The Office of Local Government(OLG) has become a leader in regional government economic analysis. OLG executive director, Dr. John Leatherman, founded the unit and continues to guide the program in its present day. OLG specializes in community finance analysis, but has moved on to other problem areas by giving expert advice on current issues found in local government.
From the beginning OLG has highlighted the benefits of providing fact driven advice to its customers. Leatherman founded the program after seeing a need in communities for more data driven consulting to address a sometimes volatile fiscal environment. With just a small initial capital investment from the university Leatherman set about to build the large bulk of data used by the program by first copying massive reams of municipal reviews and expenditures all across the state.
The initial push included Leatherman going into over 90 different communities to showcase the strengths of good data science, and the benefits derived from proper analysis. OLG is unique in that it is mostly funded through its customers and small grants. Leatherman believes that operating environment is conducive to innovation as it requires an entrepreneurial mindset to keep meeting customer demand.
In that light, OLG has branched out their operation to meet the needs of its customers by providing analysis on mental health, water and other fiscal components required in running an efficient community. Now more than ever, given the increased scarcity of resources available to many communities, an investment in good analysis enables local city and county governments to prioritize spending and make the best possible decisions given the current fiscal environment.
