Department of Buildings Comm. Marlene Hopkins answers questions from Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) about staffing cuts and vacancies on Nov. 7, 2024. [Livestream]

The mayor’s “Cut the Tape” initiative, which aims to speed up the time it takes to get residential and commercial developments completed by cutting unnecessary city bureaucratic processes, is paying off with shorter permit processing times, alderpeople were told during the Department of Buildings’ budget hearing Thursday evening.