John Leatherman
Kansas State University
Department of Agricultural Economics
331 Waters Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
(785) 532-4492, (785) 532-6925 fax

There remains considerable interest in the application of indicators to monitor the financial performance and condition of municipalities. Recent books by Honadle, et. al. and the International City/County Management Association on the topic attest to the ongoing interest. These and other resource providers promise beneficial insight into a municipality’s fiscal well-being. Does this represent an opportunity for Extension to offer local government officials a valuable new service? How difficult is it to build these indicators, really? This workshop will provide insight into these questions and more. Several systems for constructing municipal financial indicators are presented and evaluated, including exactly where to find needed data and the relative difficulty of securing it. In addition to the Guide, a sample report will be shared illustrating a comparison of six mid-sized cities. The city finance director for whom the study was prepared reported the information was well received by his city commission at their annual retreat, and that the city would consider contracting for future updates.