Johnson City presents first-year progress report for JC Builds task force

City staff on Sept. 8 told commissioners the JC Builds mayor's advisory task force has completed a first year of work to improve the city's permitting and development processes.

Cooper Reeves, the city's special projects manager, said JC Builds launched in September 2024 to advance two strategic priorities: quality of place and future-ready infrastructure. Reeves described three core objectives — consistency, customer service and culture — and said the initiative combines a 13-member mayor's advisory task force, quarterly public roundtables and internal process-improvement work.

Reeves listed accomplishments including process mapping four building processes, surveying CityView users, engaging more than 100 builders, hiring Whitney Hodges as planning manager, reorganizing planning under economic development, and restructuring building services under Brian Ross. He said staff is researching contingent approvals and streamlining smaller projects to reduce bottlenecks. "These are not overnight fixes... these are objectives that we want to achieve fully," Reeves said.

Commissioners praised the initiative and thanked staff for outreach and listening to the building community; multiple commissioners emphasized the operational nature of the effort and noted no action was required from the commission. Reeves invited the public and industry to the next roundtable at 8 a.m. Oct. 17 and provided an email ([email protected]) and webpage (johnsoncitytn.org/jcbuilds) for more information.

The presentation was informational; commissioners requested additional debt-service figures on other agenda items and reiterated that JC Builds is intended to be a continuing, operational program managed by the city manager's office.