When Matthew Gonzales joined Waco’s Stormwater team as a Data Analyst, the team was in transition.

The stormwater team had shrunk from eight people to three: a Supervisor and two Senior Environmental Compliance Inspectors. Construction site inspections, once handled by the Stormwater team, were now the responsibility of the newly created Construction Inspection division.

The reorganization brought its own challenges. Within months, the Stormwater Supervisor took a new opportunity in another city department.

Matthew stepped into a Senior Inspector position, taking ownership of much of the program.

“I was figuring out what I was working with and how to maximize effectiveness,” he said. “There is always a better way. You just have to find it.”

Getting organized around how the city works

Matthew’s first priority was making the new structure work. Eight inspectors with other responsibilities could not operate the same way two dedicated stormwater staff had.

The old setup divided the city in half along a highway, with one inspector on each side. That worked when stormwater was their only focus.

Matthew reorganized the system around drainage basins and tagged every construction site by which basin it fell into. Inspectors could now quickly find active sites near where they were already working.

“The system had all the tools,” he said. “We just needed to use them in a way that matched how the city operates.”

He also started closing out sites that should have been marked complete. Some inspectors were being sent to homes where families had lived for two years.

“We were asking them to do stormwater inspections at houses people had lived in for two years,” he said. “That is not helping anyone.”

Catching compliance gaps before they escalate

With the new structure in place, Matthew turned to the data. He runs analytics every two weeks and sends updates to department heads showing how many inspections each team has completed.

SwiftComply’s API also feeds data into Power BI, giving department heads a citywide view without needing to log in to another system.

“I can see who is doing inspections and at what level,” he said. “That is how you understand where your team’s time is going.”

If a department is falling behind, he flags it. He also used weekly check-ins to calibrate the engineering inspection team.

“Getting information from the whole city was tough,” he said. “The only easy part was SwiftComply.”

Unlimited users also helped. With more people able to access the system, the eight inspectors could log in, see their assigned sites, and pull inspection history without bottlenecks.

“With SwiftComply I can make sure all those workflow steps are done. It has really streamlined things for the inspectors.”

Getting the enforcement foundation right

As the inspection workflow settled, Matthew turned his attention to what happens after an inspection.

During the restructuring, the program had gone roughly a year without issuing formal enforcement actions. That made it harder to set clear expectations with contractors as inspections ramped back up.

“We need a way to track it and justify it when we start doing sanctions again,” he said.

To strengthen the inspection process, he standardized how deficiencies are documented. There are three categories: Correct and Proceed, Area of Concern, and Violation. The structure gives builders clarity while giving the city defensible documentation when follow-up is needed.

“If you have more compliant BMPs than areas of concern, you can still pass your inspection,” he explained. “We can highlight issues without being overly strict where we do not need to be.”

He also started using SwiftComply templates to send clear notices about violations and required actions.

“We want to make sure no one can say they were surprised,” he said.

Matthew also reached out beyond developers and contractors.

“We have been talking to concrete companies, portable toilet companies, anyone whose work affects compliance,” he said. “Education has to reach the whole ecosystem.”

Advice for anyone navigating a program restructure

Matthew’s advice for anyone stepping into a similar situation was straightforward.

“Start with the analytics,” he said. “Get in there and look at what people are spending their time on. Figure out what is really effective.”

“With the data in SwiftComply I can run the numbers pretty quickly and see who is doing what and at what level.”

He also emphasized flexibility. “There are enough tools in the program that you can match it to your structure,” he said.