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11/01/2005: "CD&PD To Retain Consultant, Make Changes"

(Kurt Latimore presents assessment report to the BOCC as Matt Zybas looks on)

The CD&PD (Community Development & Planning Department) has received an assessment of the permit process, and some findings and recommendations on how the department can be improved (Link to past story) . The last time this was done was by an appointed committee of local professionals, but as the years have gone by, and the department has been reorganized, combined, un-combined, and re-combined, and with a turnover of staff, planners, directors, a few controversial resignations and one firing, Interim Director Matt Zybas felt it was time to once again have some outside review of the department. This time the Latimore Company consulting firm was retained to come into the department, review the existing programs and see if there were ways of making some improvements. His 24 page report was recently presented to the BOCC, and after the presentation, Zybas came back to the BOCC with his list of changes that he will have the Latimore Company help implement in the department, at an approximate cost of $10,000.00.

The changes include the following:

● Hire a Bld Official-Deputy Directory. This is a new job description for the Deputy Directory position that has been vacant.

● Hire one additional Permit Coordinator

● Parallel the Land Use review with the Building Permit review so that the one is not waiting on the other.

● Integrate the databases of CD&PD and the Health Department to allow faster permit processing.

● Make the GIS data bases available to the public. Up to now certain information has been withheld from the public unless an application showed there may be an issue with, for example, the presence of an eagle's nest on, or near the property. Mr., Latimore pointed out that there is no legal requirement to keep this information a secret, and that indeed other counties make all of their maps available to the public on the internet.

● Change the requirements for when an address is assigned, and how it is assigned. According to the report, as much as 25% of the processing time assigning addresses is wasted due to the lack of proper identifying of the property by the applicant.

● Concentrate on the moving of "simple" permits through the system.

● "Batch" the review of Septic Designs to speed up the process. The Health Department currently cannot do this function in-house. Instead they send all of the permits to CD&PD for them to check to see if there are any land use issues related to wetlands, streams, eagles, and other potential areas of concern. According to Zybas, there is a long standing policy, based on a Memo of Understanding between the two departments, that Health will not do the review of the their permits for land use issues.

● Make changes on how the Lopez office fits into the existing system, and

● Provide help in explaining the issuing of Plumbing & Mechanical permits

Mr. Zybas will be leaving his position as Interim Director and returning to Public Works ((Past story) . It is not known if the recommendations and purposed changes to the department will be acceptable to the new Director, once one is found and hired.