Budget Committee
BUILDING INSPECTION COMMISSION (BIC)
BUDGET & ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday, January 25, 2000 - 9:30 a.m.
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 408
Approved February 16, 2000
MINUTES
The meeting of the Building Inspection Commission - Budget & Organization Committee was called to order at 09:50 a.m. by Vice-President Armando Vasquez.
1. ROLL CALL - Roll call was taken and a quorum was certified.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Armando Vasquez, Vice-President
Roy Guinnane, Commissioner
Esther Marks, Commissioner
D.B.I. REPRESENTATIVES:
Frank Chiu, Director
William Wong, Deputy Director for Administration
Amy Lee, Manager for Administration & Finance Services Division
Ann Aherne, Executive Secretary
2. Public Comment:
There was no public comment.
3. Report, discussion and possible action on the proposed budget of the Department of Building Inspection for Fiscal Year 2000-2001.
Ms. Amy Lee, Manager for Administration & Finance Division, gave an overview of her written report dated January 24, 2000 which will be attached as part of these Minutes. Ms. Lee said that the report goes hand in hand with her previous report dated January 10, 2000. The fiscal year 2000 begins July 1, 2000 and ends June 30, 2001. As outlined in her January 10th budget report, the Department’s strategic issues are as follows:
· to implement online and fax permitting so that the customers can apply and obtain certain permits online or by fax.
· to implement online complaint tracking so that citizens can submit complaints via the Internet.
· to start construction of the extension of the building at 1660 Mission Street in late summer or early fall. The capital expenditures will be approximately $1.2 M for various workstations, etc. that were not included in previous capital funds.
· to reduce holdovers and insufficient or inadequate submissions of plans by educating customers and doing outreach programs to industry professionals.
· to implement the second phase of Community Action for Seismic Safety. Last year, the Department tried to obtain funding of approximately $350,000.00 and it was reduced by the Board of Supervisor to $275,000.00. The purpose of this program is to draft a legislation to be passed in the following year for stronger safety codes. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently adopted a rule which states that eligible costs for FEMA reimbursement for post-earthquake repairs are limited to the standardsthat are in writing and formally adopted by the state or local government. The Technical Services Division is trying to do outreach to the public, to get their input, and do a study about the seismic legislation and seismic needs of the City so that if damage occurred, the City would be fully reimbursed by FEMA.
Ms. Lee said that the Mayor’s Office has stated that the Department should only submit expenditures within the Department’s revenue streams. DBI is a special revenue department which generates its own revenue from fees. The Department does not receive any monies from the general fund. For the past few years, the Department has had more than $1 to $2 M of surplus in revenues. It is a good strategy for the Department to be conservative in its projected revenues so that the Department will not be in a position where it is unable to maintain the expenditures forwarded. Since the Department relies mainly on fees and does not receive funds from the General Fund, the Department has to make sure that it has a safety net with its own fund.
Commissioner Marks asked if the Department is able to carry funds over when there is a surplus. Ms. Lee said yes. The Department has a surplus account and the capital funds will come from this account. The Director is looking forward to reducing some of the fees in future years, so those moneys may be used. To do this, the Department needs to have the appropriation authority for the surplus usage. In reply to Commissioner Marks’s question, Ms. Lee said that the surplus fund is not used as part of the operating funds. The surplus fund has about $7 M at present. Most jurisdictions like to keep at least one operating year of funds in their surplus fund and DBI does not have that amount yet.
Director Chiu said that this is the appropriate time for the Commissioners to give the Department some direction and input regarding changes in the Department’s goals. For example, Commissioner Marks wants to change the MBO goals of the Housing Inspection Services. Every division in the Department will set new goals. The proposed budget is based on some of those goals. Managers have to give justifications on their budget requests to ensure that their proposals are reasonable. Director Chiu encouraged the Commissioners to ask questions and direct staff about their MBO goals so that the Department can adjust the staffing accordingly.
Commissioner Marks asked if it is too time consuming at this point to go over each program. Commissioner Marks said she wanted to understand how one division can be staffed with only four employees and another division may have fourteen. However, Commission Marks said she felt there was not much time to do an evaluation of each program at this meeting. Ms. Lee explained briefly how the managers arrive at their budget requests. Ms Lee said she met with the managers in August and September 1999 to discuss what had been approved and received in the budget that was passed in July 1999 for fiscal year 1999-2000, and to prepare them for the next year’s budget. The managers used their performance measures for 1999-2000, their MBO goals, and the amount of activity monitored by the Permit Tracking System, the current level of staffing and the new hires that will come on board. After numerous meetings and with all these factors in mind: the current existing staff, the workload, the performance measures, and the strategic issues for the future fiscal year 2000-2001, the managers put forth their expenditure requests. Ms. Lee met with the managers again to discuss their requests and this budget proposal is the accumulation of what the managers feel they need to accomplish their current existing workload, their performance measures and strategic issues.
Commissioner Marks asked how quickly does hiring happen. Ms. Lee said the process does not happen quickly. Director Chiu said that although the hiring of new staff has been approved in the budget, the Department still needs approval from the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Human Resources (DHR) before the actual hiring can be done. The process is very time consuming. In addition, there are Civil ServiceRules that have to be followed. As a result, the Department still has 20% of vacant positions that have been approved in last year’s budget. Vice-President Vasquez said that one of the issues is the staffing not being processed properly. It takes months before new staff is on board. Ms. Lee concurred. For example, in last years’ budget, the Department had one or two additional personnel approved. Normally, when the budget was approved in July, the actual hiring would be accomplished in September or October. Because the inspector’s classification requires an examination, often DHR does not conduct the exam quickly enough, and it may take a year to get inspectors hired. Last year, DBI conducted its own examinations for four different classifications. Once an exam is concluded, a listing has to be posted for a certain period of time. DHR requires that at least 14 people from the list are interviewed and given an additional exam. Once the Department selects its candidate(s), DHR, the Controller’s Office and the Mayor’s Office have to approve them before the actual hiring can be done. The whole process takes a long time and causes a delay in the actual hiring.
Director Chiu said that last year was the first time that the Department was able to get $400,000.00 to hire temporary, as-needed staff. Despite the difficulty to obtain temporary staff due to the technical expertise required, the Department was successful in hiring many temporary staff, such as the retirees, to fill some of the vacancies. This year, the Department will hire temporary staff to eliminate backlogs. Ms. Lee said that with the economy being so strong, it is hard to entice people from or to compete with the private sector. Director Chiu said last week Ms. Lesley Stansfield, Chief Housing Inspector, reported that Housing Inspection Services (HIS) has five vacancies. These are vacancies that happened due to promotion, retirement or resignation. Ms. Lee then proceeded with her overview on the budget by division.
Commissioner Marks referred to page 2 of the January 10th Report, Expenditure Description Summary, and said that there are certain items such as Reproduction Services, Engineering and General Administration, that are way off from FY 98-99 Actual Expenditure. Commissioner Marks asked if there is an explanation as to the discrepancy between the two columns. Ms. Amy Lee said that the amount was set based on the need for the year. Ms. Lee explained that "Other Current Expenses" is for subscription services, code books, etc. and any other miscellaneous items including lease fees for copy machines.
Vice-President Vasquez said that the Department and the Commission are in the process of finalizing the budget and he encouraged the public to come forward with their input and comments.
Director Chiu said that for the last couple of years, the Department has set goals for the entire Department as outlined on the Performance Measures on page 2 of Ms. Lee’s Report dated January 24, 2000. Initially, the goal was to respond to complaints within three days. Except for the Housing Inspection Services, complaints from tenants and other housing related complaints should be responded to within 48 hours. DBI records show that so far the Housing Inspection Services has been responding to 100% of the complaints within 48 hours. The goals outlined in the Performance Measures Report are set for complaints received by other divisions, such as the Electrical Inspection Division (EID), Plumbing Inspection Division (PID), and Building Inspection Division (BID). These complaints have a lower priority than the Housing Inspection, hence the goal to respond was set for three days. In this current fiscal year, the goal was set at 95% and they are close to achieving this goal. Aside from responding to complaints, these three divisions are responsible for conducting about 125, 000 inspections per year. Their goal is to conduct 100% of these inspections within 24 hours. To date, these divisions have not been able to achieve this. Director Chiu referred to the DBI Quarterly Report, page 39, Building Inspection Division. As an example, the goal was set at 100% for response within 48 hours. The Building Inspection Division is at approximately 93% - 97% of this goal. It is obvious that BID needs helpor needs to be more efficient in achieving its goal. Besides tracking the performance of the division, the Department also tracks the individual performance of the inspectors as well. The Department set 11 inspections per inspector per day as their individual goal. The inspectors have been conducting more inspections than what the Department feels is a reasonable goal. As a result, the Department recommends in its budget request an increase in staff by 1.5.
Commissioner Marks asked about a quality check of the inspections done. Director Chiu stated that the Department relies on the supervision of the Senior Building Inspectors and the Chief Building Inspector who doing spot checking in the field.
Director Chiu continued his presentation with the Plan Check Division. The Department is looking at how many projects can be issued over-the-counter. The goal for last year for commercial projects to be issued over-the-counter was set at 60%. Only 42% was achieved. The goal set may be too high. Even after doing many outreach meetings, creating brochures and providing check lists to the public, many plans are submitted incorrectly. The Department will continue conducting weekend seminars, in particular on the Disability Access Regulations, doing more outreach, and creating more brochures and check lists. Director Chiu said that last year, he and Deputy Director Wong went to Sacramento and met with the Board of Examiner for Architecture. Director Chiu said that he was informed that an Architect License is for life. Once they are licensed, an architect is not required to do further training or re-certification. As a result, the Plan Checkers spend a lot of time to ensure that the plans submitted are acceptable and in compliance with the code. 50% of the plans submitted have to be rejected up front. These are some of the frustrations that the plan checkers are facing at the counter. The Department is trying to continue educating public on the current code. Director Chiu said that he talked to other building officials in the Bay Area to lobby someone to change the law to require architects and engineers to continue their education by having them take re-certification examinations. The code changes every two to three years, the plan checkers and inspectors are required to have yearly training and the Department has a mandatory re-certification program.
Commissioner Guinnane asked if the Department found a pattern in those people submitting incorrect plans. Commissioner Guinnane wanted to know if it is the same few people or is this a widespread problem. Director Chiu said that it is widespread. There are people from out of town that are not familiar with the codes or those who do not read the codes; particularly in commercial projects. Residential projects are easier since they do not trigger the Disability Access Code or the Mechanical Code. Therefore, the 85% goal set for residential projects is met. As for the Major Projects, Director Chiu continued, a separate goal of 90% within 21 days was set. The Department was unable to meet this goal for the same reasons as with the commercial projects. Director Chiu said he felt that staff is unable to meet these goals not because the Department is short of staff, but mostly because of the quality of the products that is being received. Director Chiu said that he does not want to lower the goals that have been set and he wants to find a way to achieve these goals.
Commissioner Marks asked what is the difference between Special Projects Division and Major Projects. Director Chiu explained that Special Projects Division is mainly responsible for high profile projects such as the Treasure Island and the Mission Bay Projects. These projects have a certain time frame and separate regulations that need to be maintained. Director Chiu said that currently, Special Projects Division is a subdivision of the Director’s Office as he wants to stay on top of these projects. Special Projects Division is also responsible for the annex to be built in conjunction with 1660 Mission Street. Ms. Lee added that this division was created about two years ago. At that time, the Department foresaw several large, high profile projects coming up. One example is the recently completed Giants Ball Park Stadium that had a set date lineand was a major undertaking. This type of project requires a certain level of expertise and could only be assigned to senior and more experienced staff. Special Projects Division was created by skimming off senior staff from various divisions such as BID, PID, EID, Commercial Plan Check, etc. to take care of these various special projects. The positions that were vacated were then back-filled from temporary salaries. Director Chiu referred to the DBI Quarterly Report and said that the last page highlights the various large projects that are being handled by Special Projects Division, such as, Treasure Island, Pac-Bell Ball Park, the Moscone Expansion and Muni. Ms. Lee said that these projects are temporary in nature, however, they take at least a couple of years. For example, the Giants Ball Park which is almost completed, and the Mission Bay Project which will take about 10-20 years, the PUC is also putting up a bond for major work in the amount of one billion dollars. Initially, Major Projects/UMB handled these large projects, but became overwhelmed, thus Special Projects was created.
Commissioner Walker said that she has some concerns about Special Projects Division and One-Stop Permit Division each being a separate division. Commission Walker said her concern was one of responsibility and accountability when someone, either the project sponsor or the public, tries to get information from the system. Commissioner Walker stated she does not understand why either of those projects is being separated as it seems redundant. Commissioner Walker said that maybe One-Stop should be a part of the Plan Check Division or the Customer Service function so that it is accountable somewhere. Then the Department could focus on expediting all projects that are submitted rather than going through the One-Stop. Commissioner Walker said that maybe she does not understand what types of projects go through One-Stop. It might be helpful to have a presentation about One-Stop at some future Commission meeting as to what kinds of projects go through One-Stop and what kinds do not. Commissioner Walker said that if the Department keeps on shifting staff around from the Major Projects/UMB to the Special Projects, which happens continuously depending upon the amount of workload, why it is not incorporated into one division.
Director Chiu said that One-Stop Permit Coordination Program is a pilot program. The Department’s goal is to be able to coordinate all projects. Each permit application, whether it goes to the Fire Department, the Planning Department or Department of Public Works, will be assigned to a Coordinator. At this time, there are only four coordinators, and they are not able to handle all of the 55,000 permits. Commissioner Walker asked if it would be more effective to train all staff to function as coordinators. Director Chiu said that this is a topic for continuous discussion with the Commission; whether the Department will provide the coordination program or just focus on plan checking. Director Chiu said his goal is to have coordinators assisting the plan checkers. At this time, this program is optional. Customers who have projects with three or more reviewing stations may opt to go through One-Stop or the regular process.
Vice-President Vasquez said that this item may be put on the agenda of the BIC Regular Meeting. This program took some time to put into place. It will be helpful to know what kinds of projects go to One-Stop or Special Projects as each project needs different levels of handling.
Director Chiu said that last year the biggest complaint from the public was that there was no central source for quality check of plans that have been approved by different Departments. Presently, One-Stop is responsible for the quality control check. Director Chiu added that he would be happy to arrange for a presentation on the One-Stop Coordination Program and Special Projects. Vice-President Vasquez said that it would be helpful to know how these divisions are working with other departments.
Ms. Lee continued her presentation on the budget items. Ms. Lee said that most of the expenses are going tobe the needed for permanent salaries and equipment. Training and travels are mostly mandated and self explanatory. Commissioner Marks referred to the Entertainment item and asked how the Department decides who attends the annual conference. Ms. Lee said that the ICBO 2000 Annual Conference will be held in San Francisco this year and DBI is hosting the conference. The $30,000.00 is the cost associated with hosting the conference, for example, brochures, pamphlets, DBI emblems, pens, etc. that will be distributed. Director Chiu said that this annual conference will be a major event held in San Francisco in September 2000. Building officials from all over the world will be attending this conference to review and approve code changes. Last year, it was held in St. Louis. Usually, individuals who are involved in the code development will attend this conference. Mr. Lawrence Kornfield, Manager of the Technical Services Division, and his staff attended last year’s conference. This code training is very important for staff development. Usually the Department assigns the Chief Inspectors, the Senior Inspectors and staff who are involved in the code development process to attend the training. They will then be able to pass on their knowledge to others. Director Chiu said he anticipates that 15,000 to 20,000 building officials will attend this conference. The last time San Francisco hosted the conference was in 1957.
Ms. Lee continued her presentation on the division requests. The Administration and Finance Division (AFD) requests an additional clerk typist to serve as an assistant to the Manager of AFD. Commissioner Marks asked for the current staffing of AFD. Ms. Lee said currently AFD has two staff handling Accounts Receivable and Payable; a Senior Accountant who assists the Central Permit Bureau with most of the financial functions of that division; a clerk who works on over time issues, City Attorney’s billing, and getting information from other divisions for new hires; and a cashier. Presently, Ms. Lee as the manager does her own filing, copying and other clerical duties. Ms. Lee is requesting an additional clerk to assist her so that she can provide better service to the other managers. Commissioner Guinnane asked how many cashiers the Department has. Ms. Lee said that there are two cashiers. One cashier is assigned at the Central Permit Bureau, the other cashier is with AFD and serves as a back up as well as doing a lot of revenue reports.
Ms. Lee reported that the Building Inspection Division (BID) currently has 17 inspectors, two senior inspectors, a chief inspector and five clerical staff. A new 24 hour emergency hotline is being installed and BID is one of the divisions that is called for emergency services such as mud slides, earthquakes, etc. Commissioner Guinnane asked when this service began. Director Chiu said that this will be a new service. A live person will be answering the phone 24 hours a day, and will then dispatch any call according to a list that is provided by the Department. BID is requesting an additional permanent clerk, a temporary (as-needed) clerk, and a temporary Building Inspector. These temporary positions will only be filled when needed. Commissioner Guinnane said that currently BID has already hired two temporary Building Inspectors. Ms. Lee said that Commissioner Guinnane was correct and that BID is only requesting one temporary building inspector and a clerk for next year.
Commissioner Walker asked if the Department could provide a report listing the revenues versus the expenditures by division. Vice-President Vasquez said some divisions do not generate revenues, such as the Central Permit Bureau, the Code Enforcement Division, the Administration and Finance Division, etc. Director Chiu added that the Building Inspection Division generates 60% of the Department’s revenues, however, their expenditures are much lower than their revenue.
Ms. Lee added that BID is requesting funds for membership dues, digital cameras and a VHS video camera to provide better instant information. Commissioner Guinnane asked how much the Department spent for mobile phones provided for the staff in the field. Ms. Lee said that the phones were purchased through DTIS. As requested by Commissioner Guinnane, Ms. Lee said that she did research on radios. Radios would be extremely expensive. The cost per minute is 25 cents, whereas cellular phone costs are only 10 cents per minute. Also, the radios will not work with the system in the City. Director Chiu added that the Department has purchased new cellular phones that are equipped with voice mail and pagers. Ms. Lee said that BID is also requesting two trucks and five cars to replace the old cars. Currently, the Department has more than 20 cars that are still 1985-1988 K-Reliant models that have an average 75,000 - 80,000 City miles and are expensive to maintain. Commissioner Guinnane asked how Ms. Lee gets the prices of the cars and trucks. Ms. Lee said that receives the prices from Central Shops who does the bidding and purchasing for City vehicles. These two trucks will be used for the two districts in the downtown area. Last year, the Department of Parking and Traffic announced a new parking enforcement policy for the downtown commercial district that no City cars are allowed to park at loading zones except commercial plated trucks.
Commissioner Marks said that the narrative in the Budget Report is sufficient. However, it would be helpful to know the current staffing and any problems within each division. Vice-President Vasquez said that the Commission needs to focus on justification for additional funding and new programs.
Ms. Amy Lee said that Central Permit Bureau (CPB) is requesting additional clerks to respond to increased application filings and permit issuances. Deputy Director Hutchinson said that currently CPB has fourteen 1426 - Senior Clerk Typists, two 1408- Principal Clerks supervising the clerks, a cashier and a 1410 - Chief Clerk as the manager. Ms. Lee said that there are two temporary clerks that CPB wants to hire as permanent; and an additional 1408 Principal Clerk as a supervisor. Commissioner Marks inquired whether the qualification of the personnel in CPB is considered primarily clerical rather than those who have knowledge of the code. Director Chiu said that these clerks need to have knowledge of permit processing. The Union has already filed a grievance and demanded that these clerks be reclassified into a different classification. This is a separate issue that the Department needs to address in the future. Vice-President Vasquez said that CPB is a division that is more visible because they are receiving, distributing and issuing the permits. It is important to staff this division so that people are not standing in line for a long period of time to pick up their permits. There is a priority from a customer service point of view for this division to function properly. Commissioner Marks said that she is not clear why CPB is not part of the One-Stop Division or Customer Services Division. Commissioner Marks asked why they are not centralized. Ms. Lee suggested that the new Commissioners visit DBI. Director Chiu concurred. Director Chiu invited the new Commissioners to visit 1660 Mission Street to gain a better sense and understanding of how the Department works. Some of the issues the Commission has before them, i.e., One-Stop Coordination Program and Special Projects Division, are the result of the directions given by the previous Commissioners. Director Chiu cited San Diego, as an example. San Diego has 30 staff whose primary function is coordinating. Director Chiu stated that other cities look at San Francisco as a model. The One-Stop Permit Coordination Program is coordinating with multi departments. In the past, staff might say that they did not work for the Planning Department, Fire Department or DPW. Therefore, the customer had to deal with the individual departments directly. One-Stop has the resources to help customers coordinate their applications.
Ms. Lee continued her overview and said that the Code Enforcement/Disabled Access/Health & Safety Division currently has four clerks and one temporary clerk working for all three sections. The Manager needs a principal clerk to supervise the clerks and assign clerical duties. This division is also requesting housing inspectors to assist in the enforcement of the Housing Code especially as it relates to single room occupancy (SRO) hotels; and a temporary clerk to abate cases and refer cases from Code Enforcement Division to the City Attorney’s Office. Deputy Director Wong added that currently two clerks are assigned to the Disabled AccessDivision, two clerks are assigned to the Code Enforcement Division and one clerk is assigned to the Health & Safety Division. Although they are assigned to their specific divisions, their duties overlap. Ms. Lee said that this division is also requesting funds for membership, professional services for preparing Title Reports which are required for Director’s Hearings, digital cameras for the staff inspectors in the field, and a car to replace an old Plymouth currently driven by DAD’s Senior Inspector.
Ms. Lee reported that the Commercial Plan Check Division is requesting two additional building inspectors. There are two building inspectors on loan from BID and a retiree working two days per week to help with plan check duties. The Customer Services Division is seeking temporary clerks to increase the customer assistance service level. Currently there is only one person manning the Customer Services Counter who answers general questions, directs customers to appropriate windows and also answers phone calls. A Pathfinder Unit will be created as a pilot program to increase the customer service level. There will be four temporary clerks for this pilot program. Ms. Lee explained the points used in identifying the positions requested. A 0.5 is used for a temporary position which can only be hired for six months; a 0.75 is used for a permanent position as the hiring will begin on October 1st.
Vice-President Vasquez said that people rely on pre-application meetings to address concerns that the Department has and to make sure the plans they submit are in compliance. It is therefore very important to keep accurate records of these meetings.
Ms. Lee said that the Electrical Inspection Division is seeking two new electrical inspectors. There has been a 33% increase for off-hour inspections. The revenue generated from this service has increased from $189,023.00 to $224,844.00. Commissioner Guinnane asked how many inspectors are assigned to do the off-hour inspections. Ms. Lee said the off-hour inspections are not assigned to specific inspectors, it is done mostly on a voluntary basis. The inspectors are paid for the over-time.
Deputy Director Wong reported to the Commission that there is a senior building inspector, two building inspectors and one clerical staff for the Code Enforcement Division; there is a senior building inspector, two building inspectors and two clerical staff for the Disabled Access Division; and there is a senior housing inspector, a housing inspector, a building inspector and a clerk for the Health & Safety Division. A principal clerk is requested to supervise and assign work to these clerks. Director Chiu said that the Code Enforcement Division does not investigate housing code enforcement, it mainly does building code enforcement. Commissioner Marks asked if the Code Enforcement Division (CED) investigates complaints of the Building, Plumbing and Electrical Codes. It seems that there is a lot of workload for this division. Director Chiu said yes. However, the Housing Inspection Services carries the biggest workload for code enforcement. It is about 20% - 80% ratio. Previously, CED was responsible for all code enforcement, including housing, building, plumbing and electrical. However, the Department felt that it is more efficient for Housing Inspection Services to be responsible for the enforcement of the housing codes.
Deputy Director Hutchinson said that there are three engineers and four building inspectors who are supervised by an Acting Senior Building Inspector in the Commercial Plan Check Division. Ms. Lee said that the Housing Inspection Services (HIS) has two primary needs: to maintain outreach with tenant groups and property owners to promote abatement of housing code violations, and to provide computer training to inspection staff. Director Chiu said that currently, HIS has twenty-one housing inspectors, three senior housing inspectors and a chief housing inspector. No additional staff is requested. Vice-President Vasquez asked if HIS is waiting to backfill their vacant positions. Director Chiu said there are vacancies as a result of staff movements, i.e., promotions,transfers to other divisions, etc. DHR has just conducted a civil service examination for housing inspectors and the Department is waiting for the list to be adopted to start the interview process. Commissioner Marks added that she is aware that there is a backlog in HIS. Deputy Director Hutchinson said that the list was just released and there is a 30-day waiting period to see if there is any protest. The Department is also conducting an in-house examination for senior housing inspectors. Director Chiu said that some of the backlog in HIS is related to buildings with illegal unit(s). In the past, the Commission direction was that unless there are major serious violations, they are given lower priority. There is no backlog for responding to complaints.
Ms. Lee said that the Major Projects/UMB Plan Check is seeking a 5214 Building Plans Engineer to work with DPW which requires DBI to review all subdivision mappings. Commissioner Marks asked what the current staffing is. In reply to Commissioner Marks inquiry, Director Chiu said that currently Major Projects/UMB Plan Check Division has twelve plan checkers, and two clerical staff. Ms. Lee continued her overview report and emphasized her earlier comment that certain divisions, i.e., Administration & Financial Division, Management Information Services (MIS), etc. have costs associated with new programs, but they are also for other divisions. The MIS program is for the whole Departments, there are significant dollars associated with the MIS request. MIS currently has one temporary clerk that they would like to make permanent because of the ongoing need for working with contractors and organizing user documentation. Ms. Lee went over the various systems within MIS and new systems that are being worked on as listed in the budget request. Deputy Director Wong said that currently MIS has six technical support staff and a temporary clerk.
Ms. Lee continued her report and said that the Mechanical Plan Check Division comprises of three mechanical engineers and an assistant mechanical engineer. Currently they have a backlog of 60 - 100 plans a month. The manager is ill and on an extended leave. One of the mechanical engineers has assumed his duties. Therefore, a temporary mechanical engineer is requested. Commissioner Guinnane asked how long Mr. Albert Lam, Manager of the Mechanical Plan Check Division, has been out and when he is coming back. Deputy Director Hutchinson said that Mr. Lam came to the office recently. He has had surgery and is recovering well. He is planning to be back in March. The Mechanical Plan Check Division is requesting pagers for their staff for easier communication.
Ms. Lee said the One-Stop Permit Coordination Program is requesting two temporary clerks. Commissioner Walker referred to the budget request and asked about the need for a car for One-Stop and if she could get more information with regards to the professional services provided. Ms. Lee said that One-Stop does a lot of community outreach and staff goes to sites to meet with other Departments. Currently, the manager has to use her own personal car to go places. Although a car will be assigned to the manager, it will also be used/shared by other divisions. Last year, One-Stop created a very useful brochure called "How to Get a Permit." The Mayor has asked the Department to translate and print this brochure in Chinese, Korean and Spanish and to be distributed City-wide maybe through the Independent or another newspaper organization to make sure all residents get this brochure. The current staff is comprised of a manager, four permit coordinators and four clerks.
The Plumbing Inspection Division (PID) is requesting an additional clerk, a senior plumbing inspector and temporary plumbing inspectors. They are planning to implement the boiler ordinances which require the Department to maintain a database of all low-pressure boiler locations, to send out notifications and to conduct annual inspections. In addition, there has been a 12% increase of workload. Currently, PID has one chief plumbing inspector, eleven plumbing inspectors, two senior plumbing inspectors and two clerks. PID is also seeking to replace three high mileage vehicles.
The Personnel/Payroll Division is requesting a permanent payroll clerk and a temporary clerk to meet the increased workload in personnel/payroll. Currently, the Personnel/Payroll Division has a Department Personnel Officer as the Manager, a Senior Personnel Analyst, an assistant to the Senior Personnel Analyst, a Senior Payroll Clerk, a Personnel Technician and a clerk. They are handling all personnel issues, payroll and training requirements for the entire Department.
The Records Management Division (RMD) has a Chief Clerk as the Manager, two microfilm technicians and six clerks. RMD is requesting to upgrade a current clerk to a principal clerk who will assist the manager in the day to day supervision of the division. The RMD workload has increased substantially with the increase of real estate sales. They are requesting to replace the aging Minolta MP509 printer currently in use to print 18"x 24" prints.
The Residential Plan Check Division (RPC) has four inspectors and four engineers. Two plan checkers are needed to work at the counter at all times. RPC is seeking an additional building inspector to reduce the turn around time, to respond to service demand and assist in the outreach program. Commissioner Marks asked if there is any clerical support for the Residential Plan Check Division. Deputy Director Hutchinson said that there are five clerical support employees on the second floor who handle all the clerical duties for the Plan Check Divisions.
The Special Projects Division is mostly funded by reassigning staff from other divisions. SPD is seeking a permanent clerk and a temporary 1371 special assistant to coordinate the annex project at 1660 Mission Street. Deputy Director Hutchinson said that the Department used some of the temporary salaries on an
"as needed" basis to assemble a group from within various divisions. Since SPD needs more senior staff, their vacant positions were then backfilled with these temporary salaries to hire new, "as needed" staff.
The Technical Services Division is seeking an additional building inspector to assist current staff in providing code information to the public. TSD is responsible for providing technical support related to codes and other technical matters to other divisions within the Department. The code changed significantly in July 1998, and as a result there has been an increase in code questions from the public, as well as from design professionals. TSD plays a major role in the Department outreach to industry professionals with brown bag lunches and information on how to improve the quality of plan submittals. Deputy Director Wong said currently TSD has a Chief Building Inspector as the Manager, two code analysts, two engineers, a building inspector and two clerks. Ms. Lee concluded her report on expenditure by division and said she will prepare a report by division, actual versus revenue, in the next couple of days.
Vice-President Vasquez requested that the Department provide an updated Organizational Chart. Ms. Lee said that the Department needs to have only one more public meeting for the budget request. Ms Lee suggested having a public hearing either on February 2nd or February 9th during the BIC full meeting. Vice-President Vasquez said that the Department needs to forward these budget requests to the other Commissioners. Ms. Lee said the report has been mailed to the other Commissioners. Vice-President Vasquez said that there should be an additional meeting as other Commissioners may have questions or concerns regarding the budget requests. Director Chiu said that the Commission may need another meeting after the February 2nd BIC Regular Meeting. Ms. Lee said that she would address all the questions raised during this meeting and send the report to the Commissioners as soon as possible before the February 2nd meeting. During the February 2nd meeting, the Budget Subcommittee will give a presentation to the full board and get their permission for the Subcommittee to approve the budget.
Vice-President Vasquez inquired as to the format of the budget. Ms. Lee said that after the budget is approved by the BIC, she has to change the format according to the format set by the Mayor’s Office / Controller’s Office. Ms. Lee needs to do a separate narrative for the Department explaining the Department’s strategic issues and performance measures. Ms Lee then explained the process involved in preparing the final budget request as requested by the Mayor’s Office / Controller’s Office. Ms. Lee said that she needs at least one week to prepare this final format. The budget is due on February 18th.
Acting Commission Secretary, Ann Aherne said that Commissioner Walker said that she would be out of town from February 8th and she would like to attend this meeting. Director Chiu suggested to have the meeting on Monday, February 7th late afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Vice-President Vasquez said otherwise the formal approval may be done on February 16th. Ms. Lee said that the sub-committee should start looking at any changes for the next meeting. Vice-President Vasquez suggested that the Department provide as much information as possible to allow the Commission to get a full understanding of the Department. Ms. Lee suggested to have a walk-through of the Department for the new Commissioners. Director Chiu asked if Commissioner Marks is available for the walk through of the Department which will take about 45 minutes. Commissioner Marks suggested Director Chiu to contact her with two possible dates for the walk through.
4. Discussion and possible action to set a meeting and identify items that could be placed on the agenda of future meetings of the Committee.
Vice-President Vasquez said that the next sub-committee meeting will be Monday, February 7th, at 3:30 p.m.
Acting Commissioner Secretary asked for the approximate length of this meeting for meeting room reservation purposes. Director Chiu said it will be for at least a couple of hours.
There was no public comment.
5. Adjournment.
There being no other business, and on a motion made by Commissioner Marks, seconded by Vice-President Vasquez, the meeting adjourned at 12:15 P.M.
The motion passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-003-00]
_________________________________
Ann Marie Aherne
Interim Commission Secretary
SUMMARY OF REQUESTS BY COMMISSIONERS | |
Presentation of the One-Stop Permit Coordination Program and the Special Projects Division including types of projects going through One-Stop and SPD. - Commissioner Walker |
pg. 6 |
A report listing the revenues versus the expenditures by division -Commissioner Walker |
pg. 7 |
An up-dated organizational chart of DBI - Vice-President Vasquez |
pg. 11 |
Prepared by: Tuti Suardana