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I AM GONNA CALL A MEETING TO ORDER.
ALRIGHT, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
I'M GONNA CALL TODAY'S GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS RULES AND CLAIMS COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER.
THE CALL OF TODAY'S MEETING IS TO DISCUSS THE 2026 CITY MANAGERS ANNUAL GOALS AND REVIEW PROCESS.
PURSUANT TO CHAPTER TWO OF THE ACTS OF 2025, ADOPTED BY MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL COURT AND APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR, THE CITY IS AUTHORIZED TO USE REMOTE PARTICIPATION AT MEETINGS OF THE CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL AND ITS COMMITTEES.
PLEASE NOTE, THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDS THIS MEETING AND MAKES IT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR FUTURE REVIEWING.
IN ADDITION, THIRD PARTIES MAY ALSO BE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDING THIS MEETING.
IN ADDITION TO HAVING MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL PARTICIPATE REMOTELY, WE HAVE ALSO SET UP ZOOM TELECONFERENCE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE VISIT THE CITY COUNCIL SECTION OF THE CITY'S WEBPAGE, INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOW TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK.
ONCE YOU HAVE COMPLETED SIGNUP PROCEDURE, YOU'LL RECEIVE A LINK TO THE ZOOM MEETING.
TO WATCH THE MEETING, PLEASE TUNE INTO CHA CHANNEL 22 OR VISIT THE OPEN MEETING PORTAL ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE.
WITH THAT, ALL OF TODAY'S VOTES WILL BE BY ROLL CALL.
UH, WE NEED TO DO A ROLL CALL OF THE MEMBERS PRESENT, VICE MEZE, VICE MAYOR ZE, COUNSELOR MCGOVERN.
UH, WE CAN CHECK BACK WITH HIM.
UM, BUT THAT'S THREE MEMBERS RECORDED AS PRESENT.
UM, WE'LL FIRST GO TO A, UH, PRESENTATION BY THIS CITY MANAGER OF THE, UM, EVALUATION, UH, RUBRIC, UM, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE MATERIALS FOR TODAY'S MEETING.
UH, FOLLOWING THAT PRESENTATION, WE WILL GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN WE, AFTER PUBLIC COMMENT, WE WILL GO TO DISCUSSION FROM THE COMMITTEE.
UM, WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO THE CITY MANAGER.
UM, OVER THE LAST, UH, COUPLE OF MONTHS HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH BOTH THE MAYOR, UH, AND WITH, UH, THE CHAIR OF GOVERNMENT OPS, UH, COUNCILLOR, SABRINA WHEELER ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW PROCESS.
UH, WHEN I CAME INTO THIS ROLE IN 2022, THERE HAD NOT BEEN A PERFORMANCE REVIEW FOR THE CITY MANAGER.
I KNOW THAT THAT HAD BEEN A PRIORITY FOR THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE COMMUNITY.
AND OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, WE'VE STOOD UP A PRETTY RIGOROUS AND TRANSPARENT PERFORMANCE REVIEW PROCESS.
THAT WAS ONE OF MY FIRST PRIORITIES.
UM, THIS WILL BE THE FOURTH YEAR THAT WE'RE CONDUCTING THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND ESPECIALLY AS WE'VE COME INTO THIS NEW TERM, UH, I THINK IT'S BEEN HELPFUL TO STEP BACK AND SAY, HOW WELL HAS THE STRUCTURE BEEN WORKING? UM, WHAT TWEAKS WOULD WE MAKE? UH, AND SO GATHERED A LITTLE BIT OF FEEDBACK, THOUGHT ABOUT HOW THIS PROCESS HAS GONE OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, UH, AND WE'RE PROPOSING SOME SMALL CHANGES THAT I THINK HOPEFULLY WILL BE MEANINGFUL.
UM, I THINK FIRST, UM, YOU KNOW, THE OVERALL NUMBER OF RATING CATEGORIES, UH, THAT WE, OR I WOULD SAY FIRST, UM, THE OVERALL PROCESS I THINK HAS WORKED PRETTY WELL.
AND SO AS WE'VE STARTED THE YEAR, UM, TO SET UP A STRUCTURE AND A PROCESS AND TO PUT DATES ON THE CALENDAR, UM, TO KNOW EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT'S COMING, TO HAVE A STRUCTURED TEMPLATE FOR, UM, THE REVIEW HAS BEEN VERY USEFUL.
UM, WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP A LOT OF THOSE PIECES, AND THAT'S THE FIRST PAGE OF THE TEMPLATE, JUST LINING UP DATES, UH, AND EXPECTATIONS.
UM, THE SECOND PAGE, THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT, I THINK HAS BEEN, UH, FINE, PROVIDES AN OVERALL STRUCTURE FOR A RATING WITH STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES, UH, GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.
UM, I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY BEEN HELPFUL OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, UM, HAVE GOTTEN GOOD FEEDBACK AND I THINK THAT'S HELPED US MAKE ADJUSTMENTS.
UM, PAGE THREE IS WHERE WE'RE PROPOSING SOME CHANGES.
UM, SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT I GOT WAS THAT WE HAD A LOT OF RATING CATEGORIES, WHICH WERE DEVELOPED BASED ON THE INITIAL 2022 CITY MANAGER, UM, JOB DESCRIPTION, LEADERSHIP PROFILE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK A KEY PIECE OF FEEDBACK WAS THAT THE ROLE OF THE CITY MANAGER AND THE WORK THAT WE DO COLLECTIVELY BETWEEN THE CITY ADMINISTRATION AND THE CITY COUNCIL WASN'T GETTING ENOUGH ATTENTION.
UM, IT WAS REALLY JUST ONE OF THOSE CATEGORIES, THE CITY COUNCIL RELATIONSHIP.
UM, AND SO WE TOOK THE OTHER SEVEN CATEGORIES, UM, THAT SPOKE TO THE CITY ADMINISTRATION AND BROUGHT THOSE TO FIVE, UM, AND THEN SEPARATED THE COUNCIL COLLABORATION CATEGORY.
UM, AND THEN CALLED OUT SPECIFICALLY HOW WELL WE'RE COLLECTIVELY EXECUTING ON COUNCIL PRIORITIES AND THEN THE RELATIONSHIP.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT BETTER CAPTURES BOTH, UM, THE ROLE THAT, UH, THE CITY MANAGER PLAYS ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE, UH, BUT ALSO THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORK WITH
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THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, ACROSS THE, THE KEY PRIORITIES THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED.UM, A SMALL ADJUSTMENT THERE ON PAGE FOUR.
IN TERMS OF THE GOALS, UM, I THINK A PIECE OF THIS, AS I WAS REFLECTING ON THE GOALS THAT WE'VE USED OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, UH, IS THAT WE REALLY HAD THREE KINDS OF GOALS.
YOU KNOW, ONE GOAL WAS RELATED TO PARTS OF THE CITY MANAGER ROLE THAT WE WANTED TO EMPHASIZE.
UM, AND SO I THINK ABOUT LAST YEAR, AND IT WAS THINGS LIKE ADVOCATING FOR REGIONAL PRIORITIES.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK HAS GOTTEN MORE BAKED INTO THE ROLE.
AND SOME OF THOSE GOALS, UH, I THINK WE DON'T ACTUALLY NEED TO INCLUDE AS MUCH.
UM, OBVIOUSLY ANY FEEDBACK IN TERMS OF THINGS THAT WE WANT TO EMPHASIZE, THINGS THAT WE WANNA DO, I'M ALWAYS OPEN TO.
UM, BUT THE OTHER TWO TYPES OF GOALS THAT WE WERE SETTING WERE REALLY AROUND KEY INITIATIVE INITIATIVES THAT WE WERE, WE WERE WORKING ON, ON THE CITY ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE WITH MILESTONES.
AND THEN, SO THAT WOULD BE THE SECOND KIND OF GOAL.
AND THE THIRD KIND OF GOAL WAS REALLY MEASURES, SO ACTUAL TARGET METRICS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE.
AND SO I THINK THOSE TWO WE'RE CALLING OUT MORE EXPLICITLY ON PAGE FOUR.
UM, AND I THINK REALLY EMPHASIZING THESE AS ADMINISTRATIVE GOALS.
THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON TO STRENGTHEN THE ORGANIZATION, UM, AND, UH, AND TO MAKE, MAKE THE CITY, UH, RUN BETTER.
UM, AND, AND THESE ARE ALSO IMPORTANT MEASURES AS WE THINK ABOUT COMMUNITY SUPPORT AS WE THINK ABOUT HOW RESPONSIVE WE ARE, UH, ON C QLIK FIX.
UM, AND, AND I CAN KIND OF WALK THROUGH THESE, UM, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT LATER.
UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S SORT OF A CHANGE ON THE GOAL SIDE.
THE OTHER THING I KIND OF PUT TOGETHER IN TERMS OF THE MEMO, AND, AND I THINK THIS IS ACTUALLY THE MORE SUBSTANTIVE FEEDBACK FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, UM, IS HOW DO WE THINK ABOUT HOW THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING TO, UM, ON COUNCIL PRIORITIES, UM, AND THAT THOSE DIDN'T REALLY GET CAPTURED IN THE RATING METRICS OR, OR IN THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW.
UM, AND I THINK, I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY PART OF A REALLY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION ABOUT, UM, HOW WE ACTUALLY MORE TRANSPARENTLY WORK TOGETHER ON THOSE COUNCIL PRIORITIES.
YOU KNOW, IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS, LIKE ONE OF THE BIG THINGS WE DID TOGETHER WAS TO IMPROVE HOW WE'RE COMMUNICATING.
SO THE WAY THAT THE COUNCIL PASSES POLICY ORDERS AND THE CITY GETS BACK, GETS BACK AWAITING REPORTS.
I ACTUALLY THINK AS WE GET INTO THIS TERM, A BIG PIECE THAT WE WANNA WORK TOGETHER IS TO BE MORE STRATEGIC AND MORE TRANSPARENT ON HOW WE'RE WORKING ON COUNCIL PRIORITIES.
UM, AND SO IT'S NOT REFLECTED IN THE PERFORMANCE TEMPLATE.
UM, BUT I THINK WHAT I WANTED TO CALL OUT AS PART OF WHAT SHOULD BECOME PART OF THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW IS A SENSE OF COLLECTIVELY HOW WELL WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO, UH, EXECUTE ON THESE COUNCIL PRIORITIES.
AND, AND I WOULD HOLD UP THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE ON HOUSING AND ZONING IN PARTICULAR.
AND SO DURING THE LAST TERM, UM, A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF WHAT HAS BEEN HELPFUL ABOUT HOUSING AND ZONING IS WE ACTUALLY DO HAVE TO WORK ON ALL OF THAT WORK COLLECTIVELY.
SO, UM, THERE NEEDS TO BE A LOT OF COLLABORATION ACROSS, UM, DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT LAW AND ZONING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND THEN ULTIMATELY THE CITY COUNCIL HAS TO DIRECT THAT WORK, UM, HAS TO PRIORITIZE WHICH ZONING REFORMS WE WANNA MAKE, AND THEN WORK THROUGH BOTH THE HOUSING COMMITTEE, THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE, AND THE ORDINANCE PROCESS TO TAKE THE VOTE TO ACTUALLY CHANGE OUR ZONING.
AND OVER THE LAST TERM, UM, WE NOT ONLY WERE VERY EXPLICIT ABOUT WHICH PROJECTS WE WERE GONNA WORK ON, UM, BUT WE DID THAT CONTINUOUSLY.
AND SO WE SORT OF STARTED THE TERM IN 2024.
AND IN SPRING OF 2024, WE SET OUT A WORK PLAN WITH CLEAR TIMELINES THAT SAID, THESE ARE THE THINGS WE'RE GONNA WORK ON NOW, AND THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO WORK ON LATER.
UM, WE DID THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ZONING, WHICH IS THE, THE BIGGEST PIECE OF WORK, ALTHOUGH THERE WERE OTHER THINGS THAT WERE ON THAT LIST.
AND THEN IN SPRING 2025, WE REVISITED OUR PRIORITIES.
AND SO WE SAID, ACROSS THIS AREA OF HOUSING AND ZONING, WHAT ARE WE GONNA PICK UP NOW? UM, WE SET OUT A NEW WORK PLAN, WORKED ON THAT, AND THEN, UH, AND THEN EARLY IN 2026 PASSED THE FINAL ZONING FOR CAMBRIDGE STREET NORTH MASS AVE PASSED AT THE END OF 2025.
UM, AND THEN RECENTLY WE BROUGHT THROUGH A THIRD WORK PLAN ON HOUSING AND ZONING, AND WE SAID, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A NEW SET OF INITIATIVES WE'RE GONNA WORK ON.
UM, AND SO I THINK WHAT I, WHAT I'M PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT IS AS WE THINK ABOUT THE COUNCIL PRIORITY AREAS, UM, THERE'S FOUR ADDITIONAL AREAS AND OVER THE COMING MONTHS, UM, I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY WHAT WE WANNA, WE WANNA WORK TOWARD.
UM, AND SO FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND EQUITY TRANSPORTATION, UH, CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY AND, UH, GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE, UH, WE WANT TO ACTUALLY WORK BETWEEN CITY DEPARTMENTS,
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UM, THE RELEVANT COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS AND THE CITY COUNCIL AS A WHOLE TO DO SOME OF THAT PRIORITIZATION AND WORK PLANNING AND BE ABLE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, ON TRANSPORTATION, WHAT IS THE WORK THAT WE'RE SETTING OUT TO DO OVER THIS CALENDAR YEAR? AND PROBABLY, UM, PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT BEYOND THAT.UM, AND THAT PRIORITIZED WORK PLAN BECOMES HOW WE CAN EVALUATE OUR SUCCESS TOGETHER, UM, BOTH IN TERMS OF HOW THE COUNCIL IS SETTING PRIORITIES, UM, THE ALIGNMENT THAT WE GET BETWEEN THE CITY COUNCIL AND, UH, DEPARTMENT HEADS AND STAFF, UM, AND THEN HOW WELL WE EXECUTE ON THAT.
AND, UM, AND I THINK, I THINK I WOULD, I WOULD BRING TOGETHER BOTH THE CONVERSATION WE'RE HAVING NOW ABOUT THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF THE CITY MANAGER AND COORDINATING THIS WORK.
UM, BUT THEN ULTIMATELY THERE'S THE, UH, THE RELEVANT WORK PLANS THAT WE COME OUT WITH.
AND THEN I WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT RIGHT NOW THE FINANCE CO-CHAIRS ARE RUNNING A PROCESS, UM, TO HELP PRIORITIZE WHAT THE COUNCIL IS SEEING AS, AS, UH, AS MAJOR INITIATIVES THAT THEY WANNA, THEY WANNA WORK ON.
AND SO I THINK THERE ARE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WORK STREAMS THAT WE'RE GONNA TRY TO BRING TOGETHER OVER THE COMING MONTHS.
UM, AND THAT'S A PIECE OF THE WORK THAT HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE MORE SUBSTANTIVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT IN JUNE AT THE MIDYEAR CHECK-IN.
WE'LL GO NEXT TO PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN TO QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, AND COULD, COULD YOU CALL A PUBLIC COMMENT? OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS YOUNG KIM YOUNG.
YOUNG KIM 17 NORRIS SPEAKING ON THE CITY MANAGER'S ANNUAL GOALS AND REVIEW PROCESS.
CHAIRMAN SABRINA WILLER WITH DUE RESPECT.
BEFORE I BEGIN, I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST SUSPENSION OF THE TIME LIMIT AS THERE ARE THREE INTERTWINING THREATS IN THE MATERIAL BEFORE THE COMMITTEE.
I WILL DO MY BEST TO, UH, UH, FINISH WITHIN THE ALLOTTED TIME, BUT I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THE COMMENT IN A UNIFIED MANNER.
I WILL PAUSE HERE FOR YOUR DETERMINATION BEFORE PROCEEDING, WHICH I THINK IF YOU CAN TRY YOUNG, IF IT'S A FEW MINUTES, FEW SECONDS, LONGER THAN THREE MINUTES, IT'S, IT'S FINE.
I, I DON'T KNOW IF WE WANNA GO A LOT LONGER THAN THAT, BUT FEEL FREE TO TO GO AHEAD AND YOU CAN ALSO EMAIL THE REMAINDER OF YOUR, YOUR COMMENTS.
UM, BUT FEEL FREE, FEEL FREE TO TO GO AHEAD WITH YOUR COMMENTS.
THE CITY COUNCIL SETS POLICY ESTABLISHES PRIOR PRIORITIES AND FUNDS INITIATIVES, BUT IT DOES NOT CONSISTENTLY DEFINE A CLEAR BASELINE NOR MAJOR OUTCOMES, NOR EVALUATE CUMULATIVE IMPACTS BEFORE MOVING FORWARD.
WHAT WAS MISSING FROM WHAT I HEAR, UH, FROM, UH, CITY MANAGER'S PRESENTATION IS THAT WE DO NOT HAVE MEASURABLE MATRIX TO, UH, EVALUATE HIS PERFORMANCE.
IT IS ALL, UH, OBSERVATION AND, UH, UH, SO, UH, UH, THE GAP BECOMES, UH, GAP BECOMES CLEAR IN THE CDD HOUSING AND ZONING PRIORITIES.
MEMO IN THIS PACKET, I'M ASKING YOU TO CLOSE THE GAP IN THREE WAYS.
CONNECT POLICY TO IMPLEMENTATION, ESTABLISH A CLEAR BASELINE, AND MEASURE OUTCOMES OVER TIME, NOT JUST OVER ONE YEAR.
FIRST CONNECT POLICY IMPLEMENTATION.
I SUBMITTED A DETAILED EMAIL OUTLINING HOW CITY MANAGERS CALL COULD BE TIED TO COUNCIL POLICY ORDERS AND THE WAITING REPORT SYSTEM.
AS THESE ELEMENTS ARE NOT CONNECTED IN A SINGLE CONSISTENT STRUCTURE, WHICH IT SHOULD BE.
A SIMPLE CROSS REFERENCE WOULD MAKE EVALUATION CLEARER, MORE TRANSPARENT AND CONSISTENT OVER TIME.
SECOND, ESTABLISH CLEAR BASELINE.
THE CITY HAS ADAPTED MAJOR CHANGES.
A-H-O-M-H-A, THE MASS AVENUE AND CAMBRIDGE STREET CALLED CORRIDOR ZONING.
YET ADDITIONAL ZONING WORK IS, UH, IN, IS PROPOSED.
AND, UH, MATTER OF FACT, TOMORROW THERE WILL BE NO, THIS AFTERNOON THERE WILL BE HEARING ON, UH, CENTRAL SCHOOL REZONING, BUT WE DO NOT HAVE COMPREHENSIVE OVERALL EVALUATION OF WHERE THIS IS ALL ARE AT.
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WE HAVE, UH, UH, BEFORE, UH, MOVING FORWARD, THE CITY SHOULD ESTABLISH CURRENT HOUSING GOALS, GIVEN THE SHIFT FROM ENVISION CAMBRIDGE 2030 TO UPDATE, UH, UPDATED 2040 PROJECTION, THE CURRENT PROJECT, UH, PRODUCTION PICTURE, AND THE COMBINING IMPACT OF RECENT CHANGES.WITHOUT THIS NEW POLICIES RISK BEING LAYERED WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING CUMULATIVE EFFECTS.
THIRD, MAJOR OUTCOMES OVER TIME THROUGH AR 2026 DASH 20, THE COUNCIL HAS REQUESTED A CAP LIFECYCLE RECONCILIATION AS AN OBJECTIVE ONGOING MEASURE PERFORMANCE.
THIS APPROACH SHOULD EXTEND TO OPERATE OPERATING BUDGET ST AT THE DEPARTMENT LEVEL, ENSURING A CONSISTENT WRAP UP YOUNG.
BA UH, MEASURE BASIS FOR EVALUATING BOTH SPENDING AND POLICY IMPLEMENTATION.
ALL THESE PIECES ARE ALREADY THERE.
POLICY, IMPLEMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT.
THE NEXT STEP IS TO CONNECT THEM ALL INTO A SINGLE CONSISTENT FRAMEWORK.
AND IN A CITY LIKE CAMBRIDGE WHERE WE HAVE TOP BRAIN POWER IN THE COUNTRY, THIS SHOULD BE A DOG.
UH, DATABASE MANAGEMENT, IF YOU SET UP THE DATABASE, MA, UH, CORRECTLY, ALL THIS CAN BE DONE BY PUSHOVER BUTTON GENERAT, A REPORT ON ALL, UH, POLICY ORDER RELATED TO HOUSING.
UM, DO WE, HAVE ANYONE ELSE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? NO, THAT WAS ALL, MR. CHAIR.
UM, WE'LL GO NOW TO THE CITY COUNCIL QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION PORTION OF THE MEETING.
UM, I HAVE SOME LOTS OF QUESTIONS, BUT I HAVE DISCUSSED, UM, WITH THE CITY MANAGER ALREADY BEFORE.
I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE, THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
AND, UH, MAYOR SADIKI IS ALSO HERE.
UM, ARE WE DOING THE THROUGH YOU CHAIR TO THE CITY MANAGER?
I LIKE TO USE REVIEW 'CAUSE IT'S NOT JUST A VALUATION.
THERE'S A WHOLE RANGE OF THINGS, I BELIEVE PRETTY STRONGLY IN THEM THAT IT'S HELPFUL.
UM, AND ALSO FOR THE, A EXAMPLE OF THE PRIORITIZATION OF THE HOUSING AND ZONING, UH, PRIORITIES, WHICH WAS LED BY, UM, THE CITY MANAGER AND ALSO A CM PETERS, WHO IS HERE AS WELL.
UM, I, I, I HAVE A COUPLE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
THE FIRST ONE IS HOW DO WE INCLUDE A 360 REVIEW? I KNOW THERE'S A REAL COMMITMENT IN THE CITY TO DO THAT.
WE HAVE THE EMPLOYEE SURVEY, THERE'S SOME DATA HERE ON HOW WE'RE GOING TO EVALUATE THAT.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE A RESIDENT SURVEY, SO WE HAVE SOME SENSE.
I DON'T THINK IT'S DIRECTLY OF HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE, THE CITY MANAGER'S DOING OR THE CITY ADMINISTRATION, BUT YOU CAN CERTAINLY GLEAN A LOT FROM THAT.
HOW I, I THINK, AND THIS IS MAYBE A QUESTION TO YOU CHAIR, HOW DO WE ENSURE A WAY FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERS ACROSS THE CITY TO GIVE INPUT IN A WAY THAT IS, UM, CLEAR AND ALSO FREE OF ANY KIND OF CONCERN ABOUT ANY FEEDBACK? IF THAT MAKES SENSE AS A QUESTION.
YEAH, I'M, I HAVE THOUGHTS OPEN TO HEAR IF THE CITY MANAGERS, UH, HAS, UH, THOUGHTS ON THIS AS WELL.
WE HAVE A RESIDENT SURVEY RIGHT NOW.
WE HAVE, UH, RE RESIDENT SURVEY ON THE CITY IN GENERAL.
WE HAVE A CITY EMPLOYEE FEEDBACK ON CITY MANAGER, AND THEN WE HAVE THIS COUNCIL EVALUATION.
WE DON'T HAVE A, A STAKEHOLDER INPUT FROM THAT.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE, ONE WAY YOU COULD SAY LIKE, COUNCIL IS SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT ALL OF THOSE STAKEHOLDERS, AND WE SHOULD BE TAKING ALL OF THEIR FEEDBACK INTO ACCOUNT IN OUR OWN EVALUATIONS.
WE COULD THINK ABOUT HAVING A, ANOTHER THING.
I THINK WE THEN RUN UP INTO THE ISSUE OF WHO GETS TO FILL THAT OUT AND IS IT EVERY NONPROFIT IN THE CITY? IS IT ABOVE A CERTAIN SIZE? HOW ARE WE DECIDING WHO AND WHO DOESN'T GET TO, TO FILL THAT OUT? UM, BUT I THINK THAT IS A, IS A GOOD QUESTION, RIGHT? WE DO NEED, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CITY MANAGER AND THE CITY IS, AFFECTS A LOT OF DIFFERENT FOLKS.
AND, AND IT MAY BE, I MEAN, I, I CERTAINLY DO THAT, YOU KNOW, ON MY OWN.
I DID THAT WHEN WE WERE DOING THE EVALUATION OF SUPERINTENDENTS TO REACH OUT TO PARTNERS, WHETHER IT'S INSTITUTIONS, NONPROFITS, AND ALSO THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS SINCE THEY'RE A BIG PART, BUT ALSO ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE KENDALL SQUARE ASSOCIATION OR THE NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP.
SO I KNOW IT'S INCUMBENT ON ALL OF US TO DO THAT, BUT I ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT, IT IT'S SOMETHING WE RECOGNIZE IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF UNDERSTANDING HOW THE CITY WORKS.
'CAUSE THEY'RE KEY PARTNERS TO, TO WHAT WE'RE DOING.
ONE IS, UM, AS WE KNOW, WE ALWAYS CONSTANTLY WANNA UNDERSTAND HOW DOES IT, WE CAN MEASURE PROGRESS AND IT'S PRETTY MUCH IMPOSSIBLE IF YOU DON'T HAVE SMART GOALS OR SMART,
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YOU KNOW, HOW DO, SO IT'S PERHAPS ALL OF US, AND ALSO WITH ALL OF US WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND HIS STAFF TO SAY, AS WE FORMULATE THESE GOALS AND AS WE GO THROUGH THE, UM, THE WAYS IN WHICH WE WILL BE ASSESSING PERFORMANCE AND DOING REVIEW TO INCORPORATE MORE SMART GOALS, I'M HAPPY TO WORK ON IT.BUT IT, IF, IF YOU SAY, WELL, IT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF RESIDENT SERVICES, WELL, IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW YOU'RE MEASURING THAT, THEN IT'S GONNA BE REALLY HARD.
YOU CAN EITHER SAY THEY'RE NOT DELIVERED OR THEY ARE DELIVERED.
SO I'M NOT SURE IF WE HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT, BUT I'D BE INTERESTED IN HEARING HOW THAT IS BEING WORKED ON CITY MANAGER.
WONG, DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT? I KNOW YOU'VE THOUGHT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT NOTCHED A LITTLE BIT, QUITE A BIT ABOUT GOALS AND METRICS AND, UM, WANT TO SORT OF TALK WITH YOUR THINKING ABOUT IT.
I KNOW IT CAME UP IN OUR CONVERSATION A LITTLE BIT.
UH, YEAH, I THINK, UM, I THINK WE WE'RE INCLUDING SOME OF THE TARGETED METRICS THAT WE'VE BEEN TRACKING OVER TIME.
I THINK, I THINK A LOT OF THAT IS ENCOMPASSED IN BOTH, UM, SEEING SOME OF THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK ON THE RESIDENT SURVEY ON CQ CLICK FIX, UM, INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT, UM, ON THE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY.
UM, AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY THERE'S A LOT OF, A LOT OF WORK THAT WE DO WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T NECESSARILY BOILED DOWN, UM, OUR PERFORMANCE INTO A SINGLE METRIC.
UM, BUT THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT I'M HAPPY TO WORK WITH THE COUNCIL ON IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE CITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE JUST HAD A PRETTY GOOD CONVERSATION ABOUT SNOW OPERATIONS AS AN EXAMPLE.
UM, AND THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF THE HARD PART, RIGHT? IT'S SORT OF LIKE WE DO KIND OF KNOW WHEN THE SNOW IS GETTING CLEARED SUFFICIENTLY.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS THAT WE DO TRACK THAT, BUT WE HAVEN'T QUITE LIKE BOWLED THAT INTO ONE NUMBER THAT WE CAN REPORT ON.
UM, AND I THINK THAT ALSO IS TOUGH 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE, UM, AND A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF EXPECTATION, UM, IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF, UH, WHETHER YOU'RE ON A MAIN CORRIDOR VERSUS WHETHER YOU'RE ON A SIDE STREET.
UM, SO I THINK THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE WORTH DISCUSSION.
UM, AND IT JUST BECOMES A BIT OF HOW YOU THINK ABOUT, UM, HOW MANY THINGS WE WANNA ULTIMATELY TRY AND TRACK, UM, AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR US TO PERFORM OVERALL.
I MEAN, I THINK A LOT OF WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS, UM, IS CAPTURE THE OVERALL FEEL FOR WHETHER GOVERNMENT IS PERFORMING.
UM, AND I DO THINK IN MANY WAYS A LOT OF WHAT, WHAT GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE LOOKS LIKE WHEN IT'S DONE REALLY WELL IS THAT PEOPLE, UM, IS THAT PEOPLE ARE, UH, ARE GENERALLY TRUSTING THAT THE TRASH IS GETTING PICKED UP, THE SNOW IS GETTING PLOWED, GOOD POLICY IS BEING MADE.
UM, AND, AND IT SORT OF FADES INTO THE BACKGROUND.
AND EVEN THOUGH THERE'S SOME CONCERN IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT SOME OF US IN THE COUNCIL AND SOME OF THE CITIES, MANY OTHER SCORES ARE REALLY, REALLY HIGH.
AND IT IS WAY, WAY, WAY HIGHER THAN NATIONALLY AT A LOT OF LEVELS.
SO I THINK IT IS, BUT I, I, I DO THINK IT'S, IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR ALL OF US ON THE COUNCIL AS WELL TO UNDERSTAND AND TO WORK ON IT.
SO I'M HAPPY TO, YOU KNOW, WORK AS PART OF THIS COMMITTEE OR, OR HAVE, HAVE US ALL THINK ABOUT IT.
UM, AN EXAMPLE OF A SPECIFIC GOAL WOULD BE, I'M REALLY GLAD THAT THIS, AS THE CITY MANAGER NOTED, FOR SOME REASON THERE WAS NOT EVALUATION AND REVIEW OF PRIOR CITY MANAGERS FOR A LONG TIME.
IN FACT, I THINK IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS REQUIRED NOT TO GET DONE, WHICH IS STUNNING TO ME THAT, UM, THAT HAPPENED.
UH, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE VERY GLAD TO BRING IN IS ALSO THE, THE NUMBER OF REVIEWS THAT WERE DONE CITYWIDE.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE AN EXAMPLE OF A SMART GOAL TO MAKE SURE, I KNOW JUST GOING BACK TO MY SCHOOL COMMITTEE ROLE, THAT THERE WAS A, A TIME WHEN SOMETHING LIKE NONE OF THE TOP ADMINISTRATORS IN THE ENTIRE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAD BEEN EVALUATED OR REVIEWED FOR FIVE YEARS IN A ROW, WHICH WAS PRETTY SHOCKING TO ME AND LED ME TO FEEL LIKE OUR LEADERSHIP WAS SEVERELY LACKING.
THAT WAS THE SUPERINTENDENT, NOT THE, SO AN EXAMPLE WOULD BE, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE AND UNDERSTAND HOW IS IT THAT ALL THE DIRECT REPORTS TO BOTH, UH, YOU CITY MANAGER AND ALSO THE, UM, DCM WHO HAS A NUMBER OF DEPARTMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE REVIEWS HAPPEN.
'CAUSE I'M A STRONG BELIEVER THAT IT'S, IT'S ONLY HELPFUL BECAUSE IF YOU ARE, IF THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY IT.
AND IF THERE'S WAYS IN WHICH THINGS ARE GOING WELL, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO CELEBRATE THAT.
AND I REALLY, UH, BELIEVE THAT'S, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN ALL DO.
AND I WILL NOTE THAT WHILE I HAVE DONE EVALUATION OF MY AID A COUPLE TIMES, I THINK I'M REALIZING I WAS A LITTLE, I'M A LITTLE LATE THIS YEAR, AND I HOPE THE ENTIRE COUNCIL IS DOING THAT WITH OUR OWN STUFF AS WELL.
BUT THAT'S AN EXAMPLE WHERE, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S ON HERE, BUT I WOULD HOPE THAT THOSE REVIEWS ARE HAPPENING AND THAT WE WOULD GET A SPECIFIC ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THEY A HUNDRED PERCENT DONE AND HAVE THEY BEEN COMPLETED? THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING I'M CERTAINLY INTERESTED IN, IN MAKING SURE THAT IT, IT WORKS.
[00:25:01]
COUNSELOR AZI, VICE MAYOR ZE OR MAYOR SADIKI.UM, CAN YOU HEAR ME YET? YEAH, WE CAN HEAR YOU.
UH, I JUST WANTED TO BE MARKED PRESENT.
I'VE BEEN HERE THE WHOLE CONVERSATION.
I KNOW THERE WAS JUST SOME AUDIO EARLIER.
I HAVE YOU MARKED DOWN FOR 1238.
UM, THANKS FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
UH, I THINK CONSOLIDATING THE PERFORMANCE AREAS, UM, MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
AND, UM, I APPRECIATE, UH, YOU TAKING THAT FEEDBACK TO SEPARATE THE ADMINISTRATIVE WORK FROM THE COUNCIL FACING WORK.
I THINK THERE'S JUST SO MUCH HAPPENING ON THE OPERATIONAL SIDE, AND WHILE IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE GOALS THERE, UH, IT'S HELPFUL FOR THE COUNCIL TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY EVALUATE THE AREAS WHERE WE'RE MORE, UH, DIRECTLY INVOLVED.
UH, I AGREE THAT, UH, IT MAKES SENSE TO REMOVE SOME OF THE MORE ROUTINE AND, UH, OR ONGOING ITEMS. I DID, UH, REFLECT ON SOME OF THE GOALS FROM LAST YEAR, AND I HAVE SOME WONDERINGS AROUND WHETHER SOME ARE WORTH KEEPING OR JUST SPEAKING TO AND TALKING THROUGH THOSE.
UH, I THINK WHAT ENDS UP IN THE DOC, UH, IT KIND OF SIGNALS COMMITMENT AND GIVES US BETTER INSIGHT INTO KEY AREAS.
AND SO WITH THAT, I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THE GOAL AROUND BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, WHICH WAS PARTIALLY MET.
AND I THINK YOU SHARED WITH THIS BODY AND ME THAT THERE ARE SOME UPDATES, BUT IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE AND GET SOME MORE CLARITY AROUND NEXT STEPS, UM, GIVEN SOME OF THE COUNCIL'S INTEREST.
THE OTHER GOAL I WAS REFLECTING ON WAS AROUND AD AI, WHICH WAS ALSO PARTIALLY MET.
AND I THINK FROM MY NOTES, UM, I THINK WE HEARD THAT THE OFFICE OF EQUITY AND INCLUSION DEVELOPED A STRATEGIC PLAN.
UH, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND THAT PLAN AND KIND OF HOW IT'S GOING TO ROLL OUT THIS YEAR.
AND THEN THE THIRD THING, UH, WAS THAT WHILE THE GOALS AROUND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND COUNCIL ENGAGEMENT AND THE BUDGET PROCESS WERE DEFINITELY MET LAST YEAR, I DO THINK THOSE ARE AREAS THE COUNCIL IS PROBABLY GOING TO CONTINUE TO CARE A LOT ABOUT.
UH, AND SO I DO THINK ON MY END, I'M WONDERING HOW WE CAN MAKE THOSE POTENTIALLY EXPLICIT PRIORITIES AND HEAR, UH, HOW THAT WORK WILL CONTINUE TO BE, UH, STRENGTHENED.
SO THOSE ARE KIND OF THE THREE POINTS I HAD, BUT OVERALL, I THINK, UM, IT'S A STRONG FRAMEWORK AND I APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS AND COUNCILLOR SABRINA'S, UM, WORK, UM, IN SETTING ALL THIS UP.
UM, BUT I JUST WANTED TO FLAG THOSE AREAS AND ALSO GIVE YOU SOME OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO THIS SECOND MEASURE.
UM, YES, I THINK, YOU KNOW, AGREE THAT THESE FRAMEWORKS HAVE BEEN HELPFUL FOR LISTING THINGS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING BACK AND HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, I'VE RECOGNIZED IS ALSO THAT THE GOALS CAN NEVER ENCOMPASS EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING TOGETHER OR EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING WITHIN THE CITY.
UM, THERE'S SIMPLY LIKE TOO MANY PROJECTS, INITIATIVES AND DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING.
UM, AND SO, UH, I THINK WE'VE GOTTEN BETTER, UH, OVER THE LAST TWO TERMS AT BRINGING TOPICS THROUGH, UM, WHETHER THAT'S THE CITY PROVIDING AN UPDATE.
AND I THINK WE'VE ACTUALLY GOT A COUPLE LINED UP IN TERMS OF, UH, SOME OF THE GOALS THAT WE'RE SETTING AND KEEPING THE COUNCIL, UM, APPRISED ON SOMETHING LIKE OUR IT MODERNIZATION PLAN AND, UH, HOW WE ARE THINKING ABOUT MOVING FORWARD WITHIN ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING UPGRADE.
THIS IS PEOPLESOFT, WHICH CURRENTLY RUNS ALL OF OUR FINANCE AND OUR HR SYSTEMS, UM, BUT ALSO USING THE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE BETTER.
AND SO, UM, I WOULD SAY, UM, WE ARE ALWAYS OPEN, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON THE TOPIC, UH, TO BRING FORWARD UPDATES, WHETHER THAT'S, UM, THROUGH A REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING.
UM, AND WE CAN PROVIDE A QUICK MEMO, UH, FOR A LITTLE BIT OF DISCUSSION.
UM, AND THEN SOMETIMES IF THERE'S A DESIRE TO HAVE MORE DISCUSSION, THEN IT GETS REFERRED TO THE RELEVANT COMMITTEE.
UM, AND SO, UH, I'D PROBABLY PUT, UM, SOME OF THE WORK ON A DI INTO THAT CATEGORY, UM, WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF WORK HAPPENING AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO, UH, BRING SOMETHING THROUGH THE COUNCIL, UM, AND THEN HAVE ANY COMMITTEE DISCUSSION IF THAT'S DESIRED.
UH, WE'VE DONE SOMETHING SIMILAR IN TERMS OF REGULAR CONVERSATIONS, UM, ON THINGS LIKE URBAN FORESTRY OR SEWER SEPARATION, UM, OR, OR OTHER AREAS, UM, OF, UH, THE CITY'S OPERATION OR, UH, OR ORGANIZATIONAL WORK, UM, ON BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
UM, THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF ADMINISTRATIVE WORK THAT I THINK WE'VE REALLY IMPROVED ON.
UM, AND SO ENSURING THAT, ESPECIALLY AS WE'VE UPGRADED, UM, OUR, UM, OUR SYSTEMS, UM, THAT WE'RE CLEAR ON A SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH, WE KNOW EXACTLY WHO IS ACTIVE IN SERVING ON EVERY
[00:30:01]
ONE OF OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.WE HAVE RIGHT NOW 54 ACTIVE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS WITH ABOUT 560 PEOPLE, UH, FROM OUR COMMUNITY THAT ARE SERVING IN DIFFERENT ROLES.
UM, AND SO I THINK THIS HAS BEEN, UM, THIS HAS BEEN REALLY HELPFUL.
UH, WE'VE ALSO CREATED MORE STRUCTURE INTERNALLY FOR, UM, HOW TO SUPPORT THE STAFF THAT ARE WORKING WITH EACH OF THOSE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
UM, AND I THINK WE'RE STILL STRENGTHENING THAT STRUCTURE, BUT ESSENTIALLY ENSURING THAT THERE IS A REGULAR MEETING TO GET ALL OF THOSE LIAISONS TOGETHER ACROSS EVERY SINGLE DEPARTMENT SO THAT WE CAN BE SUPPORTING THEM AND ENSURING THAT, ESPECIALLY AS THEY'RE RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, THINKING ABOUT GOVERNANCE AND THINKING ABOUT THE WORK OF THOSE COMMISSIONS, THAT ALL OF THAT IS GOING SMOOTHLY.
UM, THERE'S A PROJECT THAT I, I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT COMING OUT OF SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS AT THE END OF LAST YEAR WHERE, UH, I THINK WE DO WANT TO GO AND DO, UM, INITIAL PHASE.
WE WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO HIT ALL 54 BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AT THE SAME TIME, BUT TO IDENTIFY A SUBSET OF THOSE AND REVIEW THE UNDERLYING ORDINANCES, UM, AND JUST RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE, UM, SOME BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT ARE DOING WORK THAT IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN, UH, THERE ARE ORIGINALLY COMMISSIONED FOR.
UM, BUT ALSO WE SHOULD LOOK AT SOME OF THE STRUCTURES AND SAY, YOU KNOW, IS, DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT NUMBER OF PEOPLE? WE HAVE ONE BOARDING COMMISSION THAT HAS A REQUIREMENT IN THE ORDINANCE FOR 38 MEMBERS, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT TOO MANY.
UM, AND I DON'T THINK WE'VE EVER HAD 38 MEMBERS OF THAT BOARD.
UM, AND THEN THERE SHOULD BE SOME LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY AS WE THINK ABOUT, UM, HOW THE ORDINANCE IS SETTING UP ALL OF THESE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT MAY ACTUALLY FUNCTION SIMILARLY.
UM, AND I THINK THERE'S ALSO WORK TO THINK ABOUT WHAT GOES IN ORDINANCE AND WHAT SHOULD BE PART OF A BYLAW THAT THE COMMISSIONS ARE ACTUALLY SETTING UP AND VOTING ON.
AND SO, UM, THERE'S A, THERE'S, THERE'S SOME WORK THAT WE NEED TO ACTUALLY SCOPE OUT.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S IN THE WORKS AND CAN PROVIDE A MORE SUBSTANTIVE UPDATE, UM, AS WE, AS WE MOVE THAT ALONG.
UM, I'D AGREE IN TERMS OF THE WORK ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, THAT'S ALWAYS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, I DO THINK THAT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WORK IS BOTH SOMETHING THAT WE'RE STRENGTHENING CENTRALLY AS WE THINK ABOUT THE APPROACH ACROSS THE CITY.
AND THEN ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, AS WE HAVE DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY COUNCIL, THERE ARE HOTSPOTS AS WE THINK ABOUT MAJOR CHANGES OR INITIATIVES THAT ARE ROLLING OUT AND HOW WE ACTUALLY DO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ENG ENGAGE, YOU KNOW, ON, ON THOSE SPECIFIC PROJECTS.
UM, AND SO ALWAYS OPEN TO FEEDBACK DISCUSSION.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S, THERE'S BEEN REALLY GOOD WORK AS WE'VE EXPERIMENTED WITH, UM, HOW TO OUTREACH A LOT MORE PROACTIVELY.
UM, SO I'D SAY THE WORK OF THE CIVIC ACTION SQUAD, I THINK HAS DONE A LOT TO, UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE HAVE NEIGHBORHOOD EFFECTS GO OUT AND ENSURE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS, FOR INSTANCE, THAT A ROAD RACE IS COMING, UM, OR TO BRING PEOPLE OUT TO, TO AN EVENT, UM, THAT WE THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO, UH, VERY OPEN TO TO MORE CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT.
YEAH, I THINK, UM, I, I THINK ON THE A DI 80 EI WORK AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WORK, I, I THINK WHAT I, I THINK WAS THINKING THROUGH IS WHEN I THINK ABOUT THESE KEY INITIATIVES, FIRST, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO SEE HOW YOU LANDED ON THOSE KEY INITIATIVES.
AND IF YOU COULD JUST SPEAK REALLY BRIEFLY ON THAT.
AND I DO THINK ON THE BOARD, THE COMMISSIONS PIECE, BECAUSE IT'S ORDINANCE RELATED AND THERE'S A INTERPLAY THERE, I DO THINK IT COULD BE HELPFUL, BENEFICIAL TO HAVE IT BE A PART OF THIS, UM, IN SOME WAY.
SO THOSE ARE JUST MY KIND OF INITIAL REACTIONS TO WHAT YOU JUST SAID.
UM, I THINK IN TERMS OF THE THREE KEY INITIATIVES, UM, THESE FELT LIKE, UM, THE LARGER WORK THAT, UM, THAT ACTUALLY WERE, WE'RE, WE'RE BOTH THINKING ABOUT IN RESPONSE TO THE CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD WITH THE CITY COUNCIL, AND THEN ALSO, UM, THE WORK THAT FEELS SUBSTANTIVE TO, UM, TO THE CITY ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE.
SO I'D SAY LIKE IT MODERNIZATION, ERP UPGRADE IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE, UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN WHEN I CAME IN, THERE WAS A REAL RECOGNITION THAT WE, UH, WERE WORKING ON PRETTY OUTDATED SYSTEMS. WE HAD A LOT OF PAPER MOVING AROUND THE CITY.
SOME OF THAT I THINK WE HAVE ADDRESSED OVER TIME.
UM, THERE'S STILL A FAIR AMOUNT OF PAPER, BUT WE HAVE MOVED A LOT INTO DOCUSIGN AND, AND WE'VE ACTUALLY, UM, DONE A LOT OF WORK ON THAT IT SIDE.
UM, BUT I THINK, I THINK BRINGING FORWARD A MORE MULTI-YEAR PLAN WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR THE COUNCIL TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
UM, AND THEN WE REALLY ARE GETTING TO THE END OF LIFE ON OUR EXISTING PEOPLESOFT SYSTEM, WHICH WAS IMPLEMENTED, YOU KNOW, 20 YEARS AGO.
UM, SO WE'RE, I THINK, SKIPPING A COUPLE OF GENERATIONS OF ERP SYSTEMS. AND, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE ENTERING A PHASE OF TIME WHERE I THINK OUR IT INFRASTRUCTURE IS GOING TO BE REALLY IMPORTANT TO BRING INTO A MORE MODERN AGE.
[00:35:01]
WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION WITH THE COUNCIL, UH, ABOUT THAT.AND, AND WE'LL SHARE MORE DETAILS.
UM, THE MUNICIPAL PORTFOLIO PRO, UH, PROP, THE MUNICIPAL PROPERTY PORTFOLIO PLAN, UM, IS ACTUALLY VERY EXCITING.
AND, AND WE'VE HAD BITS OF THIS CONVERSATION, AND WE'RE GONNA START IT AT THIS APRIL 6TH ROUND TABLE.
UM, BUT I THINK THERE ARE REALLY TWO SIDES OF THIS.
THERE'S, UM, THERE'S A MUNICIPAL PROPERTY PORTFOLIO THAT THINKS ABOUT THE LONG TERM ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATIONAL NEEDS THAT THE CITY HAS.
SO WE THINK ABOUT, UM, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS NEEDS OPERATIONAL SPACE.
UM, CITY EMPLOYEES NEED APPROPRIATE OFFICE SPACE.
UM, WHEN I STARTED, THERE WAS A SEVERE SHORTAGE OF SPACE.
WE HAD GROWN HEADCOUNT VERY SIGNIFICANTLY AS WE BUILT A LOT OF PROGRAMS AND HAD NOT ACTUALLY EXPANDED THE FOOTPRINT OF OFFICE SPACE, UM, WITH THE ADDITION OF 6 89 MASS AVE.
I THINK WE'VE MORE OR LESS RESOLVED SOME OF THAT AND, UH, AND WE'RE IN A HEALTHIER, UM, PLACE IN TERMS OF PEOPLE HAVING A PLACE TO SIT, A PLACE TO DO WORK.
UM, BUT I DO THINK THERE'S, UM, THERE'S LONGER TERM QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THE CITY'S OFFICE SPACE CONFIGURATION, UM, SERVES OUR NEEDS.
WELL, AND THEN WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LONG TERM, EVERY BUILDING WE HAVE IS A BUILDING THAT WE NEED TO MAINTAIN THAT ULTIMATELY WE HAVE TO RECAPITALIZE.
UM, AND ALSO, UM, EACH OF THOSE BUILDINGS, UH, HAS TO, BY 2035 AND 2050 MEET THE BUT REQUIREMENTS THAT WE PASSED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S A BIG CONVERSATION ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO IN TERMS OF THE CITY'S RESPONSIBILITY TO, TO MAINTAIN, UH, THOSE BUILDINGS AND WHETHER IT WORKS FOR, UM, WORKS FOR US FOR, FOR JUST THE STAFF THAT ARE, THAT ARE DOING THE WORK OF THE CITY EVERY DAY.
THERE'S ANOTHER SIDE OF THIS CONVERSATION, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS ABOUT ALL THE MUNICIPAL PROPERTY THAT WE HAVE AND WHETHER THEY'RE BEING PUT TO THE BEST USE AS WE THINK ABOUT INVESTMENTS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S ALSO A PRETTY EXCITING CONVERSATION.
AND, UM, AND WE DON'T HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE HUNDREDS OF PROPERTIES THAT WE CAN, WE CAN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, UM, WE CAN PUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, BUT THERE ARE SOME OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, AND THERE'S A CONVERSATION WITH THE COUNCIL AS WE THINK ABOUT, UM, HOW WE PRIORITIZE WHICH PROPERTIES WE WANNA TALK ABOUT, AND THEN HOW WE IDENTIFY COMMUNITY NEEDS AND HOW WE WORK ON, UM, WORK ON THAT OVER THE COMING YEARS.
AND THEN OVERARCHING ALL OF THAT, I THINK WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT HOW WE MAINTAIN THAT PROPERTY PORTFOLIO HAS TO BE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE.
AND SO, UM, IT IS A BIG PART OF OUR CAPITAL BUDGET IS THE MFIP, THE MUNICIPAL FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
UM, AND SO AS WE THINK ABOUT THAT LONG-TERM PLAN, THERE'S BOTH, UM, HOW MUCH COST WE TAKE ON TO MAINTAIN THAT PORTFOLIO, UM, AND THEN, AND THEN HOW WE THINK ABOUT ENSURING THAT THAT FITS INTO OUR LONG-TERM FINANCIAL PLANNING.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY A REALLY EXCITING PIECE OF WORK THAT, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO HAVE, UH, THIS TERM, UM, STARTING THIS YEAR.
AND THEN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING IS A CONVERSATION THAT'S COME UP A COUPLE OF TIMES.
UM, I THINK WE ACTUALLY HAVE BOTH A VERY STRONG FRAMEWORK WITHIN THE PUBLIC SAFETY SPHERE.
AND SO FIRE POLICE, UH, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, UM, HAVE VERY CLEAR PROTOCOLS FOR HOW THEY ORGANIZE.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT SNOW, THERE'S A WHOLE SNOW OPERATIONAL TEAM, UM, THAT ACTIVATES AND, UH, AND, AND IS VERY REGULAR AND, AND INSTITUTIONALIZED.
UM, I DO THINK FORMALIZING A CITYWIDE INCIDENT COMMAND STRUCTURE AND PLANNING FOR A BROADER RANGE OF POTENTIAL SCENARIOS, UM, WOULD BE REALLY VALUABLE.
AND, UM, IN, IN SORT OF THE, UH, THE IDEAL CONDITIONS, YOU'RE BOTH THINKING THROUGH, UM, SOME OF THE LESS FREQUENT POSSIBLE SCENARIOS THAT COULD HAPPEN, BUT YOU'RE ALSO IDENTIFYING SPECIFIC ROLES FOR STAFF, YOU'RE BUILDING THAT INTO THEIR JOB DESCRIPTIONS.
UM, YOU'RE CONDUCTING TRAINING AND YOU'RE DOING ANNUAL EXERCISES SO THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, IF SOMETHING HAPPENS, THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT WE ACTIVATE AT DIFFERENT LEVELS, UH, OF EMERGENCIES.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S A PIECE THAT I THINK WE'RE READY TO TACKLE AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT WORKING ON.
UM, CAN I ASK ONE MORE QUESTION? YEAH, GO AHEAD.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT ISN'T NECESSARILY ON HERE, BUT WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT MODERNIZATION AND SO FORTH, I JUST THOUGHT ABOUT, WE HAD A QUICK RUN CONVERSATION AROUND AI AND THE USE OF AI AND HOW GOVERNMENTS ARE KIND OF USING AI.
AND I KNOW WE HAD SOMEWHAT AT THIS WORKING GROUP, UH, BUT I, I THINK IT'S AN OUTSTANDING QUESTION, AND I DO THINK THE NEXT, I MEAN, WE HAVE THE PILOT, MICROSOFT PILOT, WE, WHATEVER IT'S, IS THAT WHAT IT'S CALLED? CO-PILOT? CLEARLY I'M CO-PILOT.
UM, WE'RE NOT READY TO HAVE AI THE PILOT YET, BUT WE CAN, MAYBE THAT'S WHY THEY NAMED IT THAT.
SO I THINK GENERALLY, HOW ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT THAT, UM, JUST BRIEFLY, AND I DON'T THINK, OBVIOUSLY IT SHOULD BE A PART OF A KEY INITIATIVE YET, BUT I DO THINK IT
[00:40:01]
KIND OF, THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS AROUND HOW GOVERNMENTS ARE GOING TO BE USING AI.UM, WE ARE GONNA BRING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, THE CITY DID DEVELOP AN AI POLICY, UM, THAT WENT OUT AND WE HAVE ROLLED OUT COPILOT AS, UM, AS AN AI TOOL THAT STAFF CAN USE WITHIN OUR ECOSYSTEM.
UM, WE'LL BRING THAT FORWARD THROUGH A FUTURE COUNCIL MEETING.
I THINK IT'S EITHER THE NEXT ONE OR THE ONE AFTER THAT.
UM, AND THEN I THINK, UH, HAPPY FOR US TO HAVE SOME OF THAT DISCUSSION WITH THE COUNCIL.
UM, OBVIOUSLY AI IS A COMPLICATED TOPIC RIGHT NOW WHERE THERE'S BOTH ENORMOUS POTENTIAL.
AND, AND I THINK, UM, FOR THOSE WHO ARE USING AI, IT CAN BE VERY USEFUL IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.
UM, THERE'S ALSO A WHOLE BUNCH OF CHALLENGES, UM, THAT COME ABOUT FROM, UM, FROM AI USAGE, THE APPLICATIONS OF AI.
UM, AND, AND I THINK VERY INTERESTED IN HAVING THAT CONVERSATION, CONVERSATION WITH THE CITY COUNCIL AND THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE APPETITE FOR THE CITY TO PUT SOME RESOURCES INTO, UM, THINKING ABOUT, UM, WHAT THE POTENTIAL USE CASES ARE AND HOW WE WOULD, UM, BOTH CAPTURE SOME OF THOSE BENEFITS, BUT ALSO AVOID SOME OF THE RISKS, UM, THAT ARE ASSOCIATED.
I YIELD, UM, ONE RECOGNIZED WE HAVE, UH, COUNSELOR SIMMONS WITH US, UM, COUNSELOR SIMMONS.
UH, DO YOU WANNA BE HEARD, COUNCILOR? OH, COUNCILOR SIMMONS.
UM, THAT ALL HAD A FEW QUESTIONS, REMARKS.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS COUNCILOR NOLAN, UH, MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, I'M GLAD GLAD WE'RE DOING THIS.
WE DID NOT DO CITY EVALUAT, CITY MANAGER EVALUATIONS MY FIRST TERM.
UM, I THINK IT'S A, A GOOD PRACTICE WE'VE SET UP IN THE MAYBE FOURTH YEAR NOW TO DO IT.
UM, I'VE DONE A LOT OF THOUGHT ABOUT IT, AND I THINK IT'S NATURALLY GONNA BE AN IMPERFECT PROCESS IN TERMS OF JUST FIGURING OUT WHAT WE'RE EVALUATING, WHAT WE'RE NOT EVALUATING, HOW WE ARE EVALUATING IT.
UM, I THINK PART OF THE REASON THAT IS, UH, CHALLENGING IS NATURALLY AN IMPERFECT PROCESS IS SOME OF IT IS POLITICS.
I THINK OF, UM, HOUSING AS AN EXAMPLE.
AND WE'VE ALL, ALL THE COUNSELORS HAVE SAID HOUSING IS, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS ONE OF OUR MAIN GOALS.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE IT AS A, AS A SPECIFIC GOAL HERE.
IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT OVER THE YEARS IS SHOULD WE HAVE GOALS LIKE TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, CLIMATE? I THINK PART OF THE REASON, UH, IT'S CHALLENGING TO DO IT THAT WAY IS TO DETERMINE WHAT YOU ARE EVALUATING AND MEASURING.
AND, UH, IF, IF YOU ARE HAPPY WITH THE, THE CITY'S PROGRESS ON HOUSING OR, OR UNHAPPY, IS THAT BECAUSE OF THE CITY MANAGER'S PERFORMANCE OR IS THAT BECAUSE OF THE DECISIONS WE'VE MADE AS A COUNCIL AROUND ZONING AND AROUND FUNDING DECISIONS? RIGHT.
THAT IS ALWAYS GONNA BE A, A CHALLENGING PIECE ABOUT HOW YOU'RE FACTORING IN THE DATA INTO THE EVALUATION.
UM, THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULDN'T DO IT.
I THINK IT'S GOOD WE DO, BUT I THINK INEVITABLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE COUNCIL'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY MANAGER, WHAT WE'RE PURSUING AS A, AS A POLITICAL DECISION AT THE END, UH, UH, UH, FACTORS INTO A LOT OF THESE THINGS.
AND SO THAT IS JUST A CHALLENGE OF HOW YOU ARE EVALUATING IT.
UM, COUNCILOR NOLAN HAD A, HAD A GREAT POINT ABOUT SMART GOALS AND, AND FIGURING THOSE PIECES OUT.
I DO THINK THAT THAT POINT ABOUT POLITICS SORT OF GOES INTO THAT.
I THINK THERE'S SORT OF, THERE'S AN OPERATIONAL SIDE FOR GOALS, UM, AND THOSE THAT IT HAVING A SPECIFIC METRIC, I THINK IS, UM, EASIER AND, AND SOMETHING WE SHOULD REALLY STRIVE FOR.
SOME OF THAT, I THINK WE HAVE ON THE, THE 2026 GOALS UNDER MEASURES, THERE'S THE CONFIDENCE IN DIRECT SUPERVISOR, THERE'S THE AAA BOND READING, THERE'S THE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY.
UM, THE PIECE AROUND REVIEWS OF, OF CITY STAFF, DEPARTMENT HEADS.
I THINK MAYBE A GOOD THING WE WANNA INCLUDE IN HERE, UM, I THINK ON THE POLICY GOALS, IT IS MORE CHALLENGING TO LIKE PUT SOME SPECIFIC METRICS INTO THAT.
IF THE GOAL IS CREATE HOW MUCH HOUSING, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, ARE FOLKS WHO WANT MORE AND FASTER WORK ON THAT.
RIGHT? IT IS A LITTLE MORE CHALLENGING TO PUT SPECIFIC METRICS TO SOME OF THE, THE POLICY GOALS IF WE'RE TALKING BIKE LANES OR HOUSING OR, OR PIECES.
UM, BUT WE CAN THINK ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
AND I AM, UM, HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP WITH THAT WITH INDIVIDUAL COUNSELORS.
IF, IF YOU WANNA TALK MORE ABOUT, UH, SPECIFIC SMART GOALS AND HOW THEY MAY, UM, FACTOR IN HERE.
UM, I WOULD SAY FOR MYSELF, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS, THIS, EVERY YEAR WE'VE DONE THIS HAS CHANGED A LITTLE BIT IN TERMS OF VALUATION CRITERIA.
AND I THINK THIS IS CONTINUES TO BE, UH, AN IMPROVEMENT.
I'M GLAD WE SPLIT OUT COUNCIL COLLABORATION TO CITY ADMINISTRATION, UM, INTO DIFFERENT AREAS AND HAVE THAT SEPARATELY.
I WAS JUST LOOKING BACK AT THE, THE RUBRIC FROM LAST YEAR, AND WE JUST HAD MORE BUCKETS IN THAT, THAT I THINK WERE, WERE TOUGHER.
WE HAD, THERE WAS A BUCKET THAT SAID LEADERSHIP, THERE WAS ALSO A BUCKET THAT SAID OPERATIONS.
THERE WAS ALSO A BUCKET THAT SAID MANAGEMENT.
AND THERE'S JUST BIG OVERLAPPING DIAGRAMS. I THINK THESE ARE BETTER BUCKETS TO EVALUATE ON.
UM, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT IS, IT IS, FOLKS ARE GONNA BRING THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES AS COUNSELORS TO THIS EVALUATION.
BUT THAT IS THE, THE PURPOSE OF HAVING THIS DISCUSSION.
[00:45:01]
THING I WOULD WOULD MENTION HERE IS, UM, WE, SO WE DON'T, UH, IN THIS HAVE VERY SPECIFIC CATEGORIES AROUND HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, UH, CLIMATE, UH, LISTED OUT HERE.UM, WHAT WE DO HAVE, THOUGH WE'VE ALREADY DONE IS THE COUNCIL PRIORITIES.
WE HAD THAT CONVERSATION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WHERE WE SAID HOUSING, TRANSIT, CLIMATE, UH, THINGS WERE OUR PRIORITIES.
I, I HAVE THAT DOCUMENT, I CAN INCLUDE THAT WHEN WE SEND THAT AROUND TO COUNSELORS, JUST SO WE HAVE REFERENCE, THIS IS WHAT WE SEND OUR PRIORITIES ON.
SO COUNSELORS CAN LOOK AT THAT AS THEY'RE FILLING THAT OUT.
I THINK THAT IS A ANOTHER WAY TO DO THIS.
UM, SO I'LL, I'LL MAKE A NOTE TO DO THAT AS WELL WHEN WE'RE, WHEN I'M SENDING AROUND THIS, UH, EVALUATION RUBRIC TO ALSO INCLUDE OUR COUNCIL PRIORITIES SO WE CAN ALL REFERENCE THAT.
UM, THAT WAS MOST OF THE FEEDBACK I HAD.
UM, YEAH, OTHER DISCUSSION, COUNCILOR NOLAN.
UM, GLAD THAT THE, YOU BROUGHT UP THOSE COUNCIL GOALS.
THAT WAS SOMETHING, AND ALSO THAT THE MAYOR BROUGHT UP AI BECAUSE I WROTE IT DOWN AS SOMETHING WE WERE NOT EVEN SHARING NOTES, BUT UNDER THE KEY INITIATIVES, IF WE'RE DOING AN IT MODERNIZATION, WE CANNOT DO IT WITHOUT INCLUDING SOME KIND OF UNDERSTANDING OF AI.
SO, UH, AS AGAIN, I KNOW WE'VE ALL HEARD IT, WE DON'T KNOW HOW IT WILL UNFOLD, BUT WE KNOW IT WILL UNFOLD AND WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO BE INCORPORATING IT.
AND IN FACT, FROM EVEN A COUPLE YEARS AGO, THE SUGGESTION TO IMPROVE CITY OPERATIONS BY INCLUDING AI ON FINDING THINGS ON OUR WEBSITE, I STILL THINK IT'S REALLY EASY.
IT'S NOT EVEN THAT COMPLICATED.
AND IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE, UH, YESTERDAY.
AND SO MAYBE IT COULD BE DONE TOMORROW.
LITERALLY, NOT TO BE TOO SNARKY, BUT IT'S SOMETHING SO MANY OTHER CITIES ARE ALREADY DOING TO, TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS AND IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY OF INFORMATION.
AND YOU CAN LIMIT IT TO, YOU'RE JUST SEARCHING WITHIN YOUR OWN ECOSYSTEM, WHICH MEANS THERE'S NO HALLUCINATIONS THAT ARE INVOLVED ON THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING.
I HOPE, I DO REMEMBER IN THIS CHAMBER IS OVER A YEAR AGO WHEN WE HAD THE WHOLE DISASTER RELIEF, WE HAD TO APPROVE A PLAN.
SO WE ALREADY HAVE THE STRUCTURE OF SOMETHING IN PLACE, AND I KNOW WE NEED TO BUILD ON IT, BUT WE HAD TO PASS SOMETHING FOR THE STATE.
AND IT WAS A VERY EXTENSIVE PLAN THAT INCLUDED THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT, SO THAT'S IN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT SEEING, UM, UH, IT A CM, UM, MCKENNA HERE, THAT, THAT'S ALREADY IN PLACE.
SO WE SHOULD BE, I HOPE WE'RE BUILDING ON IT AS OPPOSED TO RECREATING FROM NEW, UM, I DO, YES.
I, I DO WANNA, UM, ALSO UPLIFT AND HIGHLIGHT THE, THE CONSIDERATION OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING I KNOW FOR YOU CHAIR TO THE CITY MANAGER.
I THINK YOUR FIRST WEEK ON THE JOB, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS PROJECT, YOU WERE ENGAGED.
AND I KNOW IT'S TAKEN A WHILE, BUT I WILL GO ON RECORD.
I AM TOTALLY HAPPY TO CONSIDER, AND I THINK THE WHOLE COUNCIL ONE NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED IN IT AS THE MAYOR SAID, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS WERE ESTABLISHED BY ORDINANCE, BUT I BET A BUNCH OF THEM WERE.
WHICH MEANS THE COUNCIL HAS TO BE INVOLVED IN, AT THE TABLE TO DISCUSS IT.
AND I AM HAPPY TO CONSIDER THERE MAY BE ORDINANCES THAT ARE MOOT AND THAT ARE NO LONGER FUNCTIONING.
AND INSTEAD OF HAVING 54, MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE 37 OR 22.
I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD HAVE MORE THAN 54.
BUT I THINK ALSO A CONSOLIDATION MAY WELL BE IN ORDER, UM, FOR A NUMBER OF THEM.
BECAUSE AS WE GROW AS A CITY, WE KNOW THERE'S, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TRANSPORTATION, DO WE REALLY WANT THE SEPARATE PEDESTRIANS SEPARATE FROM THE BIKE, SEPARATE FROM THE, UH, FROM THE DISABILITIES COMMISSION? I MEAN, WE ACTUALLY WANT THEM ALL TO BE WORKING TOGETHER, SO WHY NOT CONSOLIDATE AND IMPROVE THEM? I, I, BUT AGAIN, I DO THINK IT MAY BE WITHIN THIS COMMITTEE, IT'LL BE REALLY GOOD TO JUST GET THAT LIST AND HAVE US ALL START REVIEWING THEM.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT OFFLOAD FROM CITY STAFF.
'CAUSE I HAVE SOMETIMES GONE TO LOOK AT MINUTES, LIKE, WHERE ARE THESE MINUTES? THEY HAVEN'T BEEN POSTED FOR THREE YEARS.
MAYBE WE SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT HAPPENS.
BUT I ALSO UNDERSTAND KNOWING PEOPLE WHO SERVE ON THOSE COMMISSIONS, THAT IT CAN BE VERY CHALLENGING TO KEEP THAT, KEEP THAT UP.
SO THIS IS A, UM, AND THEN I'LL ALSO SAY I HOPE, UM, AND, AND I HOPE AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND UNDERSTAND BOTH BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND THEN SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING RELATED TO PEOPLESOFT AND HR, FOR INSTANCE, WE'RE STILL WAITING FOR THE, THE PAY EQUITY STUDY.
I HOPE THERE'S HONESTY IN THAT.
'CAUSE I THINK THERE'S AREAS WHERE WE'RE PROBABLY UNDERPAY AND I THINK THERE'S A NUMBER OF POSITIONS WHERE WHEN YOU DO A BENCHMARK, WE ARE PAYING WAY ABOVE AVERAGE, AND WE SHOULD ACTUALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE DO ON BOTH SIDES THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT AND WE'RE HONEST ABOUT IT.
I, I'M NOT AFRAID OF THAT, AND I HOPE NONE OF US ARE, THAT WE HAVE TO SOMETIMES DO HARD DECISIONS TO SAY THAT WE HAVE TO, UM, WE HAVE TO ADDRESS THAT AND UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT BOTH OF THOSE ARE POSSIBLE.
IT'S NOT ONLY ON THE SIDE OF, OF, I MEAN WE'RE, WE'RE A VERY WELL-RESOURCED CITY, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE SHOULDN'T MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S FAIRNESS AND EQUITY ACROSS, ACROSS THE BOARD.
SO ON THE, UM, SPECIFICS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE GOALS, I, I, I DO THINK HAVING A LITTLE MORE AI AND WHAT I, WHAT I DON'T KNOW IS WHETHER ARE WE GOING TO CONSIDER HAVING
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MORE SMART GOALS UNDER EACH OF THE AREAS OR JUST THE ONES THAT, THAT ARE HERE FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE GOALS? UH, I, UM, TO EITHER, I THINK THE THING TO FIGURE OUT, LIKE IT'S JUST A MATTER OF HOW YOU WOULD DO SMART GOALS, COUNCIL PRIORITIES LIKE THAT.YOU COULD DO THAT A LOT, DO A SMART GOALS ON THAT, A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
AND FOLKS MAY BE MORE OR LESS HAPPY WITH DIFFERENT WAYS.
I'M, I'M OPEN TO IT, HAPPY TO, TO SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT COULD LOOK, LOOK LIKE.
BUT UM, YEAH, I SHOULD, UH, IT TAKES SOME FIGURING OUT BECAUSE, UM, WHAT I ALSO ALWAYS AM GLAD THAT WE ARE BUILDING ON WHAT WE HAVE WITH, YOU KNOW, LET'S TAKE LAST YEAR'S, LET'S LOOK HOW WE'RE DOING, WHICH THE MAYOR BROUGHT TO US, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS IT THAT, THAT THE GOALS WERE LAST YEAR AND HOW ARE WE DOING ON THAT? I THINK IT'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
IT'S JUST GOOD, GOOD GOVERNANCE AND GOOD MANAGEMENT.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE OF THOSE DISCUSSIONS.
I DID NOT DO THAT FOR THIS MEETING, SO I JUST READ THE MEMO AND REALIZED, IN RETROSPECT, IT WOULD'VE BEEN GOOD TO, TO DO ALSO A LOOK BACK AND THEN A LOOK AHEAD TO SEE WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL AND, AND PROBABLY ASK THE STAFF.
I'M GLAD TO SEE ALSO, WE DIDN'T MENTION THAT THE, THE DIRECT REPORTS ALSO HAVE, IT'S VERY HELPFUL TO ALL OF US TO UNDERSTAND, UH, DIRECT REPORTS AND, AND WHAT ELSE IS NEEDED, UM, IN THE CITY TO MAKE SURE WE'RE, WE'RE A A TOP PERFORMING CITY.
AND AGAIN, RECOGNIZE IN HONESTY, THERE MAY BE WAYS THAT SOME OF OUR STRUCTURES NEED TO BE RESTRUCTURED IN A WAY THAT MAY LEAD TO CHANGES THAT WOULD BE SMALLER DEPARTMENTS THAN WE HAVE NOW.
YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S PART OF WHAT HAPPENS.
AND IT MAY BE A, A REALLOCATION ACROSS THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, SOME, UH, OVERALL SPECIFIC GOALS THAT WE CAN THINK OF.
SPEAKING OF HOUSING, TO YOUR POINT, UH, CHAIR, SABRINA WILLOW, WE CAN LOOK AT THAT.
AND I CAN TELL YOU ONE OF THE, THE GOALS THAT WE HAVE NOT MET IS KEEPING MIDDLE CLASS IN THE CITY.
WE HAVE KEPT WEALTHY, WE HAVE KEPT, THE PERCENTAGE OF FOLKS IN THE CITY ARE DEEPLY POOR IN THE MIDDLE CLASS IS DOWN BY 5%.
LAST TIME I CHECKED, IT MIGHT EVEN BE MORE.
THIS CITY HAS ESTABLISHED THAT WE WANT AN INCOME SPREAD, BUT THAT'S, I KNOW IT MIGHT NOT BE WITH THE CITY MANAGER VALUATION, BUT IT'S INFUSED IN ALL OF OUR CITY COUNCIL GOALS.
SO THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF THE KIND OF THING WE SHOULD REALLY CONSIDER AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
CITY MANAGER, DID YOU WANNA SPEAK TO, TO ANY OF THAT? UM, YEAH, I THINK THE CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE'RE SETTING GOALS ACROSS THOSE COUNCIL PRIORITIES IS REALLY IMPORTANT AND, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, THEY SHOULD BE REFLECTED IN THE, UH, PORTFOLIO OF INITIATIVES THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
UM, AND, AND I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE DEFINITELY CONVERSATIONS THAT I KNOW, UH, COUNCILOR NOLAN WE'VE HAD.
UM, AND, AND I THINK WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE ARE TRYING TO BE MORE EXPLICIT ABOUT THAT.
I MEAN, I WOULD SAY ON LIKE MIDDLE INCOME HOUSING AS AN EXAMPLE, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT.
THE POLICY LEVER IS NOT AS STRAIGHTFORWARD.
AND, AND I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T PUT REAL DOLLARS INTO THAT.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THE, THE PRIORITY AS I THINK ABOUT THE WORK WE'VE DONE IN HOUSING HAS REALLY BEEN REALLY SUBSTANTIVE FUNDING TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE BUILDING AND PRESERVING AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF WORK ON THE ZONING FRONT TO TRY AND ENSURE THAT WE'RE GETTING MORE PRODUCTION, UH, ON THE MARKET SIDE.
UM, BUT IN TERMS OF WHETHER THERE IS INTEREST FROM THE COUNCIL TO MAKE A LARGER FINANCIAL COMMITMENT OR THINK ABOUT HOW WE'RE, HOW WE'RE SUPPORTING MIDDLE INCOME HOUSING, I, I THINK WE HAVEN'T PUSHED AS FAR ON THAT FRONT.
CAN I JUST SAY THE REASON I MENTIONED IT, IT WAS IN ONE OF OUR, IN, IN VISION CAMBRIDGE, A SPECIFIC GOAL FOR THE PERCENTAGE OF THE, OF THE CITY THAT IS IN THAT INCOME.
AND, AND WE WERE BELOW THOSE, THOSE GOALS.
SO THAT'S WHY I MENTIONED IT, THAT, AGAIN, WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE THE LEVERS TO DO IT, BUT IF IT'S SOMETHING WE HAD SAID AND ENVISION WAS PART OF OUR VISION FOR THE CITY, IT'S IMPORTANT.
AGAIN, I BELIEVE IN BUILDING ON, ON PAST, LOOK, I KNOW ENVISION HAS ABOUT 140 DIFFERENT THINGS AND WE CAN'T DO THEM ALL, BUT I ALSO DON'T WANNA WASTE THAT WORK, YOU KNOW, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUALLY RE REFER BACK TO IT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM, UH, COUNSELORS? MAYOR CKE? UH, VICE MAYOR COUNCILLOR SIMMONS? NO.
UH, WITH THAT, I, YOU GOT SOME GOOD FEEDBACK HERE.
I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH COUNSELORS ABOUT INCORPORATING, UH, A COUPLE OF THESE, UH, SOME OF THESE POINTS INTO THE EVALUATION WITH THE CITY MANAGER.
UM, AND THEN THE NEXT STEP WILL BE TO, UH, SEND THIS TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL.
UM, AND THEN WE, WE HAVE, THERE'S A TIMELINE LAID OUT HERE IN TERMS OF PROCESS FOR FILLING OUT THE EVALUATION, DISCUSSING THE RESULTS, WHICH WILL HAPPEN LATER THIS YEAR.
UH, SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.
UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS, THIS MEETING.
UM, GLAD WE'RE, WE'RE DOING THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND WITH THAT, UH, I'LL ACCEPT A MOTION, UH, FROM COUNCILOR NOLAN, UH, TO ADJOURN.
I'M CLERK, COULD YOU CALL THE ROLL COUNCIL, UH, VICE MAYOR? YES.