Ocoee Goes Green with Self-Service Electronic Permitting in Partnership with Clear Village

ORLANDO, Fla., --- The City of Ocoee recently launched their web based self-service permitting portal in partnership with Clear Village Inc.

“The best practice for permitting is to allow citizens and contractors to apply for permits whenever they wish from our office or anywhere with internet access,” said Craig Shadrix, assistant city manager of Ocoee.

“When it is not convenient for a citizen or contractor to come to City Hall during business hours, we want to offer great service over the City’s website,” said Ocoee city manager Rob Frank. “We selected Clear Village to deliver Ocoee’s web self-service platform because Clear Village provides a friendly, intuitive, collaborative citizen portal and powerful workflow applications for the staff.”

Jim Washington, Ocoee’s building official, describes how supporting electronic documents is a win-win for staff, citizens, contractors and the environment. “We used to require multiple copies of plans as part of a permit application package. Now with Clear Village’s support, citizens and contractors can submit their plans electronically, eliminating printing costs and trips to the office to deliver plans. Supporting electronic documents is efficient for staff and the applicant, and it is better for the environment,” Washington explained.

“Ocoee’s passion to deliver service excellence is to be applauded,” said David Loeb, president of Clear Village. “In addition to reducing costs and saving time for permit applicants, Ocoee will realize substantial staff efficiencies. Time previously spent on data entry and scanning documents can now be invested in taking government service to the next level.”

Stina D’Uva, president of the West Orange Chamber of Commerce, describes Ocoee’s online permitting as pro growth. “Few cities offer more than online forms on their website. Those that offer online permitting do so mostly for contractors. What’s terrific about Ocoee’s self-service capabilities is that they include both citizens and contractors. Eliminating trips to City Hall will save citizens and contractors time and money. The convenience of progressing your permits and inspections anytime demonstrates Ocoee's commitment to attract business and grow the local economy," she emphasized.

Shadrix said Ocoee residents and the contractors that serve them are urged to utilize Ocoee’s web-permitting system.

“It’s easy to register for Ocoee’s web self-service. All you need is an email and a password of your choosing. Ocoee’s online permitting is available at www.permits.ocoee.org. Government eServices include applying for a permit, registering a contractor, requesting an inspection, scheduling a meeting, or tracking the progress of your permit. Expect many more web-based government services as Ocoee’s continuous improvement initiative progresses,” Shadrix said.

Clear Village is a graduate of the UCF Business Incubation Program.

Carol Ann Dykes, UCF Business Incubator site manager in the Central Florida Research Park, says “Clear Village is a great example of how an incubator client can take UCF technology and bring products to market that help government better serve its citizens.”

“Companies like Clear Village demonstrate how the UCF Business Incubation Program helps create high tech jobs in Central Florida,” she said.

About Ocoee:
Visit www.ocoee.org


About Clear Village:
Clear Village helps local government deliver personalized service over the web on a 24/7 basis. Clear Village’s integrated staff productivity solutions offer substantial savings to municipalities by reducing counter and cashier transactions, reducing support calls, and eliminating many data entry, copying, transporting, and scanning tasks. Additionally, Clear Village cloud computing solutions help reduce IT costs while providing business continuity. www.clearvillageinc.com

About the UCF Business Incubation Program
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 200 emerging companies (including more than 100 current clients) create over $200 million in annual total economic output and more than 1,600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With nine facilities across the Greater Orlando community, the Business Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between the University of Central Florida, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, The City of Sanford, Lake County, the City of Leesburg, Osceola County, the City of Kissimmee, City of St. Cloud, Volusia County and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. Please visit www.incubator.ucf.edu and UCFBIP on Facebook.