City council approves strategic goals

Over the past several months, and building on the Envision Roseville community visioning initiative, Roseville city staff and city council have been working on a comprehensive strategic planning process.

On Monday, April 5, the city council approved goals for the city, with the intention of reflecting community priorities and aspirations that capture what residents value and hope for the city’s future.

Here’s a graphic created by city staff summarizing the community aspirations which were approved in 2023:

“We’ve been doing this for several months now . . . a lot of thought was put into it,” City Councilmember Wayne Groff said at the meeting.

Each goal represents in-depth conversations between city staff, city council, and residents about what success looks like across six categories: Economic Vitality, Reliable and Sustainable Infrastructure, Parks and Natural Environment, Community and Civic Engagement, Responsive Services and Safety, and City Operations.

“We had some robust conversations. I appreciate that we could take everybody’s thoughts and make it a better document in the end,” City Councilmember Robin Schroeder said at the meeting.

These goals will lead to the creation of specific objectives that will guide the city’s future decision-making.

The approved goals are as follows:

Economic Vitality

• Goal 1: Create a climate that supports the retention and expansion of Roseville businesses.
• Goal 2: Housing types and programs are provided in a manner that contributes to the economic success for households at all income levels.
• Goal 3: Develop and advocate for safe, intentional, multi-modal transportation systems throughout Roseville.

Reliable and Sustainable Infrastructure

• Goal 1: Develop and implement a funding strategy that prioritizes key capital improvements that are planned, regularly assessed and evolve based on city values and changing community needs.
• Goal 2: Implement the civic master plan on time, within budget, and with community input.
• Goal 3: City infrastructure supports the sustainability goals of the city.

Parks and Natural Environment

• Goal 1: Roseville’s Parks system, and recreation programs are thoughtfully planned, sustainably funded, and well-maintained.
• Goal 2: Roseville’s natural environment is actively protected and restored.

Community and Civic Engagement

• Goal 1: Create an environment for diverse stakeholder participation at all levels and types of city decision-making.
• Goal 2: Utilize Roseville’s commissions to provide accessible pathways for residents of all backgrounds representing the voice of the community to shape city decisions and become better informed residents.

Responsive Services and Safety

• Goal 1: Take proactive steps to create a safer community through prevention, planning, and early intervention.
• Goal 2: Develop and implement a prioritized multi-year resource allocation strategy and structure to ensure people, resources, training, and technology are in place to respond to the needs of the community.
• Goal 3: Strengthen trust through transparency, accessibility, and engagement.

City Operations

• Goal 1: Technology, resources, and processes are used to improve operations.
• Goal 2: The city attracts and retains a diverse and innovative group of employees who support the mission, vision, and values of the strategic plan.
• Goal 3: Resource allocation meets operational needs while advancing strategic priorities.

The city council unanimously approved these goals and associated success indicators which were discussed during the city council meeting. A draft can be found in the May 5 city council packet, which does not reflect changes that were made during the meeting.

Watch the May 5 city council discussion here:
(Editorial Note, the video is incorrectly labeled May 6)

“Our next steps are to work on the objectives,” City Manager Pat Trudgeon said at the meeting.

An example of a hypothetical objective for the Economic Vitality category, as stated in city council meeting packet materials:

“By the end of 2026, develop a policy that outlines the use of the City’s Local Affordable Housing Aid (housing sales tax) based on forecasted needs of the 2025 Housing Needs Assessment and in accordance with state law.”

This is not an actual discussed or approved objective, just an example of what one could look like. Objectives are the specific activities and strategies the city will employ to try to achieve the established goals.

Up until now, the work on the strategic planning process was a collaboration between city council and the heads of city departments, but the next steps will involve other employees and subject matter experts in each department. Once the core team is identified, the team will receive an orientation into the goal-setting process to help them understand the goals and how to think about and write the objectives, Trudgeon said.

“We want to be very intentional about it,” Trudgeon said to the city council.

Over the course of the next several months, city staff will loop city council in at various stages with the intention to have the proposed objectives done by the end of the year so they can be used in the 2027 budget planning process, Trudgeon told the council.

These goals, success indicators, and objectives will help guide city council decisions about budgeting, future initiatives, and policy.

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