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HomeMy WebLinkAbout635 - MINUTES - City Commission MINUTES OF WORKSHOP 0 DANIA BEACH CITY COMMISSION COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS PROCESS MAPPING ENGAGEMENT - AUXIS, INC. MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2004 - 6:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order Mayor McElyea called the workshop to order at 6:02 p.m. 2. Roll Call Present: Mayor: C.K. McElyea Commissioners: Bob Anton Patricia Flury City Manager: Ivan Pato City Attorney: Thomas Ansbro City Clerk: Louise Stilson Absent: Commissioner: Robert Chunn Vice-Mayor: Bob Mikes 3. Community Development Business Process Mapping Engagement—Prepared by Auxis, Inc. City Manager Pato advised we retained the services of Auxis, Inc., Management and Technology Solutions,to conduct a workflow analysis of the Community Development Department to review our current business practices. He noted we feel the pressures upon the City as community redevelopment is beginning, and this is good business planning to get the City ready for future needs. The report identifies how we do business, and where we need to look for improvements. Laurence Leeds, Director of Community Development, advised Auxis representatives met with him, the division directors and key personnel; they also attended a Commission, Planning & Zoning Board, and Code Board meeting. Tonight's presentation explains existing conditions and recommendations for improvements to the system. They also mapped out the process currently used by the department for everyday operations. Greg Zalkin, Senior Consultant, introduced Sandra Missial, Senior Consultant, of Auxis, Inc. He explained how they assessed and compared the workflow process of the Community Development Department to help them be more efficient and enable them to modernize their department. Beatrice Hartman, Business Development Executive of Auxis, Inc., advised she oversaw the project and highlighted their findings and recommendations. General Findings: Staff is hardworking, dedicated and committed to customer service, but staff and workload measures are not clearly defined. The processes are reactive, not proactive, due to the services demand, limited resources, and insufficient time. Training of employees impacts the outcome of services in the City. As for technology, the City is very dependent on the Broward County Property Appraiser website; more training is needed on HTE; and staff is knowledgeable on the GIS system. The sharing of information is not being facilitated among the department and technology does not allow staff to work outside of the office. Planning& Zoning Findings: The City Planner is reviewing a lot of information for one person. The Site Plan process is lengthy because plans need to be reviewed a minimum of 3-6 times before they meet the minimum Zoning Code requirements. Developers with a proven track record of infill development are discouraged from building in the CRA because the parameters of the CRA have not been adopted by the Zoning Code. Laurence Leeds, Director of Community Development, explained the CRA plan has a recommendation that calls for creating a CRA overlay district. This zoning district is designed for higher intensity urban infill; meaning 8 story buildings, mixed use and residential, and meeting densities in excess of 50-100 units per acre. He noted that the Commission needs to direct staff to initiate the new zoning provisions for the CRA before they can begin to develop them. The problem is we have a provision that requires a four-fifths vote before constructing a building over five stories. All of the CRA downtown plans call for six to eight stories as a general guideline. That provision of the Code, was initiated by the City Commission nearly 20 years ago, and needs to be removed to allow for development in the CRA area. Commissioner Flury remarked somebody needs to bring the zoning provisions to the Commission for discussion; it is not the Commissioners who should bring them up. Planning& Zoning Recommendations: ➢ Change zoning ➢ Cross train and rotate administrative staff ➢ Implement tracking measures for site plan review schedule ➢ Increase knowledge and information management capabilities internally ➢ Implement HTE functionality Building Division Findings: Currently the division only has two full-time Inspectors, the others are contracted. The full-time Plumbing Inspector position has been open for two and a half years; so perhaps the salary is not adequate for the position. The City salary is below the current market rate, and the demand for Minutes of Workshop 2 Dania Beach City Commission Community Development Business Process Mapping Engagement—Auxis,Inc. Monday,December 13,2004—6:00 p.m. • reviewers is high in Broward County, and there is a limited pool of qualified applicants. The salary should be increased $5,000-$10,000. Dania Beach is no longer capable of providing next day inspection services because the contract with the Town of Davie only provides 54 hours per week. Turnaround time has not been established for building permits, and open permits are not tracked. Building Division Recommendations: ➢ Establish a lead clerical position ➢ Evaluate technology(permit scheduling via telephone or internet) ➢ Expand use of HTE ➢ Deploy e-devices (PDAs, Wireless Laptops) to inspectors so they can spend more time in the field ➢ Establish proactive approach to monitor and review permits ➢ Establish service level agreements for permit applications ➢ Utilize technology more fully to educate, inform and empower individuals ➢ Implement Document Management System Code Enforcement Findings: There are four full-time Inspectors and three clerical staff who process over 400 violation letters and notices, per month. The Code Enforcement Manager is also the Chief Zoning Official and responds to 150-175 zoning requests per month; reviews all single family homes, additions, fences and signs for compliance; and reviews all Occupational Licenses. Annually, 250-500 • cases are backlogged because the Code Board meets only once per month and hears approximately 35 cases, compared to 100 violations per month. It generally takes 4-6 months before the first appearance on the Code Board agenda. The Code Inspectors have two logs that must be updated, and need to be entered into HTE by the clerk. Staff is not represented by an attorney at the Code Board meetings. Code Enforcement Recommendations: ➢ Educate citizens ➢ Expand information to residents and visitors through website and publications ➢ Establish a lead clerical position ➢ Re-engineer Code Enforcement process ➢ Merge log sheets into one document ➢ Add a minimum administrative fee on cases going to the Code Board ➢ Mitigation should be done by Code Board, not Commission ➢ Explore Special Master Code Enforcement system Occupational License Findings: There are two employees that handle 2,900-3,000 licenses annually, which must be reviewed by the Code Enforcement Manager. Occupational License inspections are not entered into HTE, but are kept in the inspector's personal log. Occupational License Recommendations: ➢ Implement inspection fees on new applications • Minutes of Workshop 3 Dania Beach City Commission Community Development Business Process Mapping Engagement—Auxis,Inc. Monday,December 13,2004—6:00 p.m. • ➢ Implement minimum housing standards for owners of rental or leased property ➢ Consider renewal of minimum housing inspections and related fees ➢ Utilize HTE to track new Occupational License applications and to schedule inspections Summary: ➢ Improve the City's image as pro-development, pro-business and as an effective, productive organization focused on serving its constituents ➢ Establish and reinforce service level agreements for permit applications ➢ Increase public education and self education capabilities ➢ Utilize technology more fully to educate, inform and empower staff Commissioner Anton questioned the recommendation for lead clerks. Mary McDonald, Director of Human Resources, responded it could be done and we looked at it prior to the Auxis survey. We would have to negotiate with the Union as to whether or not the position should be a Union position. We could upgrade an existing position; but, the position has to be advertised and classified as a new position. Commissioner Anton questioned if the Plumbing Inspector salary could be upgraded at mid-year and if it would be an issue. Ms. McDonald responded it is a big issue because it is an existing position in the City's pay plan. • She is not sure the salary has been the only roadblock; there has also been a lot of bad press on the position. The salary is low and we could change it at mid-year, but if we upgrade one position, we will hear from other employees about their positions not being upgraded. She recommended implementing the salary plan which the Commission has already approved; but are still waiting for Union approval. Commissioner Anton asked what Community Development was planning to implement. Mr. Leeds responded there is a possibility of technology being available in the near future for the Code Inspectors to have access to the Broward County Property Appraiser database from their vehicles. The addition of wireless computers would enable the transmittal of information to the clerical staff. Also, HTE does not have the flexibility to use the same system for Planning & Zoning, Building, Occupational Licenses, and Code Enforcement. He agreed we need to upgrade the clerical positions into administrative support positions, and that we need more training. But if you take the staff out to train, the remaining staff gets backlogged. City Manager Pato commented it is apparent that we are putting out too many fires and not addressing the real issues. He hoped to demonstrate that changes are needed. We want to move forward and we will bring a plan to the Commission. He remarked we have issues with the Bargaining Units; we have an outdated Compensation Plan; these are things that need to be fixed and we are addressing them. He stated we need direction from the Commission to move toward a Special Master for Code Enforcement. Minutes of Workshop 4 Dania Beach City Commission Community Development Business Process Mapping Engagement—Auxis,Inc. Monday,December 13,2004—6:00 p.m. . Commissioner Flury commented we had a significant annexation in 2001, and it appears that staff knows what they are doing. But, as the City has grown we have not done anything in this area. She remarked there is a gross lack of technology, and we need to make time for training. She noted a decision on a Special Master would require a full Commission discussion. Mayor McEylea noted the City of Pompano has a Special Master and runs a good system. He thinks the Special Master is a good route to take, and we should look for consensus from the Commission. Commissioner Flury suggested the Special Master be placed on the agenda of the next Abatement Hearing as a discussion item. Commissioner Anton agrees we need to look at Code issues, but we have a dedicated Code Board that does an excellent job. He would like to have a full Commission discussion on the Special Master. He agrees that we do not need a plan for Community Development; it is already written out, but we need to move forward on some things. He stated we need to do something to fill the vacant positions. He also agrees on zoning the CRA to streamline the process. City Manager Pato thanked the representatives of Auxis for a job well done. 4. Adjournment • Mayor McElyea adjourned the workshop at 7:31 p.m. CITY OF DANIA BEACH -XC t 944az ATTEST: C.K. M ELYEA MAYOR-COMNfrSSIONER LOUISE STILSON CITY CLERK Approved: January 11, 2005 • Minutes of Workshop 5 Dania Beach City Commission Community Development Business Process Mapping Engagement—Auxis, Inc. Monday,December 13,2004—6:00 p.m.