by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Officials of the Taxation Revenue and Utilization of Expenditures (TRUE) Commission are ready to begin seeing some action and results. Specifically, TRUE Commissioner Chair John Palombi wants to see if City-funded agencies and programs truly are as up to snuff as they should be. Palombi met with fellow TRUE Commissioner Greg Anderson Wednesday to help plan a course of action on how to create effective measurement standards for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
“You’ve got to have an effective measurement of programs,” said Palombi. “There needs to be additional work done on performance measures.”
The TRUE Commission was formed by City Council in 1994 and acts as a body to improve the City’s long-range financial planning, budgeting and management and consists of 18 appointed volunteer citizens with a background in business.
Palombi serves as the commission’s chair and performance committee chair, but the meeting was also intended to bring Anderson up to speed on the performance committee’s agenda so Anderson can assume the role as its committee chair.
“It’s about getting other, younger (in terms of TRUE tenure) commissioners involved,” said Palombi. “I’m not going to be around forever.”
At the core of the meeting was the issue of determining how City agencies and programs measure if they’re doing a good job and maximizing their dollars to the fullest.
A Performance Measure Review study completed several years ago determined there was a need for more accurate measurement of success, said Palombi. Current measures, he added, have been too inconsistent, a sentiment with which Anderson agreed.
Talk of creating improved standards has been discussed by many departments, said Palombi, but “on a list of many departments top 10 priorities, it ends up No. 17.”
“You can talk yourself to death, but it’s best to put it down and do something,” said Anderson. “Let’s get something started.”
One idea Palombi discussed was something officials can keep score with — a simple standardized scorecard.
Palombi’s “City Scorecard” would include categories such as public safety, environmental stewardship, financial and economic health among others and would be a visible component of the mayor’s office. The scorecard would act as a barometer of effectiveness and keep tabs on the departments.
Regardless if the idea of a scorecard-type system is feasible, something to ensure agency and program effectiveness while including public comments is a must, he said.
“Part of the problem we have is we’re not measuring results,” said Palombi. “We’ve got to get to that point .... it’s like continuing down a road with no signs.”
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