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Permitting director defends IT upgrade, proposes targeted hires and outlines fund‑balance uses
Summary
The Department of Permitting Services told the committee it is investing $3.5 million to upgrade permitting systems, proposed three new FTEs to improve timeliness, and said it is studying targeted uses of a $40.8 million fund balance while cautioning against hasty spending amid revenue uncertainty.
The Department of Permitting Services told the Montgomery County Economic Development Committee on Jan. 27 that it is pursuing a $3.5 million IT upgrade, proposing a small set of targeted staff enhancements and evaluating ways to use a sizable fund balance while preserving fiscal prudence.
Director Sabakan opened the DPS presentation by summarizing operational metrics and the department’s strategic goals, saying the upgrade would consolidate the ePlan system with the main permitting platform and speed reviews and customer interactions. DPS said the FY25 fund balance is projected to end at about $40.8 million and that the department has proposed a $3.5 million systems and equipment upgrade and three enhancement FTE requests (assistant to the PIO, an electrical reviewer and a commercial program manager).
Committee members pressed the director on backlog, third‑party review, recent ePlan outages and how surplus funds could be repurposed to improve review timeliness. DPS said some review disciplines (notably commercial electrical) remain under stress, that outages during a migration contributed to temporary delays, and that third‑party review is possible but raises union, quality‑control and peer‑review adoption issues.
On process and transparency, DPS described a public permitting dashboard that publishes performance metrics and a customer 'bill of rights' aimed at clarifying applicant recourse. The director said improved online information reduces routine service calls and that DPS is launching tools to streamline workflows, including device upgrades for staff and continued vendor negotiations for a long‑term permitting system.
DPS also proposed using $1 million for a Green Bank technical‑assistance pilot to help applicants meet new sustainability and code requirements. Several committee members urged the department to consider targeted short‑term staffing to close review gaps and to report back with options during the budget season.
What’s next: DPS will meet with the county executive on its FY26 proposal, continue negotiations on the permitting vendor, and return to the committee with implementation timelines and a report on how the fund balance could be deployed without jeopardizing fiscal stability.
Sources: Department of Permitting Services presentation and Q&A (Director Sabakan; DPS staff), Montgomery County Economic Development Committee work session, Jan. 27.
