Agenda - Council Work Session - 09/11/2012

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Important Service - Specific Considerations CPM 101 Annual Report: FY 2011 Parks & Recreation / 92 Some of the factors that influence the comparability of parks and recreation data are: • Park and recreation funded activities —The amount of expenditures and hours paid may be affected by the department's responsibility for performing activities such as maintenance to nature areas, cemeteries, and trees. • Park and recreation high- expenditure activities — Whether a jurisdiction offers certain high - expenditure, high- revenue activities can affect total net operating and maintenance expenditures. • Contracts with nearby jurisdictions —Some jurisdictions may choose to contract with neighbors in order to give their citizens access to specialized facilities and /or programs that they themselves do not provide, due to resource constraints, policy decisions, or other reasons. Broadly speaking, the physical, political, and demographic characteristics of each reporting jurisdiction also influence performance. • Examples include unusually good or bad weather, new state or federal mandates, significant changes in state or federal aid, major budget cuts, and median household income. Citizen preferences, council or board priorities, local tax resources, and state - imposed spending limits cause additional variation in the funds, equipment, and staff available for providing parks and recreation services. A list of additional considerations applying to all service areas is included in the introduction to this report. Please review it before reporting, analyzing, or otherwise using the information in this report. Suggested Applications • Examine your performance compared to peers and means and medians. If you're performing above the norms, check in with ICMA if you'd be willing to share what you're doing to achieve high performance. Your practices may be suitable for write -up that can be shared with others. If you find that you'd like to improve performance in any areas, check the analysis and effective practice case studies posted on the CPM 101 group on the ICMA Knowledge Network. The studies are full of examples of how local governments have used performance measurement to find improvement targets and boost performance —and to promote ongoing high performance. You can also check out the What Works Case Studies posted on the performance measurement topic page. • Prepare a report for your supervisor, manager, elected officials, or others. Using the data you have evaluated and the goals you are hoping to achieve, write a report to be shared with the manager, elected officials, the public or others. It is important that results and goals are communicated clearly to those in the jurisdiction. Check out CPM's public website (icma.org /performance) and click on the Certificate Program link to view samples of reports prepared by participants in the CPM Comprehensive program. • Check in with peers. Do you see a fellow participant performing well in an area in which you would like to see improvement? Consider getting in touch. Ask which programs, camps, and facilities they OCMA Center for Performance Measurement''