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Method of evaluation The search for efficiency usually starts with the uncertainty that arises from increased costs for governmental services. The question usually asked is, "have our costs gotten out of hand?" The next question usually is, "how do we compare to other similar cities?" After that is done the question is usually, "why are our costs so different?" 'I, Therefore, Comparable cities were chosen to compare costs with Eugene's costs for road r maintenance services. That analysis is done to determine two things. First, are Eugene's costs similar to other cities for similar services? Second, are there things that other cities are doing more efficiently or more effectively that could be copied in Eugene? As explained in the following sections, comparable city data has limitations. Therefore, j each function is analyzed to compare measurable outputs with budget inputs to arrive at a cost per unit produced, where possible. Eugene has some measured outputs and other cities have some measured outputs but seldom aze they the same. When possible this 1 efficiency measure will be compared to private contractors doing the same work. There is very little data available at this level so the analysis focuses on what to measure in the future and which functions to monitor more closely for the future. Each cost factor such as labor, materials and methods has been evaluated to determine the potential for savings. The final method of analysis is expert opinion. Benchmarking? r The cities chosen for comparison were all about the same population and roadway network size. This was done for several reasons. First, comparing with other similar sized cities means that the overall work outputs will be similar so that comparing costs per mile or per capita provides an approximate efficiency comparison. Such a comparison assumes a lot. As we'll see, even cities that seem similar don't provide similar levels of service or even the same services in some cases. The cities were also chosen because they have similar reputations for being progressive providers of °lo D~vntime government service. Calling this a form of 7^~ iRi~r~i Benchmarking should be done with caution. 5~ ~7r~nd,' peers Choosing the right cities to compare with depends on what you're trying to accomplish as shown in the example chart. Calling the comparison cities the best s~~ ~ o m#ry in class only means they have a good reputation. It ,~9 ae$c.n cfa5s * doesn't mean they provide the lowest cost service. No one knows who provides the lowest cost service ,.__u__.. , a '~~2 because such an analysis hasn't been done yet. 8 _ _ _