<p><i>by Frank Benest </i><br>
<p>Many local governments across the United States have been forced to downsize in response to the ongoing recession, reduced revenues, and skyrocketing health care and other employee-benefit costs. To aggravate matters, some states have shifted money away from local governments to solve their own budgetary problems. Whatever the reasons, local government executives face more than a financial challenge in cutting budgets. An even bigger dilemma for executives is the leadership challenge of crafting a new and vital future for the downsizing organization. <br>

The strategic plan is a guide for the county’s operations, outlining the goals and expectations for county services.

This Case Study profiles the city of Durham, North Carolina and its methodology of connecting community engagement, performance measurement

A primer for engaging with performance management at ICMA.

This 2009 report preapred for the Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

A Forensic Approach

In a knowledge economy, it is all about attracting, retaining and growing talent. Talent management is a particularly important issue for local governments since we have a higher proportion of knowledge workers than the private sector. (1) Knowledge workers, especially “Next Generation” employees (Gen X and Y), not only want to be paid well and receive competitive benefits, they increasingly demand a vibrant and vital workplace. In a shrinking talent market, paying competitive wages and benefits is necessary but completely insufficient. The war for talent is won or lost on the battlefield

This 2009 document from Dougas County, Nevada outlines a proposal for a system of performance management and employee evaluation.

The primary features of this PMP re-design project are about creating a more clear delineation between satisfactory performance and truly outstanding performance(...)