Sedgwick County and Wichita agree to combine some services

(WICHITA, Kan.) — Saving time and money was the focus of a meeting Wednesday between the Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commissioners. Both sides are looking at ways to combine services

"We want to make government friendly, accessible, usable," said Sedgwick County Commissioner Dave Unruh.

The areas that may join together under the plan include building and trade boards, zoning and sign codes, licensing, plan reviews, and data management.

Right now if you build a home you need to get permits from both the city and county, plus pay different fees and get different inspections. Under the plan, these services would combine into a one-stop shop.

Both sides know this will be a long process, and likely changes won't be implemented until January 2013.

"There are a lot of moving pieces, and at the same time we have to do our daily jobs in terms of inspections and licensing and plan review," said Wichita City Manager Bob Layton. "that is why its going to take some time to go through it."

"It is doable," said Assistant County Manager Ron Holt. "Especially with the kind of committment from our design team folks who have been working on this."

The design team plans to meet with council members and commissioners again in 60 days to provide more details about the transition.