Mayor John Cooper’s Office of Performance Management (OPM) has released a set of newly developed metrics that enables the Mayor’s Office to more clearly and continuously track the productivity of departments across Metro Government.
OPM has worked with each Metro department to develop metrics that closely track impactful and relevant operating performance variations, identify items that require immediate attention, and support data based decision-making. It is also developing a system to report and share Metro’s ongoing performance with the public.
“While Nashville faces an unprecedented budget challenge, we are also creating innovative solutions to drive new efficiencies across Metro Government” said Mayor Cooper. “In government, as in business, ‘if you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it.’ I’m grateful to Diego Eguiarte, director of the Office of Performance Management, Kristin Wilson, chief of operations and performance management, and everyone on the OPM team for their hard work in developing and delivering these metrics and goals to create more transparency and accountability between Davidson County taxpayers and those who serve them.”
The newly published metrics show each department’s operating performance history, expectations, and objectives for the coming fiscal year. OPM will work with departments to improve and fine-tune these measures through an iterative process in which departments, the administration, and the public can all contribute to its development and evolution.
The publication of OPM’s new metrics is a significant step towards improving financial stewardship by using performance information to inform budget decisions and measuring the effects of these decisions in Metro’s performance in the coming years. OPM’s efforts are focused on developing a Metro-wide culture of ongoing performance reporting, shifting from on-demand analysis to continuous performance tracking.
On August 1, 2019, Davidson County residents passed a charter amendment requiring the Office of the Mayor to submit performance and efficiency metrics for all Metro departments annually. Mayor Cooper introduced the legislation as a member of the Metro Council.
The mission of OPM is to optimize taxpayer money spending through greater accountability and improved efficiency, serving as a bridge between budgeting and operational management.
