Over the weekend, the Palo Alto City Council met to set its priorities for the coming year. The workshop provided greater clarity and more-actionable priorities than previous year. By the end of the meeting, the Council agreed to focus on Downtown Development, Infrastructure, and Technology.
In previous years, the Council had approved and adopted priorities that weren’t SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely). However, additional time was given this year to consider what each council member saw as a priority, and that helped the group drill further into their vision for the year.
All council members’ lists included infrastructure funding as a top priority. Although specifics weren’t included in the lists, it was clear that funding a backlog of repairs in the City would be a central issue for the coming year, with the hope of making measurable progress within three years.
It was also agreed that the City should address development concerns regarding a “two downtown” structure that has emerged as parts of the city are developed at unequal paces.
Finally, technology was adopted as the third priority, as the Council sought to expand high-speed coverage to more residents. Also included in the technology discussion was integrating various platforms into City business, including smartphone applications.
Read the full story at the Mercury News.