Ottawa County, Michigan has developed and implemented one of the most innovative and comprehensive systems to verify that public tax dollars are used to support cost-effective programs and services. The Ottawa County Performance Verification System is designed to maximize financial resources and promote accountability.

One of the primary goals of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners is to continually improve the County’s organization and services, as well as maximize financial resources. This is accomplished through the Performance Verification System. The System provides the Board with the necessary information to make informed decisions about the allocation of financial resources. The Performance Verification System was developed, and is administered by, the County’s Planning and Performance Improvement Department (PPID).

The County’s PPID started evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of a handful of county programs and services in 2000. The Department also conducts strategic planning for new program development in the County. In 2006, the County Board of Commissioners embarked on an effort to develop outcome-based performance measures for all County departments, courts, and agencies as part of the annual budget process.

Because of the PPID’s experience in performance measurement Department staff worked with every County entity to clarify or define their departmental goals and objectives, and to identify verifiable, outcome-based performance measures. The completed Department Performance Plans provide the framework for departments to effectively report their annual performance with respect to workloads, efficiency, customer service, cost, and verifiable outcomes.

The PPID also developed the data collection and data verification protocols that would be used as part of the County’s new Performance-Based Budgeting Process. These protocols were adopted by the County Board of Commissioners and are referred to as the Performance Verification Policy. The Policy is one of the first of its kind. It defines when the annual data are collected, the entities responsible for collecting the data, the entities that verify the data for accuracy and completeness, and how the data are to be used by policy makers during the department budget allocation process.

Another critical element to the Policy, and one which is unique to Ottawa County, are the protocols that exist involving the evaluation of individual programs and services. All department programs and services that are designated by the County Board for evaluation must have an Evaluation Plan completed. Each plan includes a program outline that defines the goals, objectives, target population(s), and performance measures that will be used to evaluate the program/service, as well as any other materials deemed necessary (e.g. program and data flow analysis, organization and workflow analysis, and
data collection tools) to conduct the evaluation.

The entire system of evaluating and verifying the performance and effectiveness of County programs, services, departments, courts, and agencies is known collectively as the Ottawa County Performance Verification System.

Ottawa County implemented the Performance Verification System with internal staff resources. As a result, the execution cost is in the form of staff salaries and fringe benefits. The Performance Verification System has resulted in a positive return-on-investment (ROI) for the County because the PPID has only 2.5 full-time employees who are dedicated to the System.

More than $10.9 million in cost-savings has been achieved since 2003 as a result of the Performance Verification System. This savings has accrued from recommendations to modify, consolidate, privatize, or discontinue underperforming County programs and services. Moreover, $31 million in programming and services has been verified as cost-effective through the System.

The Ottawa County Performance Verification System is one of the first known systems that demands accountability for all aspects of government operations, from individual departments, standalone programs, essential services, and technology systems. The System incorporates countywide performance policies, strategic planning, evaluation, and performance-based budgeting.

The Performance Verification System has improved Ottawa County because all county programs, services, and departments are held to a high level of accountability and transparency. If a program or service is not verified as effective through the System, it is modified or discontinued. Or, if it is determined that the private-sector could provide the same level of service at a more cost-effective rate, then privatization occurs.

The System has also improved the County because it provides the County Board of Commissioners with quantifiable data regarding program performance that allows them to make informed decisions about the allocation of financial resources. The System also benefits department managers and program administrators because the verification process results in recommendations regarding administrative and operational improvements that could be implemented to increase efficiency and effectiveness.

The biggest obstacle associated with planning and developing the Performance Verification System was to ensure buy-in from county staff and department leaders. The Performance Verification System had the potential to be viewed as a threat by many county employees because it involved scrutinizing their workloads, levels of efficiency, and customer satisfaction. The key to overcoming this challenge was education and communication.

A good example of overcoming this challenge is the educational effort that ensued when the PPID conducted an analysis to verify the cost-effectiveness of a new court document imaging system. The analysis involved a time-study in which PPID followed court employees with stop watches to collect time data on how long it takes to process court records. The time-study process can be quite intimidating for staff. However, PPID dispelled any qualms by educating county employees as to the purpose and potential outcomes of the analysis.

PPID explained that the analysis was not to measure individual performance but simply to understand their work processes. County employees were also educated about the fact that no one would lose their job if the analysis revealed that fewer staff could perform the tasks. Instead, staff reductions would occur through attrition.

For more information on the County of Ottawa Performance Verification System visit www.co.ottawa.mi.us