Tailored Solution Reduces Permit Processing Time by 60%

Organization Profile

• Industry: County Government
• Location: San Luis Obispo, California
• Number of Employees: 2,874
• Population: 282,424
• Tyler Client Since: 2016
• Tyler Products/Solutions: Enterprise Permitting & Licensing, Data & Insights, Payments, Fire Prevention Mobile, and Records Management

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Located halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California’s coastal county of San Luis Obispo is a vibrant community that more than 280,000 residents call home. The county hosts 65 miles of open space, with developers and residents alike committed to preserving the county’s natural beauty.

In 2016, the County of San Luis Obispo implemented Enterprise Permitting & Licensing to manage the permitting of construction and land use projects. Not wanting to change their existing community development processes, the team opted to customize the software to meet their specific parameters.

Following an audit by Tyler Technologies, County staff realized they had an issue. After three years of internal customization, the system was unreliable, data was not flowing properly, and processes were inconsistent. Dedicated to turning their situation around and ensuring it worked properly for staff and community members, the County partnered with Tyler’s staff to re-align the software with best practices and invested in Tyler’s Assist program to do so. Tyler’s Assist program provides personalized assistance and support from a dedicated team of Tyler representatives who ensure software is being used optimally and lead software clients through software navigation and configuration.

Solution

Equipped with Enterprise Permitting & Licensing, a purposebuilt solution specifically tailored for local government, the County was able to partner with Tyler’s Assist team to re-configure the software according to best practices. The Assist team aimed to return the software to its original functionality, which is designed based on experience, research, and feedback from the public sector.

Enterprise Permitting & Licensing offers functionality specifically for city and county governments, ensuring seamless management of complex procedures and efficient administration, while continuously innovating based on feedback from over 750 clients to enhance user experience and meet the unique needs of the public sector.

The County of San Luis Obispo knew that their Assist subscription could help them configure the software back to its intended structure for optimal use. The Assist program offers Enterprise Permitting & Licensing clients a dedicated representative that “assists” with software administration and configuration.

Tyler staff stepped in to assist the County’s staff to mitigate resistance to change, recommend best practices, and explain the “why” behind the recommended changes. According to the County, Tyler has “truly been a partner” and has offered training, demos, and assistance with brainstorming business processes.

Results

After a successful relaunch in 2022, the County of San Luis Obispo significantly improved the efficiency and reliability of the planning and review processes for both County staff users and community members. Utilizing eReviews for electronic plan reviews, staff from the County Department of Planning and Building can simultaneously review plans in collaboration with other departments, reducing review time for staff and applicants. Overall permit processing times have decreased by 60%. With the shift to paperless processes using eReviews, the County has also been able to improve the tracking of plans that are stored online.

The County continues to maintain a partnership with Tyler through the Assist program to ensure longevity of changes and accordance with best practices. According to the County, “When situations come up that need investigation, having the support to talk through ideas and troubleshoot has been impactful.” The County team keeps in touch with Tyler and communicates any questions, issues, or feedback regularly.

The County of San Luis Obispo recently moved Enterprise Permitting & Licensing to the cloud. After their cloud transition, the County was able to retire 28 on-premises servers, reducing capital expenses and improving IT efficiency. Plus, being on the cloud ensures they will always have access to the latest technology from Tyler.

By implementing a strategic change management plan with expert guidance and best practices from Tyler, the County of San Luis Obispo delivered a solution configured to better serve their staff and residents. The County’s dedication to excellence and their commitment to a strong user experience has positioned them to succeed in the future and beyond.