City Leadership and Services

Opportunity

As Issaquah grows and its residents become more diverse, the city government itself must continue to evolve. The community will be best served by ensuring that its desire for engagement, diversity and clear communication are well-integrated into City practices.

In order to efficiently and effectively serve its residents, the City needs to invest in its internal systems and personnel. The City has an opportunity to support a more welcoming and connected community, and focus on continuous improvement of services for all.

Background

The City strives to serve the community in a manner that is responsible and responsive to the many needs of its constituents. Over the last decade, the City as well as the Eastside more broadly, has seen substantial changes in demographics, with increasing ethnic diversity in particular. National Community Survey results indicate residents are positive about City services in general (about 80% on topics including safety, recreation, utilities and others).

However, ratings about broader attributes of government performance(i.e: overall direction Issaquah is taking; overall confidence in Issaquah government; welcoming resident involvement) have been much lower, with about half of responses being positive. This suggests opportunities for improvement in how the City responds to and engages its residents. The City has a lot of information available however, many may not be easily accessible to all constituents. With Issaquah's changing demographics and the need to understand residents' priorities, new methods for engagement are critical. To support our diverse and growing community, it is important for City staff to be empowered to provide equitable and culturally relevant services.

Innovation, continuous improvement and employee development are also vital components which will allow the City to grow its capabilities and improve services as it emerges as a larger, mid-size community in the region. The City has opportunities to improve overall satisfaction and service delivery through enhanced collaboration with the community and improvement of internal processes. Progression in this goal will result in a government that is accountable to its constituents and delivers efficient, high-quality services.

Objectives

The City is actively sustaining an equitable and welcoming city government, embracing diversity, and fostering meaningful, inclusive and varied civic engagement - (CS1)

Potential actions

Implement new and enhanced public outreach strategies, building upon a review of engagement efforts and updates to the City's toolkit on public engagement.
Working with the community, identify and remove barriers to accessing City programs and services.
Enhance oral and written communication standards to increase clarity, access and understanding of content for the public.
Create an equity and cultural competency initiative for City staff.

The City is utilizing high performing internal systems to effectively and efficiently serve the Issaquah community - (CS2)