Performance Measurement at Niagara Region
Niagara Region is continuously improving service delivery to provide the best possible municipal services. Participating in performance measurement initiatives helps us determine our efficiency and effectiveness.
Niagara Region participates in the Municipal Benchmarking Network of Canada, which is a collaboration of 15 municipalities with a common goal of fostering a culture of service excellence in municipal government by creating ways to measure, share, and compare performance statistics and operational practices. The most recent 2016 annual performance benchmarking report was released in November 2017.
Benchmarking helps identify municipalities who are excelling, lagging, and innovating. Municipal benchmarking allows us to compare our performance against our peers. Niagara's participation in Municipal Benchmarking Network of Canada helps us identify opportunities to improve based on innovation and idea sharing in the industry. This data can inform investments to improve service delivery and/or decrease cost, which aligns with the council strategic priority of doing business differently.
The 2016 report focuses on comparative information for service areas which Municipal Benchmarking Network of Canada performance measures have been established. The report shows municipal performance through financial and operational measures for the services that each municipality directly provides and is able to collect data for.
Municipal Benchmarking Network of Canada works to collect consistent performance information to ensure that the results are as comparable as possible. The raw data results for the 2016 report can be found on Niagara Open Data.
Financial Health
Niagara's financial health can be measured, in part, by the level of taxation on residents and businesses, and by how competitive taxes are compared to other areas of the country.
This type of information is tracked through the Region's financial systems and through the annual BMA Tax Competitiveness Study conducted on Ontario municipalities each year.