SUBJECT:
Title
2026 DRAFT Preliminary Work Plan
Department
DEPARTMENT: Town Manager's Office
Presenter
PRESENTER(S): Malcolm Fleming, Town Manager
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Time
TIME ESTIMATE: 30 minutes
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For time estimate: please put 0 for Consent items.
Fiscal
FISCAL SUMMARY: NA
Policy
POLICY ISSUES:
The annual Work Plan reflects projects and issues that staff works on over and above the day-to-day work required to manage normal Town operations and programs. The Work Plan is intended to ensure the Town is focused on and devoting adequate resources, including Council meeting time, to the highest priority issues, while also maintaining high-quality day-to-day services.
Recommendation
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Review the report, consider the Town Manager’s comments, and provide any additional comments to clarify Council direction on this so staff can use it to finalize the Work Plan and help guide staff’s development of the 2026 Recommended Budget.
Body
SUMMARY/KEY POINTS
• In July, Mayor Moore asked Council Members to list the highest priority issues they want to focus on during the next year. Mayor Moore forwarded that list to Town Manager Fleming, and he shared that list with staff and asked them to add any additional projects/issues they thought should also be on the list.
• During Council’s September 6 Retreat, staff asked Council Members to rank all the issues on the combined list as high, medium, or low priority. The attached summary table reflects those rankings and lists the issues based on the average score of all Council Members.
• Staff also added information for each project reflecting the projected Council meeting time to address each issue. The total projected Council time for all issues suggests there is not adequate time for Council to consider all issues. Consequently, it’s necessary to either defer some issues, or streamline Council consideration of multiple issues if Council wants staff to complete the Work Plan in 2026.
• The DRAFT Preliminary Work Plan reflects the Top 10 Focus Areas that respondents most frequently listed in response to the question in the recent Community Survey, “Please describe the top two or three issues, priorities, or problems that you think the Town of Erie should address in the next two or three years.” However, responses to other questions in the Community Survey also reflected strong interest in other issues-like sustainability and affordable housing-that did not show up in the Top 10 list. Accordingly, staff asks Council to either confirm the Top 10 should be the Focus Areas in the Work Plan, or provide additional direction on focus areas to add or substitute.
• Some issues, like the 2026 Election or Re-designing the Town’s Performance Forms are either not optional, or are internal, staff led administrative issues that don’t require Council review (but which staff wants Council to be aware of). Those issues are reflected in grey highlighting.
BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
Through the annual budget process the Town Council considers all the issues confronting the Town and adopts an annual Work Plan to prioritize effort, set reasonable expectations, allocate Council meeting time to consider issues, and help ensure the Council and staff stay focused on the Council’s top priorities. The annual budget and Work Plan go hand in hand. As noted above, the Work Plan reflects projects and issues that staff works on over and above the day-to-day work required to manage normal Town operations and programs.
The DRAFT Preliminary 2026 Work Plan reflects all of the projects and issues that both Council and staff are interested in addressing. However, the time Council may have to devote to considering all of the 51 projects/issues on the list, as well as time contingencies for unanticipated issues/new initiatives, as well as regular meeting issues, such as development related public hearings, Council Reports, Advisory Board presentations, and other issues, is more than the total Council meeting time scheduled for the entire year. Consequently, it’s necessary to either defer some issues, or streamline Council consideration of multiple issues if Council wants staff to complete the Work Plan in 2026.
The DRAFT Preliminary Work Plan also reflects the Top 10 Focus Areas that respondents most frequently listed in response to the question in the recent Community Survey, “Please describe the top two or three issues, priorities, or problems that you think the Town of Erie should address in the next two or three years.” However, responses to other questions in the Community Survey also reflected strong interest in other issues-like sustainability and affordable housing-that did not show up in the Top 10 list. Accordingly, staff asks Council to either confirm the Top 10 should be the Focus Areas in the Work Plan, or provide additional direction on focus areas to add or substitute.
During Council’s discussion of this issue, staff asks Council to raise any questions they may have, or to provide any additional information they think will help focus the Work Plan on the highest priority issues. Staff will use that direction to update the Work Plan and bring it back for approval as part of the 2026 Budget process.
priorities
TOWN COUNCIL PRIORITY(S) ADDRESSED:
☒ Attractive Community Amenities
☒ Engaged and Diverse Community
☒ Prosperous Economy
☒ Well-Maintained Transportation Infrastructure
☒ Small Town Feel
☒ Safe and Healthy Community
☒ Effective Governance
☒ Environmentally Sustainable
☒ Fiscally Responsible
attachments
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. DRAFT Preliminary 2026 Work Plan