The Prince George’s County Council will hear a proposal from County Executive Jack Johnson at today’s meeting to move 28 positions dealing with storm water permitting from one department to another to streamline the process. The move will help fix a permitting “mess” Johnson discovered very soon after taking office, according to a spokesman for the county executive.
“Now they’ll just be looked at one place,” John Erzen said Monday.
If the proposal is approved, the Department of Environmental Resources will transfer 28 positions, about $2 million in wages and benefits, to the engineering office of the Department of Public Works and Transportation. There, applications will be handled by one set of county employees and have only one engineer or one inspector assigned to the permitting process instead of one set from each department.
The change should result in permits being issued faster and fewer forms for developers or citizens to submit, Erzen said.
Susan Hubbard, a Department of Public Works and Transportation spokeswoman, said a permit being handled by a single agency should make things easier for applicants.
“It won’t be having to go back and forth. “It will just be the one agency.”
