City of Westminster councilors spent part of a March study session directing staff to provide clearer, more frequent progress reports on the city’s strategic plan and to develop a public-facing dashboard that ties agenda items and departmental measures back to the plan.

The discussion began with a consultant reminding the council that “the goal really of a strategic plan is to make sure we set clear goals and priorities and re and allocate resources, efficiently and effectively.” Council discussion then centered on how staff should report progress: several councilors said they want either quarterly touchpoints with higher-level updates twice a year or a dashboard staff can update continuously.

Council member comment summaries and staff remarks captured three practical preferences: 1) show how each agenda item aligns with specific strategic priorities so councilors can see project-level fit; 2) provide a consolidated update—either quarterly or a twice‑annual in‑depth review—on overall implementation status; and 3) publish a public-facing dashboard that highlights KPIs, completion status (planned/in progress/complete), and known timing or barriers.

Staff said they are building a departmental dashboard and confirmed they are using OpenGov for transparency and finance tools; the dashboard is in review at the department and chief‑management levels before a public release. Eric, director of Parks, Recreation and Libraries, and other staff noted that some KPI connections require additional integration work so the dashboard will be phased in.

Councilors asked staff to present options for frequency and format—examples included a public Power BI-style dashboard, agenda memos that clearly tie items to strategic priorities, and shorter “check-in” reports for items that are not ready for detailed discussion. Staff said they would return with recommended reporting cadences and examples of a public dashboard.

What’s next: staff will develop dashboard prototypes, propose reporting frequency options to council, and outline what measures and departmental inputs are required to keep the dashboard current.