2. Develop guidelines for department or agency budget proposals that include guidance on choosing goals, metrics, and strategies from the city’s existing strategic framework.
If a city is already using performance management, there is probably a strategic framework that organizes priorities, breaks them down into goals, and uses metrics to track progress. The city may even be using a prevailing measure known as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for its priority areas. Cities may use this strategic framework to develop guidelines for budget proposals, requiring that proposals include references to existing priorities and show anticipated progress towards goals based on existing metrics and KPIs. Chattanooga, TN, uses its performance management initiative, ChattaData, as a strategic framework for its performance-based budgeting program. In 2016, Chattanooga held training sessions for city staff and nonprofits interested in learning about the city’s performance-based budgeting process. There were five sessions:
- How performance-based budgeting relates to ChattaData
- How to set a goal that aligns to the five citywide priorities
- What a good performance metric looks like
- How to go about setting a target
- What’s the key to bringing all these components together in a budget proposal.
City leaders were impressed by the number of stakeholder participants these events and participants left asking for more performance management and performance-based budgeting training sessions throughout the year. By following clear guidelines for the budgeting process and gaining a deeper understanding of how goals, metrics, and targets fit into the process, writers produce high-quality proposals, lessen the time it takes to evaluate these proposals, and feel in control of and involved in the budgeting process.
Example of ChattaData Goal Taxonomy from Budgeting Training
| Citywide Priority Safer Streets |
| Citywide Goal Reduce Violent Crime by 20% by June 30, 2016 |
| Citywide Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Average Monthly Violent Crime Incidents |
| Fire Department’s Budget Proposal Desired Outcome Reduce violent crimes; Reduce juvenile crimes |
| Fire Department’s Budget Proposal Description of Output Measured Evaluation of fire investigation activities and arson conviction rate to ensure measures receive due attention; if high conviction rate changes, data can help determine course of action to correct; also to ensure juvenile arson numbers remain low |
See Appendix B for an example of how Baltimore, Lincoln, and Richmond align their priorities, goals, and key performance indicators.
Chattanooga has also published clear guidelines for department and nonprofit budget proposals on its performance-based budgeting website. The website defines the budgeting process and walks proposal writers through the proposal requirements, which include aligning the proposal to one of the city’s priorities, listing supporting performance metrics and targets, and discussing strategies to reach the expected outcome of this budget proposal. The city even links to sample proposals from city staff and nonprofits in the community to demonstrate exactly what it is looking for. See Appendix D for more information on how Chattanooga incorporates nonprofits into its performance-based budgeting process.