Land Services Department Consolidation

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

In order to increase efficiency and remove unnecessary red tape from certain projects, many local governments have begun to consolidate some of their departments. In Crow Wing County, the government began to consolidate many of its departments in 2008. The primary goals of the consolidation were to improve customer service and coordination among land‐related programs and staff. Through this consolidation, Crow Wing County combined five departments into one individual Land Services Department. The five consolidated departments were the Planning and Zoning, Solid Waste, Lands, Survey and the Assessor’s Office. Through this program, these five offices were moved into one individual building. In order to ensure competency of the new department, the county utilized the LEAN process to cross‐train Department‐wide administrative staff to provide service to customers across program lines. Furthermore, the consolidation established a quarterly Department newsletter emailed to local elected officials county‐wide summarizing the activities of the Department and upcoming matters. Most beneficial to the new department was the introduction of new GIS capabilities as a result of the consolidation. This initiative resulted in a more efficient, effective, and competent method of delivering land services to county residents. Staff positions were re‐crafted to create Land Service Specialists who are assigned to specific areas of the county to meet with applicants on‐site within 10 days of application. This practice has resulted in better environmental protection and better customer service. Landowners appreciate the service, which often result in improvements to the applications that benefit the customer and the environment.