Latest news with #Sickler
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jacksonville slashes permit wait times with new tech-driven plan
In Jacksonville, getting a permit used to feel like a never-ending process — whether you were trying to open a new business or build a home. But city leaders say those days are coming to an end, thanks to a new plan that's already speeding things up. It's called an eight-point action plan, and it's all about cutting down red tape and modernizing the way the city handles permits even further. Previous coverage (2024): 'Time is money:' Jacksonville launches new permitting system aimed at reducing application times 'We're building a smarter, faster, and more collaborative permitting process,' said Nina Sickler, Jacksonville's Director of Public Works. 'That includes hiring more staff and even using artificial intelligence to handle repetitive tasks — freeing up city workers for more complex reviews,' said Sickler. 'Residential permit review times used to average 25 days. The goal was to get that down to 15. Now? It's just 8 days,' said Wanyonyi Kendrick, Chief Information Officer for the City of Jacksonville. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] 'It's helping commercial projects move faster than ever before,' said Kendrick. The plan officially launched in February and is expected to be fully rolled out sometime next year. Mayor Donna Deegan says it's not just about saving time — it's about using the city's resources more efficiently. 'So far, the staff time we've saved is worth $10.6 million. That doesn't necessarily mean more money in the budget — but it means we can get more done with what we have,' said Deegan. City leaders say more improvements are coming as they continue to streamline the process. Read: Councilman claims the City of Jacksonville may have created an illegal gun registry [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ND House bill would enhance some reckless endangerment charges, change habitual offender requirements
Feb. 4—BISMARCK — By changing how the state classifies habitual offenders and enhancing the potential penalties for reckless endangerment crimes involving firearms, Sen. Jonathan Sickler hopes to give judges more flexibility to sentence the most dangerous offenders to longer prison terms. Sickler, R-Grand Forks, said the bill has two parts. First, it would elevate reckless endangerment-extreme indifference from a Class C felony to a Class B felony in certain circumstances. An amendment later offered by Rep. Lawrence R. Klemin, R-Bismarck, who was the first to get involved with the bill, limited this enhancement to reckless endangerment involving the discharge of a firearm. "They're seeing people in bars (or hotels or apartments) in some parts of the state firing a weapon," Sickler said. "They may not necessarily have the intent element to get it an attempted murder kind of charge, but on the extreme indifference? It would meet that. So that would elevate that to a Class B." The second part of the bill, which he believes will likely be more impactful, would change how the state classifies habitual offenders. As it stands, a defendant can be designated as a habitual offender based on the potential penalties they faced for prior convictions — for example, if they faced up to five years in prison, which would be a Class C felony in North Dakota. Other states have different sentencing lengths for different crimes; it is not a uniform system. There are times when someone would meet the definition of a habitual offender under North Dakota's criminal definitions but doesn't because their state doesn't carry the necessary sentence length for a given crime. "That's where the issue with the other states comes in, that their Class C felonies don't match up potential prison times with our Class C felonies," Sickler said. "So this bill will just make it just felonies. So if you repeatedly commit felonies, whether in North Dakota or other states, that could make you eligible for a judge to determine that you're a habitual offender who could be subject to extra person time." One of the main topics of this legislative session is how to deal with increasing crime rates and overcrowding in correctional facilities, trying to strike a balance between keeping the right people in jail and not incurring unsustainable costs by incarcerating people, he said. HB 1225 was given a "do pass" recommendation — with the firearm discharge amendment — Wednesday, Jan. 29, and has been re-referred to the appropriations committee. The state fiscal effect, according to a fiscal note filed prior to the amendments, was listed as $13,618,039.
