Gov. Wolf Wednesday invited the public to preview a new website initiative intended to make government more transparent: Governor’s Goals.  The website introduces measurable goals to align to Gov. Wolf’s three key priorities — Jobs that Pay, Schools that Teach, and Government that Works.

This beta launch of the website is the first phase in the implementation of Governor’s Goals. Future iterations of the site will track the progress of these administrative goals and make the data used to measure the goals available to the public.

The site introduces a three-level hierarchy: priorities, top-line measures, and agency indicators. Each key priority — Jobs that Pay, Schools that Teach, and Government that Works — has corresponding “top-line” measures, which in turn have corresponding agency indicator measures.

Under Schools That Teach there are 3 issue areas: K-12 Education, Early Education and Post-Secondary Education, each with their own set of goals.

Under Jobs That Pay there is Job Creation, Workforce Development and Training and Wages.

Government That Works includes: Government Efficiency & Citizen Engagement, Energy and Environment, Infrastructure and Development, Human Services and Public Safety.

Most the the “goals” are the “program measures” included in the Governor’s Executive Budget document.

Under Energy and Environment, for example, there are these individual goals by 2020--

>> For DEP--

-- Will seek compliance from dam owners and permittees to increase the dam emergency action plan compliance rate to 99 percent [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says will achieve 99 percent compliance rate in 2018-19-- page E21-12];

-- Will track and install 7,000 acres of stream buffers [FY 2016-17 Executive budget says 7,000-7,500 now-- page E21-11];

-- Will assist landowners in the protection for 4,500 acres of existing stream buffers [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says 4,500-5,000 acres now-- page E21-11];

-- Will assist and track the completion of 1,750 site cleanups under the Land Recycling Program [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says 1,400 to 1,750 now-- page E21-11];

-- Will treat 250,000 acres for West Nile Virus control [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says 50,000 per year now-- page E21-12];

-- Will reclaim 562 acres of abandoned mine lands through the Government Financed Construction Contract Program [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says 360 now-- page E21-12];

-- Will issue 172,100 permits by 2020 [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says DEP will issue between 33,900 and 36,000 permits annually now-- page E21-13];

-- Will seek compliance with waste regulations at regulated facilities to resolve 18,000 violations by 2020; and

-- Will increase the percentage of facilities in compliance with air quality regulations to 82.06 percent.

[Note: Program measures for major DEP programs are included in the Executive Budget starting on page E-21-11]

>> For DCNR--

-- Will sequester and store and additional 860,000 tons (annual accumulation) of carbon in state forest resources [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says DCNR has accumulated an additional 700,000 tons between now and 2020-- page E13-8];

-- Will conserve 25,000 acres through acquisition and easement through additions to State Parks, Forests and in grants to communities [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says DCNR will conserve 25,000 acres between now and 2020-- page E13-9;

-- Will increase annual attendance at State Parks by 500,000 [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says DCNR will go from 38.2 to 38.6 million visitors between now and 2020-- page E13-8];

-- Will plant an additional 175,000 trees through the TreeVitalize Program [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says DCNR will plant about 140,000 more trees between now and 2020-- page E13-8];

-- Will develop 375 new trail miles [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says DCNR will develop 375 miles of new trails between now and 2020-- page E13-9];

-- Will have 10 additional LEED certified buildings [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says DCNR will have 5 new LEED certified buildings between now and 2020-- page E13-9];

-- Will increase the number of volunteer hours by 5 percent [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says DCNR will increase volunteer hours from 174,942 to 181,798 hours between now and 2020-- page E13-8].

[Note: Program measures for major DCNR programs are included in the Executive Budget starting on page E13-8]

>> For Agriculture--

-- Will increase the dollar value of PA hardwood exports by 7.5 percent [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says Agriculture will increase the value from $1.35 million to $1.4 million between now and 2020-- page E8-11] ;

-- Will increase the number of farm acres covered by approved Nutrient Management Plans by 4 percent; and

-- Will complete 3,070 project miles of dirt, gravel and low volume environmentally sensitive maintenance projects [FY 2016-17 Executive Budget says Agriculture will complete 3,160 miles between now and 2020-- page E8-11].

[Note: Program measures for major Agriculture programs are included in the Executive Budget starting on page E8-11]

The Wolf Administration is currently compiling data from Pennsylvania government agencies, which will be verified by the Governor’s Budget Office prior to being released. The administration is aiming to upload the first full year of data within the next 12 months, as well as roll out web features that make the data more dynamic.

In this iteration of the site, each measure has a goal set for 2020. Progress toward this 2020 goal will be tracked and marked as “On Track,” “Near Goal,” and “More Work to Do.”

As data are updated, agencies will be able to monitor goal progress and focus attention and resources as available on goals that are not being met.

The measurement of goals, with an increased emphasis on progress tracking, is the next step toward making Pennsylvania government more accountable to citizens.

Visit the beta version of Governor’s Goals now to see all the 2020 goals.

2/22/2016