TEA Winner: City of Rancho Cordova, California
- Industry: Municipality
- Location: Rancho Cordova, California
- Number of Employees: 120
- Population: 79,332
- Tyler Client Since: 2018
- Tyler solutions used: Enterprise Permitting & Licensing [powered by EnerGov™], Cashiering, Content Manager, Data & Insights [powered by Socrata™], Enterprise Service Requests
Challenge
Rancho Cordova is a diverse and steadily growing community. The city of Rancho Cordova’s ability to ensure organizational efficiency and responsiveness in community development and business licensing processes are key priorities. Unfortunately, the city was using outdated software that relied heavily on a cumbersome paper-based process and manual data entry. The system was not configured for online services and confused the city’s citizens, resulting in incorrect submittals. The outdated system created extra work for staff and frustrated citizens attempting to use the system.
The city knew it needed an enterprise permitting, planning, code management, and licensing solution that allowed it to connect and engage easily with citizens online.
“We had our legacy system for over 10 years. It was not user friendly, and it was problematic for staff,” says Kelly Whitman, city of Rancho Cordova planning technician II. “It was not built to suit our needs, so the staff was getting frustrated with the issues. We knew we needed change, so we decided to find something that was more well suited for our staff and our community.”
Solution
In response to the challenge, Rancho Cordova set out to deploy an intelligent system with advanced features that would direct citizens to the correct applications and improve efficiencies.
“We started with releasing a request for proposal, and we interviewed several software companies about their products,” says Whitman. “Tyler’s Enterprise Licensing & Permitting was the only solution that was unanimously voted on by all departments that would be using the software.”
Tyler’s Enterprise Permitting & Licensing provided a cloud-based permitting, planning, code management, and licensing solution with a portal and back-office functionality that was easily navigated and user-friendly for internal and external customers.
The process started with phase 1 in 2018 with licensing and Civic Access (Enterprise Permitting & Licensing’s online public-facing portal), followed by phase 2 in 2021 with building, planning, public works, and code enforcement.
A crucial part of Rancho Cordova’s success was the implementation of Tyler’s Decision Engine, an easy-to-navigate digital guide that helps applicants navigate the online permitting and licensing process.
Our residents and business community are thrilled that they can now go online 24 hours a day, seven days a week and get these services provided to them from the comfort of their own home or office.
Jessica Crone
City of Rancho Cordova, Management Analyst
Results
After initiating Civic Access, the city has recorded more than 31,700 page views, served more than 5,000 registered users, and determined 38% of licenses were purchased online.
“We’re currently leveraging technology by utilizing our new customer portal where customers can apply and renew business licenses, which helps with economic development,” says Jessica Crone, city of Rancho Cordova management analyst. “We didn’t have this availability for them previously, and our residents and business community are thrilled that they now can go online 24 hours a day, seven days a week and get these services provided to them from the comfort of their own home or office.”
Rancho Cordova’s use of Decision Engine has reduced incorrect submissions.
“One of our biggest wins was implementing Tyler’s Decision Engine,” says Crone. “This product complements the customer portal, and it walks citizens through the process of selecting the correct application type. Previously, citizens were submitting for the wrong application, causing more time for staff and themselves. We now have over 5,000 registered users. By implementing Enterprise Licensing & Permitting, we saw a roughly 76% decrease in the wrong application types, which saves time for staff and makes customers very happy because they’re able to quickly identify which licenses are specific to them.”
In the end, the upgrade has supported economic development. The city notes citizens are expressing how impressed they are with how fast departments can take an application from submittal to issuance. The Rancho Cordova Area Chamber of Commerce has said, “We appreciate what the city has done to help make applying for a business license simpler and more efficient.”