Planning & Development Services outlines customer‑service, outreach and AI tools as part of service overhaul

York County Planning & Development Services (PDS) presented a package of service‑improvement initiatives at the county council workshop on Sept. 9, including a rewritten customer bill of rights, an online customer survey, lobby renovations to improve in‑person interactions, expanded outreach to homeowners associations and professional stakeholders, and exploration of an internal AI tool to surface code and permitting information.

Tom Couch, the assistant county manager who led the discussion of PDS initiatives, said the department is emphasizing the “human side” of service and is revising the existing customer bill of rights to focus on departmental responsibilities and reduce technical jargon. Couch told council staff have already begun “simplifying” review comments to be more accessible and are preparing to post a revised customer bill of rights prominently in the PDS lobby.

What staff will do Couch described several near‑term actions: finalize and post the updated customer bill of rights, roll out an online customer survey for visitors and applicants, renovate the customer service counter to make it less barriered and to host planners on duty for immediate assistance, and continue outreach trainings — for example, upcoming HOA stormwater sessions and meetings with the Home Builders Association and land surveyors.

On customer feedback and measurement Couch said PDS is finalizing the survey in an upcoming management meeting and will share the rollout plan with council. He also referenced positive unsolicited feedback he has received, saying staff had collected “at least 2 dozen” appreciative messages from customers as evidence of improvement while acknowledging more work remains.

AI and online service tools During questions, an IT official said the county “is developing an internal AI environment for the county to use, and also exploring methods that we could incorporate that into our website” to answer commonly asked questions and query county documentation and ordinances. Couch said this and other online tools (for example, posted QR codes linking to a survey) are under active review.

Staff emphasis and next steps Couch said PDS plans to finalize the customer‑service changes at the next PDS management meeting, pursue external training for staff and continue scheduled community outreach. He asked council members to provide feedback on the customer survey before rollout and said staff will report back with details and a public rollout plan.

Ending Council members praised the direction and requested notice about the survey rollout and how the county will collect and share survey results with council. No policy changes were enacted at the workshop; staff committed to returning to council with implementation details.