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Waving her hand toward the Hollister City Council, 77-year-old Miriam Castillo had a “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” moment at the council’s Feb. 2 meeting as she vented her frustrations over the $30,000 she had spent on permits for an accessory dwelling unit she was not able to build because of issues with the city.
She was not alone, as over 55 contractors attended that meeting in protest of the city’s inefficiencies that have plagued a range of projects with excessive fees, contradictory orders and constant delays.
Castillo discovered what many of those contractors have since told BenitoLink: a meeting with Hollister City Manager Ana Cortez was all it took to turn things in her favor.
“She opened her beautiful office to me,” Castillo said. “We had a 30-minute meeting, and in the first five minutes, she said, ‘I’m going to get your money back right away. This is ridiculous. It’s terrible. I apologize. It’s wrong.’”
In the three months since Cortez was hired, she has moved quickly to address complaints about the city’s building department and has not just impressed Castillo and the contractors but also City Councilmember Rudy Picha.
“During the interviews for the position, she kept shining through,” he said. “Her dedication, dogged tenacity, extensive experience, high financial IQ, high integrity and creative problem-solving will help us through any challenges or opportunities that come our way.”
Cortez sat down with BenitoLink for an interview to discuss her response to that council meeting, and how she is working to resolve the issues Hollister is facing.
BenitoLink: What were you thinking as you heard the people venting their frustrations?
Ana Cortez: As I was coming over to Hollister, I was fully aware that the community development department had challenges. My biggest surprise at the meeting was that others had described this problem as minor. But what I saw was a community that had organized and was frustrated enough to show up in full force at a council meeting, and that everybody there was emotional, angry, but also focused.
What was your immediate response following the meeting?
I told the mayor that I considered that interaction a fire that needed to be put out. My first meeting the next day was with [Assistant City Manager] Rod Powell, and I told him, as far as I was concerned, that night had been an earthquake and that we were now in a state of emergency. So you act first and analyze later.
I requested a meeting with all departments that in any way, shape or form touch the permitting process, so we can troubleshoot. And from that meeting, we came up with some steps that, at least on the surface, seem promising. For example, the creation of teams on how to address some of the problems. Another step is offering drop-in hours. And we increased the number of customer service reps to address the issue that folks have.
What do you think the sources of those issues are?
For a number of reasons, some good, some not so good, we have lacked direction and leadership. I’ve made it very clear where my expectations are, and it’s all about customer service. Nothing here requires an advanced degree. The solutions to the problems that so many people have are just fundamental customer service. “How can I help you?” is such a powerful question. It is not “Why are you here? Go away.” It is “How can I help you?”
One change that we’ve instituted is priority. For example, if you have a project on one of our commercial corridors, that should be prioritized. Why? Because it’s economic vitality. If we have a project that impacts seniors, vets, the disabled, children who are ill, those need to go to the front of the line.
How do you address issues like excessive permit costs that aren’t customer service problems?
I would disagree with the question. I actually do think that’s customer service. If I’m at McDonald’s and I order a Big Mac, but the machine says it’s $200, I know it’s not $200. I know it can’t be. This is where I have to raise the flag and say, “Manager, I need you to come and help me.” And if the manager says, “Huh, I don’t know about that.” Well, then let’s get on the phone and find out.
Customer service is not just about smiling. It’s about analyzing a situation, recognizing that something must be wrong, and advocating for the customer. I don’t know if our fees are too high or too low. Just from conversations, my sense is that they are probably too high. I need to see what’s behind them. I need to be able to justify those fees to the community. We need to be able to not only have the math and make sure the fees add up, but also have a body that can review it.
Are you encountering any bureaucratic resistance to this?
I believe people are in line. I don’t know how anybody cannot be in line. The testimonies have been quite clear. This is not even the city manager wanting it. The community is expecting it. Are there folks who would rather not have things change? Possibly. Frankly, I work with the ones who, like me, want to provide outstanding customer service.
One thing I’ve heard several times is that contractors feel there’s an unofficial building moratorium in Hollister. How would you respond?
Absolutely not. A moratorium is a policy decision. We don’t make policy. We implement it. Such a policy has not been taken by the city of Hollister. Therefore, there is no policy direction. The department cannot, and I will not allow, a department to, play policy. We lack skills. In this case, mostly customer service. And we let the community down. But that has nothing to do with political agendas.
You recently held a public workshop on the issues contractors have. What resulted from that?
We know we need a different technical tool, and we have three options for moving forward. I also asked for volunteers who could review recommendations. Accountability is important, and we’re not waiting on that. The people in the department have to be part of the solution. Staff may have strengths we need to lean on, but they also have weaknesses we need to address.
I had a very, very useful and productive meeting with Mr. Craig Tole, the vice president of community development at 4Leaf. Going into the meeting, I thought that it might be a “let’s file for divorce” meeting. But after meeting with him and seeing how quickly he worked, he’s on speed dial right now. We met, we talked, we resolved problems.
One Saturday, we exchanged emails in which I indicated that I needed someone other than Mr. Kono assigned to us. By Monday morning at 7:30 a.m., the new building official, Jessica Edwards, was in the office. She is helping me right now to evaluate the department to see what the workflows are that need to be tightened. We’ve already had significant training with the permit techs.
What are the next steps?
I think we’ll be able to create a one-stop center where people can come and have all their needs met. I want to emphasize the idea of teams where we have the architect, the building inspector, the planner and so on, all together so they can, on the spot, make a decision and provide guidance. I want to be in a situation where our system is highly streamlined, so it shouldn’t take a degree in planning to figure out what’s happening. And I want to be in a position where our timeliness reflects the fact that time is money.
The Community Development Department is the first major issue you have had to deal with. Do you see it as potentially defining your tenure as city manager?
No, CDD is not difficult. I’m not losing sleep over CDD. I mean, it’s a customer service problem, not a regulatory one. It’s not an environmental problem. It is not a multi-million dollar problem. It’s obviously in everybody’s interest to get this resolved, and everyone is interested in doing so. CDD is easy.
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