The City of Champaign has completed a yearlong audit of their building permit and development approval process. The City worked with an independent 3ʳᵈ party consultant, Matrix Consultants, to perform a true independent analysis of the City’s permitting processes. This review resulted in identification of the processes that were considered “Best Practices” and the pieces of the process that could be updated to meet current standards. In tandem with this analysis, the City has been working to implement a new software, that will allow for on-line permit submittals and payments. There will be overall improvements in customer service as a result of this software implementation to make the process more efficient, more transparent, and more seamless for both the customer and city staff that process these applications.
The City will be launching the new permitting software on January 2ⁿᵈ, 2025. At that time, permit applications will only be able to be submitted digitally, saving applicants thousands of dollars a year in paper costs. The City is inviting anyone interested in learning more about the new software, OpenGov, to attend informational Zoom Meetings in October and November. Anyone interested in attending a Zoom Meeting to learn about the digital permitting process will need to register at EngageChampaign.org. The meetings will be:
– Tuesday, October 22nd – How to submit a permit
– Tuesday, November 5th – How to format your plans
– Tuesday, November 19th – How to review comments
– Tuesday, December 3rd – How to schedule an inspection
In order to register for the Zoom Meeting to learn more about the digital permitting process, interested parties will need to click on the Development Services Page on EngageChampaign.org and register to get the Zoom link for those dates.