Canvas The County Pilot Program

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

In 2009, Richland County realized that their two full-time business inspectors were only capable of inspecting 8.25% of businesses per inspector per year, meaning that it would take two inspectors six years to inspect all businesses in the unincorporated areas of Richland County. The county determined that 75% of new businesses will fail within their first three years of operation. Therefore, many businesses may open and close without ever having obtained a business license inspection. Clearly, this method of inspection is very inefficient and costly. In response, Richland County created their Canvas the County program. The program employed a series of temporary inspectors to canvass local businesses during a two-week period. The inspectors were sent out to issue fees and other fines for businesses that were not correctly following county business guidelines. For example, businesses could receive fines for breaking rules that relate to new food tax rates, smoking regulations, and other issues. The inspectors were employed temporarily and carpooled in an effort to save money on automobile expenses. Additionally, the inspectors were directed to canvass dense business districts in an attempt to increase efficiency. The operating costs of the program were budgeted out to $21,000. However, after two weeks of inspecting, more than half of the budget was left over, prompting the county to pursue a third week of inspections. After three weeks, the program cost only $10,009 of the original $21,000 budget. With such low operating costs, this program can be easily replicated and implemented in any county. The results of the program are outstanding. In three months, this pilot project generated $261,133 in business license fees and $49,470 in penalties, for a total of $310,603. With a program cost of $10,009, the return on investment was 31:1.