County looking to put permit applications on line

By JIM TALBERT\Staff
TAZEWELL - County residents may soon be able to do more business with the government online.
County Administrator Jim Spencer updated the board of supervisors on plans for the county website at the June 30 meeting. The county recently contracted with Wild Country to upgrade its web site.
They also had county employees begin training on Blackbear permitting software. County Engineer Gary Earp said the software is being installed on the computers of some county employees.
He said once the website is upgraded and employees are familiar with the software, applications for building permits, erosion and sediment control permits and other items could be available on line.
Earp said use of the software would start in-house and once employees become familiar with it expand to use online by the public. Spencer gave the board copies of what building permit applications and E&S permit applications might look like.
The draft applications were each one page in length. There was also a page listing items the applicants must have before submitting applications. The list breaks the items down to family residences, manufactured homes, apartments, condominiums, or commercial and industrial structures and lists the needed items for each application.
It also states that if land is disturbed the county engineer must be contacted before the application is filed. Spencer said the system should enable the county to be more efficient in tracking permits.
He also told the board that the county has begun using a work order system for employees who need assistance from the IT department. He said there two employees in that department who serve all county offices as well the PSA and other county agencies.
He said the system enables them to prioritize the work and lets his office and others track the amount of work being done and how quickly it is being handled.