Benchmarks

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Key Benchmarks will measure Polk Vision’s progress annually. Additional Strategy Benchmarks developed by Vision Partners will also be measured on an annual basis. Achieving Vision goals will require unprecedented teamwork in working on the strategies of the six interdependent foundations: Education, Economic Development, Infrastructure, Government, Quality of Life, and Private Sector Leadership. Vision Partners need to review, revise and refocus their actions to accomplish the strategies.

  1. Education
    • Higher Education: Increase the percentage of Polk adults 25 years old and over with a bachelor’s degree from 14.9% to the U.S. average by 2020 (24.4% in 2000).
    • Skills Training: Increase the percentage of Polk adults 25 years old and over with some college or a higher degree from 41% (in 2000) to the U.S. average by 2010 (51.7% in 2000).
    • PreK-12: Increase the graduation rate (the 2002-2003 graduation rate was 65.7%). Increase the percentage of Polk students reading on or above grade level at the tenth grade (32% in 2003).
    • Increase the percentage of children ready to enter kindergarten.
  2. Job Growth and Business Investment
    • Ensure that higher income jobs are being created and higher income retirees are attracted to Polk County by increasing the Polk County per-capita income (as a percentage of the United States) to 90% before 2024.
    • Stimulate the creation of new jobs per year at the rate of 1.41% of the Polk County population (7,000 in 2004).
    • Increase the average earnings per job by at least 0.5% above the Florida or U.S. percentage annual increase (the higher value will prevail).
    • Increase the Polk business taxable value per resident by at least an annual increase of 1.0% above the Florida average.
    • Continue existing exemptions and add highly competitive incentives and exemptions for higher-paying, higher-skills jobs.
    • Narrow the tax base gap with Florida which could result in increasing services and cutting the tax rate. Increase the tax base per resident by increasing the Polk tax base percentage of Florida by 1% per year.
    • Stop the bedroom community trend and return Polk to a net importer of workers within ten years.
    • Polk’s working-age/retirement-age ratio will be at or above the Florida average by 2015. Increase Polk’s wealth component by 1% each year (as a percentage of Florida’s value).
  3. Infrastructure
    • Eliminate existing infrastructure gaps over a 10-year period and provide infrastructure for growth as it occurs. The total unfunded infrastructure capital improvements will be reduced to zero by 2014.
    • Use a land-use planning model and activity-based cost accounting to ensure that total new residential and business growth each year pays for the infrastructure and annual operations cost of such growth.
  4. Stable Marriages and Families
    • Provide incentives, encouragement and support that result in stable, healthy and safe marriages and families.
    • Reduce the percentage of births to unwed mothers, and the rate of births to mothers under age 18, to consistently below the state average by 2014.
  5. Poverty
    • Decrease the percentage of individuals in poverty to consistently below the Florida and/or U.S. percentage by 2015 (using the U.S. Census poverty model estimates).
  6. Arts and Culture
    • Rank nationally in the upper 25% of metro areas for arts and culture before 2024.
    • Increase the economic impact of arts and culture by more than 10% a year.
  7. Racial Harmony, Diversity and Opportunity
    • Use strategies throughout the six foundations to impact racial harmony, diversity and opportunity for everyone in Polk County over the long term. Measure the change in attitude resulting from the implementation of these many strategies through a regular attitude survey that examines changes
      in racial harmony.