fees
Other:
Total $11,555
Funding for the third-party facilitator was budgeted in the Finance Department and is consistent
with previous facilitated Forums.