Implementing a Municipal Permit Management System Brian Du

Implementing a Municipal Permit Management System Brian Du. Pont, GIS Manager Town of Wellesley, MA

Simply…… Why? • 1. Recognition of opportunities for improvement within the Building Dept. ▫ Customer Service ▫ Communication ▫ Record Keeping / Data Storage • 2. Vision of a common platform for “place -based” information

Selection (~8 weeks) • Involved staff from multiple departments, elected officials, and Building Inspector • Evaluated 6 systems using SWOT(C) analysis ▫ Strengths / Weaknesses ▫ Opportunities / Threats (Challenges) • Cost, integration, ease-of-use, and……… GIS

Implementation (~8 months) • Involved staff from Building Dept. , NIS (GIS) , and MUNIS Specialist • Locate and input source data • Identify and model permit types, forms and workflows ▫ 69 total! • Training

(+) Achievements • Bye, bye typewriter! • Data is standardized • Communication has improved

(-) Missed Opportunities • Process is not faster for most customers • Another spatial DB • Information not easily accessible • History not converted

Lessons • Understand the vernacular!!!

Wellesley Building Dept. “Permits” Building Permit Electrical Permit Plumbing/Gas Permit Prerequisites Inspections Plan Reviews Inspections

MUNIS “Applications” APPLICATION (Project) Board Reviews Prerequisites Permits Building Electrical Plumbing / Gas Inspections Plan Reviews

Lessons • Understand the vernacular!!! • Evaluate the trade-offs • Think about how spatial features are modeled

Spatial Framework Neighborhood Parcel Building Address Sub-Address Deck

Lessons • Understand the vernacular!!! • Evaluate the trade-offs • Think about how spatial features are modeled • Think about how a permitting system can improve your GIS workflows

For the future… • GIS link -- especially for field operations • Integration w/ other enterprise apps. ▫ Customer Service (Gov. QA) ▫ Document Management • CITRIX • Digital Plan Submission Standard for asbuilts (record drawings)

Thank you! Brian Du. Pont, GIS Manager Town of Wellesley, MA bdupont@wellesleyma. gov 781 -431 -1019 x 2289