1. Implementing a Municipal Permit Management System
Brian DuPont, GIS Manager
Town of Wellesley, MA

2. Simply…… Why?
1. Recognition of opportunities for improvement within the Building Dept.
Customer Service
Communication
Record Keeping / Data Storage
2. Vision of a common platform for “place-based” information
Babson Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program in December the group assigned to these issues ultimately selected MUNIS as the preferred vendor for permitting software (features, ease of use, and the Town’s familiarity with the MUNIS platform)
1. External customer service:
Permit process was perceived as SLOW
Public often not aware of other regulations / bylaws required for their project
2. Communication (especially with other departments):
Information is not easily accessible --- Existing Access DB is difficult to use
3. Record Keeping:
No digital record of all field inspections completed
Still depend on typewriter for issuing permits and documenting abutters lists
Accumulation of paper plans is leading to shortage of storage space

3. Selection (~8 weeks)
Involved staff from multiple departments, elected officials, and Building Inspector
Evaluated 6 systems using SWOT(C) analysis
Strengths / Weaknesses
Opportunities / Threats (Challenges)
Cost, integration, ease-of-use, and………
GIS

4. Implementation (~8 months)
Involved staff from Building Dept., NIS (GIS) , and MUNIS Specialist
Locate and input source data
Identify and model permit types, forms and workflows
69 total!
Training

5. MUNIS for Permits & Code Enforcement is a “place-based” system
Property Master File --- In theory, a DB that can be “sync”ed with your Assessor’s DB (of course, this works much better if you’re using the MUNIS module for Assessors…)
Lot dimensions & setbacks
Buildings and uses
Restrictions (property “flags”….. Wetlands, special zoning districts)
Sub-addresses & tenants
Parent  child

7. (+) Achievements Bye, bye typewriter! Data is standardized
Communication has improved
Bye, bye typewriter
Automated permit forms and denial letters --- more professional
Standardized data
Planning and assessing departments can research trends in construction
Built-in tools for easier periodic and “on-demand” reporting on permitting activity
Communication
Internal
Administrative staff can view inspectors schedules
Building inspector can monitor progress of 4 inspectors
External
As other departments join in, it will be much easier to monitor progress of all reviews
Customer service staff can relate details to customer

8. (-) Missed Opportunities
Process is not faster for most customers
Another spatial DB
Information not easily accessible
History not converted
Most inefficiencies have to do with the building code and it’s strict interpretation by our Building Inspector
The “Property Master File” is another spatial database with much of the same information that is in the assessor’s DB… Important fields (like owners’ information and structural details) are maintained in 2 places
Getting information out of the MUNIS system requires knowledge of Crystal Reports --- This has placed a burden on our IT staff who prepare reports
History of building permits was not converted --- great during implementation because there was no “down time” but also a burden as users have to access multiple systems to get the entire history of a property

9. Lessons
Understand the vernacular!!!

10. Wellesley Building Dept. “Permits”
Electrical
Permit
Plumbing/Gas
Permit
Prerequisites
Prerequisites
Prerequisites
Each permit has a separate “application” form…
Plan Reviews
Inspections
Inspections
Inspections

11. APPLICATION (Project)
MUNIS “Applications”
APPLICATION (Project)
Prerequisites
Board Reviews
Each off the shelf system models the permitting process differently…
Permits
Building
Electrical
Plumbing / Gas
Inspections
Plan Reviews

12. Lessons Understand the vernacular!!! Evaluate the trade-offs
Think about how spatial features are modeled
Most permitting systems are similar in base functionality but each has their idiosyncrasies…
The selection committee felt that the live link to our general ledger system was important… Is it really?
MUNIS was easy to implement for the Building Department because they were starting at GROUND ZERO  but the system was designed to handle ALL town permitting activity (Public Works, Planning / Zoning, Health, Wetlands…)
The DPW, however, decided against implementing MUNIS for street opening and trench permits because they had built some advanced functionality into a home-grown Access DB system (Dig Safe…). MUNIS offered NO significant advantages over the system they were currently using.
Spatial components

13. Spatial Framework Neighborhood Parcel Building Address Sub-Address
A permitting system is inherently a “place-based” system… And, when applied in Building Departments, they are used to keep information on about features that are modeled in most municipal GIS databases…
Understanding the differences between the permitting systems model and your own GIS model is important for:
Preparing “seed” data for the standardized system
Setting the stage for a linked system that will allow users to:
Evaluate the context of permitted activity
Map and analyze the content of the system
Address
Sub-Address
Deck

14. Lessons Understand the vernacular!!! Evaluate the trade-offs
Think about how spatial features are modeled
Ownership information  abutters tools
IN SUMMARY… Most permitting systems are similar --- the items on this list can be considered long before specific software is chosen… Preparation ahead of time is the key to a speedy implementation.
Think about how a permitting system can improve your GIS workflows

15. For the future… GIS link -- especially for field operations
Integration w/ other enterprise apps.
Customer Service (GovQA)
Document Management
CITRIX
Digital Plan Submission Standard for as- builts (record drawings)

16. Thank you! Brian DuPont, GIS Manager Town of Wellesley, MA
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