INSPECTIONS AND PERMITS DEPARTMENT

Transcription

1 INSPECTIONS AND PERMITS DEPARTMENT Additional information about the Inspections and Permits Department may be obtained by calling Scot Berry, Director of Inspections and Permits, at (919) , through at or by visiting the Town s website at Town Priority Based Budgeting Goals and Practices ATTRACTIVE, WELL-PLANNED and LIVABLE COMMUNITY Provides a safe environment that promotes, supports and sustains clean and visually appealing neighborhoods that are welcoming, secure and provide quality housing options that meet the community's needs and reinforce its identity and character Promotes and encourages strategically planned, well-designed, well-constructed and sufficiently regulated mixed use development of vibrant residential, commercial and downtown areas Department Goals and Initiatives Supporting each Town Goal and Practice 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 11, 12, 14, 16, 17 Provides for the protection, preservation and renewal of its natural resource through effective waste management, recycling and mitigation of factors impacting the environment Collaboratively encourages and provides a variety of community events, quality educational opportunities, leisure-time activities, and a vibrant downtown that are safe and contribute to the economic and social well-being of the community 9 17 Fosters a sense of community through citizen involvement, participation, and education 1, 5, 16 ECONOMIC VITALITY and DEVELOPMENT Encourages and supports the attraction, retention and growth of diverse and sustainable businesses that contribute to the community's economy and stimulate job growth Facilitates business development through community partnerships, incentives and efficient, "business-friendly" processes Promotes and invests in strategically planned, appropriately balanced, future-focused and sustainable development and re-development that provides for a thriving community and revitalized downtown Promotes itself as a safe, attractive, home town environment, offering quality housing choices and a variety of activities and amenities that offer a premier quality of life to a broad spectrum of people EFFECTIVE TRANSPORTATION and MOBILITY Plans, designs and constructs efficient, safe, well-maintained and reliable streets that improve traffic flow, ease congestion and ensure optimal mobility RELIABLE, SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE Continually invests in building and improving a well-designed, well-maintained, transportation system of safe and sustainable streets, sidewalks and bridges Ensures town facilities, parks, greenways and public spaces are safe, clean, attractive, structurally sound and well cared for Plans for responsible growth and community sustainability through energy efficiencies, resource conservation and respect for environmental impacts 9, 13, 16 10, 16 8, 9, 10, 11,12, 13 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, , 14, 15 9

2 SAFE COMMUNITY Fosters a feeling of personal safety through a visible, responsive public safety presence and by proactively focusing on prevention and safety education Protects and provides for the physical and environmental health of the built and natural environment of the community Promotes and sustains a clean, well-designed, properly regulated and visually attractive community 14, 15 10, 11, 14 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 INSPECTIONS AND PERMITS GOALS AND INITIATIVES Administration 1. Monitor results of ongoing customer feedback instruments to identify trends and opportunities. 2. Maintain and continue to develop regular employee technology training program. 3. Continue to develop in-house continuing education opportunities for code officials. 4. Evaluate the development review process and Inspections and Permits roles in working with Water Resources, Facilities Design & Transportation Services, Planning and Finance. 5. Review and revise departmental Communications Plan; assess its effectiveness. 6. Track and analyze building and permitting activities to identify trends and develop information that will be useful in making decisions. 7. Continue to develop web-based tools that will support the department s effort to provide an easy and efficient customer experience. 8. Continue to monitor and facilitate changes to the NC Building Codes as adopted by the state, with particular attention to staff training and public education on all new and/or altered requirements. 9. Continue to support the Town s sustainability initiatives and look for ways to facilitate customer paths to green building and equipment where possible. Permitting and Plan Review 10. Process construction and development related permits including building permits, electrical permits, plumbing permits, mechanical permits, fire permits in accordance with the state building code and local ordinances, completely, efficiently, and expeditiously. 11. Review construction plans to ensure that structures meet the setback requirements as noted by Town ordinance. 12. Continue to develop and implement Residential Plan Review program. State Building Code Enforcement 13. Perform inspections of residential and commercial buildings and structures before, during and after construction in a thorough and efficient manner. 14. Ensure compliance with the North Carolina State Building and Fire Code and the applicable sections of the Town of Cary Code of Ordinances. 15. Conduct routine fire inspections within the state mandated time frame. 16. Consult with design professionals, builders, subcontractors and property owners on code related issues and offer assistance with the construction process. 17. Continue the existing Downtown Building Permit Inspections Team to help facilitate proactive customer service. ACCOMPLISHMENTS All code officials and plan review staff completed continuing education training on the North Carolina State Building Code. Several hours of the required training were completed via state approved in-house seminars led by qualified staff. Increased community outreach through participation in programs such as Spring Daze, Lazy Daze, and Building Safety Month. Made continued progress in the development of the residential plan review program. Updated Inspections and Permits Business Plan and completed major components. Continued development of customer-focused guides to various I&P services. Continued to work with other departments in development services to review and assess proposed options for new software.

3 Continued campaign to collect customer feedback through an online Customer Satisfaction Survey focusing on building permit and inspection services provided by the department. As of April 2014, the department has received an overall average score of 8 out of 9 (B+ on the Town s grading scale). Deployed fillable forms on the Town s website, to allow customers to turn in typed copies of permit applications Participated in the Town s organizational restructuring efforts, which resulted in Fire Inspections staff joining the Department, as well as customer service staff moving to the Development Support Division. KEY PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES Maintain an average inspection approval rate of or more. Conduct all building construction inspections within 24 business hours of request. Perform all initial plan reviews within the time prescribed by the department s turnaround time chart. Comply 100% with the state fire code inspection schedule. Participate in at least one community outreach event per quarter (or four annually). KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES Performance Measure % of total inspection requests that are approved 74% 74% % of scheduled inspections conducted within 24 hours 99% 99% 100% % of initial plan reviews completed within prescribed time New commercial buildings Commercial fit-ups New detached single-family dwellings New attached single-family dwellings (townhomes) Number of community events attended KEY WORKLOAD INDICATORS 52% 22% 46% 39% 59% 24% 32% 61% Workload Indicator Number of Permits Issued -New Residential -New Non-residential -Other (Additions/Alterations, Individual Trade Permits) 8,018 1, ,775 7,820 1, ,600 7,920 1, ,690 Number of re-inspections 25,039 25,740 23,850 Number of inspections performed 68,915 71,350 72,000 Residential Certificates of Occupancy (CO) issued 1,074 1,155 1,170 Total construction value (in millions of dollars) $601 $648 $650

4 ACTIVITY HISTORY Fund Number: Budget Activity FY 2011 FY 2012 Personnel Services $3,571,178 $3,646,549 $3,618,995 $3,655,896 $3,489,312 Operations and Maintenance $184,574 $211,151 $206,619 $203,729 $239,624 Capital Outlay $20,473 $14,012 - $32,000 $17,853 Total $3,776,225 $3,871,712 $3,825,614 $3,891,625 $3,746,789 Authorized FTEs SIGNIFICANT BUDGET AND SERVICE LEVEL CHANGES BEYOND CURRENT LEVELS Adding one Chief Code Enforcement official position to focus on residential inspections. This position will oversee a new work team with the sole responsibility of residential construction. This change will better equip the department to respond appropriately to an increasing and unique demand for services that our residential customers have. Adding two Code Enforcement Officials Fire positions that will focus on state mandated routine inspections. These positions will replace temporary part time positions that have been doing this work. Adding these full time positions will allow for improved efficiencies and increased staff availability to ensure continued compliance with the State mandated inspection schedule. Implementing and launching an updated inspections and permits software, integrated voice response system, and online building permit site. As well as continuing to explore equipping inspectors with specialized mobile devices and software. All of these improvement will lead to significant gains in efficiency and effectiveness. Operating for the first year under the new organizational structure, with the close support of the development support division, as well as fully integrating both new construction and reoccurring fire inspections into the department.

5 DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT DIVISION Additional information about the Development Support Division may be obtained by calling Wes Everett, Development Support Manager, at (919) , through at or by visiting the Town s website at ECONOMIC VITALITY and DEVELOPMENT Town Priority Based Budgeting Goals and Practices Facilitates business development through community partnerships, incentives and efficient, "business-friendly" processes SAFE COMMUNITY Protects and provides for the physical and environmental health of the built and natural environment of the community Department Goals and Initiatives Supporting each Town Goal and Practice 1-4, 6, 9, 10, 13, 17, 18, 22 5, 9-19, 28, 29 DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT GOALS AND INITIATIVES Development Liaison 1. Help customers successfully navigate the development process, advising customers of potential pitfalls and obstacles along the way. 2. Serve as a primary point of contact within the Town throughout the life of assigned projects. 3. Facilitate effective communication and collaboration among departments and other agencies. 4. Facilitate conflict resolution and problem-solving on assigned projects. 5. Maintain expert knowledge of North Carolina State Building Code and Town of Cary Ordinance. 6. Develop and promote public engagement and educational opportunities for the development community and citizens. 7. Evaluate program scope and effectiveness. 8. Support all other efforts, missions, and goals of Planning and Inspections & Permits departments. Development Customer Service Center (front desk) 9. Provide a centralized location for the submittal of applications, payments, point-of-contact, and distribution of permits for all development customers (i.e., One-Stop-Shop for development). 10. Process and issue certain over-the-counter permits for Planning and Inspections & Permits. 11. Support and facilitate the Inspections & Permits Department s Small Permit One-hour Turnaround (SPOT) program. 12. Collect fees accurately and maintain cash handling protocols and internal controls. 13. Coordinate review and approvals of plat maps and addresses for appropriateness in accordance with Town regulations. 14. Support all other efforts, missions, and goals of Planning and Inspections & Permits departments and the Town. Development Customer Contact Center 15. Receive and answer all incoming customer phone calls. 16. Manage electronic and social media communications for Planning and Inspections & Permits (i.e., NexGen, , Facebook, Twitter, etc.) 17. Assist customers with general questions, providing accurate answers and ensuring the customer is referred to the appropriate staff, as needed. 18. Properly manage inspections scheduling for the development departments. 19. Support all other efforts, missions, and goals of Planning and Inspections & Permits departments and the Town.

6 Coordination of Services 20. Support and facilitate the implementation of ONESolution software for development. 21. Support and facilitate the implementation of NexGen customer relationship management software within Planning and Inspections & Permits. 22. Promote an efficient and effective workflow process for development activity, and work with Development Database/Business Analyst (Technology Services) to ensure software supports those processes. 23. Facilitate information sharing across departments and agencies. 24. Manage customer satisfaction surveys and other feedback tools for Planning and Inspections & Permits departments; monitor results to identify trends and opportunities. 25. Review all forms, printed materials, and electronic media for consistency, accuracy, and ease of use. 26. Continue to develop Internet tools that will support the division s effort to provide quick and convenient service. 27. Review and revise divisional Communications Plan; assess its effectiveness. 28. Evaluate Business License review process and consider inclusion of State Building Code compliance (for allowable occupancy type) as part of the review. 29. Work with Business Systems Analyst to track and analyze development-related activities to identify trends and develop information that will be useful in making decisions. 30. Maintain and continue to develop regular employee technology training program to ensure full utilization of software and hardware resources available to the development departments. 31. Support all other efforts, missions, and goals of Planning and Inspections & Permits departments and the Town. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Established division programs and procedures. Prepared for successful launch of division and new Development Liaison services. KEY PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES Meet or exceed expected application intake turnaround times (per each department s guidelines). Answer 100% of all telephone calls presented to the Customer Contact Center. Participate in at least one community outreach event per quarter (or four annually). KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES Performance Measure % of Planning submittals set-up within prescribed time % of building permits set-up within prescribed time % of incoming customer telephone calls abandoned Average customer wait time on telephone (goal is 1 minute or less) 100% 100% <10% 60 seconds Number of community events attended 4 4 4

7 KEY WORKLOAD INDICATORS Workload Indicator Number of Planning submittals Number of building permit applications submitted (other than Online) 1,094 5,600 Number of building permit inspections scheduled 81, 354 Number of minimum housing cases entered Number of cash receipt transactions Planning/Zoning Building Permits Other Total transactions ** 7,000 ** ** Total amount of cash receipts (other than online) ** ** New measure ACTIVITY HISTORY Fund Number: Budget Activity FY 2011 FY 2012 Personnel Services $397,620 $863,822 Operations and Maintenance $13,964 $35,933 Capital Outlay Total $0 $0 $0 $411,584 $899,755 Authorized FTEs SIGNIFICANT BUDGET AND/OR SERVICE LEVEL CHANGES BEYOND CURRENT LEVELS Establishment and further development of Development Liaison service is expected to have a significant positive impact on many of our development customers Centralized development customer service center will provide added level of convenience for development customers (both walk-in and telephone)