The local government benchmark reports relay factors that help assess trends in government finance. Certain benchmarks followed over the long term could foreshadow financial crisis. Imagine a couple taking on too many financial obligations, and then having to erode their savings to cover costs. Likewise, a continuous percentage decrease in a government's unreserved funds carried over each year throws up red flags. The office is implementing historical analyses of certain trends to help governments chart these critical fiscal benchmarks.
Governments can always benefit by seeing what their peers with similar characteristics are doing.
Nearly all reports form comparison groups by size. The school reports take other factors such as geographic location and even wealth into consideration. Clear presentation . A challenge is to avoid information overload. Reports now present a brief profile on each local government with the most important benchmarks, and how these factors compare to peer group averages.