The DeKalb Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a contract with the Matrix Consulting Group for the purpose of developing and implementing a permitting improvement plan for the County over a 9 month time-frame.
Interim CEO Lee May and Deputy COO for Development Luz Borrero advocated for the contract’s approval, noting that the time for implementation had been reduced by 40% at the request of the Commissioners, leaving three months for data collection and analysis, with implementation over a six month period.
You may view the RFP and Scope of Work for the Permitting Improvement Process Plan and Implementation
HERE.
However, in the short-term, over the next 30 days, DeKalb County has committed to make dedicated improvements to permitting, including:
- Execute a contract to outsource structural plan reviews;
- Develop a “Third Party Review” policy that will allow customers to receive an expedited guaranteed service level if they have their plans reviewed by an approved private company prior to submission;
- Allow overtime payments to inspectors to eliminate backlog;
- Accelerate posting of five positions in Development Services Division: two inspectors, two plan reviewers and one permit technician.
The Council for Quality Growth has actively worked with DeKalb County as the administration and Board of Commissioners seek to update and reform the process. Many of you may recall in early spring, the Council led a group of Commissioners and County staff to Cherokee County to view the reforms that were put into place in Cherokee’s Development Services Office.
Council staff and members of the development community have been asked by Ms. Borrero to sit on a Stakeholders Group and provide input as the County works through the process of permit reform. The 25 member roster of the Stakeholders Group includes 14 members of the Council.
We commend Interim CEO Lee May, his office and the County Commission for their collective efforts to provide a pathway to these reforms and we look forward to our role in leading the development community and participating in the process.