Douglas County staff is almost finished with a draft report that includes an outline of goals for the county’s Zoning and Codes Department, a top county official said this week.

The draft report if accepted by the County Commission would lay out a plan that could be used to hire an independent consultant who would analyze the department’s best practices. It also would estimate the cost.

“I’m hoping to have a draft to the commissioners within the next week or so,” said Sarah Plinsky, assistant county administrator. “It’s probably likely it would be on the September 2 agenda. The commissioners can modify and change it if they want.”

On June 4, County Administrator Craig Weinaug told the county’s Board of Construction Appeals that he was recommending to the commission a third-party review.

He wanted the third-party consultant to determine whether building inspectors took actions outside the county’s authority regarding a house that Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach was building in rural northern Douglas County without obtaining a permit.

Jim Sherman, the former zoning and codes director, did not require Kobach to pay a fine for building without the permit, and Kobach was given a certificate of occupancy, despite what some employees in the county codes office described as several irregularities in the inspection process, including not having an approved water source.

Sherman resigned from his position on June 29 and accepted a job with the city of Ottawa.

On July 8, the commission asked the staff to look into hiring an independent consultant to examine the county’s Zoning and Codes Department.

Commissioners discussed an outline of goals for the department including:

• To complete inspections in a timely and professional manner.

•l To enforce codes fairly and consistently.

• To work in a collaborative and helpful manner with each other and the public.

• To ensure the department’s upper-level management structure is consistent with commissioners’ expectations.

Plinsky said at the July 8 meeting that she hoped to bring back a proposal and plan on how to proceed within two or three weeks. But with recent vacations in the office and other work duties, including getting a county budget approved, drafting the report has taken longer than expected, she said this week.