There needs to be an understanding of what the net gain will be and is it worth the effort. What we don't want is an employee morale problem. Council doesn't have a lot of time to spend in departments to learn how well they are run or is there a better way. Bundling of the issues is the strength of Council which could be handed off to the new Council. Define the central focus with citizen involvement looking at what is the service wanted.
Staff needs to have a way to give input and insight on how to improve service.
The issues are how to deal with rapid change, City Managers are short term and department heads long term, personnel system including evaluations of councilappointments, competition between general fund and restricted funded departments, the maturing of the city and flat revenue growth in the future. Issues need to focus on the role of the departments, city manager and city council. Need to find out what is essential, what is important and then the time becomes the result of the process. A facilitated effort which identifies the critical issues in each bundle of issues and then start to address in short periods of time. The results need to be measurable and real change.