It will soon be easier to obtain permits from several town departments.
The Legislative Council recently approved an agreement to implement a new paperless permitting system in several town departments, including the Building Department and the Planning and Zoning Department — two departments that have struggled because of financial restraints to keep up with the demand for permits.
The council approved an agreement with ViewPoint Government Solutions, headquartered in Boston, that gives the town the right to its specialized software allowing for permits to be applied for online.
A number of municipalities have begun offering online permitting, though most only offer the ability to download forms online that must be presented in person at the office. The state of Rhode Island uses the same software that Hamden has contracted to use, and the town of Orange instituted the use of the software in town departments, including the Fire Marshal’s office, in summer 2015.
“The feedback from the residents and contractors has been very good. They like not having to make the extra trips,” Orange Fire Marshal Tim Smith said in a ViewPoint release. And the town officials using it also sing its praises, he said. “The feedback has been very positive. All the departments are in agreement that this is what we needed, that we should have done something like this years ago.”
It’s been a goal of the town for quite some time to go paperless, Hamden Mayor Curt Balzano Leng said.
“Town officials have recognized the impending need for modernization in relation to the ways in which Hamden handles its permitting processes,” Leng said. “This streamlined paperless effort works toward our goal of a more user friendly and accessible process for residents and businesses.”
The town also has increased the hours of town offices in an effort to make them more business-friendly, Leng said. “The implementation of the ViewPoint software is the capstone to recent operational and personnel changes that work to make Hamden more business friendly and convenient for residents,” he said. Businesses, contractors and residents wishing to file for permits will now have additional opportunities due to the expansion of Department operating hours and the implementation of the online paperless permitting system.”
By switching to the paperless system, the town will join the Capital Regional Council of Governments, a consortium made up mostly of municipalities in the northern section of Connecticut that has been designated to manage the e-government initiative. Eight towns were involved in the program when it was introduced in 2009, and it has now expanded to almost 40.
Hamden will pay an annual subscription cost of $7,800 based on an estimated 4,000 permits per year, Leng said, and a one-time set up fee of $15,000, which includes support and maintenance. It is expected to go online by spring, he said.
“The town of Hamden has been vigorously pursuing operational and personnel changes within our departments that approve and distribute permits in an effort to streamline the process for businesses and residents while also improving operational efficiency for town staff,” he said. “The implementation of the ‘paperless permitting’ system will allow Hamden residents and business owners drastically improved accessibility to our permitting departments and officials, and in the long-term will greatly improve the turn-around-time associated with the permitting process.”
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Kate Ramunni
Quelle/Source: New Haven Register, 01.02.2017
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