City Council Goals, Policies Under Lens

City officials are ambitious when they set goals. They’ve
adopted more than 20 difficult objectives this year for the city in
the areas of public safety, downtown development, environmental
stewardship and economic development
– to name a few.
Editor’s Note: The following is the second installment in a series of articles holding school and city officials accountable to goals adopted by their organizations.

Morgan Hill – City officials are ambitious when they set goals. They’ve adopted more than 20 difficult objectives this year for the city in the areas of public safety, downtown development, environmental stewardship and economic development – to name a few.

The goals, which were outlined in January with the assistance of Morgan Hill City Manager Ed Tewes and formally adopted by the city council Feb. 7, are being presented in this story as part of the Morgan Hill Times’ “Accountability in Community Leadership Project.”

The civic journalism effort will track city officials’ progress with their goals this year as they seek to accomplish their objectives to improve public life.

City officials have given their 20-plus goals target dates for completion. The Council members and Tewes accepted the challenge of accomplishing all of them at a January policy summit at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center.

The goals and policies center on balancing the budget, boosting police and fire services as needed, adding one or more car dealerships and planning for a $20 million investment in infrastructure projects.

One area of emphasis is the city’s economic base, assigning the Community and Economic Development Committee to hold a workshop this month to discuss incentives for commercial and industrial development.

Also, the committee, which consists of council members Greg Sellers and Marby Lee, will look at possibilities for revitalizing the Granada Theater on Monterey Road, with the council expecting a recommendation for action by April.

On the public safety front, the council’s Public Safety and Community Services Committee has begun an ambitious review of the Morgan Hill Police Department. The committee, consisting of Mayor Steve Tate and Councilman Larry Carr, hopes to complete its evaluation by May 2 to present to the full council. Similarly, the committee has committed to evaluating fire and emergency-medical services by Sept. 30 and recommending enhancements if needed.

Because of Morgan Hill’s council-manager form of government, the goal of generating a proposed budget with a surplus of $550,000 falls into Tewes’ lap.

Tewes will also be responsible this year for coordinating efforts between city officials to prepare for Morgan Hill’s general plan update, scheduled to begin next year and focus on land-use and traffic issues.

The council-manager form of government – which is used in thousands of U.S. towns, cities and counties – combines the political leadership of an elected city council with the managerial experience of an appointed local government manager. In that structure, Tate’s duties and powers as mayor are generally understood as being a spokesperson for the city, facilitating understanding between elected and appointed officials, assisting the council in setting goals and advocating policy decisions.

Tate commented the council-manager form of government allows the city to operate more efficiently, reducing administrative costs.

“It definitely makes things more efficient if you have one CEO,” Tate said, describing the relationship between the city council and the city manager as an “employer-employee” relationship.

“He’s full-time staff and we’re part-time policy makers. We’re reliant on him (and other government staff members) for their recommendations for action.”

Tewes earns $159,000 a year for his full-time position with the city, often arriving early at City Hall before the public building opens for business.

Under the city’s municipal code, council members earn $313 per month, with the mayor taking home an extra $521 for a total of $834 per month. The job is designed to be part-time, allowing members to work other jobs during the day.

Born out of the progressive movement of the early 20th century, the council-manager form of government is one of the few original American contributions to political theory, according to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), a professional association for city and county managers.

Tate, the leader of the city council, is the city’s second elected mayor after Dennis Kennedy. The position was rotated every year on the five-member city council until 1996 when voters passed Measure D to make the job directly elected. At the same time, voters also passed Measure E to make the mayor’s term two years long, unlike the four-year terms served by city council members.

Setting goals and policies for each year – with the help of the city manager – is common practice for the city council. Reflecting on his five terms as mayor, which ended last December, Kennedy said the yearly goals “aren’t cast in concrete” but they’re intended to be “doable.”

“If there’s a goal that’s unreasonable or impossible, the city manager will push back to indicate what’s doable and what’s not doable,” Kennedy said. “The council kind of goes through a weeding out process, with a recognition that you don’t want to over do it. You want to set realistic goals, but on the other hand you don’t want to be so meticulous that you don’t do the things you want to do. That’s always the risk.”

Kennedy added: “My experience is … most of the goals are met, if not on the exact date, then later – and if they are not met there is usually an explanation.”

TRACKING THE GOALS

Coming April 3: First report card on city/school officials’ goals with April target completion dates. Grades are issued by officials, Times editorial board and readers.

MORGAN HILL CITY COUNCIL’S GOALS FOR 2007

CITY MANAGER ED TEWES:

• Bring a proposed budget to the table that results in a surplus of approximately $550,000 as predicted in the city’s most recent five-year fiscal forecast. Target date: May.

• Bring a proposed budget to the table that continues current staffing levels and, to the extent possible, current service levels. Target date: May.

• Bring a proposed budget to the table that includes a transfer from the Park Maintenance Fund to the General Fund of no less than $250,000 provided that the balance of the Park Maintenance Fund continues to increase toward the goal of establishing it as an “endowment” fund.

Target date: May.

• Recommend necessary revisions to the development impact fee system to charge “speculative” commercial and industrial buildings the full impact fee up front.

Target date: May.

• Bring a proposed budget to the table that provides for a net cost to the general fund of no more than $1.6 million for the Morgan Hill Recreation and Community Services Department, in accordance with the city’s latest five-year forecast. Target date: May.

• Coordinate with staff and the Morgan Hill Planning Commission to begin developing workplans to initiate a review of the land-use and circulation elements of the General Plan in 2008.

• Schedule a joint workshop for the Morgan Hill City Council and the Morgan Hill Planning Commission to consider Measure C policies and criteria, including policies relating to inclusion of below-market-rate housing in market-rate projects, policies to encourage “green” buildings and lower annual operating costs for home owners, and policies on “developer” commitments to meet city goals.

CITY COUNCIL:

• Evaluate any proposals for expanding current staffing levels or increasing service levels in the context of their long-range financial implications. Target date: Ongoing.

• One or more car dealers will be established in the area north of the current Ford Store, recognizing that any new dealership must mitigate neighborhood impacts and be compatible with Morgan Hill’s community image.

Target date: December.

• Commit to invest $20 million in public infrastructure over the next five years to revitalize the downtown and stimulate private investment and reinvestment. The funds will come from the Morgan Hill Redevelopment Agency.

Target date: December.

• Schedule a workshop to review recommendations from the council’s Community and Economic Development Committee on the types of projects for the $20 million investment and schedules for completing them.

Target date: March.

• Take steps to enter into appropriate development agreements with private property owners along Third Street so as to facilitate a groundbreaking of the Third Street public improvements (financed by a Metropolitan Transportation Commission grant) by spring 2008. Target date: December.

• Evaluate the cost-recovery of the Morgan Recreation and Community Services Department by looking at the department’s “bottom line” rather than requiring a facility-by-facility cost recovery goals. Target date: Ongoing policy for fiscal year starting July.

• Reinvest any extra cost-recovery from the Morgan Recreation and Community Services Department back into recreation programs. Target date: Ongoing policy for fiscal year starting July.

• Before considering the fiscal year 2008 budget, conduct a workshop to evaluate needs for remodeling and modernizing the Friendly Inn and building housing at the El Toro Youth Center to clarify the public purposes to be served by the remodeled facilities. Target date: May.

• Each City Council committee will prepare and follow a workplan approved by the full council. Each committee will prepare a written report on its activities at least quarterly. Target date: First quarterly reports due April.

COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE:

• Recommend a strategy that addresses: (1) increasing the number of jobs that provide sustainable wages for Morgan Hill residents; (2) reducing commercial and industrial vacancies; (3) developing vacant commercial and industrial land within the urban service area. Target date: March.

• Evaluate options for redeveloping the Granada Theater as a community asset and prepare a report and recommendation for City Council and Redevelopment Agency action. Target date: April.

PUBLIC SAFETY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE:

• Evaluate current service levels delivered by the Morgan Hill Police Department and analyze options for investing in greater public safety. Any recommendations for investing in greater public safety will be based on judgment and a variety of productivity and outcome measures.

Target date: May.

• Evaluate fire and emergency medical service levels and prepare strategic recommendations for future service levels and a funding strategy if needed. Service level options should include consideration of new requirements that might reduce the demand for fire and emergency medical services. Target date: September.

UTILITIES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE:

• Recommend an environmental agenda that includes habitat conservation, protection of creeks and streams, water and energy conservation, improved air-quality and other matters supportive of a healthy community.

Target date: June.