Comparison of Salaries and Benefits of Elected Municipal Officials in
Onondaga County, April 2000
Information on the salaries and benefits of mayors and supervisors as well as
board members in 35 municipalities were collected and compared. Benefits
listed include health and retirement benefits, use of a vehicle or mileage
reimbursement. Relevant demographic information is also provided.
Municipal Web Sites in Onondaga County: A Study Comparing Selected
Characteristics, December 1999
This research project looked at whether or not local municipalities had Web
sites and then evaluated the quality and effectiveness of existing sites. Each
site was rated according to common standards. Guidelines were provided for
municipalities interested in starting a Web page or improving current sites.
Web addresses were provided of government sites across the country that meet
most or all of the benchmarks.
Residential Trash Collection in Onondaga County: A Study Comparing
Cost and Type of Service,June 1999
Reports cost and service information of residential trash and recyclables collection in 35 municipalities and one special district in Onondaga County. Data used in this study were collected via two surveys, The "Survey on Trash Collection Services in Onondaga County," distributed to the 35 municipalities and one special district, as well as the "Citizen Telephone Trash Survey," administered to 118 residents in municipalities where residents select their own haulers. Background information on existing trash collection services in Onondaga County was provided by the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA)
Comparison of Cost and Selected Characteristics of Police Services in Onondaga County, April 1999
Comparison of cost and selected characteristics of 16 law enforcement departments in Onondaga County, excluding coverage provided by the New York State Police. Data were primarily obtained by conducting a mail survey of the 35 municipalities in Onondaga County and the County of Onondaga. Additional data were obtained from the Onondaga Department of Information Technology.
Benchmarking Local Government Services in Onondaga County: Demonstration Study, August 1998 Six services in the city of Syracuse and the 19
towns in Onondaga County are evaluated: Assessment, Clerk, Code Enforcement, Finance, Highways and Parks and Recreation. Rankings are
assigned to each department and aggregated to the municipal level based on data collected for a three-year period: 1995-97. Variables used are specific
to departmental functions as well as general, addressing issues of responsiveness, the use of customer surveys and the systematic reporting of
government performance.
Selected Government Performance Outcomes for the City of Syracuse, June 1998 Comparisons of Crime, Fire, Streets, Trash and Parks in the 58
census tracts which comprise the six residential TNT sectors to identify the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ areas in Syracuse. The report describes patterns that
impact on the quality of life of citizens in those areas.
School Finance Trends in Syracuse: 1978-1998, June 1998 Funding and expenditures of the Syracuse City School District over the last 20 years with
respect to the tax base, financial support of the school district through taxes, state and federal aid to schools and total revenues and expenditures.
Direct Observation of Physical Conditions in the City of Syracuse, December 1997 Evaluation of Syracuse neighborhood conditions using a survey
instrument designed to measure the condition of streets, sidewalks, litter, number of abandoned buildings and cars, vacant lots, empty commercial
buildings and houses for sale.
1996 Criminal Offenses and Call Report to TNT Neighborhood Planning Sectors, December 1997 Information about crime and police activity in six
residential planning sectors representing over 98 percent of the population in the city of Syracuse.
1996 Report on Fire, by Incidence and Type, in the City of Syracuse, September 1997 Geographic distribution of fires and fire calls in the city of
Syracuse.
Report on Community Survey Findings for City of Syracuse, Town of Dewitt and Village of North Syracuse, June 1997 Public opinion survey of 795
residents in the three municipalities on the level of satisfaction with government services in five areas:
crime control
fire protection
park
safety and maintenance
street maintenance and snow removal, and
waste collection.
Training/Consultation
Manual for Practicum in Public Policy: Community Benchmarks, Fall 1998 Manual developed for the applied learning experience which describes
classroom activities and assignments for a senior-level undergraduate course. The practicum offers a staff-supported internship enabling Maxwell
students to learn the basics of local government and the value of benchmarking through the completion of research projects, the results of which are
shared with government leaders.
Benchmarking at Jamesville-Dewitt High School Demonstration Project, June 1998 Description of project in which seniors at the J-D High School
benchmarked the quality of the educational experience at this Onondaga County high school. Student teams prepared a report
based on information obtained from focus groups
conducted with classmates, alumni, staff, administrators, school board and community members to determine legitimate benchmarks. Data
for the benchmarks were obtained and presented for the 1997-98 school year.
Community Problem Solving Using Benchmarks: A Workshop for Local Government Officials, October 1997 Nationally recognized author and
educator David Ammons was brought to Syracuse to conduct a workshop on benchmarking for all elected and appointed government officials in
Onondaga County.
