5.12. SR 06-07-2004MEMORANDUM
Item 5.1 2.
TO:
Mayor and City Council
FROM:
Pat Klaers, City Administrator
DATE: May 17, 2004
SUBJECT: Council Discussion on Annual Reports
The annual report meeting and process continues to evolve. Staff would like to receive
Council feedback on the latest version and the May 3, 2004 presentation.
I think that everyone agrees the video was a big highlight this year and that not showing the
video during the actual presentation helped to save time, although the meeting certainly was
lengthy (3 hours, 15 minutes). One thing we need to consider in the future is to hold this
annual report presentation at a special City Council meeting on the fourth or fifth Monday
of the month. In this regard, we can meet a little earlier in the evening if desired. Also, if the
meeting is going to take three plus hours then we will need to take a break somewhere along
the ]me so that everyone can be recharged for the second half of the presentation.
With 17 different sections in the annual report, it is difficult to condense the timeframe too
much. On the average, 10 minutes per department for the presentation and Q/A session is
just short of three hours. This timeframe is really too brief for a true review of yearly
departmental activities and a discussion of upcoming goals and projects. On the other hand,
10 minutes per department can make for a long evening when we concentrate too much on
"routine" activities versus highlights and goals for the past year.
Having the annual reports on cable TV is great public relations for the city and very
informative for the public. One of the questions that need to be discussed is whether or not
the annual report meeting is mainly for the public or mainly for the City Council. There is no
staff consensus on the best approach or what changes are most appropriate for the annual
report presentation. One item discussed was breaking the evening up into two sessions so
that a more detailed discussion on each department can take place. Another discussion point
was that the only thing needed for public awareness is the video and that the annual report
meeting can be in a worksession environment. In this manner we can have an expanded
question/answer session and little if any discussion on the actual report, as it is assumed that
the narrative is the basis of some of the Council questions and that the report has been read
by the Council.
S:\Council\ Pat~2004NAnnualRepor tFeedback.doc
Everyone is still trying to make the annual report presentation better for all parties revolved.
I respectfully request Council feedback on how to proceed for future presentation.
S:\Council~Pat\2004~AnnualReportFeedback.doc