2006-08-17 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

Home

The Chair asked Mr. Yuen if he could run through the questions listed on the agenda. Mr. Yuen said he believed he had already answered the questions in a letter of response to the COGC, and he would like to follow up on that response with more specifics. He said that the main change that should be looked at for his Department would be in consolidating the review of building permits. Currently both the Planning Department and the Building Division of the Department of Public Works review building permit applications, though for different things. Planning looks at the use of the building, the setbacks, and the height. The Building Division is concerned with the structure and function of a building. Mr. Yuen said he is not fully aware of what else the Building Division looks at with the permit applications. He said one person could be cross - trained to review most of these applications. As the system works currently, there is a delay in the basic processing. If someone leaves an application with the Planning Department, it will go into a stack for review. After Planning reviews the application, it gets turned over to the Building Division. In addition, the State Department of Health also has to review it. Mr. Yuen said he believes one person could be cross - trained to review applications for all the areas in which the County is responsible, and this would be more timely and efficient. Mr. Sakaguchi asked whether Mr. Yuen was suggesting the function be taken out of the Building Division, the Planning Department, or placed into another entity altogether. Mr. Yuen said it could be done either in the Building Division or the Planning Department. He would like to know what the Public Works Department would think about it. Changing the procedure this way may not require a change in ordinance, but it would require a change in job description, as well as some organizational change. Mr. Yuen said this was his major response to the COGC's question about consolidating functions. Mr. Yuen said there are other issues involving consolidation, but they are very big - picture issues, particularly the State Land Use Commission. Major projects go through the State LUC to change boundaries, and then come before the counties for rezoning. There have been discussions about getting rid of the LUC, but he feels it is too big of an issue to deal with at this time, as it plays into overall concerns people have over land use development and deals with controversial issues on a state -wide level. However, from the standpoint of efficiency, between the State LUC and the counties, there are multiple people duplicating services and functions. Mr. Joseph said that if there are two bodies looking over an application, it could serve as a checks and balance. Mr. Yuen said there are arguments in favor of keeping the LUC, but he believes the gradual consensus is that the LUC has gotten too detail- oriented and should be looking at overall land use patterns and leaving the rest to the counties. He said he is not advocating abolishing the LUC, but it needs to function better. Mr. Sakaguchi asked how Mr. Yuen decides on what software to use in computerizing records, and whether he looks at what other jurisdictions are doing. Mr. Yuen said he will be requesting in the next budget to hire an information specialist consultant. He said most of the documents his Department receives now come in electronic format, such as rezoning applications, which come on disks. Having everything computerized would not only be more efficient, but documents could also be made available to the public on -line. Mr. Sakaguchi asked whether Mr. Yuen would be buying a computer package used by someone else, or whether the system would be developed from scratch. Mr. Yuen said he is