I sometimes hear that some residents believe there is not enough transparency on the fiscal side of things: what projects will cost and why, whether a project is worth doing based on a cost/benefit basis, whether a finished projects is working as expected, etc. Turns out many of us on the council feel the same way, me included. Staff has been slowly getting better at providing the numbers and metrics needed to make a sound decision, but it is still not enough.

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Along with approving a new Enterprise Resource Planning tool allowing for better reporting and more visibility, councilors Dunn, Furman and Fultz made the appeal during the priority setting in December 2025 that performance metrics and an outside auditor of those metrics, as well as an easily available resident dashboard be created.

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This is a phased approach to creating more accountability through greater transparency and providing future councils with the information needed to make the best possible policies and decisions on projects deriving from those policy decisions and priorities.  

 

The first area is performance metrics. There are two types of performance metrics: policy/project metrics and personnel metrics. Project metrics or performance indicators assist Council in understanding how well the projects budgeted and in play meet the community goals as set down in the Community Plan and goals of each of the planned Community Focus Areas. These community enabled plans should always be reflective of the Council priorities, and projects within the city boundaries should always be aligned with these various plans. 

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The policy metrics, dashboards, and reporting cadence should be agreed upon by both the council and the City Manager. The personnel metrics are other administrative goals and preferences that are strictly within the purview of the City Manager and outside the scope of the Council. The City Manager is responsible for managing all personnel performance metrics and reporting. 

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The second area is the use of an independent auditor reporting to the Council. The goal of the auditor is to promote transparency and accountability, building public trust, and confidence in government operations. 

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Typically, the audit function has these characteristics: 

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• A formal mandate from the Council 

• Organizational independence from City departments 

• Unrestricted access to information, beyond the metrics dashboards and reports 

• Stakeholder support (Council, Residents, Staff) 

• Adherence to professional audit standards 

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The proposal was in two phases:

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Phase 1: 

Create a council subcommittee with no more than 3 councilors and appropriately designated members of staff to create a committee determining appropriate performance metrics, including but not limited to: what metrics are typically used within the broader best practices, how the new ERP system could be used to create those metrics and the contents of the associated publicly accessible dashboards, reporting frequencies, etc. 

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Further, select an independent auditor based on a professional standards role description and capabilities whose purpose will be to monitor and report to council on whether policies are being met and best practices are being followed. 

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Note: resident input should be reflected through their elected representatives on council with the council members ensuring transparency regarding the conversations and decisions following A.R.S. § 38-431 and A.R.S. § 38-431.01 wherein Council subcommittees are required to be held as Open Meetings. At the direction of the City Manager, the appropriate staff members may also provide a reporting cadence to the public via appropriate channels. 

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Phase 2:

Creation of a publicly available dashboard and reporting from an independent performance auditor whose function would be to hold government accountable, both elected officials and city management; recommend ways to improve services; report how government funds are being spent; assess emerging risks and showcase successes; ensure compliance with policies, laws and regulations; and identify cost savings.

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Phase 1 will be implemented May 2026. More information will be forthcoming ...