Metropolitan Council - Regular Meeting

today for their departmental hearings. We have Metro Codes, Planning Department, Arts Commission, and the um downtown Central Business Improvement District. Uh and we are starting off with codes. Um since we have such a full house um once once they have done uh their presentation uh I will look to vice chair Spain to see if he has any questions and then just open it up to the body. And just to double check, um um director Hall, do you do you all have a presentation or you're just uh speaking? Which is fine if you don't have anything a power? Okay. All right. You have the floor. If you can introduce yourself and your staff and um move forward with your presentation.

Oh, sure. Yeah, it is. Thank you, Chair Tombs and to the budget and finance committee. My name is Byron Hall. I'm the interim director of Metro Codes. With me this afternoon, to my to my right is deputy director Brady Rich. To my left is assistant director Alicia Swan. And in the audience we have assistant directors uh Will Dodd, Bill Penn, and Shannon Roberts. Um, first and foremost, the codes department is prepared to successfully operate within the mayor's proposed operating budget. We remain committing committed to maximizing existing resources while continuing to deliver a high level of service for our residents and businesses and our development community which count on us each and every day. Even when our budget's tight, we'll continue to move forward with key programs and initiatives that strengthen the public safety, improve customer service, and support operational efficiency across the department. We would also like to sincerely thank Kristen Wilson, Denine Reid, and their teams for their continued partnership and support. We greatly appreciate the collaboration and guidance provided by the mayor's office and the finance department through this process. Also, I think it's very important to we want to recognize the employees and staff of Metro Codes. Their professionalism, dedication, and hard work are what keeps Nashville's buildings, neighborhoods, and communities safe every day. Their commitment to public service is the foundation of the department's success, and I'm incredibly grateful for everything that they do for our city. Our core mission at Metro Codes is to issue construction and use related permits and perform safety related

inspections. We administer and enforce title 16 of the metropolitan code related to building construction and exterior property areas. And we also administer and enforce title 17 of the metropolitan code which is the zoning code. And this governs the um property use, size, height, location of buildings, that sort of thing. This fiscal year to date, we've responded to over 34,000 building and property violation complaints submitted via the hub, phone, and email, and we've responded to countless inquiries regarding zoning and short-term rental issues. Our building and trades divisions have conducted over 99,000 inspections and issued and we've issued more than 49,000 total permits. Our codes department is a 100% public-f facing department and this year to date we've assisted nearly 6,000 customers in person with our zoning help desk team where all commercial permits start. Our zoning help desk has exchanged over 31,000 emails with customers so so far this year with an average turnaround time of two to between two and three hours and 99% of these emails are answered within 24 hours. 40% of the 6,000 customers assisted in house spoke either Spanish or Arabic and we were able to provide immediate assistance with three of the five help desk staff being bilingual. Now, our electrical division's NES release program remains to be successful as we've completed over 7,900 service releases this year, physical year to date. And then FY26 um to work on our additional gas meter release program which continues the work continues on the integration between city works and spire energy which was

formerly Piedmont their permit system to create a clear path of more efficient permits release releases and inspection scheduling. Once the project is completed, our inspectors will be able to approve gas meter releases and these releases will be sent to Spire directly through the city works permit workflow process. The communication will be it'll improve between the utility and codes. Customers will receive gas meters faster than before. The time saved will allow our staff to focus on inspections and reduce our carbon footprint by saving paper. I also um as always want to give special thanks to our partners Amy Neil, Chris Charles, and the city works team at ITS. Without their continued support um of their team, these changes would not be possible each year. For our current state, we expect to come in under budget at year end and will again achieve savings as best we can without compromising staff and customer needs. On the revenue side, year-to date, we've collected over 24 million and issued over 10,000 building permits valued at 3.9 billion. Currently, our revenue collections exceed expenses by nearly $8 million. We anticipate revenue collections of over 28 million by year end. For FY26 year end, we expect to issue over 12,500 building permits. And we further project the construction value of those permits exceeding 4.6 billion. This is a 17% increase over of valuation over this time last year. And those that increase is actual number. That's not a projection. Although short of the annual goal, we still expect we're still expecting collections of over 97% with FY26 anticipated revenue collections of over

28 million and a three-year average of 31 million. We're still contributing large amounts to the general fund and despite the current and anticipated economic climate. In FY26, the the previous year's savings targeted was restored and we thank you for that. Restoring the target meant filling one inspection and two administrative vacancies, increasing the capacity within three divisions, and allowing us to hire a muchneeded training and safety coordinator. Since its launch in September, the training and safe safety initiative has become a strategic investment, strengthening our department's workforce, improving operational readiness, and enhancing employee safety. The program has significantly expanded support for both new hires and current employees pursu pursuing required certifications by providing study materials, practice testing platforms, certification resources, and exam opportunities, greatly reducing the out-ofpocket expense for staff. The initiative has also strengthened our commitment to employee development and inclusivity through expanded ADA accommodation support for our employees with documented learning disabilities and a comprehensive review of certification requirements to better align with day-to-day job responsibilities. Several employees were able to move from a risk from an at risk status to a secure employment status. These efforts have contributed to higher certification pass rates, reduced employee stress, and a more supportive and neurodeivergent inclusive workplace culture. As part of this progress, the codes department has become a preferred educational provider for both the international code council and the state of Tennessee. This designation allows us allows the department to deliver recurring continuing education hours and

training hours directly to ICC certified and statelicicensed employees, improving compliance while reducing reliance on costly external training providers. In addition, an in-house license and certification tracking system was implemented to strengthen our accountability and ensure preparedness for state and ICC audits. Safety continues to remain one of the department's highest priorities. Over the past year, we've upgraded OSHA, TOSHA, and MOSHA compliant safety, the safety equipment, and increased uniform and protective footwear allowances to ensure that our employees have access to gear necessary to safely perform their duties. The department has also partnered with other agencies and departments to expand employee preparedness through active shooter response training, CPR, AED certification, and legal uh and legal training for inspection personnel with with additional safety initiatives already in development. Residents may also notice the department's upgraded fleet vehicles now operating throughout the community. Enhanced vehicle decals and LED lighting packages have improved fleet visibility, increasing both public recognition and field safety for our inspection staff. In just nine months, the training and safe safety initiative had delivered measurable improvements in employee retention, certification success, compliance readiness, operational safety, and workforce development. And we look forward to continuing to build on this momentum in the years ahead. Since July, we've reduced our vacancies by 56% going from 16 to nine. And as of today, excuse me, as of today, we're at 94% staff capacity with a turnover rate of less than 5%. We're also very grateful to Director

Shannon Hall and her team and the Civil Service Commission for recommending previous pay increases for our staff, for our inspection staff, and their continued support. With every increase, we've been able to better complete with neighboring jurisdictions in order to recruit and retain qualified staff. In addition to filling most of our vacancies, I'm proud to say that we've been able to fill several positions with bilingual candidates. We now have seven full-time employees who can assist limited or non-English-speaking customers. Three years ago, the codes department was selected as one of only five metro departments to participate in Tennessee's language c center's language access pilot program. Through this initiative, we gained 247 access to interpreter services and document translation support, allowing us to better serve hundreds of non-speaking non-English-speaking residents in person and many more online through translated materials and resources. Although the although the pilot program has since ended, the department has continued prioritizing language access by utilizing available budget resources through metro-wide contracts. This ensures that residents with limited English proficiency still have access to interpreter hotlines translated documents so they can navigate permits, inspections, and services more easily and effectively. Last October, codes also participated in the Nashville Innovation Alliance Civic Tech Jam. Through the collaboration, we've been able to work alongside the mayor's office of innovation and several nonprofit partners to explore new solutions for language access and permit streamlining through respon responsible AI and emerging technologies. These efforts are focused on improving customer experience, increasing efficiency, and helping staff better manage Nashville's growing permit volume and workflow demands. Programs like the

training safety and expanded language access demonstrate the department's continued commitment to maximizing existing resources while improving service delivery for our residents and businesses. Regardless of the out economic outlook, we remain confident in the strength, resilience, and dedication of the codes department and its employees. Our team remains committed to providing ex exceptional customer service and continuing our role in making Nashville one of the bestrun and most responsive communities in the state. And as a side note, the codes department is is chairing the metro makes a difference campaign this year with chair Erica Frost. We'd appreciate any support. It's a It's an honor and privilege to work alongside this governing body and the mayor's office and thank you for your continued support. And at this time, we'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Vice Chair Spain. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Director Hall. Appreciate you and your team being here. Um, that was a little overwhelming. the the sheer volume of inspections and permits that your department handles, especially with the number of positions you have, is is phenomenal. Um, I'm looking at the your total number of positions, it goes down by four in this budget from 166 to 162. That's the transfer of the alarm inspection and permitting program. Correct. Okay.

Correct. Yeah. Looking in the questionnaire that you filled out, uh the question about a how a 2% reduction would impact your department. Of course, this budget um includes a one and a half% reduction, but the answer is that a reduction could slow turnaround times for inspections and ultimately reduce revenue collections. So my question is, are we are we saving a dollar to then cost ourselves two by losing revenue or how's that going to wash out? I think you want to

because we have decent amount of below the line savings. I think we'll be fine. Um, no one wants to take a budget cut, but we do the best we can with the existing resources. So, we'll do um I don't think we'll lose revenue um because we are resilient because we do we maximize what we have with what what we can what we have in our budget. So I don't think 1.5 to us equates to 309,000. So that won't be the beall end all. We have savings every year. So we'll just again, you know, work on um lower office supplies, different below the line things. This is not going to have a a big impact on revenue or permit processing.

Okay. What what happens to those savings that you have every year? Are those rolled over into the program or do they go back in and are into the general fund? Into the general fund. Okay. Um I I'm guessing if you're looking at the number of those inspections and permits on a line, it's not it's not flat. They probably spike during construction season and that sort of thing. Do you have the ability to bring in extra inspectors to help in in times of extreme demand or is it all you're done in with your in-house staff?

We we don't we don't have the capability of bringing in additional inspectors. Um sometimes we um our staff has been able to keep keep up with the request for inspections. Now there are a lot of third some some contractors use third party inspectors and just in the event they think we may be running behind. But our turnaround times average somewhere between 1.4 and 1.6 six days pretty much consistently all year. So within a day and a half you're a lot of inspections happen same day, but typically the assuming that everything's going right, day and a half is all you're going to have to wait for an inspection from from our group.

Great. Thank you very much. That's all I have. Um, looking at the body, Councilwoman Evans, did you have any questions? Councilman Cortez, no questions. Okay. Um, just a couple. You answered the one about how you would absorb the uh budget efficiency reduction. Uh, the translation services. You stated that the pilot program had ended, but you were using existing budget resources. So, do you feel like you have ample resources to continue providing services as you were during the pilot? We do, chair.

Okay. And then in past budget years, I know we've added uh quite a bit of of staffing to the codes department. Do you feel that you are currently sufficiently uh staffed? We do. We I've spoken to many of our chiefs in the various trades divisions and property centers and they are they feel very supported and they feel like um they are adequately staffed. Yes. Okay. Thank you.

Well, you know your reward for being very impressive today is that that concludes the questions. Thank you. Thank you, chair. And even though we're ahead of schedule, we will um Can we start early? Do we have to stick to the times? Okay. Okay. Well, planning department, come on up.