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11/22/2016 02:30 PMTo streamline and automate the town’s permitting process, Building Official David Maiden said a Town Land Use Department team, after looking at several options, chose PermitLink municipal permitting software as its preferred system.
“We looked at IPS, PermitLink, VEOCCI, and CityView. After reviewing all of the information, it was a unanimous choice that PermitLink was the preferred vendor,” Maiden told the Board of Selectmen on Nov. 14. “The Town of North Branford has been using PermitLink for over a year and love it. Two different contractors we spoke to that have used it in North Branford both said it was the most user-friendly software they’d ever used.”
The Town of North Branford was using CityView permitting software before deciding to switch to PermitLink a year ago.
The cloud-based PermitLink computer software system lets building permit applicants, whether a contractor or a property owner, enter project information details into an online PermitLink town permit template. Once completed, the online application is filed with the town with the click of a button. Once filed online, the application is a record that can be read, tracked, and searched online by town staff and by the contractor.
Other functions of the software system allow the town building official and other Land Use Department staff to enter information into the application record with updates for applicants on the status and timing of town actions. The town building official and health director can search these records also to identify and track scheduled inspections, reviews, and other tasks. Automated records will also help control and manage Land Use Department assignments and workflow.
Another advantage is that from the PermitLink system, successful applicants can print out approved permits and certificates. The greater automation of the PermitLink process should improve record-keeping, archiving of permitting decisions, and the town staff’s efficiency. With online tracking, the department should receive fewer phone calls asking about the permit’s status. Town staff will no longer need to physically find a file and search through its contents by hand to find a needed document or drawing—that information will soon be online instead.
For contractors, this means that town permit applications can be prepared and submitted from an offsite location when time is available. And with permit data entered and tracked online, the process is streamlined, which saves contractors time.
Maiden told the Board of Selectmen that the upfront set-up cost for a PermitLink system adapted to the Town of Westbrook’s needs is $3,000. The annual license fee to use the PermitLink software is $8,000. He reports that the system is so easy to use that very little training time is anticipated.
The firm has three servers to which PermitLink data is backed up on a daily basis.
“Once the software is loaded, it is click and choose—and it interfaces with the Town Assessor’s database. The Town Health Department has already provided the firm with the State Department of Public Health forms to incorporate,” said Maiden. “The [system’s] cost is set, but details on server security, how we retrieve data, still has to be spelled out in the contract. We’re all working [to resolve] this,” said Maiden.
Maiden said he had in hand a draft services contract with PermitLink, but before First Selectman Noel Bishop signs it, he said that Town Land Use Department employees need to resolve nine open action items awaiting a PermitLink response. Town Counsel Michael Wells also made two comments on the contract that need to be addressed. When those are resolved, he said that Bishop can sign the contract.
Funding to buy an online permitting software system already was included in the Building Department budget for the current fiscal year. No additional funding need be appropriated to move forward, according to Maiden.
Based on Maiden’s recommendation, the Board of Selectmen voted to authorize Bishop to sign the contract with PermitLink, pending satisfactory resolution of the 11 open action items.
Maiden told the selectmen he is optimistic that the new online permitting system will be up and running by Jan. 1, 2017.
The Water Pollution Control Commission (WPCC) will likely also use the new PermitLink software in the near future. However, the WPCC plans to wait to convert from the current Carmody database system until after the Land Use Department is comfortable with using the PermitLink software.