Environmental health and development services seek front-office staffing, permitting software and field connectivity

Carissa McCoy, Environmental Health Coordinator, told the commissioners court she is preparing to fold environmental health functions into a planned development services department in the county annex and that the department needs front-office coverage, permitting software and basic field connectivity.

McCoy said she currently uses a temporary employee for contract and inspection report work but that an in-office clerk or part-time position would be needed when development services becomes a one-stop front counter for permitting, addressing and road/bridge inquiries. "The difference between having her and having a part-time person ... is that there is someone in that seat at that intake window to be able to take in permits, to answer phone calls, to take walk ups and it also will allow me to get back out in the truck," she said.

Staffing options presented: McCoy presented three alternatives in her packet: (1) continue the temporary position at roughly $4,000 annually for project work; (2) create a shared part-time position (estimated $27,000 annual pro-rated cost, 30 hours/week at $15/hour) shared with another department; or (3) establish a full-time clerk/tech (roughly $29,000 to $45,000 pro-rated split) depending on split arrangements and salary assumptions. She and County Engineer Erica Bridges said the front counter role would also handle addressing requests and culvert/road complaints that are expected to route to development services.

Permitting software, connectivity and equipment: McCoy said the department's current Access database serves basic permitting needs but lacks online permitting capability. She included a placeholder of $10,000 for permitting software (per-department estimate from earlier quotes), $1,200'$1,500 in office supplies and $1,400 for a county-issued cell/MiFi device to support field work. She also requested modest funds for monitor and furniture contingencies tied to the move into annex space.

Septic permitting and licensing: McCoy asked commissioners to keep septic fees and the related $10 state remittance in mind; she recommended keeping the septic-permit operating line at $1,500 to avoid underfunding the permit-handling workload. She also noted a potential $450 database-support line if a Windows update requires vendor assistance to restore the permit database.

Next steps: McCoy said she will present a fuller staffing plan to the development services working group and that the department will coordinate with the auditor on cost-sharing arrangements if a shared position is approved. Commissioners said they will discuss staffing trade-offs and asked to consider repurposing vacant temporary positions from Road & Bridge where feasible.