Fire service managers in the City of Rockford, Illinois were concerned with the effectiveness of reporting methods of work performed by fire department employees. Historical reporting relied upon the count of number of calls made as a key measure of work performed. The city's financial accounting system reported work performance according to the assigned station of companies or personnel. The accounting system relied only on the number of calls as a measure of performance. Two problems are evident from the reporting and accounting methods used. First, fire department employees perform many more tasks than simply responding on calls. Secondly, there is a wide variance in the amount of work performed or services delivered on individual calls. Recommendations were developed to use standardized methods to report various types of tasks performed. These methods should not only report the quantity of tasks performed but also a measure of the resources (i.e. time or operating costs). The primary accounting of costs should be redefined to recognize the nature of service performed rather than the location of a fire station. Station location could be a secondary accounting measure. Primary measures should include items like fire suppression, emergency medical service, public fire education, fire prevention, and rescue. [STAR#: 3565]