Technology upgrades in the new Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections – formerly the Bureau of Building Inspection – are set to continue, as Pittsburgh City Council on Monday gave preliminary approval to a bill that would set the stage for putting permitting online.
Business technology analyst David White said the proposed change to the licensing agreement means the city will no longer actually own the Civic Platform and Citizen Access programs from the company Accela.
“We’re moving to a subscription service in which we lease the software, which will allow us more flexibility moving forward and also ensure that we are on the latest release of the software,” White said.
The new agreement would also move all of the city’s data to the cloud, rather than hosting it onsite. White told City Council that every major city is pursuing or has pursued similar initiatives.
“Our vision is to be a much more efficient operation for customers, so that we can provide better services to city residents who are trying to do things … like replace windows, put a new roof on your house, or replace your furnace, all of which require permits,” White said.
When Councilman Dan Gilman asked White if the software change would move the city toward online permitting and credit card acceptance, White answered in the affirmative.
“Then I love it,” Gilman said.
Council will take a final vote on the bill next week. White said they’ll begin making the software switch and moving data to the cloud immediately, but was unable to give a timeline for implementation of online permitting and credit card payments.
The software agreement, which runs through June 2017, will cost the city about $650,000.
Upgrading technology and improving efficiency in the department has been a priority of Mayor Bill Peduto since he took office. The department’s headquarters at 200 Ross St. downtown were only completely wired for Internet access in July. Inspectors also recently received iPhones so that they can be reached while they are out of the office.
