If you’re a local government leader, you may feel the pressure of state-level scrutiny—especially from your state’s version of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The question often thrown your way: What return are you generating with your programs?
That can feel impossible to answer. But it’s not.
You may know what you’re spending. But how do you show what you're achieving?
Let’s talk about outcome metrics: what your community is gaining as a result of your programs. Each program should be linked to measurable improvements in one or more of three areas:
Let’s dig into each of these.
Economic growth measures the strength and vitality of your local economy. It's not just about raw job numbers, it includes job quality, wage equity, small business health, poverty rates, and economic resilience.
State auditors and community stakeholders want to know: Are your investments contributing to a thriving local economy? If you're spending public dollars on economic development, workforce training, infrastructure, or housing, you need to be able to show their real impact.
Because many of these indicators are affected by national trends, it’s important to put your local data in context, by comparing it to similar communities and tracking how it has changed over time.
Tools like Polco’s Track platform help you monitor these indicators, benchmark against peer communities, and visualize how your local economy is changing over time. Track brings in trusted data sources like the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Bureau of Economic Analysis, wrapped in an easy-to-use dashboard tailored to local governments. This helps public leaders shift from reporting activity to measuring resident-centered outcomes.
So whether you're investing in workforce programs, supporting entrepreneurship, or improving infrastructure, Track can help you show economic ROI in ways the state will understand and respect.
Resident satisfaction is a key indicator of how well your programs are improving the daily lives of people in your community. It’s a leading signal for trust in government, future policy support, and even economic migration patterns.
You can have a balanced budget and a booming economy, but if residents don’t feel safe, supported, or heard, your programs may be missing the mark. And when budgets are tight, this data can guide you toward what matters most to the people you serve.
Anecdotal feedback isn’t enough. You need data that’s scientifically valid, representative, and benchmarked, so you can make fair comparisons and defend your results.
Polco’s benchmark surveys, especially The National Community Survey™ (The NCS™), offer rigorous, probability-based data collection to assess how residents feel about local life. You’ll get insights across 10 key dimensions of livability, plus comparisons to hundreds of peer communities nationwide. So you’re not just reporting scores—you’re showing where you stand and how you’re improving.
Use this data to connect specific programs (like a new park, transit expansion, or public safety initiative) to shifts in resident satisfaction. That’s proof that what you’re spending is driving real impact.
Even better: The results are digestible for residents and compelling for auditors.
Fiscal health refers to the strength and sustainability of your local government's finances. This includes internal performance (e.g., fund balance, reserves, debt load) and external perceptions, like credit ratings and voter support for tax measures.
Auditors—and credit agencies—look at how well you manage your financial obligations. But fiscal health is more than a spreadsheet. It’s about credibility. Can your community trust that its government is financially sound and spending wisely?
Many local governments only measure inputs (how much they’re spending) and outputs (how many units were built or services delivered). But state auditors are increasingly looking for outcomes: Are these investments improving your financial resilience?
These tools don’t just prepare you for scrutiny, they build the foundation for fiscal resilience.
Already tracking costs? Great. If not, we can connect you with our partners at Tyler Technologies and their Priority Based Budgeting system—the experts in aligning budgets to community priorities. Pair that with Polco’s suite of tools (Track for outcome metrics, Assess for sentiment, Simulations for community-facing transparency) and you’ll be able to tie dollars to results with clarity and credibility.
State performance audits are no longer rare. They’re a rising standard. But what if instead of fearing the audit, you could treat it as an opportunity? An opportunity to:
Let’s get you ready to hit that audit out of the park. Polco is here to help, with data that’s credible, tools that are easy to use, and a team that’s ready to back you up every step of the way.