In an effort to bring bureaucracy to the masses, Portimão council is to open its first Balcão Único Municipal (BUM) on October 13.
This BUM aims to make available most council services in one place, rather than people having to travel to the various council buildings scattered across the city.
The council has provided staff, it has plenty of spare workers with the closure of Portimão Urbis, and the chosen ones are undergoing a special training course in how to smile, be pleasant, helpful and tolerant.
"The goal is to simplify the lives of citizens, who can handle their affairs quickly at a BUM, without the need for waiting around."
"It is the goal of the agency to provide a quality service, guided by the values of competence, transparency, engagement and personalisation in conjunction with other municipal services," waffled the press release from the councl offices.
Portimão’s BUM aims also to be an 'effective means of streamlining processes" such as a request for a license or a topographic map, the payment of a fee, or a social care matter.
At the BUM, "a multidisciplinary team will combine sympathy with professionalism” and provide the public with information about various areas of municipal activity, help with applications, find out where an application has got to in the municipal system, make payments, make suggestions, complaints and comments, as well as request hearings with the municipal executive or technicians from the municipality.”
A second phase is planned for later this year, will the installation of two more BUMs where it will be possible to deal with 80 people, but not all at once, and with their problems relating to license renewals and changes of address on their Citizen Card.
This project comes under the Agency for Administrative Modernisation and aims to have a "dynamic impact" on the area in which it operates and the people it will be helping.
