City Council

E.2.\nORGANIZATIONAL PRIORITIES UPDATE AND FINANCE & BUDGET\nSUBCOMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS [D. WILSON, A. LOVANO, M.\nLINDLEY]:\nSUBJECT: The City Council will consider recommendations from the\nFinance & Budget Subcommittee, which held meetings on June 25, 2025,\nAugust 13, 2025, and October 23, 2025 to discuss organizational\npriorities.\nRECOMMENDATIONS: 1) Approve the Finance & Budget\nSubcommittee’s recommendations as outlined in this staff report. The\nrecommendations from the subcommittee include but are not limited to the\nfollowing, with the full list in the body of this staff report: a) Enhance the\nStaff Analysis section of future Council-initiated staff reports to include:\nimpacts on existing work plans, re-prioritization of existing projects when\nnecessary, an estimated range of financial impacts of the initiative, b)\nAffirm that the Staff Analysis section in Council-initiated staff reports is\ndrafted by staff and should not be edited by the initiating Councilmembers,\nc) Close the 19 items on the Pending Council-Initiated Items\nRecommended to be Closed Out (Attachment A), d) When appropriate,\nincorporate future Council-initiated items into an existing work plan item or\nproject, such as Housing Element, Climate Action & Adaptation Plan,\nEconomic Development Strategic Plan, or WeHo 40, and provide regular\nupdates on those plans. This will be noted in the Staff Analysis section of\nthe Council-initiated item, e) Beginning in Fiscal Year 2027, amend the\nCouncil Special Programs budget allocation of $130,000 to a discretionary\nfund allocation of $50,000 per Council office, for a total budget allocation\nof $250,000. Discretionary funds can only be used for public purposes that\nare consistent with the City’s finance policies and will be reported in an\nannual staff report, f) Authorize the City Manager, or their designee, to\napprove minor fee waivers or deviations from standard facility reservation\nrequirements, and g) Provide direction for staff to bring forward a list of\nannual City events, including proposed speaker series topics, as part of\nthe budget process or a consent item. This should include\nrecommendations for events to merge and/or sunset, as well as\nconsolidating a selection of City award programs into one annual event or\nexisting public meetings.