Title
Action Plan Briefing
Recommended Action
No action requested.
Report
Issue:
Planning Commissioners will receive a briefing on the Action Plan, including the results of a citizen survey conducted by Elway Research and an update on the Community Indicator Dashboard.
Staff Contact:
Stacey Ray, Senior Planner, Community Planning and Development, 360.753.8046
Presenter(s):
Stacey Ray, Senior Planner, Community Planning and Development
Background and Analysis:
In 2014, City Council (Council) adopted a broad and ambitious Comprehensive Plan vision for our community, and shortly after accepted a new and strategic approach to achieving that vision, called the Action Plan (Attachment 1).
The Action Plan identifies strategies and actions for achieving the vision, organizing them into five different action areas: Community, Safety & Health; Downtown; Economy; Environment; and Neighborhoods. It also establishes 31 community indicators to help us track, share, and evaluate our progress in each of these action areas. All but two measures have data. The two measures not included don’t have current data readily available. They are: number of historic and cultural sites and percent of business owners rating Olympia as a good place to do business.
2018 will be the first year in which the City can now use data from these indicators to inform its priorities, work plans, and the capital facilities plan and budget. Attachment 2 shows how this can be accomplished through an annual cycle that emphasizes performance, priorities, and investments. This cycle combines the Action Plan annual cycle with our City’s annual budget and capital facilities planning processes. It establishes a consistent and predictable pattern for the City to engage key stakeholders, partners, and community members each year in carrying out the Action Plan strategies and actions.
As highlighted in the cycle, the first quarter of each year is primarily dedicated to learning and engaging - reflecting on recent accomplishments and what the dashboard indicators tell us about progress toward the Comprehensive Plan’s vision. It’s also an opportunity to share what we learn, and use it to guide a broader community conversation about citizen interests and priorities.
This agenda item will include taking a closer look at the two tools that will contribute significantly to our learning in the first quarter of 2018: a recently completed citizen survey and the Action Plan Community Indicator Dashboard.
Citizen Survey
City staff contracted with Stuart Elway, Elway Research, Inc., and Larisa Benson, The Athena Group, to assist in designing, distributing, and analyzing the results of a citizen survey. The survey questions were designed to inform City outreach and engagement methods, City investment and budgeting priorities, and four dashboard indicators.
The survey included four different focus areas: overall satisfaction; city services and prioritization; communication, information, and engagement; and demographic questions. Staff will highlight several examples from the final report (Attachment 3) of how the survey results can inform work planning and community engagement efforts.
Community Indicator Dashboard
The Action Plan includes a Community Indicator dashboard with 31 indicators (Attachment 4). Like the dashboard on a car, indicators serve as “check engine” lights, in that they call our attention to areas of our community’s vision that may need to be looked at closer.
Indicators are different than performance measures. Indicators help us understand how the community is progressing toward the vision described in the Comprehensive Plan. Data for the indicators may be influenced by City initiatives or actions, but are also influenced by the broader community. Performance measures, on the other hand, measure how well a specific program, agency, or service system is working.
Like a “check engine” light, our indicators can alert us to an area of our vision that needs greater attention by examining specific City performance measures that contribute to that indicator, and by working with partners that also play a significant role.
Lastly, staff will provide Commissioners an update on the upcoming Performance, Priorities, and Investments community conversation in March, including what the City Council Finance Committee has confirmed are the purpose and objectives for the conversation.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
This topic has widespread impact and interest among community members.
Options:
None; briefing only.
Financial Impact:
The citizen survey was funded with $25,000 in 2016 end-of-year funds; the goal is to continue surveying citizens at least every two years.
Attachments:
Action Plan (website link)
Annual Cycle
Citizen Survey Report
Community Indicator Dashboard (website link)