CityGate report urges staffing, tech and organizational changes for Hemet development review

City Gate Associates told the Hemet City Council on Aug. 12 that the city’s development review system is “systemically challenged” and outlined 47 actionable recommendations to address understaffing, outdated technology, and organizational misalignment.

The presentation, led by CityGate project manager Lisa Schafer, summarized eight themes from the study: fiscal constraints, staffing, organizational structure, communication and customer service, technology implementation, leadership and training, and policy. Schafer said the firm’s review included on-site interviews with 11 city staff and input from residents and developers.

“The city benefits from a dedicated professional staff who consistently demonstrate integrity, commitment, and resilience,” Schafer said. “This solid foundation positions the organization well to support and sustain future improvements.”

Why it matters: CityGate recommended near-term changes that would affect city budgeting and operations. The study said Hemet’s Measure U sales tax generates about $16 million annually, and that roughly 79% of Measure U revenue is committed to police and fire—leaving other departments with about 21% of the city’s discretionary Measure U income. CityGate recommended several revenue and organizational options, including a fee study, possible partial reallocation of future Measure U growth, and shifting some building-and-safety and code-enforcement costs to Measure U because of their role in public safety.

Key recommendations and council response

- Staffing: CityGate recommended adding higher-level technical roles (for example, a principal planner, a code-enforcement manager or supervisor, a program manager, and a senior development plan-review engineer), plus periodic reassessment of consultant contracts to ensure competition and performance monitoring. The firm recommended third-party inspection options with auditing of certified vendors.

- Organizational structure: CityGate advised moving the building and code compliance functions out of the fire department and into Community Development to create a single “one‑stop” development review model with clearer leadership and reporting lines. The consultants said such a change would “support a true one‑stop shop for the city’s development review processes.”

- Technology: The report urged full adoption of the Tyler Technologies platform the city is already implementing and recommended a dedicated community-development phone line, workflow history reports, third‑party trainers, and contract changes so outside consultants integrate with Tyler.

- Communication and customer service: Recommendations included standardized office hours across planning, building and code enforcement; mandatory staff participation in pre‑development meetings; predictable application intake schedules; over‑the‑counter and expedited services; regular performance reporting to the council and public; and job‑shadowing and mentorship for staff.

- Policy and planning: CityGate recommended targeted, interim amendments to the general plan and zoning code to remove provisions that disproportionately consume staff time, but advised deferring full comprehensive updates (three to five years for a general plan update; roughly 18 months for a zoning-code overhaul) so the city can focus on lower-hanging operational improvements first.

Council action and next steps

Councilmember comments during the regular meeting reflected interest in the recommendations but caution about costs. City Manager Mark Preswich told council he expects to pause hiring decisions until more fiscal performance data are available and recommended waiting until approximately January before advancing certain staffing additions. “From a staffing perspective…given our current budget, we should wait until we have some performance data,” Preswich said.

Preswich also said the city is prioritizing two near-term items: the reorganization of the Department of Life Safety so building and code compliance move back toward Community Development, and the completion of Tyler implementation (the financial module went live July 1; full development deployment was mapped for Jan. 1).

Public input and oversight

A handful of public commentators flagged the report’s staffing and governance recommendations during the meeting’s public comment period. Julie Parker, who identified herself as a resident who read CityGate’s report, said the most striking themes were personnel additions and unclear goal‑setting. “Without a good set of prioritized goals, you’ll end up contradicting each other. You’ll end up breaking promises,” Parker said.

CityGate’s team said successful implementation will require “shared responsibility” across departments, elected leadership to champion changes, and transparent reporting of performance measures back to council and residents.

What the report does not decide

CityGate’s report is advisory. It does not itself implement staffing changes, reassign departments, raise taxes, or reallocate Measure U revenue. Those actions would require separate council decisions and, where appropriate, budgetary approvals. City Manager Preswich said the city will use the report as a roadmap and will return with implementation steps, performance metrics and budget implications.

Ending note

Council formally received and filed CityGate’s final report during the meeting. Several council members praised the depth of the analysis and asked staff to return with prioritized near‑term actions and a timeline for implementing Tyler technologies and the recommended organizational adjustments.