HomeMy WebLinkAbout850837.tiff /44\t‘4 mEmORAnDUm
To Board of Commissioners Date December 11 , 1985
Wilk
COLORADO From Bill Rupp, Council President
Subject: Performance Audit of the Planning Department
This memo is to formally advise you that the County Council
voted on December 4 to accept the performance audit of the
Planning Department as conducted by Management Advisors, Inc.
The Council requested that Mr. Yanoviak provide an action plan
to use in follow-up. We will share this information with you
once it is received.
On December 5, we hand delivered five copies of the report to
your office for your immediate reference. We are now sending
three additional copies through the Clerk to the Board's office
to officially enter it in the public record.
4,)
WELD COUNTY C4"flSSlBdKfRS
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It DEC 1 21985
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GREELY. COW.
650837
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DEC 021935
WELD COUNTY COUNCIL
Weld County, Colorado
Audit Report
Resulting from the
Performance Audit of the
Weld County Department of Planning Services
November 25 , 1985
MANAGEMENT ADVISORS, INC.
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS
MANAGEMENT
ADVISORS,
INC.
James F.Snyder, CMC
Stephen J. Yanoviak, CMC
November 25 , 1985
Weld County Council
915 10th Street , Room 339
Greeley, Colorado 80631
Dear Council Members :
We have completed a performance audit of Weld County ' s Department
of Planning Services according to our Letter of Understanding
dated October 14 , 1985 . Our audit consisted of interviews with
individuals within and outside the Department as well as
inspections of various documents and records .
From our audit , we conclude that the Department of Planning
Services is operating efficiently and effectively. This
conclusion is based on our professional judgement and experience
with hundreds of business enterprises. It is also based on a
review of published documents which describe the Department ' s
expected performance.
In our view, no major problems or significant inadequacies exist
in the Department of Planning Services . However, some
improvements can be made as described in our attached report .
Our audit was a review as opposed to an investigation. At no
time did we hear reports of any wrongdoing , irregularities ,
inadequate performance or serious public complaints. Indeed , the
Department has not been subject to adverse publicity as have some
neighboring Colorado counties ' departments of planning , zoning
and building inspections.
We are confident that the attached report satisfies your
requirements for the performance audit. We are pleased that you
selected us to do this work and look forward to serving Weld
County again in the near future.
Sincerely,
Stephen Yanoviak, CMC
MANAGEMENT ADVISORS , INC.
5300 DTC Parkway, Suite 230 • Englewood, Colorado 80111 a (303) 796-8040
Audit Report
Resulting from the
Performance Audit of the
Weld County Department of Planning Services
CONTENTS
page
I . INTRODUCTION 1
II . PERFORMANCE AUDITS 2
A. Definition 2
B. Objectives for Conducting a Performance Audit 2
C. County Council ' s Objectives for a Performance Audit 2
D. Performance Evaluation Criteria 3
III . AUDIT APPROACH TAKEN 4
IV. OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING SERVICES 6
A. Introduction 6
B. Enforcement 9
C. Interface With Other Agencies 10
D. Organization 11
E. Budget 13
V. AUDIT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 14
A. Exposure 14
B. Compliance 15
C. Citizen Complaints 16
D. Public Relations 18
E. Department Administration 20
F. Personnel Administration 23
G. Management 23
H. Controls 24
I . Continuing Education 25
•
•
I . INTRODUCTION
The primary purpose of this report is to present our findings and
recommendations resulting from a performance audit of Weld
County' s Department of Planning Services. Because all readers of
this report may not be familiar with such an audit , this report
begins with a brief definition of performance auditing , followed
by a statement as to the objectives of an audit and evaluation
criteria used in conducting the specific audit addressed in this
report.
Section III of this report describes the approach we took in
conducting the audit of the Department of Planning Services.
This section is intended to give the reader an understanding as
to the comprehensiveness of the audit.
Section IV provides an overview of the duties , responsibilities
and functions of the Department. It is intended to give the
reader insight to the Department so that the reported findings
and recommendations in Section V of this report may have greater
meaning .
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II . PERFORMANCE AUDITS
A. DEFINITION
Performance audits are evaluations and comparisons of actual
performance against pre-established expectation criteria. Many
businesses and governmental entities have only general , broad
statements regarding their goals , their objectives and their
purpose. Performance audits of such entities are then largely
based on good judgement and professional experience in how an
organization should perform.
When an organization has well-documented goals and well-documented
procedures for attaining those goals , then criteria automatically
exist for measuring performance. Weld County ' s Department of
Planning Services has ample documentation which describes expected
performance of the Department. Performance evaluation criteria for
the Department are further described in Section D below.
B. OBJECTIVES FOR CONDUCTING A PERFORMANCE AUDIT
Generally, a performance audit is conducted because an authority
knows or suspects that an organization has certain problems, or
because the authority knows of no problems but wants an
independent , objective evaluation of the organization. Performance
audits are like physical examinations. Sometimes we have them
because something ails us ; other times we have them because nothing
ails us but it has been some time since we last had one.
C. COUNTY COUNCIL'S OBJECTIVES FOR A PERFORMANCE AUDIT
Prior to and commencing with our engagement to conduct a
performance audit of the Weld County Department of Planning
Services , we asked if Council had any particular motive -- other
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than fulfillment of the Home Rule Charter -- in having an audit
conducted. At no time did anyone voice concerns about
wrongdoing , irregularities , improprieties or inadequate
performance within the Department . Nor was any serious adverse
publicity about the Department brought to our attention.
Therefore , our review was pervasive in nature without any
particular focus on an operation or area that was reported to us
as being of concern.
D. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION CRITERIA
Several documents were made available to us , allowing us to
compare actual performance against established guidelines and
expectations. The documents reviewed and utilized as a basis
for evaluation include :
o The Home Rule Charter
o The Weld County Comprehensive Plan
o The Weld County Building Code Ordinance
o The Weld County Zoning Ordinance
o The Weld County Subdivision Regulations
o The Weld County Mineral Resource Study
o Department of Planning Services Procedural Guides
o The Department ' s Annual Report of Goals and Objectives
o The Department ' s Employee Position Descriptions
In addition to utilizing the above documents to evaluate the
Department ' s performance , we also used our judgement and
experience gained in similar situations.
We did not compare Weld County' s Department of Planning Services
to similar departments in other Colorado counties. In our
judgement , such comparisons would he meaningless given the
varying goals and objectives of each individual county and given
the unique rural and agricultural nature of Weld County and its
abundance of energy and mineral resources.
-3-
III . AUDIT APPROACH TAKEN
We viewed our assignment as a review and examination of the
Department of Planning Services as opposed to an investigation.
In order to be comprehensive in our audit , we conducted
interviews within and without the Department. Our purpose was to
gain internal as well as external perspectives. We interviewed :
o Eleven of the sixteen Department employees ; building
and electrical inspectors were not interviewed
o Commissioners Bill 'Kirby, Gordon Lacy and Frank
Yamaguchi
o Lee Morrison of the County Attorney' s office
o A former employee (Current Planner) with the
Department of Planning Services
o Several business persons in the City of Greeley
In addition to the above interviews , we attended a luncheon with
eight of the nine Planning Commission members. At the luncheon,
the members were given the opportunity to request areas for
special review or of particular concern within the Department .
Subsequent to the luncheon, we attended part of a Planning
Commission meeting where we observed the hearing of three cases.
As a final step before preparing this report , we attended a
meeting of the County Council and presented a brief progress
report of our audit . At the meeting , we offered the Council
members the opportunity to direct us into any areas in the
Department where they might have concerns. Subsequently, Sid
-4-
Morehouse furnished us with a file of newspaper clippings which
we reviewed with other news articles which we obtained on our
own.
After the Council meeting , a telephone conversation was held
with Council member Doris Williams. In the conversation, Doris
relayed several incidents and complaints regarding the
Department in the northern area of the County. These cases were
then researched and discussed with Department personnel.
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IV. OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING SERVICES
A. INTRODUCTION
The Department of Planning Services performs three major
functions for unincorporated Weld County in compliance with the
Home Rule Charter. These major functions are :
o Current and future planning with respect to land use
o Zoning inspection and zoning ordinance enforcement
o Building inspection and building code enforcement
The Department also provides, under contract , building
inspection services to eighteen incorporated towns within Weld
County.
The Department of Planning Services is responsible to the Board
of County Commissioners. Its "constitution" is the Weld County
Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan was developed in
1973 as required by State law. The purpose of the Plan is to :
o Promote efficiency and economy in the land
development process
o Minimize the waste of resources which can result from
excessive congestion or excessive scattering of
population
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o Promote efficient and economic utilization,
conservation and production of the supply of food ,
water and other facilities and resources.
To quote the Plan, "The Comprehensive Plan is not a regulating
or controlling document. It does not require any existing
citizen, business, group or organization to perform any act in
any given way. It neither requires nor restricts the activities
of the County citizens ; it is simply a plan. To implement the
Comprehensive Plan calls for the adoption and enforcement of
compatible zoning regulations and land use specifications. "
Interpretations of the Comprehensive Plan are spelled out in
various ordinances and regulations adopted by the Board of
County Commissioners . The Department of Planning Services
utilizes the Comprehensive Plan along with these ordinances and
regulations in making day-to-day decisions regarding citizen' s
applications for permits and reported violations.
In the ordinary course of Departmental events :
o Citizens apply to the Department for permits
o Citizens report zoning and building code violations
o Departmental personnel discover zoning and building
code violations.
The types of applications made to the Department of Planning
Services by citizens include :
o Subdivisions
o Resubdivisions
o Minor Subdivisions
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o Subdivision Exemptions *
o Recorded Exemptions *
o Changes in Zoning
o Land Uses by Special Review
o Site Plan Reviews **
o Planned Unit Development Permits
o Manufactured Home Zoning Permits **
o Mobile Home Zoning Permits **
o Building Permits **
o Public Utility Major Facility Permits
o Flood Hazard Development Permits **
o Geological Hazard Development Permits **
o Airport Overlay District Development Permits **
Where a single or double asterisk (*) appears above , the
application may be approved by the Department ' s staff without
further review by the Planning Commission, the Board of County
Commissioners or the Board of Adjustment. In the event of an
appeal of a staff decision, the Board of County Commissioners
must review applications indicated by the single asterisk while
either the Commissioners or the Board of Adjustment must hear
cases for applications indicated with the double asterisk.
In the case of all other applications above not accompanied by
an asterisk or asterisks , the Department of Planning Services
makes a recommendation to the Planning Commission which in turn
makes a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners. In
any event , the Board makes the final decision except in the case
of public utility major facility applications where the
appeal/denial process ends with the Planning Commission.
While the Board of Adjustment hears appeals of the Department ' s
administrative decisions regarding zoning , it also hears appeals
for interpretation of zone district boundaries , lot lines, and
appeals for variances.
-8-
As is evident in the areas of zoning and land use , the
Department of Planning Services makes few decisions without
Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners hearings
and subsequent rulings. Also , since the Department ' s
independent decisions are subject to appeal to the Board of
Adjustment , it would be quite obvious if the Department was
derelict, irresponsive, political , or partial in their
interpretation of regulations and ordinances.
B. ENFORCEMENT
In the enforcement area , a major function of the Department of
Planning Services is to investigate citizen complaints with
respect to building code and zoning violations. In addition,
Department inspectors are expected to observe and process
violations in the routine course of their duties in the field.
With respect to building codes , citizens should understand that
the purpose of building codes is to protect public health,
safety and welfare. Sometimes the argument is presented that
government should have no concern for the safety or welfare of a
property owner. However, one must recognize that properties may
change hands and that new owners may be subject to unsuspected
risks and hazards which may threaten their health, welfare and
safety.
Similarly, zoning is intended to protect citizens from land uses
which may threaten their safety , health, welfare, convenience,
morals and order which they come to expect with the purchase of
property. To quote the Weld County Comprehensive Plan, "Zoning
is designed to prevent undue population congestion, to restrict
areas that are unsuitable and even dangerous to build upon, and
to protect land values by insuring citizens that land use
changes will be made in a coherent and logical way. "
-9-
C. INTERFACE WITH OTHER AGENCIES
In addition to the Board of County Commissioners , the Planning
Commission and the Board of Adjustment , the Department of
Planning Services also coordinates and interfaces with the
following agencies , and entities :
o Building Trades Advisory Council
o Utility Coordinating Advisory Board
o Building Codes Appeals Committee
o Public Electric, Water, Sewer, Gas , and Telephone
Utilities Districts
o School and Fire Districts
o County Assessor' s Office
o County Attorney' s Office
o County Sheriff ' s Office
o County Department of Engineering Services
o County Department of Health Services
o County Treasurer ' s Department
o Colorado Air Pollution Control Commission
o Colorado Water Quality Control Commission
o Colorado Health Department
o Municipalities
o Adjacent Counties
The Department of Planning Services has almost 9,000 public
contacts annually as well as hundreds of contacts annually with
the above entities.
-10-
D. ORGANIZATION
An organization chart of the Department is shown on the
following page. The Department currently has :
o 1 Director
- 1 Combination Inspector in charge of building
inspections
o 1 Construction permittechnician
o 3 Building inspectors
o 2 Electrical inspectors
- 1 Current Planner II in charge of planning and
zoning
o 2 Current planners
o 2 Zoning inspectors
o 1 Planning technician
o 2 Office technicians
Half of the above personnel were hired since May of 1984. The
Director, Chuck Cunliffe, has the longest tenure with the
Department. He was hired as a draftsman in 1973 and has been
Director of the Department since 1982. Of the eighteen
employees in the Department, those hired since May 1984 consist
of six in planning and zoning and two in building inspections.
-11-
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E. BUDGET
The Department ' s budget for 1986 is as follows :
Direct expenses $ 479 , 266
Indirect expenses 152 , 152
Revenue ( 451 , 875)
Net Cost to County $ 179 , 543
Inspection of prior years ' budgets and activities reveals that
the Department of Planning Services is performing more
activities with proportionately less staff. In 1986, for
instance, the Department has budgeted one less Zoning Inspector
and one less Current Planner.
-13-
V. AUDIT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This section of the report contains significant findings and
recommendations resulting from our audit. Our comments are
organized into the following areas :
o Exposure
o Compliance —
o Citizen Complaints
o Public Relations
o Department Administration
o Personnel Administration
o Management
o Controls
o Continuing Education
Our findings and recommendations in each of these areas are
discussed below.
A. EXPOSURE
Unlike some County departments , the Department of Planning
Services has a high degree of public exposure. Many of its
actions , decisions and recommendations are subject to a high
degree of public scrutiny. This is because it deals with almost
9, 000 public contacts a year, because it deals with many public
agencies , because its personnel appear at hearings before the
Planning Commission, the Board of County Commissioners and the
Board of Adjustment, and because these hearings are open to the
public and covered by the media .
The Department ' s actions and processes are highly regulated by
published ordinances and regulations. To an extent , they are
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•
monitored by the County Attorney' s office which advises the
Department on legal interpretations of ordinances and
regulations and on the procedures to follow. Because of this
high exposure and interaction with other bodies, it would seem
that under-performance , if significant , would be readily
apparent to the general public as it would be easy for the media
to detect and report.
Weld County ' s Department of Planning Services does not have a
public reputation which we would consider adverse. While the
press has reported citizen complaints regarding interpretation
of the Comprehensive Plan, regulations and ordinances , there are
no known reports or charges of wrongdoing within the
Department. Some nearby Colorado counties have not been as
fortunate. Presently , at least two nearby counties are
receiving adverse publicity with regard to conflicts of
interest , improper payments to officials , and improper -- if not
illegal -- planning commission and board of commissioner rulings.
Weld County should take pride in the fact that its Department of
Planning Services , the Planning Commission, the Board of County
Commissioners and the Board of Adjustment are not receiving
significantly adverse publicity with regard to their actions in
planning , zoning and building inspections.
B. COMPLIANCE
In Section II . D. of this report , we listed the key documents
which we reviewed and utilized as a basis for evaluating the
Department ' s performance. Many of these documents specify how
the Department is to perform. Some , like the Home Rule Charter,
are very broad in their definition. Others , like the Weld
County Zoning Ordinance, are very specific as to how the
Department is to process applications and within what timeframe.
While our budget did not permit a one hundred percent test of
compliance to these documents , we were able to ascertain from
-15-
•
reviews of sections of many of them and from interviews with
several Department personnel , that the Department of Planning
Services is performing properly according to the guidelines
established in these documents.
The Department has developed procedural guides for each type of
permit application. These guides are very helpful to citizens
in defining the required information for an application. They
are also beneficial to Department personnel in helping to ensure
that they follow the proper procedures.
We found other documents and procedures within the Department
which are designed to ensure employee performance. The
Department ' s Annual Report of Goals and Objectives and the
Department ' s Employee Position Descriptions are examples of
documents which provide Department personnel with performance
guidelines. Procedures such as recording key public contacts
and reporting how much time was spent on various activities are
helpful to management and the employees in determining
performance.
The Department has a wealth of documentation and procedures
which specify expected performance. In our view, the Department
of Planning Services is performing well according to these
documents and procedures.
C. CITIZEN COMPLAINTS
From our interviews and from inspections of records , we verified
that the Department receives citizen complaints from time to
time. As far as we can tell , these complaints mostly relate to
the Department ' s interpretation of regulations and ordinances
and their handling of the citizens. We were not able to find
any citizen complaints with regard to wrongdoing within the
Department.
-16-
In our view, there are several underlying factors which
contribute to citizen complaints. These are :
o The County was not completely zoned until 1977. The
last sections to be zoned are in the more rural
northern and northeastern parts of the County where
citizens in less populated areas question the need for
regulations that apply to heavily populated areas.
o Citizens , no matter where they reside, want regulations
applied to their neighbors and not to themselves.
o The Weld County Comprehensive Plan needs to be updated
to reflect changes in land use philosophy since 1973.
o In 1977, the Building Trades Advisory Council was
formed and building inspections , which were considered
lax, were tightened up.
o New Commissioners publicly question ordinances and
regulations adopted by former Boards.
o Citizens do not generally understand that zoning laws
and building codes are for their own welfare.
o Red tagging is humiliating and offensive
The Department of Planning Services is working on some of the
above to reduce citizen complaints. For instance , the
Comprehensive Plan is in the process of being updated and
Department personnel have made some public appearances to
explain the needs for and benefits of zoning laws and building
codes.
Perhaps the Department should re-think its policy of red tagging
properties in violation. A letter-size notice which is hand
-17-
•
delivered or mailed to the citizen should be less offensive. If
the citizen does not respond to such a notice within a specified
time period ( such as fifteen days) , then perhaps red tagging
would be appropriate as a second measure.
The Department has had a citizen ' s rating form in use for three
years. The form allows citizens who visit the Department ' s
offices, or who received mailed permits , the opportunity to rate
the Department ' s performance. Only 93 responses were received
during the last three years and most responses were very
favorable ("good" to "excellent") . Written comments on the form
were generally favorable too. The most frequent complaint dealt
with the citizen not knowing what to bring to the office or what
fees would be involved with filing an application.
Relatively few citizen complaints are publicized considering
that the Department has almost 9,000 public contacts annually.
Most complaints are relatively mild and are directed more at the
ordinance, the regulation or the application process than at the
personnel in the Department of Planning Services. Only
occasionally is a complaint justified due to an employee
oversite or error.
D. PUBLIC RELATIONS
While the Comprehensive Plan is the foundation for decisions and
actions ultimately taken by the Department, the Planning
Commission and the Board of Commissioners , it is doubtful that
much of the public understands its purpose and the benefits of
having a Comprehensive Plan. The Plan is in the process of
being updated and it should be completed within twelve to
fifteen months. The Department plans to hold public meetings
beginning in December or January to enlighten the citizens about
the Plan' s purpose and to invite public opinion with respect to
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agricultural and urban land use in Weld County. We understand
that the public hearings will be held at :
o Briggsdale
o Erie
o Fort Lupton
o Greeley
o Johnstown
o Keenesburg
o Pierce
o Tri-Towns (Frederick, Firestone , and Dacono)
We were informed that public hearings will also be held at
Grover, Mead and New Raymer "if needed". We urge the County to
give greater publicity to the Plan and to give more citizens the
opportunity to attend the hearings by holding them in these
towns as well .
Publicity surrounding the revised Comprehensive Plan offers the
Department a good opportunity to inform the public about the
purpose of land use planning , zoning and building codes in Weld
County. The Department should obtain more opportunities to
appear before the public to publicize its purpose and the
reasons for its activities. The Department has a policy to
appear before public groups such as the Ag Council , the Board of
Realtors and other civic groups when invited. Most appearances
occur in and around Greeley. The Department should take the
initiative and seek opportunities to appear in front of the
public , especially in the less populated areas of the County.
In its Annual Report of Goals and Objectives, the Department
states that it seeks to reduce the number of violations by
keeping the public informed of requirements of the Weld County
Zoning Ordinance and the Weld County Building Code. In our
view, this goal is not being pursued as aggressively as it
-19-
could. Road signs regarding zoning and handout material in the
office are helpful in informing the public and should be
continued. However, public appearances which get media coverage
would be far more beneficial in our view.
Positive publicity which promotes public understanding of the
Department ' s mission and activities should ultimately reduce the
number of citizen complaints.
E. DEPARTMENT ADMINISTRATION
As was mentioned earlier, the procedural guides developed by the
Department are very beneficial to both the citizen-applicant and
Department personnel . The guides often preclude the need for
citizens to read the lengthy ordinances and regulations. The
guides specify the application process , the review process , the
timeline to conduct the review, other agencies involved in
processing the application, and fees. Thus , the citizen should
have a good idea of what is involved at the time an application
is filed. It appears that the process of filing is kept as
simple as possible through use of the procedural guides.
Citizens have complained about both the application process
itself and fees. Some applications are very simple to process
while others are very complex. The degree of simplicity or
complexity depends on the type of application made. With regard
to fees , citizens often complain that they are not told the
amount in advance. However, the fees often cannot be determined
until the Department has reviewed the application. Building
permit fees , for instance, are based on square feet of building
area and type of construction. Also , should the citizen begin
construction before the permit is issued , there is an additional
investigation fee which is a percentage of the permit fee and
therefore variable.
-20
It appears that the Department of Planning Services makes good
use of the County' s computer system. From terminals in their
offices , the Department utilizes a building permits system, an
MIS reporting system, a zoning overlay cross reference system,
and word processing.
Word processing is utilized to produce reports , correspondence
and form letters. The building permits system allows entry of
building , electrical and mobile home permits data to the
computer. Permits can be printed while applicants wait.
Subsequently , Department personnel - can view permits on the
terminal screen. The system also tracks inspections and
produces a report of overdue inspections and inspections due in
the next 90 days. Finally, the system interfaces with the
Assessor' s real property file so Departmental personnel may view
Assessor records for property improvement data.
The MIS Reporting System captures and reports information
pertaining to planning and zoning staffing levels , personal
interviews and telephone contacts, permit reviews and
violations , and zoning cases received and processed. A Daily
Operating Report is provided daily for Departmental management
to monitor production and activity. Thus, management can track
performance and productivity of Department personnel on a
continuous basis.
The zoning overlay cross reference system allows one to inquiry
the computer and obtain a history of zoning permits issued for a
specified geographic area. The system will also note any
indications of mineral resources , geological hazards , flood
plains or airport restrictions in the same area. However, this
system is not yet operational as the Department has yet to enter
the necessary data in the computer.
-21-
In addition to reports obtained from the computer, the
Department prepares quarterly and annual summary reports of
Departmental activity. These reports are useful in that they
provide a management summary of activity and compare current
operating statistics with prior quarters and years. These are
historical reports. A Department deadline report is produced
periodically to remind personnel of upcoming Department
deadlines.
Department personnel who have a significant amount of public
contacts not only report the types of contacts for statistical
reporting purposes , they also record who the contact was with
and the purpose of the contact. This is a good practice in that
it allows follow-up to citizens ' inquiries and documents the
matter discussed in the event management needs to follow-up on a
citizen' s request or complaint.
Perhaps one area where the Department is lagging
administratively is in the area of processing "non-finaled"
permits. These are building permits which have been issued and
for which there has been at least one field inspection but no
final inspection. Therefore , a final inspection has not been
issued for these permits which total about 3,000.
The number of non-finaled permits is always about the same
because new permits are added to the list at about the same rate
as permits are resolved and removed from the list. The
Department should give a higher priority to reducing the number
of non-finaled permits by increasing the processing activity in
this area and/or granting amnesty to the oldest permit holders.
The Director reports that it would take eighteen to twenty-four
man-months of extra effort to final these permits by following
standard Departmental procedures.
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F. PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION
The Department maintains performance standards and job
descriptions for each position in the Department below the
Director level. Semi-annually, each employee is evaluated by
his supervisor using an evaluation form which is custom to each
position. This is a good practice in that the employee knows
what is expected of him and his semi-annual evaluation gives him
the opportunity to learn how his supervisor feels about his
performance.
Job descriptions were reviewed with each employee in the
Department except building and electrical inspectors.
Generally, the job descriptions were found to accurately reflect
the duties and responsibilities of the individuals holding the
positions. The two Office Technician ( secretarial) positions
deviated the most from their job descriptions , perhaps because
these positions are not unique to the Department . They are
County-wide positions.
G. MANAGEMENT
In general , the attitude of the employees in the Department of
Planning Services is good and they appear to be motivated to
perform well . Several of the employees , however, expressed
concern over the way the Department is managed. Their concerns
seem to relate more to management style than anything else. The
chief complaint is that the Department is highly production
oriented and that there is little time to relax and break away
from their jobs. To be sure , several employees expressed the
feeling that breaks taken with one or more employees are frowned
upon. They noted that the atmosphere is tense when the Director
is in.
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Several employees mentioned that they feel constrained from
presenting their own ideas. Many said that they do not feel
that their ideas are ever taken seriously or even considered by
management.
These employee expressions are reported here for the benefit of
the Director who should personally evaluate his management style
and work toward alleviating such employee attitudes, perceptions
and concerns. From the above reportings , one should not draw
the conclusion that there are serious management or morale
problems in the Department.
Enforcement of ordinances and regulations by the Department
often brings citizen complaints which, from time-to-time , each
employee takes personally. Also , overrulings of Department
recommendations by the Planning Commission or Board of
Commissioners can temporarily lower morale. Such situations are
unavoidable and employees will occasionally feel bad about
events. However, Department management , the Planning
Commissioners and the County Commissioners can help the
employees feel better about themselves and their work if they
were to provide a little more praise and show a little more
appreciation for quality work.
H. CONTROLS
The Department of Planning Services handles cash for payments of
permit fees , application fees and map charges. We were informed
that good controls exist over the cash in the Department and
that there are very infrequent and very small shortages. The
Accounting Department conducts surprise audits of the cash boxes
in the Department. This is a good practice which should be
continued.
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The Department also has good controls over its public contacts.
Each telephone call is recorded as to caller and matter
discussed if the call is substantive. Files are maintained for
all enforcement cases and applications.
I . CONTINUING EDUCATION
Professionals need to stay current in their fields by continuing
their educations. Self study is one way to continue one ' s
education. However, this often needs to be augmented by active
participation in trade and professional associations , and by
attending courses and seminars.
Primarily because of budget limitations , employees have little
opportunity to attend seminars and professional meetings when
there is an expense associated with such affairs. If the County
wants to maintain a professional staff , wants to help the staff
grow professionally and wants to minimize turnover, then monies
should be allocated for continuing education.
Attendance at civic meetings such as Chamber of Commerce
luncheons can be very informative and sometimes educational for
persons with jobs in planning and zoning. Employees below the
supervisory level feel that they would not be permitted to
attend such functions because some time would be lost from
work. Employees should be granted reasonable time off to attend
civic and professional functions and they should be encouraged
to do so for their own benefit and for the Department ' s benefit .
Since the employees in the Department of Planning Services have
many public contacts , consideration should be given to having
them attend seminars which would enable them to better deal with
the public. Many courses are available to improve one ' s skills
in dealing with others , in dealing with difficult persons and in
dealing with stressful situations .
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Consideration should also be given to having supervisors attend
not only seminars which improve their technical skills but also
seminars which can improve their management and people skills.
From time to time, the Personnel Department has sponsored
courses , seminars and films on such subjects as time management ,
stress management, dealing with the public and effective
writing. However, such educational sessions are only available
on a limited basis and to a few individuals in each department .
Departments such as Planning Services should work with the
Personnel Department continually to determine the most cost
effective means of providing relevant training and continuing
education to the County ' s employees.
The Department can obtain maximum benefit from employee
attendance at seminars and courses by having attending employees
relate their knowledge gained to other non-attending employees
in the Department.
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