Why small local governments are reluctant to measure performance

In my 20+ years of public service, I am still amazed that the only metrics used (at least in smaller communities that I have worked in) is how compares to last year’s budget and lets see how “X” community is doing it.

Therefor I think there are a few reasons for this phenomenon. First is a lack of expertise. Smaller communities’ staff just don’t have the knowledge on what and how to measure. Also, there can be a large time commitment involved in gathering information and then putting it into some form that is useful. Finally, trying to determine what measurements really mean and how to actually measure them can be a real challenge. Measuring water usage for instance is relatively easy and useful, but the number of building permits may not be as the number can fluctuate wildly depending on any number of factors.

Second, is measuring things means accountability. That can be very scary for some folks.
Third is the fear of misinterpretation as related to #2. Putting out facts and figures to an audience that has not been educated as to what they mean can lead to some serious negative feedback. I know many of you, like myself, have sat through hours of meetings taking a beating because of misunderstandings.

I’m sure there are many more reasons.
On a positive note however, I believe that more and more communities are starting to use metrics and as time goes on, the who, what, why and where will be determined and the techniques for measurement will eventually be easily available to even the smallest localities.