How Raleigh Scales Technology to Meet Unique Community Needs
Organization Profile
- Industry: Municipal
- Tyler Client Since: 2015
- Number of Employees: 6,000
- Population: 482,425
- Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
- Tyler Products/Solutions: Cashiering, Enterprise Permitting & Licensing, Payments
The City of Raleigh, North Carolina, nicknamed the City of Oaks, is home to more than 480,000 residents and is best known for its vibrant blend of government, history, education, technology, and southern charm. A diverse population creates a wide range of governmental needs and Raleigh faced a unique administrative challenge with the city’s newly instituted Dangerous Wild Animal Ordinance. The ordinance required owners of dangerous wild animals to register their animals within two months so the animals could be tracked by Raleigh Police and animal control. This quickly activated ordinance created a challenge for tracking the registrations that extended to neighboring municipalities who were included in the ordinance requirement. The challenges did not end at the city limits, however. Raleigh has several nearby “merger communities,” or smaller municipalities that rely on Raleigh’s infrastructure for water distribution while maintaining their own separate local governments. City employees found a way to strike an equitable balance that did not exhaust their resources while empowering the merger communities by centralizing all plan reviews to Raleigh.
Adapting Permitting & Licensing for the Wild Animal Ordinance
The police department approached the City’s Information Technology department for a solution. Using Enterprise Permitting & Licensing’s existing functionality in a “not-sostandard way” the city tracked the registered animals and gathered the information the police department needed for the new Dangerous Wild Animal Ordinance. By creatively leveraging the Professional License module within Enterprise Permitting & Licensing, the IT department collaborated with the police department to set up an operational system within the two-month window set by the ordinance.
“We collaborated closely with the police department, created a detailed timeline and questionnaire to capture essential information,” said Courtney Bland-Fowler, Technology Supervisor for the City of Raleigh. “Despite using the Professional License module unconventionally, its versatility allowed us to implement a solution efficiently. Through rigorous testing and adjustments, we met the police department’s specific needs and successfully implemented the system three days ahead of the deadline. This project highlighted our ability to innovate and adapt, ensuring compliance and enhancing public safety in Raleigh.”
Streamlining Operations for Water Services
Enterprise Permitting & Licensing also helped create a solution to manage water distribution for Raleigh’s neighboring, or merger communities. The City leveraged Enterprise Permitting & Licensing’s eReviews application to allow merger communities to conduct plan reviews on Raleigh’s platform that allowed the communities to track and issue water-use permits while managing and collecting fee payments. Residents could also enter and track requests through the Civic Access online portal.
“For municipalities that the City provides water service to, the merger communities’ constituents were able to go online to make payments. They didn’t have to go to the City of Raleigh or go to a certain location to make payments,” said Suni Wilkenshoff, Technology Analyst for the City of Raleigh. “They could make payments any time, anywhere online. It made it a more equitable distribution and easier process for everybody.”
As Raleigh continues to grow, scalability becomes a critical factor. Tyler Technologies presented a system that could scale with Raleigh’s needs over time, minimizing the need for costly replacements or upgrades in the future.
Courtney Bland-Fowler
Technology Supervisor, City of Raleigh, North Carolina
Reducing Review Processing Time
In addition to saving time and effort for citizens of the merger communities, Enterprise Permitting & Licensing’s streamlined nature reduced the administrative workload associated with the review process.
“Our solution saved time for municipal staff, allowed them to focus on critical tasks, and made transactions faster and more convenient for citizens,” Bland-Fowler said. “This approach has set a precedent for better workflows and service delivery across municipalities, promoting a connected and equitable community.”
With more than 65,000 permits and 55,650 payments processed annually, the workload in Raleigh continues to increase. City employees are well-prepared for the future with Enterprise Permitting & Licensing. The City plans to fully deploy Decision Engine, Enterprise Permitting & Licensing’s digital permit guide for constituents, to automate routine tasks and integrate eReviews with other departments to streamline their workflows.
“As Raleigh continues to grow, scalability becomes a critical factor,” Bland-Fowler said. “Tyler Technologies presented a system that could scale with Raleigh’s needs over time, minimizing the need for costly replacements or upgrades in the future.” With the administrative burden eased, city employees can focus on supporting efforts that make Raleigh a thriving, vibrant city.