MANAGEMENT PARTNERS, INC. (2007 Council Retreat)

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EXHIBIT A March 28, 2007 Ms. Cathy Standiford Assistant City Manager City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92702 Dear Cathy: We appreciate the opportunity to submit a proposal to you to facilitate aone-day Council workshop for the City of Santa Ana. We have the experience and skills needed to plan and conduct a workshop that will be useful to the governing body, and we will enjoy doing so. We understand the value to a City Council and City Manager of periodically allocating time to focus on Council effectiveness and goal setting. A particularly good time for a Council workshop is upon the election of new Council members, when it can be helpful to all members to learn more about each other's interests, discuss expectations about Council protocols, and establish a positive base of working on City business. We have described the key activities involved in the workshop below. First, I would like to tell you a bit about our firm. Management Partners is a professional management consulting frm specializing in helping local government leaders. The firm is comprised of former city and county managers, and other professionals providing expertise in specialty areas of public works, public safety, finance, development, and human resources. Our consultants carry out a full range of projects for local government leaders, including strategic planning and goal setting, teambuilding, organization reviews, feasibility studies, performance evaluations, project management, executive coaching, performance management, and development process reviews. We have a track record of quality service to numerous local governments throughout the United States. Each assignment we undertake receives careful, professional attention, and we take pride in the quality of our work. Our Approach The workshop will be planned using a collaborative approach between our consultants, the City Council, and City Manager. We will begin by interviewing the Mayor, each member of the City Council, the City Manager and you to identify the outcomes desired from the workshop. For a Council workshop of this type, typical outcomes are in two key areas: Council priorities to be accomplished by the City during the next year or two, and teambuilding among Council members. We use a highly interactive approach in our City Council workshops. In the design of the workshop, we plan informal time for Council members and staff to get better acquainted and use processes that ensure all participants are able to express their views. We have a full range of exercises designed to engage the participants in the workshop and achieve the intended outcomes.