INC NEWS - redundant correespondence from planning-- a way to cut costs

[Melissa Rooney]

Yeah, TC0800008 says: 

"The applicant [to receive notification] must provide...manner of notice, whether 1st class mail, electronic or other manner offered by the Planning Director. Notice will be provided in the manner specified in the registration information."

Perhaps they should change this to 'notice will ONLY be provided in the manner specified in the registration information,' to ensure that some system glitch doesn't end up sending the same people stuff by email and postal mail, and thus defeating the purpose. 

In addition, for those who opt to receive notice by mail, they should get all notices within a specified period (say, 3-4 days) in one envelope (and with one postal stamp).

We are repeatedly being told that we need to find new ways to generate funds. Well, getting the most out of our postage costs is a start. 

This text amendment (and discussion) should prompt Durham to check out other Divisions' methods of communication as well -- to eliminate redundance, and to combine multiple letters into one. 

Melissa



--- On Sat, 11/15/08, Pat Carstensen <pats1717 at hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Pat Carstensen <pats1717 at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: INC NEWS - redundant correespondence from planning-- a way to cut costs
To: "inc listserv" <inc-list at durhaminc.org>
Date: Saturday, November 15, 2008, 10:16 PM




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At least some of those postcards were about a change in the UDO to let them just send e-mail.  (-:

Regards, pat

Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:59:33 -0800
From: mmr121570 at yahoo.com
To: inc-list at DurhamINC.org
Subject: INC NEWS - redundant correespondence from planning-- a way to cut	costs

Just wondering if anyone else out there gets multiple postal notices from the Planning Department regarding Text Amendments' public hearings (at City Council and County Board of Commissioners meetings). 

I get all text amendment notices by email, which is great. And then I get two postcards per text amendment by snail mail (at 27 cents a pop for postage), one on behalf of NE Creek Streamwatch, and the other on behalf of Fairfield Neighborhood.  These post cards are identical to the email notifications. 

Within 3 days this week, I received 14 such postcards, costing the Planning Department a total of $3.78 to communicate with 1 citizen for 1 week (or 1 month depending on how you see it). My neighbor two doors down told me that the same thing (getting double postcards) used to happen to him all the time, so I know I'm not alone.

Don't get me
 wrong. I hardly think that Durham communicates too much with it's citizens.



But redundancy is different from 'communicating too much,' and may even
cause people to pay less, not more, attention to Planning correspondence.



Surely combining all communication (to be mailed within a 3-4 day
period) into one correspondence (utilizing one stamp) would get MORE,
not less, attention from the recipient. And it would save the city some
money to boot. Every little bit helps, especially when you're talking about a big budget ;)



Again, all 14 postcards that I received this week from the
Planning Department were emailed to me, verbatim, separately (and
earlier). So if they enabled me to choose email, instead of postal mail
(rather than in addition to postal mail, as things now stand)  they'd save even more money.



Not looking to reduce communication, just looking to make it more efficient, in as many ways as possible.



Melissa

Melissa Rooney
Fairfield Neighborhood


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