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Commissioner Brown - Building & Development Services - To Establish an Internal Service Reimbursement to the General Fund from Building Inspections ($1,129,034) and Approve the Creation of One Full-time Administrative Assistant Position for the Planning and Zoning Department ($61,628 Fund Balance Appropriation)
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STAFF CONTACT
Jamie Kanburoglu, Director of Planning and Zoning
BUDGET IMPACT
budget
Internal Service Reimbursement
General Fund: Increase internal service reimbursement (revenue) by $1,129,034. Increase Building Inspections’ reimbursement to the General Fund (operating expenditure) by $1,129,034.
Position
General Fund: Increase fund balance appropriation by $61,628. Increase personnel expenditures by $61,628. This will increase the number of full-time adopted positions by one. Human Resources will establish the appropriate classification and salary range.
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BACKGROUND
Internal Service Reimbursement
This Board Action establishes an internal service reimbursement to the General Fund from Building Inspections in the current fiscal year, FY27. The amount is estimated using the FY25 Cost Allocation Plan (also called CAP, FY25 is the most recently available). This will reduce the administrative cost burden on the General Fund, similar to internal service reimbursements already budgeted in the Solid Waste Fund and Tourism Fund.
Position
Planning and Zoning has experienced increased workload due to development activity, plan review responsibilities, municipal service agreements, and new legislative requirements. In addition to serving unincorporated Gaston County, staff provide full Planning and Zoning services for Cherryville and High Shoals and additional services for Lowell and Belmont. Professional planning staff are also handling routine administrative duties including phone calls, application intake, scheduling, records, correspondence, and board preparation. These duties reduce the time available for plan review, zoning administration, long-range planning, major projects, and departmental management.
The proposed Administrative Assistant would provide front-end administrative support to Planning and Zoning and coordinate with the existing administrative support provided to Building Inspections. This would allow planners to focus on technical plan review, zoning administration, permitting, and other professional functions, while allowing the Planning and Zoning Director to devote additional time to departmental management, the UDO rewrite, Long-Range Plan, major development projects, and other strategic initiatives. The position is intended to improve telephone responsiveness and customer service, application intake and routing, reduce interruptions to technical plan review, and provide additional administrative coverage for the Building & Development Services front intake area.
POLICY IMPACT
N/A
ATTACHMENTS
Budget Change Request (BCR)