Five or 10 minutes at a time, the enhanced efficiency and streamlined workflows that came with digitizing the community development process have made a big difference in how Brett Miller does his job.
The chief building official (CBO) for the Township of Laurentian Valley, Ontario, took over the role two years ago as the longtime previous CBO was getting ready to retire. Miller was hired with a clear directive: Implement the Township’s move to digital permitting software with Cloudpermit, which was made possible with a modernization grant.
Miller says the platform has helped him save time throughout his workweek, in ways big and small.
He used to get emails from assessors requesting plans or permit updates, and that meant he needed to find files, look up the latest status and reply by email. With access to the new online system, they can instantly access notes, real-time property information and photo libraries.
I like it because those email requests have basically stopped,” he says. “I get maybe one a year now.”
More than half of the Township’s permit applications are now filed online, saving Miller time on data entry. Reporting and tracking are much faster now, too, such as the fire department reporting, which used to be done manually but has been automated.
Each thing might only be saving 10 minutes a week or something like that, but when you add them all up, it’s definitely helped,” Miller says, adding “10 minutes is another job I don't have to stress about.”
Making Things Easier for the Residents He Serves
The department was in good standing as Miller joined the team. He says there hadn’t been employee turnover for decades, and that helped taxpayers and residents get to know and trust building staff.
That’s why he configured his Township’s building permit portal to require minimal attachments. Instead, residents can start an application and send a message to Miller right through the portal if they need help applying online.
Data from 2023, the first year Laurentian Valley went live with Cloudpermit, shows the average time to issue a permit was 19 days. That dropped to 14.5 days in 2024.
There are many variables to those figures — a permit isn’t issued until it's paid for, for example, and that doesn’t necessarily reflect his actual review time. Still, he says it’s definitely sped up permitting approvals.
Everything’s there in front of me, so it just makes it easier to do the review,” he says. “I pull it up on one screen and I take my notes on the other, make my changes or suggest my changes, and I’m ready to roll. I’m not going back and forth between paper and email.”
Contact with applicants has also significantly improved, thanks to the community development software’s automatic status updates. Rather than having to phone or email applicants, they know immediately if their permit is approved or more information is needed.
Even the process of accepting payment is much easier now that applicants can pay online, rather than coming to the office to pay by cheque, cash or debit card. All too often, Miller wasn’t in the office — he was out in the field — and that meant applicants had to submit payments in the mail or come to the front counter and wait until his return for a copy of the permit to be prepared.
The turnaround time’s a lot faster now,” he says.
No More Slipping Through the Cracks
Because Cloudpermit can be implemented quickly — in just six to 14 weeks, in most cases — Miller says he was able to get up and running soon. That also gave him time to configure the platform to work exactly how he wanted, both for himself and the residents who now use it to apply for permits.
Now, with everything running smoothly and citizens happy with the online permitting process, he can’t imagine going back to anything else.
I think we’re set up for the long term now,” he says.
Miller says it’s helped him organize and schedule every part of his day while reducing administrative work, freeing up his time to focus on more pressing tasks for his Township.
Digitizing had some immediately noticeable effects, such as replacing Polaroids or printed-out photos with higher-quality digital photos and cumbersome paper files with online records. Now, Miller can easily find any document or application he needs, or update other Township officials about building-related activity in the community.
The move to an online platform has also improved tracking and follow-ups at every step of the process by adding a clear digital trail to his work.
Any small municipality will tell you that prior to using digital permitting, there were permits that slipped through the cracks,” he says. “They never had final inspections, or something was always missing. With this system and being able to assign inspections and easily sort, I can see the timeframes and the last time I visited a site. It’s just so much easier to stay on top of things.”
Learn more about Cloudpermit’s modern tools for building and permitting by booking a demo today.
This article was originally published in the Ontario Building Officials Association’s Journal issue 146.
