5. Monitor the budget through a defined performance framework.

Between budget cycles, cities should monitor progress on the KPIs and metrics for each goal and priority area. Tracking progress by goal area through the city performance management system allows for easy comparison across departments and agencies and helps to drive cooperation and focus on citywide goals. Tracking in this manner also integrates the work of performance-based budgeting into the work of departments throughout the year. Year-round goal and metric monitoring helps embed the work of budgeting as a regular practice instead of an annual exercise separate from “real” work. It can be beneficial to encourage collaboration between the budget and performance teams (if they are separate in your government) during this process to ensure there is a deep understanding of their joint efforts and coordination of their roles and responsibilities.

Cities across the country use a variety of methods (performance management programs, stat meetings, balanced budget scorecards, and executive leadership meetings) to monitor budget allocations and ensure that departments and agencies are making progress toward their desired outcomes.

Lincoln, NE, tracks its budget allocations in executive leadership meetings and community stakeholder events during the year through its Taking Charge initiative. Additionally, the city monitors funding allocations, program and service delivery prioritization information, and Taking Charge changes on its website, providing insight into why these decisions were made. City staff and residents alike are able to engage with this information, increasing trust in government in Lincoln and creating a unified vision for the city’s performance-based budgeting process.