Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Planning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning director asks Lincoln County to fund a full-time planner to handle post‑flood workload
Summary
Planning director told commissioners the department is over capacity after December flood response, has missed statutory deadlines, logged hundreds of public inquiries, and expects a large subdivision filing that could generate enough fees to cover a new planner for at least one year.
At the May 26 departmental meeting, the county’s planning director described sustained, high-volume work in the Planning Department stemming from this winter’s flood recovery and asked the commission to approve adding planning capacity.
The director said the department has been at "max capacity" before December and that flood-related workload has since created operational risk, missed or near-missed planning deadlines, and long response times (staff logged 686 phone calls in the past year). To address the backlog, the director proposed hiring a full-time planner—initially as a temporary one- to two-year position—funded from planning-generated revenue rather than general levy dollars.
The director told commissioners the department anticipates a large subdivision submission of about 230 lots; at the current per-lot review fee the director estimated that preliminary filings could generate roughly $115,000, which would cover most of the first-year cost of a planner. The director said the request is not for a pay increase for the director but to add capacity that would let the director focus on flood‑response duties.
Commissioners asked for revenue projections and asked staff to include the new hire in the final budget roll-up once wages and contributions are finalized. The commission took no immediate vote; staff were instructed to return with final wage numbers and a budget recommendation in the department’s budget packet.
What’s next: planning staff will refine the revenue projection and bring a staffing proposal with wages and benefits to the commission for a final decision when the county finalizes overall wage and contribution figures.
