City Council · Jan 10, 2026

City Council Retreat

Agenda Minutes Read the transcript5 agenda items · 7 tracked topics

Discussed

1
Strategic Dialogue on City Process Design Work · City Manager Daniel Alexander presented an overview of process design alignment. No Council action taken.
- City Process Design AlignmentPresented to Council as an overview of how setting direction, defining results, and improving delivery fit together; no action taken.
2
Strategic Plan Update · Assistant City Manager Melanie Zipp presented the strategic plan elements and approach for developing a new city-wide plan. Mayor and Council provided feedback on direction, public role, scope, governance, equity, engagement expectations, and strategic priorities and budget. No Council action taken.
- Strategic Planin progressCouncil reviewed the existing 2023 strategic plan framework and received a proposal for a new city-wide plan; Council provided feedback but no formal action was taken.
3
Performance Management · Assistant City Manager Melanie Zipp presented current performance measures and a proposed two-tier performance management framework. No Council action taken.
- Performance Management FrameworkA two-tier performance management approach was presented to Council; no formal action was taken.
4
Efficiency Study · Assistant City Manager Melanie Zipp presented scope and delivery options for an efficiency audit and solicited Council feedback on purpose, scope, service levels, and delivery model. No Council action taken.
- Efficiency Study AuditCouncil reviewed options for an efficiency audit and provided feedback on purpose, scope, service levels, and delivery; no formal action was taken.
5
Communications & Engagement · Communications and Marketing Director Matthew Kaiser presented the city's communications ecosystem, community survey results, outreach events, analytics, and video production work. City Manager Daniel Alexander presented additional engagement ideas. Mayor and Council provided feedback. No Council action taken.
- Communications and Community EngagementCouncil reviewed the city's current communications ecosystem and engagement activities, and provided feedback on helping residents receive information, message timing, and reaching apartment complex residents through property managers.
- Engage FairfaxEngage Fairfax was highlighted as the city's platform for residents, business owners, and stakeholders to share comments on issues and projects; its role in the broader communications ecosystem was reviewed.
- Fairfax City Resolve (Ready 311)Analytics for the Fairfax City Resolve (Ready 311) service ticket system from 2019–2026 were reviewed as part of the communications and engagement presentation.

Topics touched · 7

City Process Design Alignment
Strategic Planin progress
The "Strategic Plan" topic encompasses several overlapping but distinct planning processes tracked across City of Fairfax municipal bodies. The most prominent is the city-wide Strategic Plan: at the January 2026 City Council Retreat, Assistant City Manager Melanie Zipp presented the existing 2023 strategic plan framework and a proposal for developing a new city-wide plan; Council provided feedback on direction, public engagement, scope, governance, equity, and budget priorities, but took no formal action.
- No formal Council action was taken at the January 2026 City Council Retreat on the new city-wide Strategic Plan — the scope, governance structure, public engagement approach, and timeline for a new…
- The tiered performance management process described to Council is expected to begin in late 2026 and carry into 2027; its structure and timeline are not yet finalized.
Performance Management Framework
The Performance Management Framework is a city-wide initiative to establish structured, data-driven performance tracking across municipal operations. On January 10, 2026, Assistant City Manager Melanie Zipp presented current performance measures and a proposed two-tier framework to the City Council at its annual retreat; no formal action was taken at that time.
- No formal Council action has yet been taken to adopt or authorize the two-tier performance management framework — next steps for formal adoption have not been specified in the record.
- The scope and timeline for development of the strategic outcomes scorecard and internal service-area scorecards have not been detailed.
Efficiency Study Audit
Communications and Community Engagement
Engage Fairfax
Engage Fairfax is the City of Fairfax's digital public engagement platform used to collect community input, share project information, and facilitate resident interaction across a wide range of city initiatives. It functions as a persistent, multi-purpose hub rather than a single project, hosting surveys, project updates, comment periods, event listings, and policy drafts.
- The comment period for the three park concept plans posted on Engage Fairfax closes October 30, 2026 — no outcome or next step after that date is yet recorded.
- The Safety Audit engagement opened September 16, 2026 and remained open on Engage Fairfax as of October 6, 2026; the consultant procurement process was ongoing with a projected ~6-month timeline from…
Fairfax City Resolve (Ready 311)
Fairfax City Resolve (also referred to as Ready 311) is the City of Fairfax's service request and resident reporting system. It functions as the primary tool through which residents can submit issues or complaints to the city, including reporting encampments on city property.
- The current operational status and any planned changes or enhancements to Fairfax City Resolve (Ready 311) are not specified in the available record.
- It is not known whether the HHCAB's draft Encampment Procedures webpage FAQs referencing the system were formally adopted or published.

Documents · 3

Filed in agenda order; the agenda names the item each belongs to.