Local Government Software Can Be the ‘Staff Multiplier’ You Need

Victor Mazza knew something needed to change when he became the Code Enforcement Officer for the Town of Searsport, Maine, in 2023. He only works 25 hours a week and also oversees the community’s building and land use departments, so he had to find a way to streamline his town’s community development process.

He was also hoping to deal with the hefty backlog of work that was in his office. That’s why he helped all three departments in the town make the switch to Cloudpermit’s local government software in 2023.

When I started here, there were 47 bankers boxes of paper that hadn’t even been filed yet,” Mazza said. “Today, my desk is actually clear. I don’t have anything that still needs to be filed; I don’t have anything that’s awaiting approval one way or another. It has reduced my administrative burden probably 1,000%.”

He became convinced that Cloudpermit was the right platform for his community when he was impressed by product demonstrations, including how the online permitting software works.

Just the actual functioning of being able to streamline all of that was enormous because, like most small towns, we’re pretty chronically understaffed, so being able to find something that acts like a staff multiplier is fantastic,” he explained.

Mazza said the "dramatic increase” in efficiency is equal to what he could have done by hiring a second or third person to handle the workload.

It’s almost like I tripled my manpower,” he said. “That’s the difference in efficiency. It’s literally like there are two more of me.”

Quick Turnaround for Permits

Mazza had high hopes of what Cloudpermit would mean, but he said he was still surprised by just how effective the platform was for what his community needed — and how easy it was to get started.

Honestly, implementation went smooth enough that I was actually a little worried,” he said, chuckling. “You know, waiting for the other shoe.”

Before Cloudpermit’s local government software, he said the average permit turnaround was close to two weeks. Now, it’s four hours or less.

All of the contractors in the area are very happy about it,” Mazza said. “It means they can start work two weeks earlier.”

Local governments can determine their required documents and details for building applications — and that means more applications are complete when submitted. It’s one of the ways Cloudpermit speeds up permit processing times. Mazza said when something is missing, he can get a faster turnaround since the applicant just needs to add additional information online.

Planning and Code Enforcement Efficiencies

On the code enforcement side, he said the biggest improvement has been case tracking, filing complaints, and the ability to generate reports. He also appreciates how the code enforcement product can be used remotely in the field.

With the mobile app, Cloudpermit Inspections, he’s able to see the latest permits for a property during inspections — even ones that were submitted while he was out of the office. He no longer has to come back to the office to upload pictures and type up a report because now, he can do it right at the inspection.

With Cloudpermit’s planning and land use software, he’s most appreciated that applicants are submitting more information than they ever used to because it’s easy to upload right to the website.

That’s made the Searsport planning board more efficient because as soon as a new application is uploaded, it’s automatically attached to an upcoming meeting and members can see it a week earlier. When the meeting rolls around, everyone is informed and ready to be productive — and that’s a big help when each application can add up to 200 pages or more.

Reduced Administrative Work

Mazza said he can now focus on his core duties and get more done because this local government software has streamlined all town processes.

Being able to slim the administrative burden and streamline the actual paperwork process and access the paperwork when I’m there is huge,” he said.

He cited a recent example of a busy day at work in November, about a year after his town made the move to Cloudpermit. On that one Monday, working his short five-hour workday, he was able to get through the printed equivalent of more than 6 inches of printouts.

Being able to process that much information with Cloudpermit and run printouts and pull reports has been fantastic,” he said.

Getting Exactly What You’re Sold

Mazza said other town officials have told him they’re happy they can now easily pull reports, and contractors have appreciated the change as well.

I think the biggest thing for me is that Cloudpermit is a fantastic system,” he said. “I think that as more and more towns adopt its use, it’s going to be more and more valuable. I know I’ve had several contractors say they wish that all the other towns in the area they do business in had it, too.”

In the coming months, Mazza said he’s interested in adding a fourth Cloudpermit module, business licensing software, to Searsport’s plan.

In addition to being impressed by the speed of getting technical support on the few instances he needed to submit a ticket, he said he still can’t believe that the comprehensive community development software that was pitched to him by Cloudpermit ended up being everything he could have hoped for and much more.

I’ve never, ever, ever had a sales team promise me something and then the actual product be exactly what I was told I was getting,” Mazza said. “That’s a huge thing. You never see a product that’s exactly what it says on the box. This one is.”