The Metro Auditor’s Office released an audit today that looked at the quality of performance measures in Metro’s budget. In the FY 2014-2015 budget, Metro reported 53 performance measures. Each department had its own set of measures that included two years of actual data and five years for forecasted data.
The audit reviewed measures from the perspective of public transparency and accountability. Auditors compared criteria in best practices to the measures found in the budget. These criteria relate to the relevancy of the information to main goals and the accuracy of the information that is reported. The audit did not review data accuracy but instead focused on relevancy.
Based on these criteria, 30% of performance measures in the budget were relevant and could assess accomplishment toward department goals. Overall, measures could not be used to provide comparisons to years past because only two years of actual data was reported. A lack of clear goals may have contributed to the quality of the measures.
“The budget document should give the public information about results,” Metro Auditor Suzanne Flynn said. “Many of Metro’s measures did not demonstrate to the public how efficiently or effectively programs and services were working.” Auditor Flynn stated she was pleased that Metro has committed to following each of the audit’s recommendations.
For more information, contact Suzanne Flynn, Metro Auditor, at 503-797-1891. The audit is available on the Metro website at http://www.oregonmetro.gov/auditor . Copies of the audit can also be obtained by calling the Office of the Metro Auditor at 503-797-1892. The Metro Auditor will brief the Metro Council on December 18, 2014.