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Planning director outlines work program, consultant spending and staffing changes
Summary
The director of City Planning told the Board of Finance the department remains small, is carrying several consultant contracts for major plans (North End, historic preservation) and is transferring two data positions to the central services team but will retain data support.
Charles Dillard, director of the Office of City Planning, briefed the Board of Finance on May 14 that the planning office remains a small staff but has an active slate of long‑range plans and consulting work.
"We are, I think, the second smallest market in the city. We currently are staffed with 3 planning positions, 1 of which is vacant," Dillard said, describing current staffing and a part‑time temporary planner role the department has historically used.
Why it matters: Planning officials said several technical projects require outside consultants because the office lacks in‑house capacity: a new North End plan (budgeted about $250,000 with a large portion funded by community partners), a historic preservation plan (roughly $200,000, partly reimbursable by a Certified Local Government — CLG — grant) and an open‑space plan. The department told councilors the move of two data positions back to central IMT will not remove access to analytics; those positions will simply be housed under the new central team.
Dillard said the FY26 planning budget is proposed at about $720,000, down from a FY25 budget of roughly $770,000, in part because of vacancy savings and a proposed elimination of the department’s seasonal/temporary planner slot. He noted the office budgets roughly $30,000 in revenue from a municipal planning grant for technical services and expects the CLG reimbursement for historic preservation to arrive in FY27.
Councilors asked how the department selects consultants and whether the city could build more in‑house capacity. Dillard said many planning projects require specialized technical expertise that small city planning offices often contract for and that state grants often restrict which vendors can be used; he also said the department consults regional partners for capacity.
What was not decided: No formal votes were taken; the discussion was informational. Dillard said the department hopes to post and fill a senior planner position promptly and that consultants and project schedules will continue to be refined.
What's next: The department will follow up with councilors on consultant selection criteria and timelines for advertising and filling vacant positions.
(Quote source: Charles Dillard.)
