Are recent firings causing permit delays?

[JoeT]

I'm curious about whether you've noticed if the recent spate of bureaucratic firings have caused delays with issuing permits? It takes a while to obtain an environmental permit as it is, so I can't imagine that weeding out office staff is helpful.

 

[Eric]

We haven't had firings yet but have been under hiring freeze for almost 2 years for unrelated reasons. Lost about 1/3 staff during that time with no apparent effect on permitting efficiency (ironically we've actually improved in some areas). Enforcement is minimal/non-existent though.

The instincts of DOGE are good in the sense that restricting budgets can force agencies to prioritize workload better, but there does come a point where public services suffer. In general, probably best to run lean so agencies stay focused on the mission and don't have bandwidth for extraneous workflows. More money does not necessarily mean more production, in government or any big organization.

 

[ClaxtonRR]

Our office is state run, so we've been unaffected, thankfully. I don't think we'll experience a lag in permitting, though, because very few people were let go in comparison to how many people work for the government. Don't worry too much about the hiring freeze either. Those vacant jobs have probably gone unfilled for decades now, and yet the remaining people continued to get the job done.