How to Streamline your Local Government Permitting Process

Building and Zoning Departments often struggle with various ways to improve and automate their Permitting Process. In our discussions with customers, several best practices have emerged.  Most importantly, the process needs to be transparent and accessible.  Municipalities need a system that engages all reviewers and stakeholders in the process and provides them the ability to check on the status of a given permit easily.  Your ideal solution is a system that works smoothly with your Content Management System and is accessible to the public from your website.

Cloud Based Permitting Software for Local Government

Many municipalities who first automated their permitting process utilized various DOS based software solutions like ZonePro¹  or other popular standalone government permitting software solutions. Some have tried migrating to Software as a Service, like iWorQ’s¹ SaaS management application. SaaS is a type of Cloud Based computing; however, the control and management of the data resides with the service provider. Users have less control over the management and customization of the application and are charged a subscription fee to continue using.   Although these solutions were an improvement over the previous archaic processes, customers using these dated systems are now looking for alternatives.

Local Government Building and Zoning department staff are finding tremendous value, transparencies, and success after switching to more modern cloud-based solutions that run in a browser and do not require extensive on-premise technical help or high subscription fees.  You can get successful integration and the ability to manage your data with Cloud Based software that is easily implemented by linking to your website. Modern cloud-based solutions allow Building and Zoning Department staff to communicate directly with the stakeholders during the permitting process.  Property owners, residents, contractors, and inspectors should all be able to easily access the system from your website.

State-of-the Art Systems

These software technology differences are some of the reasons for vast cost differences in Permit tracking software. There is quite a bit to choose from out there. We have seen packages that ranged from $2,500 to over $250,000 for implementation and from $8,000 to over $38,000 per year for annual subscription fees. You may not need all of the bells and whistles promised in some of these packages for successfully streamlining and managing your process.

With E-Gov Link’s PermitsLink™, Municipalities can easily manage a wide range of permit types with an on-line system to streamline the routing, approval and issuing of Permits. PermitsLink™ is designed to present clarity in each step of the workflow; improving communication with applicants and providing an efficient process for your staff. Using this application for managing the permitting process improves the internal workflow to track applications, inspections, payments, and approvals. PermitsLink™ can assist in computing invoices, collecting fees and printing documents, certificates, and reports.   We can do all of this at favorable costs when compared to ZonePro¹ or iWorQ¹.

State of the Art Information Technology

Make sure to provide your applicants with up to date tools including Geographic Information System mapping technology or GIS features, such as location tracking and request mapping.  GIS is a powerful tool that can graphically depict a parcel of land and its relevant critical areas, topography, zoning, roadways, aerial photos, and other features.  Applications should be able to upload plans and other relevant documents to store on the system.  E-Gov Link’s PermitsLink™ alerts reviewers that a new permit request has been received that requires their action. The system is programmed for the inspections that are needed based on Permit type. The system alerts inspectors when a new inspection has been scheduled that needs review. A given Inspector can print a list of all their inspections scheduled.

Successful Implementation

Show stakeholders what good looks like by providing examples of complete applications.  Consider using a checklist that identifies all information needed for conclusive review. With E-Gov Link’s PermitsLink™, staff will be able to analyze your municipality’s process, performance, and costs by using our system.  Our municipal government permitting software can be added seamlessly to your website. E- Gov Link government IT solutions are provided as hosted applications, which means you won’t need extra internal hardware. Your staff can manage users and access rights of each user using a simple interface screen.  The public view of the application can incorporate the Community’s banner and colors and link directly to their website.

Build a Stronger Link to Your Community with E-Gov Link!

• Create a more user-friendly experience
• Provide residents more self-service options
• Save staff time and increase productivity

1 ZonePro and iWorQ are trade names owned by other entities than E-Gov Link.