Special city service

Henderson staff finds a way to speed up residential projects

The hustle and bustle of the average day at the city of Henderson's office can be a bit overwhelming at times, especially for homeowners who are working full-time jobs. Trying to rush through on a lunch break does not always work when you have a long list of questions about things like building an addition, installing a pool or creating a retaining wall.

City staff developed Henderson's Homeowner Night as a way to provide alternate times for busy people. About 15 staff members volunteer to keep the office open from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. once every quarter.

A Homeowner Night on Jan. 11, the third of its kind so far, drew a large crowd.

Looking at the business plan, Manager of Plans Examination Mohammad Jadid said he and other staff members wanted to find a way to better serve customers. Offering some later hours once a quarter was one way to do that.

The city uses an automated system that assigns each person a number and that helps cut down on wait time during normal business hours, but there is still a feeling of being rushed at times, Jadid said.

"The folks that do show up like at (Homeowner Night) do because they don't have to take off work to come in," Jadid said.

At Homeowner Night, they can sit down and ask as many questions as they had.

But Homeowner Night is not just for questions.

"People can literally come down, get their project reviewed, pay their fees, pull their permit, walk out and start construction," Jadid said.

The customer city officials are looking to serve with the event is the resident who may be doing most of the work on their own.

"The folks that come here are the folks that are not using contractors," Jadid said.

Sometimes they need answers to the questions contractors would answer.

Bob and Debbie Casias attended the last Homeowner Night to see about their upcoming remodeling project.

"We were quite impressed with the opportunity to come here during a more relaxed time," Debbie Casias said.

For them it exemplifies the reasons they moved to Henderson from Las Vegas.

"There's just so many features here that are small town, like this event," she said.

Jennifer Estes also attended the event. She's planning an addition to her house and had some questions about property lines and city codes.

Estes stays home with her children on a full-time basis and valued the opportunity to ask questions at night in a more relaxed atmosphere, especially since her project is in the very early stages.

"I just wanted some time to ask questions without having to know exactly where I was going," Estes said.

Jadid said Henderson staff can answer calls pretty quickly during an average day, but many people prefer the face time with city employees, time when there is not a long line of people eagerly waiting behind them.

Employees representing Building and Fire Safety, Community Development, Utility Services, Public Works, and Finance departments assisted customers at the Homeowner Night event. There also was someone in the records office in case anyone had questions about their existing property.

The mix of departments at Homeowner Night may change based on customer interest. Departments may drop out or be asked to attend depending on the demand.

"We're trying this program out. This is only our third and we want to make sure that if somebody walks in with a certain question, they can get an answer," Jadid said.

Employees get a free dinner out of it in addition to the overtime pay. At earlier Homeowner Nights they had door prizes for customers as well.

"But I think what they appreciate really the most about it is that they can have a dedicated person to help and they don't feel rushed," Jadid said.

The next Homeowner Night will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on May 31.