Performance measures are objective tools, specific to each City Department, which are used to evaluate the quality and efficiency of work they perform. Often these measures are compared or “benchmarked,” against the efficiency of surrounding cities.
An example of a performance measure is how quickly the Police Department responds to a call for service. Performance measures not only gauge how well the Department/City is providing a service, but can help evaluate the consequences of how resources are allocated. For example, if not enough resources are given to a particular function, it may take too long to accomplish that function. Additionally, once measures and/or benchmarks are in place, the individual performance of our City Executives can be judged, in part, using these publicly set standards. Performance measures are a transparent means to institutionalize the concept of public accountability.
These measures were approved by City Council in May 2014 after a public input process. The first full year of data collection is January through December 2015. The results will be published as part of the City’s budget.
