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City leaders set new development, public safety objectives for Citrus Heights

Strategic Plan, Citrus Heights
Councilman Bret Daniels, left, discusses six-month public safety objectives with City Manager Chris Boyd, right, and Assistant Police Chief Gina Anderson, center, during a strategic planning retreat at City Hall on Oct. 24, 2019.

Sentinel staff report–
Want to know what the City of Citrus Heights is planning to get done over the next six months?

A list of 24 strategic objectives were discussed and decided on by a group of 17 city leaders and senior staff who met for about five hours on Tuesday morning for a strategic planning meeting. The planning sessions are held twice a year at City Hall and are open to the public.

Objectives set during the Oct. 22 meeting include moving forward with plans to develop the former Sylvan Middle School property, holding the first in a series of community workshops addressing the future of Sunrise Mall, continuing regular DUI checkpoints and conducting security evaluations of all local middle and high school campuses. Additional objectives include moving forward with plans for a $22 million street revitalization project on Auburn Boulevard and expanding a community outreach process for obtaining feedback and gauging community priorities.

Leaders also brainstormed a list of 58 strengths or accomplishments over the past six months, including helping house 135 homeless people year-to-date through the city’s Homeless Navigator program, purchasing the former Sylvan Middle School property for $3.43 million, conducting four DUI checkpoints and over 45 DUI saturation patrol operations, and increasing the number of ADUs (accessory dwelling units) in the city.

>>See full strategic plan: www.citrusheights.net/159/City-Strategic-Plan

Objectives decided on and published on the city’s website are categorized under a set of three-year goals, which are: maintaining fiscal stability, improving streets and infrastructure, diversifying for a changing economy, enhancing and expanding public safety, and improving community vibrancy and engagement.

The following list of objectives is taken directly from the city’s latest six-month plan:

Improve streets and infrastructure:

Diversify for a changing economy:

Enhance and expand public safety:

  • Ensure deployment of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) to improve community safety.
  • Present an intake and exit process of the “Winter Sanctuary” to prevent potential safety and blight impacts to neighborhoods.
  • Present to the City Council for consideration a City ordinance to strengthen enforcements of shopping carts and private business responsibilities on cart retrieval.
  • Ensure continuation of a DUI checkpoint or DUI Saturation Detail (e.g., 3-5 officers conducting a moving DUI checkpoint) is conducted.
  • Ensure Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Evaluations are conducted on middle and high school campuses to proactively address potential school site security threats.

Improve community vibrancy and engagement:

  • Hold the first citywide community meeting to obtain feedback for the Multi Modal Transportation Safety Program. Related article: Citrus Heights developing $200k program to improve neighborhood traffic flow, safety
  • Create and begin implementation of a Communications Work plan.
  • Expand and further localize a community outreach process to continue gauging community priorities and gathering community feedback for maintaining essential services, local control and fiscal stability, and present the results to the City Council.
  • Develop a plan to educate residents on the new District Election Process.

Maintain fiscal stability:

  • Present to the City Council for action updated fiscal policies.
  • Present to the City Council for review and direction the results of the City’s Comprehensive Fee Study.
  • Present to the City Council audited FY 2018-2019 Financial Statements.
  • Present to the City Council a mid-year FY 2019-2020 Budget Status Report.
  • Present to the City Council for review an updated 10-Year Budget Model.

At the request of Councilman Steve Miller and Bret Daniels, the city manager will also present a report to the City Council on Jan. 23 regarding currently vacant lots on Sayonara Drive and the city’s obligation to provide replacement housing for apartment units that were demolished.

The city’s next strategic planning meeting is scheduled for March 31, 2020, where leaders will again review progress and set new six-month objectives, as well as establish or revise a new set of three-year goals.

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