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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 01 Technology Fee Discussion AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 9/25/2023 Meeting Type: Work Session Staff Contact/Dept.: Jeff Paschall/DPW Staff Phone No: 541-726-1674 Estimated Time: 30 Minutes S P R I N G F I E L D C I T Y C O U N C I L Council Goals: Provide Financially Responsible and Innovative Government Services ITEM TITLE: TECHNOLOGY FEE DISCUSSION ACTION REQUESTED: Review the recent Development Center advancements and initiatives using Technology Fee revenues. ISSUE STATEMENT: Since the City Council last reviewed the Technology Fee Reserve in 2019, the Development and Public Works Department has focused on continually evaluating the Development Center customer experience and exploring opportunities for improvements. The Technology Fee revenue is the primary source of funding for these initiatives. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Council Briefing Memorandum 2. 2019 Project list - Annotated DISCUSSION/ FINANCIAL IMPACT: September 2019, the City Council reviewed a list of proposed projects that were planned to be initiated using the technology fee revenues and reserves. Fast forward a few months, and those plans were derailed by the Covid pandemic, and the focus shifted to getting our Development Center services online with a staff that was working remote. Following recovery from the pandemic, progress was slow on many initiatives on that initial list due to staffing limitations. Beginning with the FY23 budget the department was able to move some of the initiatives forward and as highlighted in the FY24 budget presentation continual improvements to the customer experience with our Development Center is the focal point of the Technology Fee revenues. M E M O R A N D U M City of Springfield Date: 9/25/2023 To: Nancy Newton COUNCIL From: Jeff Paschall, Community Development Director Josiah Broomfield, Management Analyst BRIEFING Subject: Technology Fee Discussion MEMORANDUM ISSUE: Since the City Council last reviewed the Technology Fee Reserve in 2019, the Development and Public Works Department has focused on continually evaluating the Development Center customer experience and exploring opportunities for improvements. The Technology Fee revenue is the primary source of funding for these initiatives. COUNCIL GOALS/ MANDATE: Provide Financially Responsible and Innovative Government Services BACKGROUND: A technology fee was adopted by the City Council in 2006. This fee is applied to engineering permits, some land use permits and application, and building and safety permits. This fee was initiated to fund a FTE and equipment for scanning and getting applications and permits online for customers to search and review. Over time, processes changed, and this position was eliminated. Since 2019, the focus of how to utilize the tech fee has shifted from merely scanning permits and land use application for warehousing online to focusing on improvements to the customer experience with the Development Center. Since the Covid Pandemic forced the City to find online solutions to keep work flowing, just over 80% of all applications and business initiated through the Development Center is through the online tools. Development Center managers and staff have made it a priority to constantly evaluate, recommend, and initiate changes to tools and processes to meet the needs of our customers. In FY22 the department began to realize some momentum in moving some o the many projects and initiatives forward, however with staffing resource availability improving FY 23 serious gains were made in actual implementation. As outlined in the FY24 budget message the focus is to maintain the momentum with the goals of improving efficiency in processing applications and continuing to look for ways improve the customer experience. CURRENT INITIATIVES: • Kiosk – complete – automated access to city development services in lieu of in-office staff including printing/scanning applications, calling or messaging staff, obtaining permits, making payments, scheduling inspections, and more. • Digital Plan Review – complete – digitized the plan review process and streamlined staff workflows to reduce the backlog and minimize review timelines. • Easy Inspection Scheduling – complete – developed standalone web/mobile app to be a simplified addition to the cadre of inspection scheduling options. • New Website Interface – complete – new introduction pages to our web presence which serves as an easy-to-use index to locate applications and services online. • Scanning – ongoing – outsourcing scanning services to digitize backlog of planning applications allowing easy access to historical data externally, and freeing staff time to Attachment 1 Page 1 of 2 MEMORANDUM Page 2 focus on new applications. • Internal Dashboards – ongoing – these dashboards will serve to assist staff in decision making processes, understand real-time workloads, monitor stalled permits and applications, and plan for the future. • External Information Access – ongoing – these map-based tools will provide easy to find information on current development within the community. It also will centralize key property data that will inform high-level decision-making for developers. POTENTIAL FUTURE INITIATIVES: • Accela – Continue to review and implement new existing tools and apps developed by the State as appropriate. • Time Tracking Software – Implement a time tracking tool for use by land use application reviewers to improve accuracy of data for updating current fees and evaluating future fees. • Evaluate Staffing Gaps – Review processes and identify gaps in staffing that may be appropriately funded through tech fee revenues. • Continued Webpage Enhancements – Develop a page specifically targeting contractors with links to all resources for project initiation and ultimately completion. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Review the information provided by staff and provide general guidance. Attachment 1 Page 2 of 2 Tech Fee Projects Not Started, Cancelled, or Alternative Funding Identified • Online development code with hyperlinks and search functions • ACCELA support, custom reports development • Phone upgrade project participation - $100,000 • Participation in City Hall back-up generator install Completed • Printers and compatible devices for building inspector vehicles - $2,000 • Development Review Cell Phone App, real time data • Annual Laserfiche costs for development services – Ongoing Program • Additional Laserfiche licenses • Large Format Copier/Scanner - $25,000 • Kiosk installation • Digital Plan Review • Webpage updates - $10,000 In Process • Re-instate Laserfiche scanning - $50,000 - $100,000 annually for three years • Internal Dashboards • External Information Access Potential Future • Future Accela Upgrades • Time Tracking Software • Evaluate Staffing Gaps • Continued Webpage Enhancements Attachment 2 Page 1 of 1