Fiscal Note
No appropriation required.
Title
Announcing Madison as a What Works City and authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into an agreement with What Works Cities.
Body
WHEREAS, in April 2014 the Common Council accepted ‘A Strategic Vision for the Future: City of Madison Racial Equity and Social Justice Initiative’ report outlining recommendations to insert equity into the center of City operations through the use of policies and the budget process; and,
WHEREAS, these recommendations build on the City’s long history of utilizing quality and continuous improvement initiatives to improve service delivery and make government responsive to all Madison residents; and,
WHEREAS, in 2015 the City began planning to implement a strategic management approach geared towards achieving greater levels of equity by fostering an environment that encourages upward mobility for all current and future residents through the use of data and evidence in the decision making process; and,
WHEREAS, the approach will begin with drafting Citywide goals and measurable outcomes that will be used to guide both operational and budgetary decisions; and,
WHEREAS, these goals and outcomes will serve as the guide for future operating and capital budgets as the City begins implementing Outcome Budgeting which will connect Madison’s budget process with achieving the results that matter most to all of its residents; and,
WHEREAS, in order to make meaningful progress towards this vision requires the City to develop systems that track data and monitor performance in order to gauge success in achieving outcomes; and,
WHEREAS, in the spring of 2015 the City participated in a self assessment process to partner with the What Works Cities Initiative that began in 2014 with the goal of connecting 100 midsize cities to build the infrastructure for using data in decision-making and develop innovative solutions for addressing local problems; and ,
WHEREAS, Madison has been selected as a participant in the program based the Mayor’s commitment to using data to drive decisions in order to make progress towards achieving outcomes for our residents. Through the engagement, What Works Cities and their partner organizations will provide assistance in completing two projects: (1) a re-launch of the open data program and (2) developing a performance management program; and,
WHEREAS, after the engagement with What Works Cities, Madison will continue to participate in the program by working with other cities in the What Works Cities network to continue developing and implementing solutions geared towards further building infrastructure and capabilities around data;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOVLED, that the Mayor and Common Council endorse and support this effort and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into an agreement with What Works Cities to begin a 120 engagement that will commence in January 2017 and continue through the April 2017.