David Eichenthal President and CEO Community Research Council Chattanooga, Tennessee

1. Inside/Outside:Internal and Citizen Perspectives on Performance Measurement in Chattanooga, Tennessee David Eichenthal President and CEO Community Research Council Chattanooga, Tennessee

2. About Chattanooga • Tennessee’s fourth largest city with a population of 155,000 • More cities like Chattanooga than larger cities. Approximately 180 U.S. cities have a population of between 100,000 and 300,000. • Turnaround city. Chattanooga was the only U.S. city with a population of >100,000 to lose more than 10% of its population and 1980s and gain population in 1990s.

3. Inside: Initial Steps toward Government Performance Measurement • In 2002, new mayor, with business experience, seeks enhanced ability to measure and manage performance – what is the bottom line on cost and performance? • Creates Office of Performance Review – audit function and oversight of implementation of 311 • CitiStat Model – use citizen-driven indicators like 911 and 311 calls to monitor government performance

4. Implementation • City 311 Center is up and running by end of February 2003. All non-emergency, non-police calls now go to single point of entry for City. By end of 2004, more than 260,000 calls. • City Finance Department is restructured so that budget staff now become “management and budget analysts” • Summer 2003: MBA staff and Department heads work together to develop standardized indicators for City departments and select funded agencies (e.g. Chamber of Commerce, CARTA) • Fall 2003: Launch of chattanoogaRESULTS

5. Results of chattanoogaRESULTS • chattanoogaRESULTS allows Mayor and Department heads to more effectively manage City government on a daily basis • Relentless focus on performance and spending allows City to weather difficult fiscal times without suffering a decline in services • Between FY 2003 and FY 2005, City spending increases by less than 1%. No new taxes and City generates more than $8 million in surplus.

6. TIME Magazine “cities like Chicago, Dallas and Chattanooga,Tenn., are not only answering 311 calls but also analyzing the larger patterns that emerge from them. In those places, 311 has become a direct line into the urban consciousness—a way of harnessing the collective needs of an entire population to make a city work better. That is urban reform at its most elegant.” – February 7, 2005

7. Performance Measurement Reporting • While Chattanooga’s efforts at 311 and chattanoogaRESULTS were transforming the internal workings of government and achieving national recognition, not a lot of attention at home. • City Council members were very focused on 311 data for their own districts, but not much oversight on overall City government performance. • Limited interest on the part of local journalists – again, more story specific and less of an ongoing interest in data • Not surprising – unlike Baltimore CitiStat and New York Police Department Compstat, data was not regularly made public

8. Transforming Public Reporting • Step 1: Alignment of indicators used in chattanoogaRESULTS and reporting in the CABR • Step 2: NCCI Trailblazer Grant and 2005 Annual Performance Report • Significant press attention to release of the Annual Performance Report – series of articles in local newspaper

9. Inside/Outside • chattanoogaRESULTS was well on its way to becoming a method of increasing efficiency and effectiveness in day to day management of City government • 311 had greatly enhanced ability of individual residents to complain about and request services • But residents of Chattanooga still had only limited involvement: • While focus groups preceded development of 311, there was no citizen involvement in identifying key indicators of performance • While 311 regularly conducted surveys to determine how well it was performing, there was not systematic feedback on the performance of City government as a whole • While the City was starting to make data on performance accessible, it was done annually and not disaggregated

10. Outside: CRC, chattanoogaCITIZEN and State of Chattanooga Region Report • Community Research Council - Non-profit, community based policy and data research and analysis organization with independent Board • chattanoogaCITIZEN – focused on determining what Chattanooga resident believe “counts” when measuring performance of City government • State of Chattanooga Region Report – use of survey data and administrative data to track more than 100 different indicators, broken down demographically and geographically, across Hamilton County

11. chattanoogaCITIZEN • Global Strategy Group -- national firm independent of process -- retained to perform five focus groups over two nights – diverse by race, gender and age • Focus group research was designed to hear what average Chattanoogans are saying and thinking about their community

12. Focus Groups • Discussion focused on both the direction and performance of City government • Significant findings regarding split based on race and based on attitudes toward some of the new developments Downtown – Tale of Two Cities • Significant interest in, and discussion of, schools – despite the fact that schools are not a City service • Focus groups were also used to test new City website – subject of separate section of report

13. Focus Group Input on Performance Measurement • Areas of greatest interest/concern – not including schools • Availability of Affordable Housing • Employment • Crime/Police Misconduct • Neighborhood Conditions – Cleanliness and Blight • Parks, Recreation, Arts and Culture • Traffic and Parking

14. Listening Tour • Meetings were held in each of the 9 City Council districts • In addition, upon CAG recommendation, a meeting was held with Latino community • Members of the City Council were informed of meetings • Newspaper and other earned media to generate turnout • Unlike focus groups, most attendees were community activists not average citizens • Listening Tour confirmed many of the findings of the focus groups

15. What did we learn? • Citizens are more concerned about outcome related data that are generally harder for government to track than service delivery—local economy and housing affordability and quality • Citizens can play a role in helping to provide neighborhood based data on job availability • Citizen surveys of housing can provide up to date more neighborhood specific information • Data would help both government and local groups

16. What did we learn? • Citizens are more concerned about solving the problem vs. completing the task • Big distinction in how residents look at effectiveness of code enforcement • From bureaucratic perspective, completion of case in a timely manner is what counts • Citizens actually want government to solve the problem – they care less about legal and fiscal constraints

17. What did we learn? • City government can and should make more timely data available on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis • Many cities already have near “real-time” data on crime on their websites • Strong interest in police misconduct data as well • Specific interest in status of road construction projects

18. State of Chattanooga Region Report • Our “coming attraction” – due for release in Fall 2006 • Will allow for neighborhood specific data on multiple indicators • 20 Minute Survey of 1000 Hamilton County residents asking, among other things, what factors determine quality of life – “what counts”

19. Conclusion: Will Citizens Engage? • This is not “field of dreams” – if you just provide data, citizens will not necessarily get engaged • How do you get more citizens to engage on issues of “what counts” in government performance? • Chattanooga – and other midsize cities – have an “advocacy gap” • City officials should want a more engaged citizenry. The more people who engage, the more people who can provide thoughtful input on tough decisionmaking. • City officials should be less worried about the press and focus on how they can be a “partner” in informing residents.

20. Community Research Council 201 Forest Avenue Chattanooga, Tennessee 37405 423-267-7766 deichenthal@researchcouncil.net www.researchcouncil.net