AUBURN — Work adopting a shared software suite for the Twin Cities government has been slow going, but officials are confident they will be significantly finished by June 2011.
“This is an evolutionary process, not revolutionary,” Auburn City Manager Glenn Aho told a joint meeting of the Lewiston and Auburn city councils Monday.
“I think the hard part is past and now we are starting to gain momentum,” Aho said. “I think our employees are able to see where this is all going now, whereas a few months ago there was some trepidation. But now, we’ve moved beyond that.”
Lewiston and Auburn began working to adopt a shared software system last year. They agreed to purchase Georgia-based EnerGov Solutions’ suite of six software modules designed especially for community government.
The suite includes modules that keep track of development projects working through the city review process, that monitor building permits, track building inspections and automatically calculate fees and keep track of special licenses, including liquor licenses and special amusement permits.
The system went live in June in several departments — Planning and Permitting, Engineering, Fire and the City Clerk offices. Staff have worked to match services and made their fee structure similar.
Aho said the next step is to adopt the system and its databases for the Public Works, Police and Finance departments.
Another module lets residents and contractors take care of many city government functions over the Internet, including applying for permits, checking status of development projects and scheduling inspections.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
