Agenda - Council - 10/27/2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Complete New City Utility Account Set Up Form to forward to Finance Department • Schedule inspections for approved Permits For 2015 Budget planning purposes, Staff mirrored 2014 revenue numbers that were available at the time of establishing the 2015 Budget. Feedback from the single-family development market was not extremely confident, so the City took a conservative approach to revenue forecasts. At that time, there were multiple projects under review, but were in too early stages to confidently add to revenue forecasts. At that time it was noted that Staff was hopeful that actual revenues would be higher, but was too soon to include in revenue forecasts for 2015. In this case, these potential projects that were uncertain at the time have a higher degree of certainty to move forward. Since that time, 2015 activity levels have exceeded expectations. New single-family starts are on track to exceed 2014 numbers by 25%. New townhome unit starts are up to 31 from 0 starts in 2014. Additionally, Building Permits have been issued for Sunwood Village (47 unit apartment building) and Parkview East (121 unit apartment building). The City has also approved two (2) industrial expansions that were not known until recently (Dedicated Networks, Life Fitness). With several of these larger, key projects commencing in mid -to -late fall, scheduling demands will remain consistent throughout the winter months. It has been Staffs observation that even with minimal permit levels, it has been important to have one Staff member dedicated to phones and scheduling with another Staff member dedicated to permit issuance and processing in order to maintain generally acceptable metrics above. It is also noted that based on the levels of new home construction, it is anticipated that the rate of home improvement projects in future levels will continue to increase accordingly (decks, sheds, fences, basement finishes, etc.). In summary, Staff has confidence that permit levels and corresponding revenue forecasts will continue to support the need for this position for the foreseeable future. Staff believes that the increase in hours will have a much higher rate of return in terms of customer service and morale. Staff that administers Building Permits has expressed feeling rushed through permits in order to keep up with appropriate turnaround times. This in turn increases opportunity for human errors which impacts the relationship/perception of the customer as well as other departments in the development review process. While no mechanism to document this feedback about the quality of customer service in a more formal manner is in place, Staff desires to note it appears that the informal complaints about turnaround time and issues with coordination appear to be increasing. Staff believes this change will bring service levels within appropriate levels as noted above. Funding Source: Funding for this position is part of the General Fund. The increase in cost is offset by the increase in revenue captured from issued Building Permits. Recommendation: Staff recommends that the City Council authorize changing the Permit Technician Assistant to a full-time employee. Action: Motion to authorize changing the Permit Technician Assistant to a full-time employee. Minutes from September 2, 2014 Work Session Revenue Update 20150916 Permit Update 20150916 Development Overview Attachments Form Review