City of Gainesville hires development services advocate
Press release from the City of Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The City of Gainesville has hired Ralph Hilliard as its development services advocate, a position designed to assist residents, small business owners, and developers with permitting, planning, and zoning processes. He began in the new role on Feb. 16.
Hilliard returns to the City after serving most recently as a planning manager in the Department of Sustainable Development from 1996 to 2017. Starting as an intern in the mid-’80s, he assumed progressively responsible roles, including comprehensive planning chief.
“With the knowledge and experience he brings to the role, he is a great addition to our staff and an essential resource for our community,” said Special Advisor and Interim Chief Operating Officer Brian Singleton. “He’ll help refine internal processes and coordination.”
The part-time position was established at the direction of the Gainesville City Commission following a presentation last May by Special Advisor George Burgess outlining strategies to advance the Commission’s economic development priorities. Previously, the work of resolving service bottlenecks, permit issues, and project delays was managed across several divisions.
“I am looking forward to being able to help the community navigate the process,” said Hilliard. “I’ve been doing this as a commercial realtor, so it’s a really good fit.”
Hilliard earned a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Florida and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mississippi Valley State University.
Building a strong and resilient local economy is a key principle of the City’s strategic plan.
Can the department of “Doing” handle that? Oh crap I forgot, they have no idea what they are doing.
I wonder how much they gonna pay him I noticed it’s not in the story. The second thing I wonder about is when we get rid of property taxes and they don’t get GRU back how are they gonna pay for these people? They hire there’s absolutely no need for this position its the responsibility of the people who is applying for permits to get it right not the cities.
How about just make everything easier to understand, user friendly.
It says nothing good about the city’s byzantine rules when they have to hire someone with a master’s degree (and pay them with taxpayer funds) to help citizens navigate the bureaucracy.