Aging software and systems are a struggle for governments everywhere, but what do officials do when these same systems jeopardize essential services? They adapt.
In this video, Manatee’s Director of Building and Development Services John Barnott explains how the county took 20-year-old systems and transformed them with the help of Accela’s cloud solutions for planning and building. This helped them save $250,000 annually and dramatically accelerate operations.
Barnott said the county wanted to ensure services could meet the demands of residents, and many of the county’s older system were no longer supported by the vendors that had originally sold them. This meant constant fears of possible service outages and potentially high repair costs if a system went down. Complicating matters, management and use of the systems was already difficult since some were custom built and most operated independently of each other.
Once Manatee County deployed Accela they not only saw increased efficiencies in processing tasks, turnaround times and improved customer satisfaction, they also no longer needed a new annex permitting office due to online submittals — eliminating the extra expense. The county now accepts more than 80 percent of their permits online, resulting in lower wait times and a decrease in office foot traffic.
“Our customers no longer have to come to us. They can sit at their desktops submit all their plans, all their applications. We are now paperless and it’s a huge savings, both for them and us,” Barnott said.
In the video below, listen to Barnott explain the benefits the county found in Accela’s Civic Solutions for Planning and Building, and for complete details, read the full case study here.
