California City Eliminates Paper With Enterprise Software
Organization Profile
- Industry: Municipal
- Tyler Client Since: 2020
- Number of Employees: 510
- Population: 45,000+
- Location: Palm Springs, California
- Tyler Products/Solutions: Enterprise ERP, Enterprise Permitting & Licensing, Payments, Time & Attendance
The city of Palm Springs, California, is home to more than 44,000 yearround residents and welcomes an additional 20,000–30,000 seasonal residents during the cooler fall and winter months. As one of the most recognized and visited destinations in the Coachella Valley, Palm Springs serves as a hub for both permanent community members and part-time residents. To keep pace with this growth and diversity, the city needed to align its processes with the evolving needs of the people it serves.
Historically, the city was still married to paper, with community members having to navigate outdated systems and plan physical office visits to file for permits. On the city side, processes were also manual, cumbersome, and time-consuming with multiple departments using multiple different types of software that did not interface.
“It was eight different departments using eight different software platforms, including paper and physical documents that would get brought in by foot every single day,” said Kirsten D’Amato, Palm Springs Business Systems Analyst. It all added up to a time-consuming process.
“I understand it was very cumbersome prior to our transition to Tyler, with stacks of paper located in deferring areas, taking time to locate it and then having the staff have to explain things to different parts of the team,” said Deb Pierrel, Palm Springs Business Systems Analyst and Project Manager.
The overall result was a costly use of resource time, frustration for the community, a perceived lack of transparency, and diminished trust in the local government. To tackle these challenges, Palm Springs turned to Tyler’s Enterprise Permitting & Licensing solution to transform its permitting processes.
Solution
The first step in adopting Enterprise Permitting & Licensing was to bring city processes online and eliminate paper plans. The city had previously used emails to replace in-person paper submissions, which left community members unable to track the progress of their permits. Using Enterprise Permitting & Licensing, Palm Springs was able to digitize workflows, which allowed community members to more easily track their permits, and it increased internal data reliability.
“After implementing Enterprise Permitting & Licensing, we’ve noticed that not only are we getting better information, but it’s more true and accurate information rather than somebody just telling us face to face and us trying to reiterate what they’re saying,” said D’Amato. “We’re not having to rely on staff to pass paper from one division to the next division. Moreover, now everyone has access and is seeing the same information that everyone else is. It’s now seamless and transparent, and even our reviews can be done online from 10 different offices at the same time, knowing that everybody can mark up and do their stamps and their own colors from their own devices.”
Palm Springs has seen transformational change since adopting Enterprise Permitting & Licensing. “It’s really improved the interaction between the constituent and the city,” said Pierrel. “Before, it was multiple trips into the city, trying to gain clarity on the process. It was very frustrating, and I can say that as a user. Moving to an online platform has made large strides toward being much more end user friendly. It has saved staff time, and resources from the city standpoint, and it definitely is easier for the community.”
Palm Springs was also able to use Enterprise Permitting & Licensing’s capabilities to work with what the city calls “simple permits” for solar applications. “The ease of the process eliminated the need for additional third-party involvement and minimized delays, significantly reducing administrative burdens,” Pierrel said. “They’re very useful 1025to us as a city because they’re the kind of permit where once applied and paid, it’s immediately issued, and there are no necessary steps to interact with staff beyond that.”
I see this as a citywide improvement in how we work. It has strengthened communication, and ultimately, when we bring everything back to the people and resources at the center, it creates real benefits for the community.
Deb Pierrel
Business Systems Analyst and Project Manager, City of Palm Springs
Results
The city realized immediate benefits with Enterprise Permitting & Licensing.
“We’ve been able to completely eliminate paper by 100%,” D’Amato said. “Prior, people were bringing in paper documents and plans that are massive, that were just saved in scrolls in what now are three new offices. But it was all done on paper, in person.
The ability for them to go online and see all their permits, apply for new permits, new plans has been life changing for everyone.”
Along with the enhanced ease of use for community members, Palm Springs also saw a 48% reduction in office foot traffic, allowing workers to focus on moving permits through the workflow instead of physically processing submissions at the permit window.
City employees also benefited from access to accurate and consistent data.
“There are now many different departments working with consistent, reliable data, rather than operating in silos,” Pierrel said. “I see this as a citywide improvement in how we work. It’s strengthened communication, and ultimately, when we bring everything back to the people and resources at the center, it creates real benefits for the community.”