91ÊÓƵ

Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman recently was assigned by Mayor Sam Adams to head the Bureau of Development Services, previously led by Commissioner Randy Leonard. During the economic downturn, the bureau cut its staff by more than half because of significant decreases in permit revenues. The BDS also recently received approval to borrow $6.6 million for a technology upgrade; it will need to pay back that money in two years.

Saltzman sat down with the 91ÊÓƵ to talk about these challenges and his perspective on the BDS.

91ÊÓƵ: What are the skills, experience and perspective that you bring to this assignment?

Dan Saltzman: I think that the perspective I bring is as someone who’s managed just about every bureau in the city government. I think I’ve done so successfully, in terms of working well with the employees and management of those bureaus and maintaining high morale.

Certainly, the Bureau of Development Services has been through a lot in the last few years in terms of reducing its staff by a half, and morale is an issue that needs to be addressed.

This bureau is the closest thing to a private-sector operation that we have in city government, in that it really depends on customer revenues for permits and plan reviews and all those things to     support the agency. It’s about 85 percent dependent on customer fees. So, when revenues are down, that means that we have to, unfortunately, lay off people.

I think we’re starting to see a bottoming out of that picture, and maybe more people coming forward with commercial, residential and multifamily construction projects; that should help.

We’re also undertaking a very important technology change to bring our inspectors and permitting system into the 21st century. I’ve had a lot of experience in implementing new technologies – some bad, some good – so I’m watching that very closely. I’m making sure we have independent quality assurance consultants on board to review that, and we’ve got a citizen oversight panel.

The good news is, if we implement (the technology change) successfully, it will dramatically improve productivity and customer satisfaction. People will be able to better track where their projects are in the Bureau of Development Services review process.

91ÊÓƵ: The BDS was just approved to borrow $6.6 million for that computer system upgrade. How will the upgrade and its cost affect the bureau in the next few years?

Saltzman: We think when we get it up and running it will dramatically increase productivity. And it will allow, frankly, the bureau to operate with fewer employees as a result.

We’ve had to borrow money from the general fund in order to make this system happen. I had questions about that originally, when I was not in charge of the bureau, but since then I have become a supporter. Even if I wasn’t in charge of the bureau, I’m convinced that it’s being done with all the proper safeguards.

But we are under an obligation to repay the $6 million or so to the general fund in about two years. That’s pretty much contingent on the local business climate improving, and more business coming in the building – that will be what makes us ready to repay that loan.

91ÊÓƵ: What do you see as the outlook for the construction industry, and in what ways will that affect the Bureau of Development Services?

Saltzman: We track our revenues pretty closely, and there does seem to be an increase in revenues in the last two or three months. It’s not at a record high or anything like that, but it seems to maybe have bottomed out. And I seem to notice more construction activities going on. A lot of it is public-sector work – the streetcar and some of the other things – but I also see a lot of private construction being discussed.

I think residential remodeling is probably still not doing that well, but there’s a seasonality to that, so it’s definitely going to get busier in the next three or four months. Whether it gets back up to the levels where it once was, I think that’s still an open question.

I think there’s more interest and talk about multifamily and commercial properties, which are really large drivers of our revenues.

91ÊÓƵ: Recently, BDS stepped up enforcement on a backlog of code-violating billboards. Are there other projects that have been shelved during staff and budget cutbacks?

Saltzman: We are asking the council to approve funding of about five positions – those will be positions funded by the general fund, not by our permit or license fee revenues. Those positions include a sign inspector, a housing inspector, nuisance enforcement: because those are important quality-of-life angles that the bureau is in charge of that are very important to me as well as to our citizens.

We hope to get some general fund money to do that, but we’re also proposing to add 13 additional positions through our expected increase in permit fees as well, and again, address those quality-of-life aspects of the bureau.

91ÊÓƵ: What do you see as the other challenges facing the BDS right now?

Saltzman: I have a strong support for green building efforts, so I want to make sure that we are doing things that don’t hinder those efforts. Often they pose different ways of doing things, like using rainwater to flush toilets and stuff – sometimes, because it’s different, it can result in delays or even denials (in permitting).

I want to look at that and make sure that we’re doing everything we can to encourage innovation in that area, because that’s an area that’s not only important for us locally, but helps nurture local industries that design and build and engineer these green buildings. And they can take that extra piece and export it to other places as well.

It’s an important part of growing our economic sector, but it’s also just important. That’s something we need to look at, because I know in the past there’s been some issues.

91ÊÓƵ: Do you think that might take shape in a change of procedure or policy?

Saltzman: It could be both.

91ÊÓƵ: Any other comments?

Saltzman: It’s always a challenge taking on a new bureau, but I’m looking forward to it. I think challenges are what life is all about. I’ll certainly be much more ensconced and conversant in issues down the road.

I want to encourage your readers to know that you can count on the Bureau of Development Services to treat you well, treat you like a customer and process your work in a timely manner.