City’s permit department seeks massive budget, staffing boost

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This article was published 22/06/2023 (847 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A City of Winnipeg department wants 77 more full-time staff positions and a multimillion-dollar funding hike.

The planning, property and development department argues those steps are needed to meet increasingly strict permit time frames imposed by the provincial government.

City council is being asked to consider the extra positions in next year’s budget, which would include 34 posts that are now filled on a temporary basis.

Coun. Sherri Rollins, chairwoman of the property and development committee, said she supports the investment, since the department plays a key role in approving new developments.

“I do support the (funding) proposal… This (department) is a very important engine of the economy,” said Rollins.

The staffing hike would cost $6.5 million more next year. The report requests an additional $1 million be devoted to the permit reserve fund in 2024 and that the city commit to further increase that reserve in future. The combined changes would cost the city $7.8 million in 2025, $9.2 million in 2026 and $10.5 million in 2027, according to a financial impact statement.

A Winnipeg public service report says the investments are needed because a series of provincial bills requires the city to meet quicker timelines and standards for permits, reviews and inspections.

For example, the city will be expected to complete the intake process for each residential and commercial permit application within five business days from now until Oct. 1, 2024. On that date, the required timeline will shrink to two business days.

The report says substantial technology upgrades and new staffing positions are needed to achieve that pace. The municipal government could also be ordered to compensate applicants when it fails to meet the new permitting time frames and, in some cases, could be required to cover the cost to hear appeals of city land use decisions at the Manitoba Municipal Board, creating additional financial risk, the document adds.

“The province was advised that all of this would come at a considerable expense to the city,” writes Alana Crocker, the city’s manager of development and inspections.

In an email, spokesman Kalen Qually said the city is not currently seeking funding from the province to help implement the changes.

“With sufficient staffing, the provincial standards are realistic. All permit processing (standards) are important because ensuring predictable permitting services is key to economic development,” wrote Qually.

Rollins argues the province should help the city fund the changes it imposed through legislation.

“I continue to be concerned that the province didn’t think these bills out very clearly… They’ve thought about the timelines but not the staff required to deliver them,” she said.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said he would prefer to see the city’s incoming planning, property and development director, Hazel Borys, assess permitting resources and needs before such a sizable cost is approved.

“A new director needs the opportunity to assess the situation, to determine the service level needs, to find out whether or not there’s some other way to meet the service demands, rather than adding 77 staff… that’s a significant investment,” said Gillingham.

Since Borys is slated to begin the job on July 31, Gillingham said he’s open to council potentially delaying its final vote on the matter to allow her input.

While Gillingham said he “would welcome” provincial funding to help meet the new standards, he isn’t directly lobbying the province to provide that. He stressed improving the customer experience for permitting and other city services is a key priority.

“It’s always important for us, as a city, to make sure we’re operating our departments efficiently,” said Gillingham.

In the past, the Manitoba government has argued this set of changes will result in more efficient development decisions.

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In a Thursday email, a provincial spokesperson stressed the timelines have been set through consultations.

“The Manitoba government has been working collaboratively with the City of Winnipeg to develop reasonable building permitting time frames for permitting and inspections to be enshrined in regulation … municipalities charge permitting fees to fund their permitting and inspections processes,” the statement said.

The property and development committee will debate the proposal on June 27.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.