2019 City of Shakopee Budget

85

Budget Impact: Just think about all the items that inspectors look at every day to ensure the publics’ safety, whether it’s for a homeowner getting a water heater or a deck installed or a developer working for a major manufacturer. Inspectors are in the field whether it is a beautiful summer day or it’s twenty degrees and snowing. This past year, to address accessibility in even the worst conditions, inspectors were assigned retired all-wheel drive police vehicles to ensure that they can access construction sites. Building plans used to stock empty cubicles in the old city hall. Some plan sets weighed more than 50 pounds and were literally carted around to reviewers. Last year, the city eliminated all paper applications and plan submittals by switching to ePermits and ProjectDox. This allows anyone to apply for a permit twenty-four hour a day, seven days a week. Plans are routed by the Permit Coordinator to all city staff along with public utilities. This has reduced permit review time and allows applicants to see comments in real time and get updates on permits online. Drawings are electronically “marked up” with comments allowing for faster turnaround for changes. During 2019 the city will be exploring integrating our financial software, permitting software and permit tracking into one seamless system. This would allow for easier online payments along with online scheduling of inspections. The city has finalized testing in 2018 of infield approvals for inspectors, allowing them to spend more time in the field. In 2019, the goal is to allow inspectors additional time in the field through additional mobile inspections and inspection card reports to be printed out in their vehicles. The city’s ultimate goal is to have inspectors spend almost all of their time in the field, paperless, and to allow customers to schedule inspections on line and make real time changes. During 2019, we will continue to improve our systems to meet the demands of our customers.

EMPLOYEES

PERCENT OF GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES

6.1

Building Inspections 3.7%

5.1

5.1

5.1

Actual 2016 Actual 2017 Budget 2018 Budget 2019

Number of Employees (FTEs)