One building permit, hold the taco

City Hall to Go from Kris Carter on Vimeo.

Economic development, crime, labor contracts with the city’s public safety unions and Omaha’s finances ranked among the hottest topics at a mayoral forum on Monday.

There was also brief mention of a taco truck.

A slightly-less-orthodox proposal came from State Sen. Brad Ashford, partly in response to a moderator’s question about the city’s Planning Department and building code inspectors (discussion had turned to the customer-friendliness of city departments.)

One program sends a refurbished taco truck into neighborhoods to allow citizens to pay parking tickets or file building permit applications, Ashford said.

A way to “deal with government in the neighborhoods and on the street,” he said.

Ashford’s time then ran out. Taco trucks did not garner additional discussion.

BUT WHY NOT???

Such a “City Hall To Go” concept is alive and well in Boston.

A blue and red, former taco truck (custom Twitter feed included) rolls around to the city’s neighborhoods, offering a tasty “menu of services” that includes parking ticket payments/disputes, voter registration, property tax payments and yes even birth and death certificate applications. No tacos, though, which I deem to be a fatal flaw.

“For most residents, City Hall, Citizens Connect and cityofboston.gov are and will remain the frontline of city service. But for some, traveling downtown to City Hall can be a long way to go. Boston is, after all, a city that stretches across nearly fifty square miles. Still, many people want or need a personal interaction to get direct services, ask a question or get information, so the City of Boston is taking City Hall to them,” the taco truck’s website says.

I’m intrigued.