Residents, local businesses and rate payers, as well as council managers deserve reliable information to enable judgements on their council’s performance and to guide future policy decisions. Performance indicators measure a council’s performance against a common set of agreed objectives. However, council services often have multiple objectives.
For many Local Government services, different communities might, understandably, put different weights on each objective. It is important to measure and report indicators that reflect that range of objectives.
Developing sound indicators of both efficiency and effectiveness, and ensuring they are published with sufficient information about the context in which services are delivered in each community, will not be easy and will take time.
The Industry Commission, in its report Performance Measures for Councils, has provided some specific suggestions on how Local Government performance indicators could be improved.
The Commission found that a nationally consistent approach to performance measurement for Local Government is not warranted at this time. The Commission also found that existing and proposed State/Territory indicators for Local Government had significant shortcomings, and provided advice on how Local Government performance indicators should be developed.
The Commission concluded that the best short-term option is a cooperative program among the Commonwealth Government, the States, Territories and Local Government aimed at improving existing Local Government performance measurement at the State and Territory level. The Commission stated that as State and Territory systems evolve, and as the parties learn from each other, a convergence on best practice use of indicators is not only possible but achievable with appropriate encouragement.
The Local Government Ministers’ Conference has agreed that Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments will work with Local Government to improve indicators at the State level &endash; generally in accordance with the principles recommended by the Commission. The Commonwealth will support initiatives that are consistent with the Commission’s approach.
Copies of the report can be obtained by contacting Simon Corden on (03) 9653 2139 or visiting the Industry Commission’s World Wide Web Site at www.indcom.gov.au
