Parks and Recreation Department Organizational Assessment Services

The City of Santa Cruz is seeking proposals from qualified consulting firms to conduct a comprehensive organizational assessment of the Parks and Recreation Department. The Department provides a wide range of services and programs to the community, including park maintenance, recreation programming, facility operations, special events, and other public-facing services that support the quality of life for residents and visitors.

The City is seeking an independent evaluation of the Department's organizational structure, staffing, service delivery model, operational effectiveness, and long-term sustainability. The assessment will identify opportunities to improve alignment among departmental priorities, available resources, community needs, and the City's Strategic Plan, while ensuring the Department is positioned to effectively deliver services now and into the future.

The selected consultant will conduct document review, stakeholder engagement, organizational and operational analysis, benchmarking, and development of recommendations. The assessment is expected to provide practical, fiscally responsible, and implementable recommendations that support organizational effectiveness, operational efficiency, service delivery, and long-term sustainability within existing or reasonably anticipated staffing and budget resources.

A detailed description of the requested services, project assumptions, deliverables, qualifications, and project schedule is provided in the Preliminary Scope of Services.

The City of Santa Cruz was incorporated in 1866 and formed its current charter in 1948. It is governed under a Council/Manager form of government. A Mayor and six Council members set policy for the City, and a City Manager serves as chief administrator of those policies. The City is located on the coast, 75 miles south of San Francisco on the northern edge of the Monterey Bay. It encompasses 15.8 square miles with cultural and ethnic diversity among its population of 65,000. Santa Cruz is part of the National Marine Sanctuary and is a popular tourist destination owing to its beaches, surf culture, and historical landmarks.

The City provides a full range of municipal services and facilities, including a recreational wharf, public golf course, over thirteen hundred acres of open space, full beach services, refuse management, law enforcement, fire protection, and water and wastewater utilities. The City is also host to the University of California Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Harbor, and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park.