The Planning & Permitting front counter at City Hall will be closed Monday-Wednesday, November 5-7, for intensive all-day staff training on using new state-of-the-art permitting software the City is purchasing this year.
While the front counter will be closed and staff will be unavailable during these days, there will still be limited building inspections provided. Also, staff will attempt to return telephone calls and emails as time permits during breaks in the training. If you have any questions about staff availability during this closure, or about the new software in general, contact Planning Director Glen Pickus by email or at 360-282-3173.
Other front counter activities (utility payments, business and pet licenses, service requests) at City Hall will be largely unaffected by the closure.
This year the City budgeted $168,000 to license Tyler Technologies’ EnerGov community development software and Incode finance management software. Tyler Technologies is the largest software company in the nation solely focused on providing integrated software and technology services to the public sector.
Combined, the new software packages will improve staff efficiency and customer service. Since they will be linked, issuance and payment of permits and application fees will become a seamless transaction. Both packages will promote transparency as they can increase citizen interaction and engagement by allowing staff to post tailored reporting on the City web site and even create specialized apps to make the City’s land use and financial data readily available to the public in a user-friendly format.
A well-trained staff is necessary to get the most out of EnerGov, which will facilitate the City’s operations in managing land use and all types of regulatory permitting, including the complex processes of intake, submittal routings, fee calculations, approvals and inspections, and code enforcement. It also provides for the capability for inspectors to file their inspections while on site.