Max Fernandez, former director of the city’s Code Enforcement Department, has been promoted to lead the Community Development Department.

In one of several recent consolidations of city departments, Code Enforcement became a division of Community Development.

Fernandez started his new post July 6.

A third-party firm is auditing the department. Auditors from Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting Inc. of Sacramento are analyzing numerous issues at the department, including claims that it broke the city's planning rules and did not gather fees from developers.

“Obviously, there have been issues” at the department, Fernandez said Friday.

The department is working on a plan to retrain its employees, he said. The plan also will cover “the cultural change” process, Fernandez said, and the logistics of moving Code into Community Development.

Interim City Manager Gus Vina has said the department needs to change its culture. The city’s slogan, “Get the Customer to Success,” was “somewhat misunderstood” by the development department, he said at a May 17 Neighborhood Advisory Group meeting.

Fernandez said the results of the audit, which may be completed in September, will be a key part of reshaping the department.

The audit will “give us some ideas on where we need to fix up things that were not going as well as we hoped,” he said.

Bill Thomas, previous director of Community Development, resigned from his post in March and had been on paid leave for months before that. During his watch, a staffer approved building permits in a Natomas flood zone last year. The city said the staffer broke federal rules.

David Kwong, who recently served as acting director of the Community Development Department, will stay with the department. He manages the department’s planning division.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.