The city of Pittsburgh is placing a $5 million bid on software designed to speed up and simplify its permitting process, a report by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says. The current permitting process received complaints from developers and other community members.
The city has a contract with Computronix, a Lakewood, Colorado-based government software company, to develop a single program for use by all agencies related to approving building, occupancy and other permits for construction and development. They city will pay $5.6 million over five years.
According to the report, Kevin Acklin, chief of staff to Mayor Bill Peduto, says the goal is to improve the permitting process to avoid development delays and project money loss.
The city is also receiving a $50,000 grant from the Heinz Endowments for a $145,000 contract with Zucker Systems, a consulting service that specializes in organization, management and process studies based in San Diego, to build a simple and more transparent approval process, the report says.
The system is designed to allow anyone seeking a permit to submit it electronically and have it reviewed at the same time any city agencies involved. According to the report, once the permit is reviewed, one single response will be given to the applicant. Applicants will also be able to track the proposal through the permitting process.
The city has already cut its initial review time for building permits from 27.5 days in 2011 to 10.5 days, the report says, but response times vary. Currently, since the application may need to go through several difference agencies, it may be revised several times before a permit is issued.
The city has a contract with Computronix, a Lakewood, Colorado-based government software company, to develop a single program for use by all agencies related to approving building, occupancy and other permits for construction and development. They city will pay $5.6 million over five years.
According to the report, Kevin Acklin, chief of staff to Mayor Bill Peduto, says the goal is to improve the permitting process to avoid development delays and project money loss.
The city is also receiving a $50,000 grant from the Heinz Endowments for a $145,000 contract with Zucker Systems, a consulting service that specializes in organization, management and process studies based in San Diego, to build a simple and more transparent approval process, the report says.
The system is designed to allow anyone seeking a permit to submit it electronically and have it reviewed at the same time any city agencies involved. According to the report, once the permit is reviewed, one single response will be given to the applicant. Applicants will also be able to track the proposal through the permitting process.
The city has already cut its initial review time for building permits from 27.5 days in 2011 to 10.5 days, the report says, but response times vary. Currently, since the application may need to go through several difference agencies, it may be revised several times before a permit is issued.
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