The Douglas County commission meets in the historic courtroom on the second floor of the old county courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

A county contractor licensing system and the development of policies and procedures that promote consistency and fairness were among the recommendations of a three-month review into the county’s zoning and codes department, which the Douglas County Commission will receive at its Wednesday meeting.

County commissioners authorized the $9,180 study from Austin Peters Group Inc. in November. The contract with the consultant came after questions arose about the many exemptions to county building codes given to a rural Douglas County project by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

The Austin Peters Group report does not address how that application was handled, but does identify the “Kobach case” as behind the recognized need to identify reforms in the department.

In completing the report, Austin Peters Group conducted focus groups, interviews and surveys with stakeholder (including contractors), researched best practices found in professional literature and reviewed policies and procedures of peer jurisdictions in Kansas, Colorado and Missouri. With that, the consultant proposed 25 steps the department take in the areas of responsiveness, best practices, and fairness and professionalism.

Thirteen of those changes came under the heading of responsiveness. The county is encouraged throughout to work with peer counties and their professionals to establish policies that improve fairness and consistency.

It was suggested the county establish a one-day “EZ” permit program for electrical, mechanical, plumbing and demolition permits; set new tighter timelines for the issuance of number of permits; review use of online applications; and modify staffing to correspond with peak customer demand.

The report also proposes the department start quarterly informational sessions with contractors and have follow-up workshops to improve understanding and relations. It was similarly recommended the department start “permitting 101” workshops for the general public.

Among key findings in the report listed under the fairness heading is that the department should review each step of the building review, permitting and inspection process for consistency and clarity. It was further stated record-keeping and documentation needed to be recorded in the county’s SmartGov system and record-keeping “needs to be consistently documented.”

The county was encouraged to adopt a checklist system of peer counties with the same goal of increasing consistency.

In the fairness category, it was recommended the county publish its methods of establishing permit fees to educate the public and “improve fairness and consistency;” implement a contractor licensing and registration program similar to that of the city of Lawrence; and create a plan review fee as used by peers.

The report found that although staff was seen as highly qualified, there was a general belief more professionalism was needed in interactions with customers.

It was suggested that area could be improved through more staff training; greater cross training for staff; monthly audits of plan reviews for quality control, professional attitude and documentation; and greater understanding and use of SmartGov software.

The suggestions that the department initiate workshops and print guidebooks were among proposals in the best practices category.

Each of the three categories concludes with a recommendation that staff review the finding and prioritize those that could be implemented in the next 12 months.

The report found the department’s staff budget was adequate. However, it is often stated the proposed improvements could only be realized if the department were “fully staffed.” Douglas County Administrator Craig Weinaug said the department was down two staff members during part of the review process, before Sean Reid was hired as the new director of building and codes in December. Another staff position was held open with the expectation the report would give the county direction on how best to fill it, he said.

The Douglas County Commission meets at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. A complete agenda for Wednesday’s meeting can be found at douglascountyks.org.