Development and Permitting Process Improvement Study

Development. However, as the organization evolves the Mayor may wish to consider
other alternatives for this responsibility. Some communities place this responsibility
to a planning director, a community development director or another city official. It
should also be noted that departments also should have the responsibility to resolve
their differences without the Mayor’s office needing to get involved.
17. Recommendation: Develop a system whereby competing goals can be
resolved during the development review committee process. Below is an
outline for a system that should be followed:
Immediately following the Development Review Committee meeting
the project manager should notify the Aide to the Mayor for Economic
Development about any conflicting issues.
Within three days the Mayor’s Aide should schedule a meeting with
the directors of the effected departments.
The Mayor’s Aide for Economic Development should chair the meeting
of the directors.
The Mayor’s Aide shall be empowered to mediate the issue and
provide a final resolution or suggest the issue is of such magnitude that
the differences should be exposed to the Planning Commission or City
Council for resolution.
If these two recommendations can be fully implemented, applicants will receive
feedback more quickly on projects and competing goals and issues can be resolved.
F. STAFF ATTITUDE
A key issue that surfaced repeatedly in the focus groups and the customer surveys was
the issue of staff attitudes. Customers would like an attitude of “can we help you.”
Instead, they feel that many staff hide behind the regulations and take a negative
attitude. We believe that staff should not view themselves as regulators. Rather, they
should view themselves as problem solvers and community builders – building a
better Lincoln in partnership with the applicants. It should be noted that staff must
balance the needs of the applicant with those of the neighbors, and the broader
community as represented by the Comprehensive Plan. A positive attitude in relation
to all three is desired.
Some department managers indicate that they have trained their staff to have helpful
attitudes and we experienced this with a variety of staff. Building and Safety indicate
that they have an annual retreat concerning customer service. However, it takes only
one staff person with a poor attitude to create problems for the entire function. An
important concept in relation to customer service is called “Moments of Truth.” A
Lincoln 22 Zucker Systems