Management Partners facilitated the City Council’s strategic planning retreat on August 5, 2021in a virtual workshop format. The workshop provided an opportunity for Councilmembers to identify priorities for Fiscal Year 2021-22 and Fiscal Year 2022-23. Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution to:

1.  Approve the Strategic Plan Midpoint Update and City Council priorities for fiscal year 2021-22 and fiscal year 2022-23; and
2.  Approve the meeting minutes of the City Council’s Strategic Plan Workshop of August 5, 2021

Goal E. Communication and Outreach

• Strategy 3. Create and implement a plan for conveying progress and outcomes from the City’s Strategic Plan to employees and the community at large.

The Strategic Plan is designed to guide the work and future of the City. The Strategic Plan reflects the guidance of the City Council and input from our professional staff. Since adoption of the Strategic Plan in 2019, many factors have occurred:

• Cyberattack in 2019
• Fiscal challenges and opportunities
• Failure of the Public Safety Parcel Tax (Measure U, March 2020)
• Social Unrest and the Reimagining of Policing
• Impacts of the Pandemic
• Passage of the Utility Users Tax (Measure WW, November 2020)
• Staff retirements, departures, and vacancies

The midpoint update of the Strategic Plan creates a new Strategic Plan document that establishes the City Council’s top priorities and identifies new strategies.

On August 5, 2021 Management Partners, led by Jan Perkins, facilitated the City Council’s Strategic Plan retreat in a virtual workshop format. The Mayor and City Council, City Manager and the Senior Management Team, were in attendance. During the retreat the City Council was provided the following information:

• Results of the Resident Satisfaction Survey (Conducted in July 2021)  
• Fiscal Outlook (financial forecast with and without renewal of Measure AA, Measure WW and ARPA Funds)
• Major changes/factors since 2019
• Highlights of Accomplishments

Despite many challenges, the City has made significant accomplishments on strategic plan priorities. Table 1. illustrates the Council’s top priorities established in August 2020 and the associated accomplishments to those priorities.

 Table 1.   Progress on Council’s Top Priorities Established in August 2020

The Strategic Plan has five multi-year goals. Each goal has a set of strategies for implementation. At the August 5, 2021 Strategic Plan retreat, the City Council determined the reopening process after COVID-19 was an underlying priority that would be part of many goals and strategies. Many new strategies were added to existing goals during the August 2021 strategic planning retreat. Table 2. illustrates the top priorities for Fiscal Year 2021-22 and Fiscal Year 2022-23.

 Table 2.  The City Council’s Top Priorities for FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23

Goal A: Financial Stability and Fiscal Sustainability

Foster fiscal health through disciplined long-term planning, cost control, heightened efficiency, increased revenue and cost recovery.

•  Generate more tax revenue needed for long-term fiscal sustainability.

Three new strategies were added to Goal A:

1. Study and prepare for placement of a revenue measure for the November 2022 election that addresses the expiration of the half-cent sales tax; or, prepare for $6 million in service cuts.
2. Determine the feasibility of a revenue ballot measure for November 2024 and/or November 2026 that could consider a new landscape and lighting district (indexed to CPI) and/or a tax to fund a new City Hall/ library.
3. Study the benefits and opportunity to update the City’s business license tax for voter consideration.

Goal B. Governance and Organization Effectiveness

Produce high-quality services to the community through a commitment to local government best practices and employee development, support and retention.

•  Staff recruitment, retention and succession planning.

No new strategies were added.  Staff will continue to focus on existing strategies, which broadly include employee professional development; recruitment incentives; salary survey for retention; staff efficiency (IT support); and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Goal C. Economic, Community Development and Public Safety

Institute forward-thinking business, land use development, housing, social services, and public safety strategies that promote community growth and innovation.

•  Improve and streamline the development process.
•  Address homelessness.
•  Build staffing and technology infrastructure to develop the Station District, construct Quarry Lakes Parkway and prepare for future housing development.

Three new strategies were added to Goal C:

1.  Facilitate the development of entitlements and closing on the sale of the Gateway property to generate revenue to fund the construction of Phases 3 and 4 of the Quarry Lakes Parkway.
2.  Continue providing support to City residents and businesses related to COVID-19 recovery.
3.  Increase fines for illegal fireworks, develop and implement a public communication campaign about fireworks, consider banning the sale and deployment of all fireworks if the threat to community safety is not significantly reduced during the 4th of July season.

Goal D. Environmental Sustainability and Infrastructure

Create a healthy, sustainable community and maintain and improve the City’s infrastructure.

Two new strategies were added to Goal D:

1.  Prepare RFP for Franchise Agreements for solid waste and recycling collections with emphasis on selecting vendors with resources to implement organics legislation.
2.  Enable a robust cyber security and information technology disaster recovery service.
   
   

Goal E. Communication and Outreach

Build strong connections with community partners, residents and employees.

Two new strategies were added to Goal E:

1.  Develop and implement a diversity, equity and inclusion approach to citywide communications and outreach.
2.  Collaborate with the Arts and Culture Commission and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to place murals on the Kennedy Park BART pillars.

In conclusion, the Strategic Plan is a product of City Council guidance and input from professional City staff designed to guide the work and future of Union City.

Three supplemental attachments were added to the Strategic Plan to provide additional information on fiscal sustainability, re-imagining policing, and pandemic initiatives.

Attachment A. Fiscal Sustainability

The City of Union City’s Measure AA (½ cent sales tax) is set to expire in April 2025, and Measure WW (utility user tax) is scheduled to expire in December 2028. Without Measure AA renewal, fiscal sustainability is only expected for the next three years, and reserves will be fully depleted by FY 2027-28. Without these revenue sources, major reductions in services and staffing will be required, because sufficient funds will not be available to sustain the services currently provided to the community.

Attachment B. Re-Imagining Policing

The City Council formed the Policing and Community Engagement Committee in June 2020 to carry out the Obama Foundation’s “Commit to Action” pledge signed by Mayor Carol Dutra-Vernaci. The committee identified four key areas to re-imagine policing:

• Accountability and Transparency
• Hiring and Training
• Mental Health and Social Services
• Community Policing

along with 11 associated strategies, which the City Council unanimously passed. The Police Department further engaged the community in a Police Department Strategic Plan, to be completed this Fall, 2021. 

Attachment C. Pandemic Initiatives 

When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, the City of Union City Council and staff took immediate action to protect its community and employees. The Union City Emergency Operation Center team was activated and continues to focus on three areas:

1. Ensuring employee health, safety, and well-being

2. Providing ongoing communications to businesses and residents

3. Assessing community needs

Staff will be ensuring alignment with the FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23 Budget, the City Council's Priorities, and the Strategic Plan as a whole. 

Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution to:

1. Approve the Strategic Plan Midpoint Update and City Council priorities for fiscal year 2021-22 and fiscal year 2022-23; and
2. Approve the meeting minutes of the City Council’s Strategic Plan Workshop of August 5, 2021