Community Weighs in to Help City Improve Service

Key West’s new Chief Building Official Raj Ramsingh was all ears this week, hearing from contractors and the community in two workshops on Tuesday and Wednesday. His goal:  to improve the permitting process for contractors and individuals and create a more user-friendly Building Department.

He talked about and heard comments regarding the electronic permitting system, and ways it can be improved. Several contractors noted, for instance, that a system of texting them when a permit is issued would be effective so that they can provide better service to their clients.

Ramsingh noted that the eTrakit, as it’s called, is being streamlined so that permit and plan review is faster. “We want to provide reliable, consistent permitting, inspections and plan reviews,” he said.

One of the plans for improvement is to revamp the system so some residential permits can be submitted and received over the counter, in one interaction. Already, the system allows all plans to be submitted online. Soon, eTrakit will be set up to receive payments and allow permits to be printed online.

This was also an opportunity for Ramsingh to meet everyone face-to-face and introduce himself. One of his goals in improving the department is to provide personalized service. He plans to hold similar workshops on a quarterly basis to hear how the changes are working and to continue getting input from the community. In addition, an online survey was conducted to better understand the needs of the general public. The City is using all of this input to implement the changes

“We expect most of these improvements to be implemented within the next six months,” Ramsingh said.

Though Ramsingh is the City’s new Chief Building Official, he is not new to building or to the city. A 40-year resident, he has 31 years of construction experience under his belt. He started his own construction company in 2001 and was CBO certified in 2019.