Evanston, Ill. (May 8, 2008)
Evanston, Illinois has launched Accela
Automation® as the city’s e-government solution for delivering
services to the public. Evanston upgraded from a legacy system to the
Web-based technology of Accela Automation as part of a larger efficiency
effort aimed at putting processes in place to support the goals of the
city’s strategic plan: “To promote quality of life by providing
citizens fiscally sound, responsive municipal services and delivering
those services equitably, professionally, and with the highest degree
of integrity.”
Evanston will utilize Accela Automation primarily to expedite tracking
and managing land-use activities through a centralized database of information
that can be shared across agencies. Community Development departments
utilizing Accela Automation include Building, Planning, and Zoning, which
handle a wide variety of permitting and regulatory processes. Users in
the city’s Public Works, Fire & Life Safety Services, Health
& Human Services, and the Office of the City Clerk also have access
to the system.
Evanston made the decision to upgrade to Web-based technology after hiring
a consulting firm to assess its existing technology in terms of its ability
to improve internal efficiencies and support a higher level of customer
service.
“Our outdated technology was holding us back from providing residents
with efficient and effective processes for doing business with the city,”
said James Wolinski, Evanston’s Community Development department
director. “The new technology of Accela Automation holds the key
to accomplishing the goals of our strategic plan and more reliably meeting
the expectations of the people we serve.”
The city also launched additional Accela applications that enhance the
functionality of Accela Automation to facilitate sharing of GIS information
and enable field staff to work more efficiently in conducting inspections:
Accela GIS™
seamlessly integrates with Accela Automation to provide powerful real-time
visual analysis to enhance land use, zoning, and infrastructure data.
It allows creation of multiple map layers, automated map analysis, parcel
and asset inventory management, direct editing of GIS data or files, and
auto-distribution of information to mailing lists. It is built on the
ArcIMS™ platform by ESRI®.
Accela Wireless™
is a mobile government software application that allows government staff
to perform their jobs from the field for inspections, code enforcement,
work orders, and service requests. Optimized for Intel Centrino® Mobile
Technology, Accela Wireless is compatible with PDAs, laptops, and Tablet
PCs running on the Microsoft Pocket PC 2003, Windows Mobile 5, Windows
2000, or Windows XP operating systems.
Two additional Accela applications are planned to launch over the coming
months that will expand the use of Accela Automation to other areas of
business and increase public access:
Accela
Licensing & Case Management™ automates licensing,
registration, and renewal programs for government agencies, including
general business licenses, pet licenses, simple and complex registrations,
occupational licensing, and more. The system allows easy creation of new
case types and business rules to reflect the regulations of the agency,
and helps provide quicker and more accurate customer service.
Accela Citizen Access™
provides real-time, direct access via the Internet to agency information
and activities. For instance, online permit applications can be configured
to allow citizens and businesses access to apply and pay for permits,
schedule inspections, check the status of a permit or inspection, or print
an approved permit directly from the Internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week.
The city financed the upgrade project, including five years of maintenance,
through Accela Financial Services™,
which provides low interest rate, municipal lease purchase financing for
government agencies.
“The city of Evanston is to be congratulated for their commitment
to serving their citizens,” said Maury Blackman, Accela president
and CEO. “The city did due diligence in assessing the capabilities
of their previous system against the benefits of Web-based technology
and moved decisively to put those benefits to work in making government
services more responsive and accessible to the public.”
About Evanston
Evanston is located 13 miles north of downtown Chicago, and is home to
approximately 75,000 residents. Northwestern University, which opened
its doors for the first time in 1855, is the city’s major landmark.
The city was, in fact, founded after the university opened and was named
for one of its founders, John Evans. For more information about Evanston,
visit http://www.cityofevanston.org.
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