Biz services going online in Detroit: Website takes city from ‘1950 to 2011'

[begingri]

Ask any business owner what he or she would like Detroit Mayor Dave Bing to accomplish, and you'll likely get two answers: Cut red tape for business, and ramp up code enforcement.

Now, a new city website aims to do just that.

The rollout of an overhaul of the city's Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department that will place most departmental services online already has started. And a similar upgrade for the Department of Administrative Hearings -- the department that handles blight violations -- is in the planning stage.

Combined, the two have the potential to transform the city, said Karla Henderson, Bing's group executive for planning and facilities.

"None of this information was on the Web before," she said.

Detroit-based Compuware Corp. is building the roughly $2 million building department system. A cost for the proposed changes to the Department of Administrative Hearings service hasn't been determined. Compuware will do that work, too.

When both systems are running, Henderson said, city officials will be able to pull the records for a piece of property "very easily, and look at all the violations ... solid waste went out there, property maintenance went out there, they had a hearing on this date. Right now we don't have that, where we all talk to each other."

In fact, most of the city's business services still are not online, she said.

To renew a business license or to pull permits for contracting work, it's necessary for a business owner or homeowner to come to the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, fill out a form -- some date back to the 1970s -- and stand in line to submit the form, a process that can take a half-day or more.

When the new system is in place, the same process will take four to five minutes, said Thotakura Kishore, senior director of global delivery at Compuware.

"This is a complete redevelopment of the process, the way the department works," said Jeffrey Sanscrainte, director of business development for government at Compuware.

The city issues between 45,000 and 50,000 permits and 20,000 to 25,000 business licenses annually.

Continued at: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...akes-city-from

[Richard]

This is a nice step forward,and it shows that somebody is actually working to move the city forward in a positive manner and listening to residents pov.

I realize it takes money but in a lot of cities code has a laptop in their truck that they can also access that information so when a complaint is filed the response time is rapid in turn allowing them to do their job in a much more streamlined manner.

[DetroitDad]

Retaining and attracting business tax base is key. Likewise, letting blight violations go, has a negative affect on crime and reputation. These are very important developments to keep track of.

Thank you for posting this, begingri.

[begingri]

Retaining and attracting business tax base is key. Likewise, letting blight violations go, has a negative affect on crime and reputation. These are very important developments to keep track of.

Thank you for posting this, begingri.

My pleasure! 95% of my posts on here are new threads with a news article. It's what I do.

[Toolbox]

Biz services going online in Detroit: Website takes city from ‘1950 to 2011'</SPAN>

This does not take the COD into 2011, more like the 1980's.

[DetroitPlanner]

This does not take the COD into 2011, more like the 1980's.

There were no Websites in the 1980s.

[Novine]

I'll believe it when I see it. A system like this requires completely overhauling how CoD handles permits. The web site is the easy part.

[JBMcB]

I'll believe it when I see it. A system like this requires completely overhauling how CoD handles permits.

How so? If people are just taking these forms and entering them into an existing computer system, getting the data in, or out, in some other form isn't that hard.

If they are sticking the forms in a filing cabinet - well that's a bunch of work computerizing that process.

[Toolbox]

There were no Websites in the 1980s.

But there were databases that did share information across departments of an orginization being mass implimented during the late 70's and early 80's.

[Jimaz]

If they are sticking the forms in a filing cabinet - well that's a bunch of work computerizing that process.

A bunch of work that most often pays for itself in savings—assuming the city can afford it.

[DetroitPlanner]

But there were databases that did share information across departments of an orginization being mass implimented during the late 70's and early 80's.

Its all relational!