HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/14/2021 Item PC, Rowley
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Sandra Rowley <
To:Harmon, Heidi; Christianson, Carlyn; Pease, Andy; Stewart, Erica A; Marx, Jan
Cc:Johnson, Derek; CityClerk
Subject:Goal Setting
Dear Mayor Harmon and Members of the Council,
On behalf of the members of Residents for Quality Neighborhoods (RQN) I wish to address the process for
Goal Setting.
The Goal Setting process in 2019-21 was different from previous years, an anomaly if you will. All of the
topics were not considered individually; instead topics were consolidated. Thus the mayor and council voted
for a specific list of topics that would subsequently become the City’s Major City Goals. The usual matrix
provided to each council member which included all topics and for which previous council members provided
numerical ratings was absent. The combined matrix showing all council members’ votes was
absent. Additionally, Council adopted a vision statement as a part of the Goal Setting - apparently without
citizen input.
This is not the manner in which Goal Setting occurred in previous years. Hopefully, it will not be the process
used for selecting the City’s Major City Goals for 2021-23.
The process used in 2019 lacked transparency. It did not provide voters with information regarding the
specific votes of the mayor and the various council members. It did not require council members to weigh,
i.e., attribute a 1 - 5 value to each topic as compared to all other topics. Additionally, topics other than those
chosen to be voted on were ignored. For example, there were no Other Important Objectives chosen as in
previous years.
Transparency and accountability to the voters, to RQN members, are important considerations for elected
leaders to follow when making decisions. Hopefully, a return to the matrix system in the 2021-23 Goal
Setting process will enhance those qualities.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Sandra Rowley
Chairperson, RQN
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