In 2010, the Legislature created the Council on Local Results and Innovation. In February 2011, the Council released a standard set of ten performance measures for counties and ten performance measures for cities that will aid residents, taxpayers, and state and local elected officials in determining the efficacy of counties and cities in providing services and measure residents' opinions of those services. In February of 2012, the Council created a comprehensive performance measurement system for cities and counties to implement. In 2013, the Council revised the performance measures and clarified the system requirements to increase participation in the program.
Participation in the program is voluntary; Mille Lacs County began participating in 2022. A county or city that elects to participate in the standard measures/performance measurement program is eligible for a reimbursement of $0.14 per capita, not to exceed $25,000 and is also exempt from levy limits under sections 275.70 to 275.74 for taxes payable in the following calendar year, if levy limits are in effect.