HomeMy WebLinkAbout4/18/2023 Item 6b, Powell RE Johnson
Christian, Kevin
From:Johnson, Derek
Sent:Thursday, April 13, 2023 4:35 PM
To:Hailey Powell
Subject:RE: Regarding the Strategic Budget Direction Report
Dear Hailey,
Thank you for your message to the City Council and appreciate the feedback and discussion of objective
outcomes for each of the Strategic or Major City Goals. The Major City Goals and the work programs are
linked to strategic plans such as the Homeless Response Strategic Plan, Climate Action Plan, Housing
Element, Financial Plan, Economic Strategic Plan, etc. Each of these planning documents has a variety of
objective KPI’s that provide objective measures, for example, the number of housing units for each income
type, the amount of homelessness reduced, or persons placed in permanent housing, vacancy rates,
etc. This approach allows for consistent measurements that are aligned with adopted strategic plan. The City
Council reviews quarterly reports on progress on achieve strategic objectives with a mix of both quantifiable
and qualitative analysis on outcomes and investments as the financial plan progresses.
Thank you,
Derek Johnson
City Manager
BCC: CC
From: Hailey Powell <hapowell@calpoly.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 9:12 PM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>
Subject: Regarding the Strategic Budget Direction Report
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Council,
I hope everyone is having a good week thus far. In anticipation of next week’s City Council meeting
(4/18), I have read sections of the Strategic Budget Direction Report and have an inquiry regarding Section A:
Major City Goals (MCGs). While the four Major City Goals and their strategic approaches seem fairly
comprehensive and well thought out, I have questions regarding how these strategic approaches are
measured, operationalized, or what metrics are used to assess the actual change occurring from these budget
allocations.
Including metrics and measurements for each of the strategic approaches can help stakeholders,
community members, and local government understand and confirm the effectiveness and efficiency of these
new and preexisting programs. Incorporating metrics into the Strategic Budget Direction Report will increase
transparency, which in return results in increased trust between citizens and local government, accountability
for public officials, improved community engagement, and better public services, as it allows citizens to identify
areas where resources are most needed. The very first line of the document (looking past the table of
contents) states, “The fundamental purpose of the City’s budget process is to link, through public
engagement and strategic deliberation, the interest of the community to the available financial resources to
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achieve the desired outcome” (2). To properly engage, it would be useful to see what metrics are being used to
measure the strategic approaches that justify changes in the budget. Thank you for your consideration and I
look forward to hearing from Council.
Sincerely,
Hailey Powell
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