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Hennepin County to submit 2026 performance-measure data; commissioners press for municipal breakdowns and audit transparency
Summary
The board approved submission of 2026 local performance measurement data to the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor. County staff said participation is voluntary and yields about $25,000; commissioners requested follow-up on how departments respond to metrics and asked for municipal-level public-safety breakdowns and clearer public-facing election audit communications.
The Hennepin County Board voted June 11 to submit its 2026 local performance measurement data to the Office of the State Auditor, continuing a voluntary program the county has participated in since 2011.
Assistant County Administrator Jodi Wierimaa told the board the county has submitted data annually and that participation yields "about $25,000 for participation in this voluntary program." She said the full report, drawn from 2025 data and departmental submissions, includes measures across public safety, public works, public health, social services, elections, veterans services, libraries, budget and environment and will be filed with the state auditor by July 1.
Commissioner Greene pressed staff on how the county and departments respond to the measures and asked whether reported statistics drive departmental decisions. Wierimaa said departments supply the data to the county's chief data officer and that individual departments use those metrics internally; she offered to provide a follow-up accounting of responses and workload implications.
Chair Irene Fernando emphasized interest in breaking public-safety metrics down by municipality or law-enforcement zone to understand disparities in charges, clearance rates and funding models across Hennepin County cities. She said such a breakdown could reveal different interventions or funding models that produce different outcomes and requested additional data if feasible.
Commissioner Heather Edelson highlighted post-election audit results included in the report, noting 12 randomly selected precincts had 100% accuracy in recent audits. Elections staff representative Mr. Rogan confirmed the precincts are selected randomly each election by the canvassing board and described the hand-count process, saying the hand count of ballots in the selected precincts matched the electronic totals in the samples cited by commissioners.
The board approved the submission by voice vote. Commissioners said they would continue to discuss how best to use the data, and staff committed to follow up with more details on departmental responses and potential municipal-level breakdowns.
