Responding to an increase in construction permits being issued in the city, the Issaquah City Council on Monday approved a bill authorizing four additional positions in the development services department.

Two new jobs under the bill were an engineer tech and an assistant planner. The other two positions required funds to extend the hours of an existing building inspector and borrow public works staff for site inspection work on development. The total cost of the positions was tallied at $125,000.

The expense will come out of 2015 revenues that are expected to be $700,000 higher than originally forecast in the budget, due to greater than expected development activity in the city. Strong permit activity is expected to continue into next year, Development Services Director Charlie Bush said.

“This is our solution to address workload as well as work efficiency in our department,” he said.

Since 2011, the average number of construction permits issued per month by Development Services has risen from approximately 130 to approximately 200. The average total value of those construction permits has more than doubled in that time period, from less than $10 million to less than $25 million.