Yearly Priority Setting for City Councils
by
Deborah Acosta McKeehan, City Manager, Pleasanton
and
Geoff Ball, Geoff Ball & Associates, Facilitator & Consultant
Summary
For any organization to make progress, there has to be a clear set of goals and expectations. For local
governments, the agendas can change quickly as issues come and go in the community. Given the
nature of elections every two years, both the issues and the players can change, making adopted goals
even more important in a local government organization to clearly articulate how the council and staff
are spending the public’s time and money.
In Pleasanton, a collaborative council priority-setting process has been in place for almost a decade that
helps both the Council and staff jointly establish work goals and help make sure they get done. Both the
Council and staff are more satisfied that everyone understands the priority of major projects and the
timeline for getting them accomplished. Regular updates on the progress -- including the next steps and
any obstacles -- help eliminate surprises and disappointments for matters that take longer than anyone
anticipated. The priority-setting process is now a regular part of the preparation for the budget process
and is embraced by Council, staff and the community because it has been so effective.
Introduction
City Councils are made up of individuals who may or may not share the views of their colleagues on the
Council. All members have the individual right to push hard for their particular interests and priorities,
but cannot be successful without obtaining the majority vote of their peers. Many cities set their goals
for the future by moving forward in time from one Council meeting to the next looking for majority
votes. In addition to setting goals at each Council meeting, the budget is often the only time the Council
looks collectively at the organization. As a result, each council member is inclined to lobby hard to get
his or her project included in the budget. With this process, because there are no adopted priorities and
goals, each council member will individually pressure staff during the course of the year to get their
projects and ideas accomplished outside of the process without the perceived need to get the support of
their peers on the Council. It tends to put staff in an awkward position and often sets the council
members and staff up for disappointment over unmet goals.
In Pleasanton, we believed there had to be a better way. If we could help the Council collectively adopt
a set of agreed upon goals and priorities for the year, they would be more satisfied with staff and with
each other in making the changes to the community they wanted to make. They would know that if their
favorite projects and goals are adopted by the Council they will move forward and they also know why
a project is not progressing if it had not been chosen as a priority. Since 1995, this process has been
successful in directing staff efforts to those items most important to the Council.
How This Works
Most cities have more ideas and work than they could get done in a decade. Deciding what you would
like to do in a year is even harder. For the City of Pleasanton, a city of 65,000, we have over 80 active
major projects at any given time. With potential changes on the Council every two years, it became
important to create some collective context and a public decision-making process to identify what got
the City’s attention the soonest.
To put the process in perspective, it helps to begin with the election establishing Mayor and Council
members. Once the election has occurred, staff and the council know who will be the decision makers
until the next election. In Pleasanton’s case, Council and Mayor elections occur every two years. So,
following an election we know for the next two years the group elected will be the decision makers.
The City of Pleasanton elections occur in November and the Council is actually seated in December. In
December, January and February following an election, new members receive a full orientation from the
City Manager and City Attorney and are scheduled to spend time with department heads and staff. By
February, we hold a team-building session for the Council to collectively get better acquainted and to
discuss their individual reasons for seeking elected office and generally what they would like to
accomplish.
With this behind us, in March we schedule a priority-setting workshop. To prepare for this workshop,
staff provides Council with a list of major projects with some detail regarding the steps and timeline for
accomplishment. At this point, with an adopted list from the previous year, we update our status and
send the entire list to them two weeks in advance to review and individually rank their priorities. This is
not a 1-100 list of priorities but a placement in categories from their highest priority to their lowest.
There is no preset number of projects that can be placed in any one category, with the one exception that
no one department can become overburdened with more than three "highest priority" projects.
The Council returns the list prior to the workshop for staff to tabulate the results. The workshop then
begins by Council reviewing a summary of their rankings for all projects. If all Council Members agree
that a project fits into a particular category, there is no more discussion. If there is not unanimous
opinion, then the project is discussed and votes are taken to determine the priority. Following the
workshop, the final list of priorities is presented to the Council at a regular Council meeting for formal
adoption.
Once completed, this process provides the necessary information to include our priority projects and any
related funding in the draft budget that is prepared and forwarded to the Council in May. Following
public hearings, the budget is then adopted in June. All priority projects are included. If funding is an
issue, the timing of the project is delayed as a part of the budget process..
Details of the Priority-Setting Workshop
The priority-setting process that we have developed and refined over the years has the following
characteristics:
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Can be completed in one or two Council sessions
Is straightforward and easily understood by all participants and observers
Adopted priorities become the work plan for the organization
Is based on thoughtful reflection – first individually and then as a group
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Creates an opportunity for the Council to dialogue with each other, and to do some informal
negotiating
Incorporates staff knowledge about each project – its complexity and importance and the
resources needed to complete it
Makes apparent that not all projects can be placed in the "highest priority" or "high priority"
categories. Choices need to made that provide direction to staff seeking to manage multiple
priorities. A maximum number of highest priorities is established per department to help
manage the workload.
Three votes sets the priority level for each project, which may require Council Members to
raise or lower individual priorities.
The first time through the process is lengthier; subsequent years are easier since the Council
know the projects and can adjust priorities easily.
Council can, as a Council, change priorities or set priorities for new projects during the
course of the year. While this does occur, it is actually rare.
For the process to be effective, Council Members make the following commitments:
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Be willing to honestly explore the importance of projects with other Council members.
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Be willing to participate in the team-building session just before the priority session in alternate
years (held once every two years after an election).
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Be willing to incorporate the thoughts of new Council members into the priorities, as well as a
willingness to work out issues with priorities of current Council Members.
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Be willing to individually rate the projects prior to the workshop, collectively discuss them
during the workshop and make any required changes to priorities.
For the process to be effective, the staff must make the following commitments:
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Provide the background information that summarizes the projects with all relevant steps and
timelines.
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Follow through during the course of the year with quarterly or semi-annual updates of the
projects.
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Track the progress of projects and ensure that all Department Heads and their staff are
committed to the process.
Conclusion
For the City of Pleasanton, setting priorities and goals in a methodical, public process has been
extremely useful for the Council and staff to see projects move forward to completion. While it involves
staff time and effort to track the specific progress of a number of items, it is well worth the time
invested. It helps eliminate confusion and reduces surprises. It can help contribute to a sense of
accomplishment for both staff and the Council and helps the public understand where their particular
issue stands in the overall priorities of the city. Finally, it reduces the chance for misunderstandings
between the Council and staff when something takes longer than expected. Finally, it helps contribute to
positive working relationships between the Council and the staff that supports them. For that reason
alone, the process is worth it!