Automating business processes by using IT has proven to reduce operating costs and improve customer service for government. Now, these costs can be reduced further using the web-based Local Government Manager solution.

The National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS) conducted a Survey on Savings from the Application of Information Technology to Building Codes Administration & Enforcement Processes in spring 2005. According to the survey, jurisdictions of all sizes provided data documenting reductions in processing time from 20% to 80% with the application of IT. Examples of typical savings identified in the survey by small and medium sized jurisdictions were:

• Cobleskill, NY reduced the amount of staff time it takes to do a building permit from 1 hour to 15 minutes by using IT.
• Forsyth County, GA reduced inspection scheduling time from 10 minutes to less than one minute and reduced waiting times for their clients.
• Louisville, KY reduced the time it takes to process contractor licensing from 1.5 hours to 30 minutes for the city and from 30 minutes to 20 minutes for the contractor.
• Clackamas County, OR saved two staff positions and over $40,000 annually.
• Prince George County, VA was able to cut in half the amount of time it takes to issue permits and conduct inspections and shift two staff members to other functions.
• Clay County, FL applied IT to its inspection scheduling and was able to cut their staff by half and reduce by 75% the amount of time customers had to wait for inspections.

Jurisdictions responding to the survey that used IT also identified enhanced working relationships with clients and the ability to share critical data with other agencies as the top two additional benefits.

The same survey also identified lack of time as the second largest barrier for jurisdictions not applying IT. While this is true with traditional on-premise solutions that typically involve lengthy implementation times and large costs, a web-based solution like Local Government Manager avoids these issues because:

• It has no upfront or implementation costs to install
• It is easy to implement and can be up and running in days
• It does not require any hardware purchases, only an Internet connection
• It frees-up IT resources spent on maintaining existing systems
• It automatically includes upgrades to the latest technology at no additional cost

The total cost of ownership for hosted solutions such as Local Government Manager can be anywhere from 5 to 10 times less than on-premise applications. These savings make Local Government Manager an accessible solution for any municipality.