Shift in service culture required at city hall

Members of Vernon council have some questions about interactions between city employees and developers at city hall’s planning and development department.

The department has been under scrutiny by council for some communication issues with customers and now councillors are questioning how many potential developers were soured by the first interactions they have with city staff.

“Do we track those interactions and what went wrong, what went right and how could we do better?” Coun. Scott Anderson asked. “We need some version of the military’s after-action report. Professional developers from elsewhere have certainly commented that we do things differently.”

“First timers will not necessarily understand the process,” Mayor Victor Cumming said.

“Maybe we should have some form of follow up,” Coun. Akbal Mund said. “I have guided several people back into the process after they were shutdown at the building counter, and they were eventually approved. Perhaps we need some form of literature explaining the process.”

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“We are exceptionally busy and our focus has to be on working with applications that are in the system,” Chief Administrative Officer Will Pierce said.

As a result of retirements and staff accepting new positions, both current planning, engineering and development services are short staffed. Recruitment is underway, and staff may be temporarily reassigned from other departments in the interim to help with the work load.

“I certainly hope that the hiring can be expedited,” Coun. Brian Quiring said.

“There needs to be a culture shift in terms of service to our citizens. We work for them, they shouldn’t be treated as petitioners,” Anderson said.

“You can’t go wrong with data. It may allow us to make adjustments and have a broader understanding of the potential,” Coun. Kari Gares said. “Once more of this is done online, perhaps we can track things without increasing the workload.”

“It would be good to see why projects don’t go ahead,” Coun. Dalvir Nahal said.