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County maps permitting workflow, shortens turnaround from ~90 days to under 20 and eyes staffing changes
Summary
Commissioners described an internal review of Community Development permitting that introduced metrics and process mapping; officials said turnaround fell from about 90 days to about 19 days on some permits and that the department plans to reduce one position for FY2026.
Commissioners said process-mapping and basic metrics in Community Development materially shortened permit turnaround times and may allow a net staffing reduction.
Commissioner Metari and others described a project that flowcharted every step of permit processing, tracked handoffs and timestamps, and used that data to identify delays. They said a typical permit turnaround that had taken close to 90 days was reduced to as little as 19 days after workflow changes and a new senior operations position.
Commissioners said the changes improved customer service and that fee-supported work in the department is now largely self-sufficient. One commissioner said the department combined two positions into one and may ask to remove a position from the FY2026 budget as a result of productivity gains.
The board said the approach will be applied to other departments where possible, but noted some elected offices already run efficient operations. Commissioners emphasized that requests for additional staff should be accompanied by data-driven reports showing workload per employee, turnaround metrics and other objective measures.
Ending: Commissioners urged other elected officials and department heads to produce similar metrics to justify future staffing requests.
