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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet 10/26/2018THE CITY OF PORT ANGELES' CITY COUNCIL RETREAT Friday, 26 October 2oi8 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cornaby Center (Building A), Peninsula College THE MEETING'S GOALS: 1. Reach agreement on the expectations we have of one another so that we achieve our mutual interests and become more effective leaders. Identify strategies and actions by which the City Council and the City Staff Leadership Team can build and maintain an effective partnership to lead Port Angeles to an even brighter future. ******************** 9:oo Review the Meeting's Purpose and Goals 9:05 Review Agenda and Ground Rules 9:io Warm-up Exercise Sissi Bruch, Mayor Nathan West, City Manager Jim Reid, Facilitator Everyone ■ What motivates you to serve on the City Council or the Leadership Team? 9:35 A Foundation for Our Work Together Everyone Based on the interviews of the Council and Leadership Team last week, Jim Reid produced what he interpreted to be the mutual interests of the group. What is your reaction to them? Could these interests serve as the basis for a stronger partnership among us? 9:5o The Council's Work Together Everyone/Jim Can we assume that our goal is not to eliminate philosophical and political differences, but to develop and apply a decision-making process that is transparent and understandable, fair and equitable, respectful and trustworthy, and, therefore, results in high quality and credible decisions? What are the problems facing us in achieving that decision-making process? What might be the elements of a decision-making process with the qualities and characteristics listed above? Some ideas will be presented for the Council's consideration, a few of which were suggested last week during the interviews by Council and Leadership Team members. ■ What other ideas do Council members have that could be added to this list before we begin to discuss them? ■ Do Leadership Team members have any ideas to add to the list? 1o:3o Break 10:4o Discuss Potential Elements of the Process Council ■ Discus the ideas that have been 'put on the table."Are we starting to construct a decision-making process that achieves our mutual interests and will benefit the community? ■ Is there tentative agreement on the elements of the Council's process? ■ Is anything else needed to ensure that the Council works more effectively together as a team? 11:45 Lunch 12:3o A Fun Exercise to Help Us Get to Know Each Other Everyone 12:5o The Council and Leadership Team's Work Together Everyone ■ What are the roles and responsibilities of the Council and City Manager and Administration under the law? Are there questions, reactions, or comments? ■ What are our interests in working collaboratively and cooperatively together? ■ What are the strengths of our working relationship? ■ Are there any weaknesses? What can we do to turn them into strengths? ■ How can we ensure staff is not overwhelmed with priorities? How can we ensure that the Council's priorities are accomplished and/or executed? 2:35 A Prelude to the December Strategic Planning Meeting Council ■ As a window into your thinking as we approach 2019, what might be two or three priorities that you would like the Council to address next year? We won't discuss them today because that will happen in December. We just want to get a sneak peek into each Council member's thinking. 2:40 Review Decisions, Agreements, and Next Steps Jim/Everyone ■ Is there a final agreement among the Council on the elements of the decision-making process? ■ Is there understanding and acceptance of the Council's and Leadership Team's respective roles and responsibilities? 2:5o What are We Taking Away from This Meeting? Everyone 3:oo Adjourn OPERATIONAL IDEAS TO SUPPORT AND IMPROVE COUNCIL DECISION-MAKING Offered by Facilitator Jim Reid, 25 October 2018 These ideas are rooted in the observations of Council members and department directors or are based on Jim Reid's experience with other elected officials and leadership teams. They are influenced by the principle that new teams require more structure, and over time, as people gain more experience working together, the structure that they use to make decisions can be relaxed. i. A 1-2 day annual strategic planning meeting during which the Council agrees on a few key priorities and, for each priority, agrees on a set of interests or guiding principles and 1-3 desired or expected outcomes. 2. An annual workplan that reflects the Council's priorities and clearly illustrates how they will be implemented and achieved. An annual calendar, maintained by the City Manager, that illustrates the issues the Council will address and when, and the timing for Council taking action on key policy initiatives. Because it is periodically reviewed by the Council and continuously used by the City Manager and directors, it's a "rolling calendar" that guides the City through the year. (Shoreline, Kent, and Covington that produce and maintain such annual Council agenda calendars.) A set of ground rules that govern decision-making and behavior. These are separate from Council Policies and Procedures because there are fewer of them and they are more concise. This means they are easier to remember and implement. S. Each quarter, a study session becomes a "mini retreat" during which time the Council and Leadership Team review progress in advancing the priorities. If adjustments in approach or timing need to be made, they can be. If any new issues have arisen that the Council may need to prioritize, agreement by all Council members would designate it a priority. In that case, the City Manager would be authorized to present to the Council what projects or actions would need to be taken 'off the staff's plate. More structured meeting management, on the presumption that new teams, such as this Council with its four new members, needs more structure when they first form. TWO OPTIONS: a. At Council meetings, each Council member speaks before any member gets to speak a second time. Once everyone has spoken once, everyone is offered the opportunity to speak a second time. b. The Mayor asks for someone to speak to an issue. Once they do, she asks if someone with a differing opinion would speak. Once they finish, she asks if someone with another perspective or who supports the first speaker's position would speak. Then she asks for a fourth members to speak, someone who supports the opinion voiced by the second speaker. This back -and -forth, an effort to have a real debate, might require the help of the Deputy Mayor, who could keep track of who has spoken and who has not so that everyone gets to speak. 7. To place an item on the agenda, approval of five members is necessary. If a Council member has an idea, and she/he wants to discuss it with colleagues to get initial ideas and reactions, they must talk to a colleague who they believe will support it and a colleague who they think would may oppose it. A ground rule of confidentiality would govern these preliminary conversations. The two members who were approached by their colleague with the idea could not discuss it with any other colleagues or any constituents or interest groups. g. The Council, City Manager, and Leadership Team periodically reiterate and discuss basics/fundamentals of government operations, including the budget, and the roles and responsibilities of the Council and Administration.