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September 2006 · Volume 88 · Number 8
Performance MattersTHE ROLE OF CITIZEN SURVEYS IN PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTResident opinion is a perspective that cannot be ignored by government administration. Mr. Jones might be dissatisfied with the growing traffic issues in his town. Mrs. Smith may be disturbed about her city's street lighting and street repairs. How do their public officials hear their concerns? Citizen surveys provide valuable information to cities seeking to understand their residents' opinions, improve communication, and measure citizen satisfaction with the overall operation of local government. The citizen survey is a flexible tool. It can be used to elicit various kinds of information, whether on broad topics such as quality of life or on particular services such as police and fire, street repair, storm drainage, and parks. Citizen input is obtained and used to provide data and performance indicators. Managers and department heads use survey results to assess performance, modify programs, and develop budget proposals. Results of citizen surveys may be considered the ultimate performance measure for a city. The National Performance Review defines performance measurement as "a process of assessing progress toward achieving predetermined goals, including information on the efficiency with which resources are transformed into services (outputs), the quality of those outputs (how well they are delivered to clients and the extent to which clients are satisfied) and outcomes (the results of a program activity compared to its intended purpose), and the effectiveness of government operations in terms of their specific contributions to program objectives."1 Traditional performance (output) measures, such as number of citizen complaints handled per month, number of miles of roads repaired, or number of utility customers served, work alongside citizen surveys that assess citizens' ratings of the safety of their community and ratings of the community as a good place to live, the availability of jobs, and the local services for seniors. Thus, the combination of performance measures and citizen surveys provide a powerful tandem of results for policy governance and management. Palm Coast, Florida, uses an annual citizen survey as a tool to measure whether the city's performance is meeting citizens' expectations. Survey questions are used to determine how well service is being delivered to citizens and how well each city department is doing. Management uses survey results to focus on the capital improvement programs, develop budget priorities, and enhance the quality of services delivered. Results of the survey are used to assist with development of the strategic plan, capital plan, and annual budget. PALM COAST'S EXPERIENCEPalm Coast, located in northeast Florida, was developed by ITT Corporation beginning in 1969, when construction began on 48,000 homesites on 42,000 acres, with paved streets and central water and sewer services. In September 1999, the citizens voted to incorporate the city and establish a council-manager form of government. The new administration, functioning with a small group of city employees and a city manager, started work in 2000 when basic functions and services were transferred from Flagler County. Since incorporation, the city has experienced rapid growth. Its population has increased from the 2000 census figure of 32,732 to a current estimate of more than 65,000. This growth coupled with the challenge of developing from scratch a new city organization made it essential that we formalize our "road map" and develop practices to help us determine the city's direction and the speed with which it would try to reach its goals. Since 2002, city management has contracted for an annual citizen survey. With the use of a stratified systematic sampling method, approximately 1,200 households are selected at random to participate. As a result, citizen responses to the survey questions provide an unbiased estimate of true public opinion regarding the effectiveness of key city services. Survey questions relate to vital life issues for residents in the community. Participants are asked to rate their overall quality of life, characteristics of the community, and their perceptions of safety in the city. City staff select items to survey from a menu of questions covering a range of services and problems that pertain specifically to local issues. Annual results are statistically reweighted to reflect the proper demographic composition of the entire community. Survey results are tabulated and distributed to the city council, city manager, and department heads so that the city's leadership can assess performance, modify programs, and develop budget requests. RESULTS COUNTHow does Palm Coast tie survey results to its performance measurement system? Through the years, citizens have identified three issues that cause them the most concern: traffic congestion, availability of retail stores, and lack of available jobs within the city limits. Using a balanced-scorecard approach, the city council during its annual goal-setting process created new performance objectives to address these citizen issues. The objectives provided for installation of more traffic lights and a light synchronization system to alleviate traffic congestion, sought to increase the number of above-average-wage jobs by 10 percent annually, and planned to increase the number of new diverse retail businesses moving to Palm Coast by 5 percent annually. The citizen survey's role in performance measurement occurs at varying levels of citizen participation. At one level, citizens can simply become educated consumers of performance information. At another level, what citizens expect from their government becomes a factor in service provision decisions. At all levels, bonding citizen participation to performance measures means finding out what citizens think and want and then modifying government activities to respond to these wishes. Both citizen surveys and performance measurement data are used by the city council in development of its five-year plan and annual goals. From the council plan, each department has developed a five-year business plan targeted at improving performance as measured by both performance measurement data and citizen survey results. Departments monitor progress by recording and reporting monthly performance to the city manager. The office of the city manager compiles these reports and forwards them to the mayor and council. Department heads are evaluated on their progress toward their plans, goals, and measures. An annual report of progress toward the plan is also prepared. Overall progress toward council goals is a major part of the city council's annual evaluation of the manager. Local governments were created to serve the needs of their citizens. This fundamental purpose obligates local governments to learn from and respond to the citizens who pay for services and programs. It is important for elected and appointed officials to hear from a broad cross section of residents, not just from the people who are willing and able to speak during the public comments portion of council meetings or who feel empowered enough to approach elected and appointed officials. It is equally important that those who are generally satisfied with the services provided by their local government be heard too. Citizen surveys provide an important means for evaluating and assessing the level of citizen satisfaction with local government services and programs, and they offer important information to decision makers as they determine how resources should be allocated and whether local policies should be revised. By tying the results of citizen surveys to performance measurement, a local government demonstrates its commitment to transparency and accountability in its daily operations. Looking at both together helps to better target efforts to improve services that are of greatest concern to the greatest number of residents. It also shows that performance does matter. 1National Performance Review, Benchmarking Study Report, June 1997, http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/papers/benchmrk/nprbook.html#executive.
—Richard M. Kelton, ICMA-CM Editor’s Note: For more information on citizen surveys, visit the National Citizen SurveyTM (NCS) Web site at www.n-r-c.com. NCS is a turnkey service provided in partnership with ICMA. |
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