Agenda Packets - 1997/03/24 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 , -) r r\-----\.„7 i i‘i i-Rj I-e 9 LMC01 Yd LY 145 University Avenue West, SL Paul, M\ 55103-2044 iilLeague of Minnesota Cities Phone: (612) 281-1200 • (800) 925-1122 Cities promoting excellence Fax: (612) 281-1299 • TDD (612) 281-1290 J Local Performance Aid Briefing Paper Issue synopsis/League position: Local Performance Aid was created by the 1996 legislature and requires cities and counties to implement systems of performance measurement in order to qualify for the aid. The city pool for 1997 is about$4.1 million and was funded through $3.7 million in city HACA and a state appropriation of S400,000. The author's intent was for LPA to demonstrate to state officials the efficiency of local government, and to encourage local governments to strive to be even more efficient. City officials expressed several concerns about the bill. Because the law as it was passed was very vague, many city officials were unsure of what they need to do to qualify for the aid. Many smaller cities may not have the staff capacity to do the paperwork performance measures require. In addition, many small cities contract out for most services, so they have few tasks to measure. • Many cities also were concerned that the program would develop into a strict mandate through which the state would collect performance data and use it to unfairly compare cities. Because of these concerns, the League adopted a policy opposing LPA. In addition, if LPA is to continue the qualifications be clarified and that they be attainable by all cities. Any new funding come from state sources rather than HACA or LGA. The program not become an onerous mandate, and any performance measurement information collected by the state would not be used to simplistically compare cities. Messages for Legislators: The League strongly supports efforts by cities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations, including using performance measurement. But effective efforts must be local in nature rather than a state mandate. LPA, if it is to continue, should be an incentive program rather than a mandate. Pending Legislation: The chief author of LPA, Representative Andy Dawkins, has introduced legislation which would significantly change LPA. It would add $13 million of state money to the city LPA pool. It would require any city which applies for the aid to use the money for a specific city program or • service for which performance measurements are in place. The city would need to track the service or program for continuous improvement and report the results annually to the council. -over- AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER