Online Software at the Center of County's Booming Growth

Organization Profile

• Industry: Municipal
• Tyler Client Since: 2020
• Number of Employees: 324
• Population: 25,000
• Location: Goochland County, Virginia
• Tyler Products/Solutions: Enterprise Permitting & Licensing (powered by EnerGov), Inspections Mobile, Civic Access, Payments, Data & Insights

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Challenges

Goochland County sits just northwest of the capital, Richmond, in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Conveniently located in the greater Richmond metro area, it offers the lowest tax rate in the region and hosts the headquarters of companies such as Performance Food Group and CarMax. The county’s superior transportation networks support an expanding 25,000 resident population. As the smallest locality in the nation to receive a coveted Triple-A bond rating from all three rating agencies, county leaders strive to build on Goochland’s impressive reputation and healthy business climate to effectively manage future development for this active community.

Growth demands innovation in local government operations. Effective planning and development in any growing community relies on better leader decision making and efficient processes. Goochland County’s legacy systems fell short on permitting and licensing processing times, visibility, and convenience, prompting leaders to replace their disparate, paper-laden, and non-transparent legacy systems with a centralized, shared platform.

Solution

Online permitting and licensing needs and transparency into processes for staff and constituents fueled Goochland’s search for a new solution. Decision makers chose Tyler Technologies’ Enterprise Permitting & Licensing platform because its digital workflow, concurrent collaboration, payments, and GIS integration capabilities stood out. Tyler team members visiting Goochland during initial consideration to answer questions solidified Tyler as the right choice. Sara Worley, economic development director for Goochland County, said it best. “We liked the way the Tyler team was willing to take the time to answer our questions and make sure we were purchasing the right products prior to signing a contract.”

Goochland unveiled Enterprise Permitting & Licensing in November of 2022, including online services through its community Civic Access portal. Moving to the centralized platform has been successful since staff and constituents began using it. Community development is simpler, constituent experiences have improved, and engagement has grown in the six weeks since Enterprise Permitting & Licensing went live. Worley elaborated on community feedback, saying, “I’ve heard nothing but good things so far. The citizens and contractors are excited to apply and pay online. Staff seem to really like the functionality and ease of using the system.”

Results

Since launching the new solution, Goochland County’s online systems have processed 44% of their 628 permits online with 240 new citizen self-service account registrations and over $76,000 in processed credit card payments.

Contractors are now able to submit online. Reviewers and inspectors are happier with increased functionality in the field. According to Worley, photo captions in the reporting tool make it easier for contractors by displaying what issues need fixing for faster corrections. Inspectors and other reviewers love using mark-up functionality in the field to eliminate that drive back to the office. Inspectors and reviewers are enabled to send results while applicants are empowered to view inspection notes immediately, shortening a crucial element in the process.

Efficiencies are adding up throughout the development lifecycle. Digital processes and workflows significantly reduced staff reporting times. Weekly fee reporting dropped from three hours weekly to ten minutes daily. Staff is also saving two hours per week on business license reporting. Issuance for all-electronic permit submittals has reduced 50% from twenty minutes to ten minutes, which in a year or even months, equals more time spent on those crucial, economy-dependent development projects on both sides of that fence.

Higher functioning cities operate efficiently with constituents on the same page as local government. Goochland leaders adopted a centralized approach to permitting, licensing, and development by planting data access and digital workflows at the center of those processes. Online visibility from both sides of the fence eliminated confusion and reduced errors that slowed project progress. Technology stands out as a tool for connecting agencies with residents wanting to engage with county leaders about their neighborhood through fully visible, virtual services when doing business with the county.