Empowered Municipality

Low Hanging Fruit, $300,000 in Water Main Replacement
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The City of Fort Wayne reduced the water main cost structure to achieve their annual replacement goal and save $300,000 by focusing on low-cost solutions.

PROBLEM



The turnaround time to review site plan routing submissions is too long. The average review process is 51 days per submission. Timely approvals improve customer service and increase building interest in Fort Wayne. The goal is to review 95% of all projects submitted for Improvement Location Permits/Certificates of Compliance within 10-12 days.



SOLUTION



Incomplete and inaccurate review submissions lead to delays. To reduce cycle time, a SOP was established to improve application preparedness. Potential problems are detected by submission checklists and preview meetings. Incomplete applications are not accepted and all applicants are contacted prior to review meetings to discuss problems and
confirm all participants. To continue improvement, PermiTrack software is used to track approval times. Feedback surveys are also sent out to all applicants and property owners to gage meeting effectiveness and project quality. Increased usage of the
“conceptual/preliminary” and “foundation only” routing review options are encouraged.



Factoid



The primary tool of this project was
Value added/Non-Value added analysis.



SAVINGS/ BENEFITS



Turnaround time for application approval has improved 300%. The average turnaround time for projects released to the Allen County Building Department is now 8.7 days. Increased efficiency and survey feedback has improved applicant rapport. The need to purchase $150,000 of new software was eliminated.



Savings



Turnaround Time: 300% Reduction
Avoided Purchase: $150,000


"Further information on this case study available at www.PerformanceistheBestPolitics.com"


Several key staff members at the City of Ft. Wayne worked on this project and formed the The High Performance Government Network. It is a member driven not-for-profit corporation that is dedicated to designing, developing, and deploying high performance accountable public services. For more information on how they can assist your city or municipality, contact them.


Empowered Municipality has partnered with the HPG Network and will be following this project as one of its Featured Case Studies, along with many others. We will be inviting experts from many disciplines to contribute to the overall case study. These kinds of studies will form a unique public asset from which other municipalities can learn from.


Click Here for Project Summary


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