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Appropriation Adjustment and Amendment <br />September 16, 2014 <br />Page 3 <br />Following the presentation, many of the Task Force members expressed concerns regarding the <br />negative impacts that delayed inspection turnaround times cause. Most notably among these <br />were the added costs to the developer that result from delays in the inspection process and <br />inconsistency in information provided to the contractors that results from having different <br />inspectors visiting the job site over the course of construction. The Task Force agreed with the <br />recommended staffing increases in order to return to next -day inspection level of service. <br />Development and Transportation City Council Committee <br />On September 4, 2014 a presentation regarding building inspection service level improvements <br />was given to the Development and Transportation Council Committee. Similar to the <br />presentation given to the Economic Development Task Force, this presentation focused on <br />current building inspection service and staffing levels and included the recommendations from <br />the Economic Development Task Force regarding increasing staffing levels. <br />The Council Committee supported the recommendations from staff and the Task Force that the <br />negative impacts from delayed inspections hinders construction and economic development as <br />well as causes unsafe construction as frustrated property owners and contractors elect to do <br />work without permits. <br />Conclusion / Recommendation <br />Following a thorough review of current and projected workloads and staffing levels, in order to <br />return to a next -day level of service for Building Inspections, it is anticipated that five additional <br />Building Safety staff are required. This will include three Combination Building Inspectors, one <br />Senior Combination Building Inspector and One Permit Processor. <br />The Building Division is also implementing a number of technology and process enhancements to <br />maximize the efficiency of both current and proposed inspection staff. These innovations include <br />the development of a number of online services such as online inspections scheduling and online <br />permitting which allow customers to access city hall 24/7 to schedule, cancel or check the status <br />of inspections, plan checks and permits. The Building Division has also recently equipped each of <br />its Building Inspectors with smart phones and plans to further expand the services that inspectors <br />can provide in the field including posting inspection results and electronic correction notices. <br />Providing adequate staffing to offer next -day inspections not only improves customer service and <br />efficiency but also increases the safety and quality of construction by eliminating a common <br />reason why small residential and commercial contractors pursue work without permits. <br />The Planning Division is also requesting to create two Assistant Planner positions as part of this <br />action. These entry-level positions will be primarily assigned to the public counter to assist walk - <br />in and phone customers with planning, zoning and development related questions. These <br />positions will work in concert with the building permit, plan check and inspection staff to improve <br />customer service and reduce wait and turnaround times at the public counters. The planning <br />positions will be funded from the savings resulting from the un- funding of a Principal Planner <br />position and two part-time planning technician positions. <br />55A -3 <br />