LEGISLATIVE ANALYST REPORT

TO: Honorable Members of the Board of Supervisors

FROM: Jennifer Stanley, Office of the Legislative Analyst

DATE: February 25, 2003

SUBJECT: Elected Officials Retreats (File #004-03)

SUMMARY OF REQUESTED ACTION

A motion introduced by Supervisor Sophie Maxwell requests the Office of Legislative Analyst (OLA) to research how other cities and counties determine space and time for local legislators to conduct retreats. In particular, the Board is interested in examining how the cities of Richmond and Redwood City, California and Reno, Nevada conduct legislative retreats.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Cities of Richmond and Redwood City, California and Reno, Nevada have all held City Council retreats within the past 14 months. All the cities contacted stated that these retreats were successful in building a team approach to local issues, setting goals and local community priorities. The local elected or City official our office contacted highly recommended and supported the process. The communities indicated a desire to continue the retreats on an annual basis.

All the retreats were open to the public and the press (Brown Act) and were held within the respective City or on City owned property. Public comment was provided for as part of the agenda.

COMMUNITY RETREATS

Redwood City

Redwood City Council is comprised of seven members. The City Council met on January 26 and February 4, 2002 to set priorities for 2002 to 2004. This session was held on a Saturday to allow for public participation and was located in the Main Library Community Room. A professional facilitator was hired to conduct pre-session interviews and facilitate the session, at a total cost of $1,950.

The retreat resulted in a City Council "A" and "B" list of policy priorities for fiscal years 2002/03/04.

Richmond

The City of Richmond is comprised of an elected mayor and seven City Council members. The Council convened an all day Council/staff goal setting and planning retreat on October 7, 2002. Attendees included the Mayor, City Council members, City Manager, three Assistant City Managers, City Attorney, Police Chief, Fire Chief, Human Resources Director, and Public Services Director. The retreat was held at the Courtyard by Marriott in the City of Richmond.

A professional facilitator was hired to conduct pre-retreat interviews with the Mayor, City Council and City Manager. In addition, a one-hour focus group session was conducted with the senior management staff. Staff was also afforded the opportunity to submit privately any additional information or comments. The facilitator's contract was in the amount of $9,995.

The retreat agenda was based on the feedback from the interviews and input from the Mayor, three Council committee chairs and the City Manager. The retreat resulted in a "Three-Year Goals and Objectives" document for the City to follow.

Reno, Nevada

The City of Reno has a Council/City Manager form of government. The Council is comprised of seven members, one of whom is chosen to also serve as the Mayor. The City has held Council retreats for the past seven years. The retreat includes a one-day Executive Team retreat and a two-day communications workshop and goal setting session for the Mayor, City Council, City Manager, City Attorney and City Clerk, with a half day follow-up session. Reno utilizes a City owned Lodge on Mount Rose (30 minutes from Reno) for these sessions (no overnight accommodations).

A professional facilitator was hired to conduct pre-workshop interviews with each of the participants, design and prepare the meeting agenda, develop needed materials, direct and facilitate the workshops and goal setting session and prepare a written follow-up report. In addition, the facilitator also designed, prepared and conducted a two-day team building, cross department communications, and action planning workshop for the City management team. The facilitator's contract amounted to $17,820.

OPTIONS

· The San Francisco Board Supervisors (BOS) may want to consider organizing a retreat for the purpose of building a team approach to local issues, setting goals, budget objectives and local community priorities.

· The BOS may want to consider organizing a focused retreat to only deal with budget priorities and/or setting of goals.

· A professional facilitator generally facilitates retreats but it is optional. The view of other communities is that it is money well spent. If a professional facilitator was not contracted with, existing internal staff could be utilized for this purpose. However, as they may not have the needed skills for this activity the end product may not be fully achieved.