Title
A MOTION expressing the intent of the council to monitor permit efficiency and customer service by the department of development and environmental services and to follow through on recent recommendations from the King County auditor.
Body
WHEREAS, during consideration of the ordinances relating to critical areas, stormwater and clearing and grading, the council heard testimony raising concerns about permit costs, particularly for applications triggering hourly fees for review by the department of development and environmental services, and
WHEREAS, a September 28, 2004, report from the King County auditor reviewed the department of development and environmental services' workload and staffing and provided trend data for the average review time per permit and the average number of permits processed per reviewer over the period from 2000 though 2003, and
WHEREAS, in its September 28, 2004, report to the council, the King County auditor recommended that the department of development and environmental services develop performance measures to track permit processing efficiency on a quarterly basis, and
WHEREAS, the council wants to continue to monitor trends for permit processing efficiency following adoption of the critical areas, stormwater and clearing and grading ordinances as a way of informing future council decisions about permit review processes and permit fee structures, and
WHEREAS, the council seeks information on how often "complex" site engineering review is required, triggering the need for hourly review fees, and
WHEREAS, a March 2, 2004, report from the King County auditor reviewed the department of development and environmental services' permitting practices and recommended the use of telephone exit surveys as a tool for monitoring customer satisfaction;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
A. Through the 2005 budget process, the council will direct the department of development of environmental services to add two new performance measures to the department's business plan: the average review time per permit by type; and the average number of permits processed per reviewer. Further, the council will direct the department of development and environmental services to report monitoring data for these performance measures quarterly to the King County auditor, the chair of the growth management and unincorporated area committee, or its successor, and the chair of the labor, operations and technology committee, or its successor, and to include a summary of this data with the performance measures submitted as part of the annual budget process;
B. Through the 2005 budget process, the council will direct the department of development and environmental services to monitor the percentage of site reviews required to go through a "complex" site engineering review that involves hourly charges for review as apposed to a fixed-fee "basic" or "standard" site engineering review, and to report this information quarterly to the King County auditor, the chair of the growth management and unincorporated area committee, or its successor, and the chair of the labor, operations and technology committee, or its successor;
C. Through the 2005 budget process, the council will direct the department of development and environmental services to develop a performance measure related to customer satisfaction, to contract with an outside vendor or agency to conduct anonymous random telephone exit surveys of permit customers, and to report the exit survey results quarterly to the King County auditor, the chair of the growth management and unincorporated area committee, or its successor, and the chair of the labor, operations and technology committee, or its successor; and
D. Through the 2005 budget process, the council will direct the King County auditor to review the quarterly data on permit efficiency, percentage of applications undergoing "complex" site engineering reviews, and customer exit data and present
findings to the council on trends in permit efficiency and customer satisfaction on a semiannual basis.
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