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oncluslans <br />F 7c; . <br />Mate Atirfitor's Conriti i I < <br />As a former county executive, I found this performance audit spoke directly to <br />the complexities and challenges of processing development permits within the <br />timelines established by the Growth Management Act. Local governments work <br />hard to ensure each permit accounts for the important goals of the Act, including <br />protecting sensitive lands and ensuring new buildings are safe. At the same time, <br />timeliness and predictability in permitting are critical to ensuring Washington can <br />keep pace with its rapid economic and population growth. <br />As this report explains, audited local governments often met the statutory <br />requirement to process permits within 120 days. However, actual processing <br />times varied widely due to many factors. These can include the complexity of the <br />development, waiting for applicants to submit corrected or missing information, <br />and too few permitting staff. <br />Of the report's recommendations to improve permitting timeliness, I would <br />emphasize continuous improvement. By focusing on issues solidly within its <br />control, such as mapping existing processes, accurately recording work time and <br />analyzing performance, a government of any size can become more efficient. <br />I like to call this type of improvement "straightening the pipes" The State Auditor's <br />Office offers robust support to such efforts through our Center for Government <br />Innovation. To date, we have helped 30 cities and eight counties improve their <br />permitting through detailed process improvement programs. I encourage local <br />governments to consider the lessons contained in this report and take advantage of <br />the free continuous improvement webinar we will arrange in 2024. <br />Growth Management Act State Auditor's Conclusions 135 <br />