By Jeffrey Bean
March 23, 2009

Now that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been signed into law, federal stimulus money is on its way to cities to fund projects that will help create jobs and jump'start the economy. It is an unprecedented measure – one that presents cities with an opportunity to institute practices that not only support their stimulus projects, but strengthen their municipalities.

On the government website Recovery.gov, President Barak Obama has said that the money committed under this legislation will be spent in a “timely, targeted, and transparent manner.” That means your “Ready to Go” projects must start quickly but must be managed effectively to meet strict accountability and transparency standards and produce verifiable results. It all comes down to speed and accuracy.

Your municipality can meet the standards tied to stimulus dollars by leveraging your own performance data.

There’s power in your data, according to management and technology experts at EMA Inc. EMA, a Platinum Partner of The U.S. Conference of Mayors, is a municipal government consulting and service firm that has partnered with municipalities for nearly 35 years on performance measurement, process improvement, technology implementation, best practices, and strategic planning projects.

“Capturing critical, real-time performance data keeps your constituents informed and up-to-date,” says Judith Cascio who leads EMA’s municipal consulting services. “It also enables you to make informed business decisions and better manage your assets. And it drives continuous improvement.” Cascio explained that these solutions can deliver the speed and accuracy quotient to cities at the very time they need it most.

Smart performance reporting and management gives valuable data that can help your municipality improve efficiency, save money, and make stronger business decisions. Presented in an online, customized “dashboard” format, this data gives you a real-time, at-a-glance accounting of what’s going on in your municipality. The dashboard offers a higher-level overview of performance, and at the same time, allows access to more detailed performance data as needed.

For years, EMA has helped clients use their performance data more effectively, delivering results that have transformed how some municipalities conduct the business of government.

Corpus Christi (TX) sought ways to improve operations to reduce costs citywide. Partnering with EMA, the city developed a master plan to establish goals and implemented an enterprise work management system. EMA and the city also developed an online dashboard to present balanced scorecard goals, objectives, metrics, and targets.

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” said Steve Klepper, Administrative Superintendent of the city’s water utilities. “The dashboard pulls data from other enterprise systems and displays the metrics so users can gauge progress. The balanced scorecard web portal is the bridge bringing the entire organization together on the same path moving towards a common vision. This has helped our utilities transform into proactive agencies that can track, evaluate and improve upon service according to set standards of excellence.”

In Corpus Christi, the implementation of best practices and the performance management dashboard have helped create a culture of continuous improvement that is nationally recognized for its excellence. It has led to more efficient work practices and streamlined processes that have helped reduce utility costs. Finally, service delivery has improved, bolstering customer satisfaction.

EMA has helped municipalities leverage their performance data and establish best practices for more than three decades. Strong performance management practices produce data-driven, verifiable results – results that answer President Obama’s call for greater accountability and transparency on stimulus projects and also helps build a culture of continuous improvement that can transform your municipality.

For information on how EMA can help with your “ready to go” projects, contact Judith Cascio at 651-639-5600 or send e-mail to jcascio@ema-inc.com or visit the website www.ema-inc.com. You can also contact Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland with The United States Conference of Mayors at 301-460-5251 or by e-mail to kweyland@usmayors.org.