How Technology Enables a Virginia County to Grow Gracefully

Organization Profile

• Industry: County
• Location: Goochland County, Virginia
• Number of Employees: 324
• Population: 24,000
• Tyler Client Since: 2018
• Tyler Products/Solutions: Enterprise Permitting & Licensing [powered by EnerGov], Inspections Mobile, Civic Access, Payments

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Client Background

The unique community of Goochland County sits just west of the Richmond, Virginia, metro area, and was recently named the second fastest growing community in the region. The county’s 24,000 constituents are accustomed to a rural but active lifestyle, thanks in part to their local government’s intention to grow gracefully. Fulfilling their intention means managing the influx of residents through thoughtful development, setting goals for sustainable growth, delivering project transparency, and providing online access to ensure life is good for county residents.

Sara Worley, the economic development director for Goochland County, shared why she loves working for Goochland. “I enjoy my role as a leader for its problem-solving opportunities while sustainably growing the county. We are a special and unique place, which is why we strive to be different and grow in a good way.”

Challenge

The county’s existing community development software did not provide the modern features required to meet their goals. Their manual and paper-based processes led to lengthy turnaround times. Staff kept paper copies of permits and plans. All inspection tickets had to be manually entered, then printed on carbon copy paper. Results of inspections were either left on the job site or given verbally over the phone the next morning. With no mobile options, the time inspectors were able to be in the field was reduced, further slowing down the process.

Transparency was a challenge. According to Worley, “Reporting out of our legacy system was always a chore and staff could not get information that we needed in a timely fashion out of the system.”

Additionally, residents held high expectations for access to information, online convenience, and a near-seamless customer experience. They were asking for more convenient online payment options, which their antiquated system did not allow. Applicants and contractors needed shorter permit processing and inspection timeframes, while plan reviewers required a system that eliminated cumbersome administrative steps. These diverse needs prompted Goochland County to replace its legacy systems with an enterprise platform for virtual collaboration and digital community development.

Solution

According to Worley, “Our Board values transparency, so choosing Tyler’s Enterprise Permitting & Licensing with the online portal made sense.”

The software includes many integrated features that helped achieve the county’s goals for community engagement. The Civic Access web portal brought permitting and licensing services to applicants’ fingertips 24/7, from anywhere, granting visibility into their project status, review comments, and inspection results. The fully integrated Payments application delivered convenient fee payment options for the first time, allowing residents and applicants to pay online with a credit card. Constituents and contractors submitted applications, accessed status information, and paid fees from one location.

Worley said it best, “Our citizens and contractors enjoy having access to apply, pay fees, and track their permits and inspections online.”

Enterprise Permitting & Licensing also delivered value to its staff. Digital workflows moved applications through the process faster with automated notifications. Online collaboration between departments, engineers, and architects accelerated plan reviews and inspections. Tyler’s Inspections Mobile application provided time savings, allowing inspectors to send results to contractors immediately and schedule re-inspections on the go. Empowering inspectors to map out their day added more field time by skipping the office and driving directly to their first inspection.

Digital application documentation uploads, plan review markups, and inspection results eliminated paper copies, helping the county achieve sustainable growth from an environmental standpoint.

Results

Worley described the Enterprise Permitting & Licensing implementation as successful. “Our implementation was seamless. Over 500 contractors have signed up since our go-live and really enjoy using the portal.”

With 52% of all permits submitted online, the positive results are evident and likely to continue. Application intake staff appreciate the digital workflows saving them four hours of manual tasks per week. County residents embraced online accessibility, registering 515 unique Civic Access accounts within the first six months after going live. The convenience of Tyler’s Payments solution makes it easier to pay application and other fees. Combining automated fee notifications with online payment options, enabled the county to process over $76,000 in fees, which is 50% of their total payments, online.

Engineers and architects benefit from the ability to start their plan reviews faster with Enterprise Permitting & Licensing’s paperless workflows and application visibility. Waiting for a formal plan review letter before providing their plan markups is a thing of the past. What previously took up to a week now is started in two clicks from the application dashboard.

Enterprise Permitting & Licensing expanded Goochland County’s efficiencies from agencies and departments to the field. Inspections Mobile capabilities save an estimated hour a day managing building inspections. Worley explained, “Our inspectors love the ability to take their iPads in the field and complete their inspections.”

Inspectors can send results immediately to the applicant, so they can schedule a re-inspection faster. Inspectors receive their schedule through their iPad and map out their inspections for the day. What once took 90 minutes a day with paper inspection tickets and over-the-phone scheduling, has dwindled to a maximum of 30 minutes with digital capabilities.

Conclusion

Today’s complexities in managing community growth and expectations require integrated digital technology to simplify the permitting and licensing processes at the heart of local government operations. Goochland County’s leaders achieved the purposeful growth, project transparency, and faster service delivery expected of the second-fastest-growing county in Richmond. Implementing the right technology empowers them to deliver on the promise of growing gracefully.