As he’s gone from door to door in his ward, candidate Geoff McCausland has heard a great deal, he said, about people’s dissatisfaction dealing with city hall.
He’s had his own bad customer service experiences at Tom Davies Square, too, the Ward 4 candidate said in a news release this week.
“The reality right now is that it’s easy to get lost in the ‘red tape’ at city hall,” McCausland said. “I’ve experienced first-hand the frustration of doing the ‘Stairmaster’ at city hall, going floor-to-floor to various departments, and then waiting in line at Building Services to find out I actually need to be at Engineering.”
Highlighting the importance of having good data and asking the right questions when it comes to planning policies and making decision, McCausland said other communities have ideas Greater Sudbury could use to improve the customer experience when it comes to dealing with Tom Davies Square: the One-Stop Shop.
“Our One-Stop Shop would be on the first floor of city hall, and act as a first point of contact for businesses, community groups and residents. One-Stop Shop staff (in Riverview, California, called a Director of First Impressions) would meet people, and listen to their plans to understand their project,” McCausland said. “They would explain which steps need to be taken, which departments are involved, provide any needed documentation, and give an estimate of time until the first department can see them.”
Staff would guide business, developers and citizens through the process, and gather data on how the city did to help keep the service improving.
“A lot of people like to say the old line, ‘If you build it, they will come’, but I think first the focus needs to be, ‘Make it easy and they will build,’ ” he said.
The full text of McCausland’s release appears below.
Economic growth has been a hot topic this election, and rightly so. The City of Greater Sudbury had the highest unemployment rate in Ontario in January (2018), and our population growth rate has dropped to one-fifth of the national average (StatsCan 2017). We need to attract jobs and people in order to support our sprawling infrastructure while maintaining our services. Without growth, as people retire our tax base will shrink and tax rates will have to go up. There’s no simple fix, but one thing we can do to improve our business ecosystem is to create a “One-Stop Shop” for development.
Going door-to-door in Ward 4 throughout my campaign for city council, I’ve heard a lot of people voice their dissatisfaction in dealing with city hall. Inconsistency of requirements and policy can make it scary and expensive to do business. This pushes some projects underground, to be completed off-the-books without permits and proper oversight, and other efforts that would improve our city are simply abandoned. Businesses that have wanted to set up in town, instead have gone to North Bay and even Sturgeon Falls.
Many candidates have said, “Sudbury needs to be open for business,” but not everyone has plans for making Greater Sudbury more business-friendly. The reality right now is that it’s easy to get lost in the “red tape” at city hall. I’ve experienced first-hand the frustration of doing the “Stairmaster” at city hall, going floor-to-floor to various departments, and then waiting in line at Building Services to find out I actually need to be at Engineering.
From 2009 to 2013 the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce worked with city council and staff on an effort called “Reducing Red Tape at City Hall.” The follow-up survey to its membership, however, drew inconclusive results as to whether businesses noticed improvements, and some of the recommendations have not been implemented. I think the biggest problem though, is not knowing whether a bad experience at city hall is the exception or the rule.
A city’s data tells many stories?—?of potholes filled, how long it takes to clear the streets after snowstorms and of new jobs created. A lack of data also tell a story. Do we know how long it takes to apply for a building permit, for a zoning variance, or even just have numbers on customer satisfaction?
If we want to attract business and create growth, we need to make doing business easier. We need to help people navigate our bureaucracy and keep better track of how we are doing. There is a solution that many cities have adopted that I would like to see us bring into our own city hall, and that’s a “One-Stop Shop” for development.
Our One-Stop Shop would be on the first floor of city hall, and act as a first point of contact for businesses, community groups and residents. One-Stop Shop (in Riverview, California, called a “Director of First Impressions”) would meet people, and listen to their plans to understand their project. They would explain which steps need to be taken, which departments are involved, provide any needed documentation, and give an estimate of time until the first department can see them.
Staff would effectively guide people through the various applications and processes until their project is completed. The time needed for each step of the process would be recorded, and these metrics would be used to determine performance, so that each department can ensure timely and consistent results.
The One-Stop Shop staff would be facilitators for businesses and residents at city hall, stay with an applicant until their case is closed, and in the end, actually ask the customer if they’re satisfied. They would encourage interdepartmental collaboration and create a greater accountability at city hall. By taking care of customers, they would allow the people in Building Services and Engineering to spend their time doing what they do best.
The One-Stop Shop in Riverview, California, used a HappyOrNot Kiosk to rate customer satisfaction and after the first year saw a 96 per cent happiness rating. Many cities, including Hamilton, and even my hometown of Saint John, New Brunswick, have introduced these development hubs, and the results have been increased efficiency, happier residents, happier businesses, and increased economic activity.
A lot of people like to say the old line, “If you build it, they will come”, but I think first the focus needs to be, “Make it easy and they will build.”
Learn more about McCausland and his candidacy by visiting his election page on Sudbury.com.
