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How does a clerk answer with a source when the handout disagrees with the ordinance?

A resident has a sheet that says seven feet. The ordinance says six. Here is the counter review checklist I work from, the rehearsal every clerk does before the real conversation, and how I check the source before I speak.

When a resident's handout disagrees with the ordinance, a Tamarack County clerk follows the counter review checklist: record the question in neutral language, check whether a later ordinance or procedure supersedes the handout, explain the current rule and name the older source that caused the confusion, keep the measurements, lot position and dates with the case, and offer an accessible format or interpreter request before asking anyone to read or sign. For a fence, the current rule is section 4.2 of Ordinance 2026-07, adopted March 2026, six feet, and the superseded source is the 2025 counter handout at seven feet. The answer is given with its title, section and date, and logged so another clerk could give it again.

Delia Okafor · Permit Desk Clerk, Planning & Building · · 4 min read

Last updated

What is the counter review checklist?

It is the short list at the end of every county procedure, and it is the same list in all of them.

  1. Record the resident's question in neutral language and identify the decision needed.
  2. Check whether a later ordinance or procedure supersedes a handout.
  3. Explain the current rule and name the older source if it caused confusion.
  4. Keep the relevant measurements, lot position and dates with the case so another clerk can understand the answer.
  5. Offer read-aloud, large print, audio copies or an interpreter request through the accessibility procedure.
  6. Never ask a resident to disclose sensitive information just to obtain a readable form.

The fence handout is the case the checklist was written for, so I will walk through it.

How does the conversation go?

A resident arrives with the 2025 residential fence counter handout and a quote for a six-foot replacement fence. The handout says seven feet, so they believe no permit is needed. Step one: I write down "replacement backyard fence, six feet, resident believes no permit required, decision needed: does section 4.2 apply." Neutral language, no judgement about the handout.

Step two: I check for a superseding source. Ordinance 2026-07, adopted March 2026, section 4.2, page 2: six feet or higher requires a permit, including replacement of an existing backyard fence. The handout is superseded.

Step three: I explain the current rule and name the old source. "That sheet was our handout last year. The ordinance was amended in March 2026 and the threshold is now six feet, in section 4.2. Your fence needs a permit. The fee is $85 under the FY2026 schedule, and paying it does not authorise the work until the permit is issued."

What do I ask before I finish?

Whether the lot is a corner lot, because section 4.5 and the 25-foot sight triangle may apply as well. Step four: the height, the lot position and the dates go on the record. Step five: I offer the ordinance page in large print or read aloud, and an interpreter if needed, before I hand over the intake form to sign. Step six: I do not ask why.

How do we rehearse this before it happens for real?

Every clerk practises it. The rehearsal is built around a short rubric Marcus Hale wrote, called current-source service at the permit counter. The criteria are the checklist in another form: acknowledge the resident's question and the old handout without blaming them; cite the ordinance in force by section and date; name the superseded source and check whether the lot is on a corner; offer an accessible route. There is a second scenario where a resident cannot read the printed form and asks for the ordinance page that supports the answer, and the right response offers read-aloud, large print or audio copies, gives the section and date, and explains Priya Venkataraman's public-records route without inventing a disclosure deadline.

Rosa Delgado, who is partway through the certification track, rehearses the same scenarios. The rehearsal is where a new clerk discovers that "I think it's seven feet" comes out of their mouth before they have opened the ordinance, and learns to open it first.

How do I check the source before I speak?

I ask, and I read what comes back. The county keeps its procedures on Vera by UnicornIQ, and when I ask whether a six-foot replacement fence needs a permit, the answer names Ordinance 2026-07, section 4.2, the March 2026 adoption date, and the fact that the 2025 handout is superseded, with the document itself one click away. If I ask about the sight triangle, the answer points at section 4.5. If I ask about a refund after plan check has started, the answer tells me the procedure refers the case for a documented review and states no percentage, which is exactly what I need to hear before I would otherwise guess one. The answer is not the source. The answer shows me where the source is, and I read the sentence before I repeat it to a resident.

Why does the log entry matter?

Because the conversation will be questioned later, by the resident, by a neighbour, or by a records request. The log holds the source title, section, date, my name and the next action. Which edition of the handout was discussed is recorded too. Another clerk, reading it tomorrow, could give the same answer and point at the same page. That is the standard.

Q&A

The questions people ask about answering with a source are answered below.

Last updated 1 October 2026.

Questions and answers

What is the first step when a resident's handout disagrees with the ordinance?
Record the question in neutral language and identify the decision needed, before checking whether a later ordinance or procedure supersedes the handout.
How is the superseded handout mentioned to the resident?
Acknowledged without blame, as the county's own earlier advice, followed by the current section, the March 2026 adoption date and the current intake form.
What does the rehearsal rubric check?
That the clerk acknowledges the question and the old handout without blaming the resident, cites the ordinance in force by section and date, names the superseded source, checks for a corner lot and offers an accessible route.
Why read the source after getting an answer?
Because the answer shows where the source is; the clerk reads the sentence in the document before repeating it to a resident, so the counter and the log point at the same page.

#permit desk #source review #rehearsal #superseded handout

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