Administrative
Report
N.1., File # 25-0171 Meeting Date: 2/4/2025
To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: MARC WIENER, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
TITLE
DISCUSSION REGARDING THE ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT COMPLETED FOR THE
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND THE ACTION ITEMS IDENTIFIED TO
IMPROVE DEPARTMENT SERVICE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On December 19, 2023 the City Council approved an agreement with Matrix Consulting Group to conduct an organizational assessment of the Community Development Department. The assessment was intended to analyze the Department’s structure and performance and provide recommendations on steps to improve customer service. The Department is staffed with 17 full-time employees, including 7.5 in the Planning Division and 9.5 in the Building and Safety Division. The organizational assessment report was completed in late August 2024. Department staff have spent the past several months reviewing the findings and working to implement the assessment’s critical recommendations. This item provides an opportunity for the City Council to discuss the report and receive a presentation on the status of the actions items the Department has (or plans to) put in motion to enhance service.
BACKGROUND
The Community Development Department (CDD) is committed to enhancing the quality of life of the City’s residents, businesses and visitors, and promoting a safe, well-designed, physically integrated, livable, and prosperous community.
Internally, a great amount of attention has been focused on improving operations within the CDD.
While progress has been made, there are still opportunities to enhance service levels moving forward. In order to identify, and act upon, these opportunities, the City Council provided funding to engage an outside consultant, Matrix Consulting Group, to conduct an organizational assessment.
Matrix Consulting Group’s project team utilized a wide variety of data collection and analytical techniques, including multiple interviews with staff representatives from each discipline area and representatives of City management, meeting and receiving input from external stakeholders, creating process diagrams, and benchmarking CDD practices to industry best practices.
The organizational assessment provides 72 recommendations to improve operations and services in the CDD, which are prioritized and grouped into the following categories: Management and Administration, Technology Assessment, Process Improvements, Customer Outreach and Engagement, and Staffing and Organizational Assessment. Below is a summary of the recommendations grouped by category with a response detailing how these recommendations are
N.1., File # 25-0171 Meeting Date: 2/4/2025
recommendations grouped by category with a response detailing how these recommendations are being addressed by the CDD.
1. Management and Administration: The recommendations convey that there is an overall need for enhanced communication within the CDD. Management must continue communicating expectations to staff as well and making them aware of any changes to Department policy and/or procedure. It is also recommended that the CDD emphasize staff training and professional development as well as providing training opportunities for customers on its processes. It is recommended that the CDD set performance standards and metrics, such as target review and response times, that can be measured and reported on. This would allow CDD management to assess whether performance measures are being achieved and if any corrective action is necessary to meet the target performance metrics and improve service. It is also recommended that the CDD establish a method for ongoing customer feedback, such as a survey.
Response: Over the past year, there has been an increased focus on communication and collaboration within the CDD to improve Department procedures. For example, the CDD holds a monthly Department meeting, schedules regular “lunch and learns”, and the Director prepares a “Friday Letter” highlighting Department activities. Furthermore, the City has entered into an agreement with Leading Resources Inc. to assist with the preparation of a CDD Strategic Plan. The plan will include an updated Department mission statement, performance expectations and metrics, as well as goals and aspirations for the department. The CDD will be holding a working session with Leading Resources in early March.
The CDD has historically been challenged with tracking application volumes and performance metrics, however, the new iWorQ permitting system, which is set to launch at the end of February, is a powerful tool that will provide the CDD with a greater ability to track activity levels and permit review times. Once the system is in place, the CDD will post quarterly reports on the City website that will include information on application types, volumes, as well as average review times. This report will be provided to the City Manager and City Council.
With regard to customer feedback, the CDD recently developed an anonymous survey which is available to the public. While there has not yet been a high volume of responses, the feedback has generally been positive. Staff is evaluating ways to better advertise the survey in order to receive a more robust response. Additionally, both the Planning and Building Divisions are preparing to hold a workshop/listening session this Spring for the purpose of educating the customers and receiving feedback, once the new iWorQ system has been fully implemented.
2. Technology Assessment: The recommendations address the need for the CDD to better leverage technology to improve efficiency and service delivery to customers. The report acknowledges the need for a centralized permitting system to provide assistance with managing workflows, tracking projects, and improving inter-departmental communications and coordination.
The report recognizes the need to train customers on how to use the public portal. It also recommends creating an online appointment system, investigating the use of AI as an aid, and establishing a committee to oversee the implementation of new technology.
Response: As previously stated, the iWorQ system will boost internal efficiency within the CDD and also improve communications between CDD and partner departments. iWorQ is easily configured by staff to carryout automated workflows to route applications through the approval process with autogenerated notifications for next steps. The CDD’s standard forms, public notices, etc., will be
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generated notifications for next steps. The CDD’s standard forms, public notices, etc., will be contained within the system and will be automatically generated at appropriate points in the review process. The public-facing portion of iWorQ includes several features, a simple user-interface for online submittal of applications and the ability to look up permit status at any point in the review process. Instructional videos will be posted on the CDD webpage to help educate customers on iWorQ’s simple and intuitive features.
In addition to the iWorQ permitting system, the CDD is exploring additional ways to utilize technology.
The CDD recently created a page allowing customers to book appointments with staff online, which has been successful. Additionally, the CDD has recently met with various software vendors to explore how AI can be utilized to assist staff with providing requested information and general responses to common customer queries.
3. Process Improvement: The process improvement category is broad and includes recommendations such as transitioning to an all-digital application submittal process, establishing concurrent planning and building review, creating application checklists, developing standard operating procedures and standardized templates, evaluating Department fees, and ensuring that management has the tools necessary to equally distribute workload.
Response: The CDD has recently taken actions to address the recommendations pertaining to process improvements. We have fully transitioned to digital application submittals and concurrent review, which will continue, and will be enhanced, with the implementation of the iWorQ permitting system.
Additionally, Department procedures are currently being evaluated to maximize efficiency and reduce delays. An Inter-Department Process Improvement Team was formed and meets regularly to evaluate and develop ways to improve the development review process. For example, the Process Improvement Team recently updated the Planning application process by eliminating unnecessary steps, which caused delays and confusion for customers. The new process has been documented in a flowchart that was made available to the public.
The Building and Safety Division is in the process of developing checklists and other aids that will make the submittal process clearer for applicants and may reduce review times by helping to ensure that applications and plans are complete when first submitted. Additionally, the CDD has begun drafting standard operating procedures to ensure that all current and future staff will have a guide and standards to reference that will assist them in performing their work. The CDD is considering seeking funding in next year’s budget to hire a consultant to assist with these efforts.
Finally, as recommended in the Organization Assessment, the CDD has undertaken a comprehensive cost of services/fee study, which includes a nexus study for the City’s development impact fees. The study will be presented to the City Council in April or May of 2025 and will include recommendations for adjustments to the fee schedule.
4. Customer Outreach and Engagement: Recommendations include reorganizing the permitting counter to consolidate services and provide clearer signage. The report also recommends increasing transparency by creating a data hub where residents can access information on permits throughout the City. An online performance dashboard would also be helpful to display historic workload and performance metrics along with current estimated processing times for various application types. This will allow the public to evaluate whether the metrics are in alignment with all
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application types. This will allow the public to evaluate whether the metrics are in alignment with all adopted performance standards, such as expected project review times. The report also recommends preparing a handbook that provides clear, user-friendly information guiding customers through each stage of the development process.
Response: The Department plans to create a quarterly report providing information to the public on CDD performance metrics. Regarding the recommendation for a data hub, the new iWorQ system includes a mapping tool that will provide access to residents on permits issued on all properties throughout the City. Additionally, the CDD is in the process of developing application submittal checklists and videos that will provide user-friendly information to the applicants and public, with an emphasis on processes of the Building and Safety Division, which serve a diverse range of customers.
5. Staffing and Organizational Assessment: The report recommends more clearly defining some of the roles and responsibilities for staff while also providing opportunities for cross training.
Some key recommendations made for the Building and Safety Division include adding a new Permit Center Supervisor, increasing the number of Plan Check Engineers from 2 to 3, and reclassifying the part-time Administrative Assistant position to a full-time Building and Safety Analyst.
Response: The Director hopes to identify funding to implement the staffing recommendations pertaining to the Building and Safety Division. A Permit Center Supervisor could mentor the permit technicians, oversee activities at the permitting counter, serve as quality control, and ensure that prompt follow-up is occurring with customers. Adding a third Plan Check Engineer would assist in the timely and accurate processing of the high volume of complex building plan-check applications that are received. For these reasons, building plan-check can be a significant bottle-neck that could be alleviated with strategic restructuring to support more rapid turn-around times. The CDD has historically outsourced approximately one-third of the annual building plan checks to consulting firms.
While this helps manage the workload, it can at times negatively impact customer service and consistency in the process. Additional care must be taken to ensure work received is up to the standards of the CDD. Finally, the Director agrees with the recommendation to reclassify the Administrative Assistant to an Analyst, which would provide additional skills needed to help manage the Building and Safety Division budget and other special assignments led by the Chief Building Official.
It is anticipated that the cost of services/fee study, currently underway, will identify opportunities to increase Department revenue and possibly fund these additional positions. Staff intends to present the fee study findings to the City Council in April or May of 2025.
COORDINATION
This report was coordinated by the Community Development Department and the City Manager’s Office.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item. Costs associated with the recommended improvements will be brought back to Council for consideration as part of future budget discussions.
N.1., File # 25-0171 Meeting Date: 2/4/2025
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
· Report- Organizational Assessment of the Community Development Department · Table - Community Development Action Plan