Report : CS-22-005

Telephone (905) 468-3266
Facsimile (905) 468-2959

1593 Four Mile Creek Road
P.O. Box 100
Virgil, Ontario
L0S 1T0

		Submitted on:	February 18, 2022
Report:	CS-22-005

Report To:	Corporate Services Advisory Committee
Subject:	AMO/LAS-MPAC E-Permitting Pilot Project with Cloudpermit

1. RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that:

1.1 Council receive Report No. CS-22-005 AMO/LAS-MPAC E-Permitting Pilot Project with Cloudpermit as information;

1.2 Council continue to support the requirements set in the Ontario Building Code Act to ensure adequate measures are in place to administer the Ontario Building Code;

1.3 Council authorize the Chief Building Official and Town Staff to proceed with involvement in the AMO/LAS-MPAC pilot project, including implementation of Cloudpermit E-Permitting Software; and

1.4 Council endorse Staff to deliver a project commitment to AMO/LAS and that $35,000 funding from the Municipal Modernization Program Intake 3 – Implementation Stream grant be committed to support this pilot project involvement.

2. PURPOSE / PROPOSAL
The purpose of this report is to seek Council's approval to proceed with involvement in the AMO/LAS-MPAC pilot project, including implementation of Cloudpermit E-Permitting Software, and for Staff to deliver a project commitment to AMO/LAS.

3. BACKGROUND
Through surveying members of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and discussions with both the AMO and the Local Authority Services (LAS) Boards of Directors, LAS identified the need to partner with a vendor to offer a professional, commercially available e-permitting solution that is scalable to the variety of sizes of municipal governments across Ontario.

On June 29, 2021, AMO, through its business services company, LAS, announced a project with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) to identify a preferred digital provider of electronic building permits. The joint project was to identify an integrated e-permitting system(s) that could provide a one-stop shop for building permits that includes permit applications and review, inspections, communications with applicants, payment processing, data storage and coordination with MPAC.

AMO/LAS issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to identify a vendor(s) that could offer a scalable, market-tested e-permitting system to all Ontario municipalities. AMO/LAS formed an RFP committee supported by representatives from MPAC, the Ontario Building Officials Association (OBOA), and the Municipal Information Systems Association of Ontario (MISA ON) to assist with evaluating submissions.

In searching for the most appropriate partner organization, the RFP committee evaluated six (6) submissions and determined that the most scalable, out-of-the-box, practical, cost-effective, and market-tested solution appropriate for all Ontario municipalities was the Cloudpermit system.

On January 17, 2022, Cloudpermit was announced as the successful candidate in LAS’ RFP process. Cloudpermit is an international e-permitting company that is becoming a common solution in Ontario. Their goal is to provide a web-based service to make the building permit process faster and easier while meeting the diverse needs of residents and the development industry.

The RFP process has confirmed Cloudpermit as a preferred and vetted e-permit solution that can digitize the building permit process to reduce costs, improve customer experience, and increase efficiency.

LAS is the business services arm of AMO and is mandated to provide valuable programs and services to Ontario’s municipalities and the broader public sector. LAS facilitates a competitive solicitation and contracting process based on the needs of municipalities. This process results in province-wide procurement contracts with various vendors of products/equipment and services for use by these organizations. LAS offers competitively priced and sustainable business services to Ontario municipalities and the broader public sector. LAS’ creative services and partnerships:

Benefit municipal customers
Aggregate at an Association level
Are procured through a competitive and transparent process in line with current legislation
Work with reputable organizations that understand the municipal sector.

MPAC is interested in the building permit process and this collaboration because it processes about 300,000 building permits annually, with a goal of efficiently turning building permits into new assessment, to enable municipalities to accurately levy property taxes.

4. DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS
Following the selection of Cloudpermit as the successful candidate in the AMO/LAS RFP process, AMO/LAS and MPAC are seeking municipalities to participate in a pilot of the platform. The pilot project will evaluate the broad benefits of e-permitting solutions for the municipal sector and will share all findings with AMO members to demonstrate the benefits of e-permitting in Ontario.

The goal for participating municipalities is an integrated e-permitting system that provides a complete solution for building permits. It will include permit applications and review, communications with applicants, inspection scheduling and documenting, payment processing, data storage and coordination with MPAC and other parties that require reporting information.

The Town is committed to maintaining a high level of service to the development community, residents and business owners. During the COVID-19 restrictions, building service has received an increasing number of requests from builders, developers and residents for the ability to apply for building permits and book inspections online. To support the evolution of municipal services, an online building permit portal is an important step to better serve builders, developers and the community.

With this objective in mind, Staff seeks Council endorsement via a resolution and commitment of allocate funds and officially express interest in the AMO/LAS-MPAC e-permitting pilot project.

In recent years, a number of larger municipalities have made electronic building permit applications a reality, but this has come at significant cost and Staff time and can involve complex software systems and implementations.

This pilot project offers a new opportunity for the Town to consider. Cloudpermit offers a cloud-based and hosted e-permitting system that is maintained and updated by the service provider over the internet using industry best standards. With the service provider providing the updating and maintenance, it helps ensure that Town Staff is not required to provide resources to ensure its proper function.

In general, and to demonstrate the benefit of this pilot, an electronic permitting process would proceed as follows:

Building Permit Application and Issuance:

Originating from a link on the Municipal website, the applicant creates a project and uploads the required application, forms and drawings and makes the appropriate payment using a user‐friendly process.
Upon notification of a complete application, Municipal staff logs into the website to view and download the information.
Staff will then conduct the plans examination electronically using document editing software. Once satisfied, the approved plans are uploaded to the applicant’s project with a building permit.

Building Inspections:

Permit holders can log onto the website and request an inspection for their project.
Staff receive the notification and confirm.
Inspectors will visit the project and confirm the status of the inspection to the permit holder through the software.

Benefits for the building industry would include:

Online submissions of all documents and payments.
Submissions can be made from any place at any time.
No printing costs; documents are uploaded electronically.
No travel time to and from the municipal office.
Ability to track several permits at one time.
Inspection scheduling and results received electronically and immediately.
Availability of approved plans on-line at all times.
Building projects in multiple municipalities can be viewed and maintained on one ‘dashboard.’
Integration with the Municipal building permit database.

5. Strategic Plan

Create a Culture of Customer Service Excellence

Use technology to improve levels of service

Excel in a Positive Workplace

Increase departmental collaboration, Acknowledge contributions to positive workplace culture

Strengthen 2-Way Communications

Strengthen communications delivery methods

6. OPTIONS

6.1. Option 1: Council approve Staff recommendations as detailed in this report to allow Staff to proceed with involvement in the AMO/LAS-MPAC pilot project, including implementation of Cloudpermit E-Permitting Software. (As Recommended)

6.2 Option 2: Council do not approve the Staff recommendations as detailed in this report, and Staff do not proceed with involvement in the AMO/LAS-MPAC E-Permitting pilot project. (Not recommended)

7. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There is no impact to the Town's 2022 Capital or Operating budgets because the Town received $122,366 funding from the Municipal Modernization Program Intake 3 - Implementation Stream, $35,000 of which is being allocated to support the Town's participation in the AMO/LAS - MPAC pilot.

Participation in the AMO/LAS – MPAC pilot will require an initial expected investment of $30,000 to $35,000. The annual cost will be less than market rates due to the pilot project structure and supports and the RFP process undertaken by LAS to select a preferred e-permitting vendor.

The pilot project participation will include support for initial data integration into the e-permitting system for the municipality.

Since the building department is self-funded through building permit fees, there will be minimal to no impact on the tax levy.

Prior to the pilot concluding, Staff will reflect on the success of the pilot, determine the annual maintenance fee and projected costs for continued service and use of the software, and make a recommendation to Council regarding continued use.

8. COMMUNICATIONS
Involvement in the AMO/LAS-MPAC pilot project would enable the Town to increase efficiencies and improve communications related to the building permit process.

Should Council approve Staff's recommendations as detailed in this report, Staff would move forward with implementing Cloudpermit E-Permitting Software to modernize application channels, facilitate a more efficient and effective building permit process, and provide citizens with accurate and accessible information.

If Cloudpermit is implemented, various communications channels will be utilized, including but not limited to the Town's website and social media pages, to ensure the public and building community is well-informed about the Town's new digital permit process and supported throughout the transition.

Additional communication elements will be considered to promote a seamless experience for customers as they work through various steps needed to obtain a building permit.

9. CONCLUSION
To support the evolution of municipal services, an online building permit portal is an important step to better serve builders, developers and the community. Benefits to the development and building industry are numerous, including but not limited to, enhanced service where submissions can be made from any place at any time, with reduced travel, and the ability to conveniently track permits and inspections scheduling and results. This represents another step in the Town's continuous improvement and customer service excellence efforts, helping to make the permit process faster, easier, more accessible, and more efficient and effective.

If Council approves the recommendations of this report, Staff will submit an application through the Expression of Interest process for this pilot project. If Town involvement in the AMO/LAS-MPAC pilot project is approved via the Expression of Interest process, the Cloudpermit system will be implemented for the Municipality. Staff would then take part in the pilot project with initial startup and six (6) months of service being funded by Cloudpermit, followed by six (6) months of service (and continued ongoing service) being funded by the Town. Any pilot costs attributed to the Town will be covered via the grant the Town received from the Municipal Modernization Program Intake 3 – Implementation Stream. Since the building department is self-funded through building permit fees, ongoing annual operating fees will be funded through this program.

E-permitting has been identified as a priority area to help municipalities find efficiencies with building permit processes. This program provides the Town with an opportunity to unlock efficiencies and find cost savings in its administrative processes.

Respectfully submitted,

Marnie Cluckie, MS.LOD, B.ARCH, B.ES
Chief Administrative Officer

ATTACHMENTS

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