CITIZEN INFORMED PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR FLORIDA LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
I. Organizational Overview
The Florida Benchmarking Consortium (FBC) was established in 2004 to facilitate the comparison of in-state performance measurement data among Florida cities and counties. Seeking to improve upon existing performance measurement initiatives, the FBC strives to address the specific needs of Florida local governments and identify best practices that cannot be addressed by interstate benchmarking programs.
The FBC has a current membership of 36 local government organizations (see Appendix A for membership list). The mission of the organization is to facilitate collaboration among Florida’s local jurisdictions to achieve service improvement by measuring and comparing performance. The FBC is working to create a statewide data base of program performance measures that can be utilized by its members for benchmarking and program and organizational improvement. The FBC is based within the University of Central Florida’s Institute of Government and is governed by a dedicated group of local government performance managers that meet on a monthly basis (see Appendix B for a list of steering committee members).
II. Proposal Summary
Through the collaboration and support of member local government representatives, the FBC has created a repository of performance measures and associated data that can be utilized by our members to support organizational improvement initiatives. This repository currently consists of performance measures in eight service categories (detailed in Appendix C) and will be expanded in 2008 to include four new categories.
While the FBC has made significant strides in the development of performance measures that address resources allocated (inputs) and measures of effectiveness (outputs), it has yet to develop sufficient measures of effectiveness (outcomes). Such measures center largely on citizen satisfaction with local government services and serve as a barometer of a government’s ability to meet citizen needs. As such, these measures are frequently more useful to citizens than inputs and outputs which focus largely on operational efficiency.
The FBC seeks to evolve its current measure set from one that focuses on issues surrounding operational efficiency to one that serves to achieve the ultimate goal of increasing citizen satisfaction. In this evolution, the FBC seeks to address the following questions posed in the “Report on the GASB Citizen Discussion Groups on Performance Reporting” in July 2002:
· What performance information should be reported?
· How should the performance information be communicated?
· How to perform data verification and conduct external reviews or evaluations?
· How can citizens be actively involved in developing and using the performance information?
III. Project Statement
This proposal outlines an eighteen month, three-pronged strategy for the development and incorporation of citizen-informed outcome measures into the FBC performance measurement set. This strategy, detailed below, centers on facilitation of citizen input in the development and refinement of performance measures at citizen meetings, inclusion of citizens on service category committees, and enhancement of the FBC website to serve as a vehicle for communications between citizens and local government representatives.
Facilitation of Citizen Meetings
The FBC will organize and hold four one-day meetings at different locations throughout the state to facilitate citizen-citizen and citizen-FBC interaction. During these meetings, FBC steering committee members will draw upon best practices observed in the 2002 “Report on GASB Citizen Discussion Groups on Performance Reporting” to facilitate citizen input in the development of measures of service effectiveness for existing and new service areas. Citizens will be identified through representatives of FBC member jurisdictions, statewide city and county associations, local advocacy groups with an interest in performance measurement, and neighborhood association members.
Inclusion of citizens on FBC Committees
Following the completion of the citizen meetings, the FBC will establish statewide service category committees that sustain a citizen-informed platform. Twelve committees – one for each of the existing and proposed service categories – will be established. Eight of these committees will include at least two citizens, to be selected by the FBC steering committee, and several “subject matter experts”, or member government representatives with expertise in each service category. Currently these committees consist solely of subject matter experts. For the local government support services categories of performance measurement (Human Resources, Purchasing, Information Technology, and Fleet Management) there will be no citizen involvement pursued.
While past collaboration between service category committees has been facilitated primarily via remote communications (telephone and e-mail), it is foreseen that to effectively include citizens, in-person meetings will need to be conducted periodically. Due to the extensive geographic dispersion of member governments across the state, it will be necessary to provide compensation to citizens for their travel and lodging expenses associated with their attendance at such meetings.
In keeping with the spirit of this proposal, at least one citizen will be recruited to serve on the FBC Steering Committee as well.
Enhancement of FBC Website for Citizen-Government Collaboration
The Citizen-Informed Performance Measures for Florida Local Governments initiative will be prominently displayed on the homepage of the FBC website (www.flbenchmark.org). Citizens will be directed to the website in a multi-media campaign including advertisements on local government TV, government websites, and links from websites of appropriate organizations. Select performance measurement results will be displayed on the FBC website. These performance graphs will be based on the work of each of the FBC’s service category teams following the FBC’s Annual Conference of Local Governments each spring. Through the FBC website, citizens will be able to express interest in attending the one-day meetings, provide feedback on the citizen-identified measures, comment on the displayed graphs, complete surveys, and participate in discussion forums on critical issues in local government performance measurement.
IV. Project and Outcome Evaluation Plan
Data for citizen informed performance measures will be collected in 2008 and published in the FBC annual report. Collecting, storing, and analyzing performance data is facilitated by state -of –the-art performance measurement software, PilotWorks, utilized by all of the FBC member governments.
The results of this project will be prominently displayed on the FBC web site over the course of the project’s implementation and at the conclusion of the project to ensure transparency and accountability for the funds received.
The FBC will continue to encourage its member governments to display their performance measures and the FBC’s cross-government, comparative performance data on their own local websites with a goal of at least 50% of the FBC’s member governments presenting a sampling of their measures in graphic form on their websites by the end of 2008.
V. Project Sustainability
Citizen satisfaction is central to the efficacy of local government service delivery. The FBC’s planned incorporation of a citizen-informed strategy for service performance measurement will strengthen the organization’s existing program and further benefit current and future members through providing new insights for operational improvement. Once the citizen-informed strategy is initiated, it will be sustained through public-private partnerships and increased levels of staffing and member support. The FBC’s current financial position is strong and growing with nine new local governments joining this year. The annual membership fee of $1,000 per jurisdiction assures funding to support ongoing activities. With 412 cities and 67 counties in Florida, we have tremendous growth potential and plan to increase the number of participating jurisdictions each year.
The FBC will continue to rely on the research and administrative services of faculty, staff, and graduate students of the University of Central Florida as it seeks to evolve its current local government service delivery program to include a citizen-informed strategy for improving operational efficiency. In addition, the FBC foresees forging new public-private partnerships as an avenue for providing further citizen value in regional performance measurement and benchmarking programs. The Sloan Foundation funding is the first grant we have sought, but we have developed supportive relationships with the Florida League of Cities, the Florida Association of Counties, and the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association who can be approached for financial support. The FBC maintains a partnership with the Governor’s Sterling Council with several of our members serving on its Board of Examiners. In addition, the FBC has been successful in engaging corporate sponsors for our conferences enabling us to keep registration fees low while still realizing a small surplus. The FBC charged a fee for assisting the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council with the development of its first strategic plan. Training and technical assistance activities like this will provide another revenue stream for our organization. Opportunities for collaboration between the FBC and other state benchmarking initiatives will be explored and possibly lead to inter-regional performance measurement alliances in which lessons learned and observed best practices can be shared with an even greater audience.
APPENDICES
Annotated Budget
Appendix A: Florida Benchmarking Consortium Members
Appendix B: Florida Benchmarking Consortium Steering Committee Members
Appendix C: Florida Benchmarking Consortium Service Categories
Appendix D: Florida Benchmarking Consortium Vision, Values, and Mission
The below listed financial breakdown is the anticipated 18 month budget for funding provided by the Sloan Foundation.
The Program Coordinator will manage the major products for the FBC, such as the quarterly newsletter, website updates, news releases, citizen communication and coordination, and data collection, compiling and reporting. This will include making sure that FBC products are user friendly, and can be easily understood by citizens.
“Stipends for Citizen Involvement” covers the expense of travel, lodging and meals for those citizens who are active participants in the FBC’s meetings and committees.
Promotional expenses are associated with the recruitment and retention of citizens, local officials and public administration professionals in the FBC. In addition, it will be used to publicize upcoming events, and services in which citizens can participate.
Expenses for technical development are related to enhancing the website and reporting mechanisms for submitted data in order to make both systems more user-friendly. Improvements to the website will make it easier for citizens to understand and access performance measures and benchmarking information.
Program Coordinator / $ 32,295Stipend for Citizen Involvement / $ 6,705
Promotion / $ 3,000
Technical Development / $ 3,000
TOTAL BUDGET / $ 45,000
APPENDIX A
FLORIDA BENCHMARKING CONSORTIUM
MEMBERSHIP
July 2007
Alachua County City of Miami Beach
Broward County Miami-Dade County
City of Cape Coral Monroe County
City of Casselberry City of Orlando
City of Clearwater Osceola County
Collier County City of Oviedo
City of Coral Springs City of Palm Bay
City of Doral City of Palm Coast
Escambia County Pinellas County
City of Gainesville Polk County
City of Gulfport City of Sanford
Hillsborough County Sarasota County
City of Jacksonville Beach Seminole County
Keys Aqueduct Authority City of Tallahassee
City of Lakeland City of Tamarac
City of Maitland City of Venice
Marion County Volusia County
Martin County City of Winter Park
Appendix B
FLORIDA BENCHMARKING CONSORTIUM
STEERING COMMITTEE
John Becker, Chair, Pinellas County
Marilyn Crotty, University of Central Florida
Larry Martin, University of Central Florida
Bruce Dangremond, Hillsborough County
Pavel Gubanikhin, City of Gainesville
Stuart Grifel, Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts
Ed Hacker, City of Lakeland
Chris Heflin, City of Coral Springs
Chelsea Stahl, City of Coral Springs
Lora Hanson, Sarasota County
Karen Snyder, City of Gainesville
John Woodruff, Pinellas County
Appendix C
FLORIDA BENCHMARKING CONSORTIUM
SERVICE CATEGORIES
Current
Police
Fire/Rescue
Code Enforcement
Streets
Stormwater
Human Resources
Parks & Recreation
Community Development
Additional to be added in 2008
Purchasing
Fleet Management
Information Technology
Water
Appendix D
FLORIDA BENCHMARKING CONSORTIUM
VISION
Taking performance measurement to the next level
MISSION
Local governments collaborating to achieve service improvement by measuring and comparing performance
VALUES
We openly share our knowledge, insights, and experience
We provide useful tools to improve performance
We ignite innovation, creativity, and new ideas
We facilitate easy access of idea exchange
We promote fact-based decision making
We offer quality resources at a good value
We enhance cooperation and grow positive relationships
We are sensitive to the differences between communities
We benchmark performance measure that speak to citizen and community desires
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