4-8-2024_PW SS Briefings (3) - Laserfiche WebLink

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them,including from the private sector.This was especially acute at Snohomish County,which carried out a successful retirement incentive program to save costs during the pandemic,but now has too few engineers for the workload. Shoreline faced a somewhat different problem after it rezoned two areas around future light rail stations in 2015 and 2016 to encourage redevelopment.The city saw a 50 percent increase in permit volume from 2017 to 2019.However,in 2019 the city still employed the same number of people to process permits as it had in 2017(about 23 people).The city did not increase the number of people processing permits until2022,when it added three positions to the budget(about a 14 percent increase over 2017). Delays far permits subject to hearing examiner adjudication Some permits require a decision made not by planning department staff but by a hearing examiner.This professionally trained person,usually an attorney,is engaged to make objective decisions,supported by recorded evidence and free from political influences.All audited governments used hearing examiners;some also set specific timeframes for examiner reviews.However,examiners did not always complete their review within the set time. For example,of the eight Richland permits we reviewed,four were delayed waiting for the hearing examiner's decision. In early 2022,the city attempted to hire an additional hearing examiner,but did not receive any qualified applicants. Inefficient processes with poor communication Local governments need a good system of communication for permit workflow to ensure permits move smoothly through the process.Many permits are reviewed by several departments,such as roads,wastewater and fire.Each reviewer must notify the main planner when they have completed their review,otherwise the permit will not move to the next step.This notification may be built into the permit review software in the form of a check-box or`submit'button.During our review, we noticed a problem with this process at one government,impairing its ability to process permits on time.At Shoreline,we found that for six of the 16 permits we examined,employees in one department did not click the button after completing their review.These permits sat idle for more than 60 days and in one case more than four months.Shoreline's planning manager said that when these delays occurred,the city was in the process of transitioning the wastewater utility from an independent district into a city department.This change affected the city's role in the utility permitting process. Growth Management Act Audit Results 23