By Lauren Rabin
POCD and KPIs
The town budget season has begun, and I urge all residents to read our Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). The Plan is available on the Town of Greenwich website (www.greenwichct.gov/438/Plans-Studies).
“The 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development embodies a vision for a better Greenwich, as expressed by its residents. The aspirational elements of this vision strongly support enhancing property values, providing affordable housing options for our children, parents, and workforce, and creating shared commercial and recreational spaces that are inviting, safe, connected, accessible, and active. The primary goal of the Plan is to protect and leverage our Town’s historic heritage, natural landscape, and topographical diversity while addressing the challenges posed by growth, climate change, and technological advancements. The Plan also includes initiatives to promote value-added services and amenities that will address the emerging needs of the 21st century and solidify our reputation as a sustainable, desirable community.”
The POCD has six guiding principles:
1. Preserve our community’s character and sense of place.
2. Develop housing opportunities for the future.
3. Provide top-quality educational facilities.
4. Sustain and enhance our natural environment and landscape.
5. Maintain economic vitality and vibrant commercial centers.
6. Provide the highest quality infrastructure, municipal facilities, cultural institutions, and health services.
Each guiding principle includes objectives and actions expected to be met within 10 years of the POCD being adopted by the RTM (Representative Town Meeting).
So, how are we doing? A small team has been formed to identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) and inform us whether we are on track. The Town Administrator, Town Planner, Town Analyst, and Selectwoman met in the summer of 2021 to begin drafting the KPIs. We aimed to ensure that the KPIs are measurable and actionable… no “vanity” metrics. Furthermore, these are municipal KPIs; organizations like the Greenwich Public Schools may have their KPIs or methods for assessing performance. We also avoided duplicating regularly reviewed town operations metrics, such as open capital projects’ numbers or dollar values.
We aligned the KPIs with the six POCD guiding principles.
Preserve our community character and sense of place:
• Historic Preservation – Annual Historic Building Demolitions
• Natural Landscape Sustainability – Greenwich Land Cover by Type
• Public Art Installations – Number of Public Art Installations
Develop housing opportunities for the future:
• Affordable Housing – Percent of 8-30g Affordable Housing
• Housing Stock – Percent of Homes: Single Family vs multi-family
• Housing Stock – Percent of Single-Family Homes by Property Value
Provide top-quality educational facilities:
• Public School Transportation – Annual Bus Ridership
• Residential Buffer Space-Greenwich Schools – Average Tree Coverage Percentage
Sustain and improve our natural environment and landscape:
• Proximity to Parks – Percent of the population that lives within an 8-minute walk of a park or open space
• Water Consumption – Annual Water Consumption
• Open Space – Percent Open Space
Maintain economic vitality and vibrant commercial centers:
• Traffic Congestion – Number of Cars Registered per Person by Election District
• Downtown Parking Improvements – Number of Employee Parking Permits
• Bicycle Infrastructure – Miles of Sharrows (share the road) in Greenwich
• Office Vacancy Rates
Provide the highest quality infrastructure, municipal facilities, cultural institutions, and health services:
• Town Property: Best Practices – Annual Electricity Usage in Town Facilities
• Total AEDs Under Management Through Greenwich EMS
The KPIs can be accessed at www.greenwichct.gov/438/Plans-Studies.
Typically, in any organization, we measure what matters. With a new Town Planner, Town Administrator, and Town Analyst, we are reevaluating the metrics we use to assess and determine whether we are succeeding in what is essential to our residents and employees. New ideas include miles of road paved, sidewalks, health-related metrics, new businesses opened, and energy consumption of town-owned buildings. We also welcome feedback and encourage you to contact us at www.greenwichct.gov/FormCenter/Office-of-First-Selectman-6/Contact-Us-48.
Lauren Rabin is Selectwoman for the Town of Greenwich.
