Murmurs The Bureau of Development Services has suspended four commercial electrical inspectors and fired one after an investigation found they were loafing at a Northwest Industrial District diner. Sources fa   More

News When City Council voted 4-1 yesterday to approve a funding plan to pay for computer upgrades at the Bureau of Development Services, Commissioner Amanda Fritz was the lone "no" vote. No surprise there—it's a position she's found herself in before, but the plan and its back story combine for a more interesting tale.The computer upgrading plan—to borrow $6.6 million secured by the city's general fund—comes ...   More

News The final item on tomorrow's City Council agenda likely will produce the most contentious debate among commissioners. That item concerns the Bureau of Development Services' recent request for money to implement a new computerized permit-tracking system. BDS, which Commissioner Randy Leonard oversees, issues building permits. Amid the recession, revenue has fallen precipitously, prompting massive ...   More

News   The final item on tomorrow’s City Council agenda likely will produce the most contentious debate among commissioners. That item concerns the Bureau of Development Services’ recent request for money to implement a new computerized permit-tracking system. BDS, which Commissioner Randy Leonard oversees, issues building permits. Amid the recession, revenue has fallen precipitously, prompting ...   More

News On May 21, 2009, Paul Scarlett, director of Portland's Bureau of Development Services went before City Council to talk about a fee-increase proposal. BDS is heavily dependent on fees from permits and fines to pay for its operations. But since fewer people have been seeking building permits amid the recession, the bureau has had to dip into its rainy-day funds. Since July, the bureau has spent $5.8 ...   More

News Portland City Council has waded through a number of topics this morning and afternoon, after its marathon session last night on the topic of renaming 39th Avenue for Cesar E. Chavez. Mayor Sam Adams referred a proposal to give a 10-year tax break to a new housing complex back to his office Commissioner Nick Fish's office. A handful of neighbors from North Portland had testified against the proposal ...   More

News The cuts keep coming at Portland's Bureau of Development Services, which announced in June it would slash half of the bureau's 300 jobs. Last month, that news was tempered (however slightly) by the fact the reductions would happen in waves, with 45 people losing their jobs in July and another 45 people getting pink slips in August. By December, the bureau would eliminate a total of about 150 people, ...   More

News Commissioner Randy Leonard has asked for a $5.2 million loan from the City of Portland's general fund for his Bureau of Development Services, whose reserve fund is dwindling, to help maintain staffing levels and buy a new computer system. As of July, the bureau's reserves stood at $8 million. Leonard's ask comes at an difficult time amid the current recession. Last summer, BDS announced the need ...   More

News Commissioner Randy Leonard's Bureau of Development Services is so broke it's asking for an immediate $1.5 million loan. In a resolution that will go before City Council on Wednesday, the bureau asks for interim funds from Portland's "Bancroft Bond Interest and Sinking Fund," a pot of local improvement district money that topped $15 million at the start of this fiscal year. If approved, the loan ...   More

News Almost a year after announcing drastic layoffs, the City of Portland's Bureau of Development Services is making more personnel cuts. This morning bureau director Paul Scarlett told the 160 remaining workers in an all-staff meeting that he would need to eliminate 15 to 18 more jobs immediately. At this time last year, the bureau had 300 people on the payroll. The cuts come as revenue from construction ...   More