Unifying Merced County: A Digital Transformation Journey

Merced County, California, has transformed its approach to land management and permitting through a comprehensive digital modernization initiative. By implementing Accela’s unified Civic Platform across Building, Planning, Business Licensing, Public Works, and Code Enforcement, the county has eliminated silos, accelerated permitting timelines by 72%, and delivered true one-stop service to its community.

Customer Background

Merced County, a smaller rural county in California’s Central Valley, serves approximately 5,000 business license holders and a diverse community of residents, builders, and large utilities. The county’s Community and Economic Development Department encompasses planning, building and safety, environmental health, and works closely with public works—all previously operating as independent entities under different departmental umbrellas. While the county called itself a “one-stop shop,” the reality was far different.

Challenges

Before partnering with Accela, Merced County faced significant operational barriers that impacted both staff efficiency and customer service:

• Departmental Silos: Planning, Buildings, Environmental Health, and Public Works operated in separate systems under different departments, making it difficult to get a complete picture of any property
• 100% Paper Processes: Public Works ran entirely on manual spreadsheet tracking with no digital capabilities
• Limited Payment Options: Customers had to mail checks or bring cash—no online payment capabilities existed
• Research Inefficiencies: Staff spent significant time searching across multiple systems to answer simple questions about permits, business licenses, or property history
• Zero Transparency: Customers had no way to track application status or access information online
• State Compliance Pressure: California legislation mandated transparency requirements for building and entitlement permits, creating urgency for change
• Communication Gaps: Departments couldn’t easily share information, leading to errors like issuing permits on properties with active code enforcement cases

Solutions Implemented

Merced County chose a unified platform approach rather than implementing point solutions for individual departments. The county deployed Accela’s Civic Platform to connect:

• Building and Safety
• Planning
• Business Licensing
• Public Works (Transportation/Encroachment Permits)
• Code Enforcement (implementation in progress)
• Environmental Health (scheduled for March deployment)

The implementation included 100% online submittals and payments, public-facing portals for self-service, and integrated workflows that allow staff across departments to work on the same records seamlessly.

Key Achievements

Dramatic Turnaround Time Improvements: Residential new construction permit processing times decreased from an average of 185 days in the first 90 days after go-live to just 52 days—a 72% improvement that demonstrates both system efficiency and staff proficiency growth.

Complete Digital Transformation: Merced County achieved 100% online submittals and payments across all departments, eliminating paper processes that had defined operations for decades, particularly in Public Works.

Unified Property Intelligence: Staff can now access comprehensive property information—including all permits, business licenses, code cases, and planning entitlements—from a single location, dramatically reducing research time.

Enhanced Financial Analytics: The unified platform enables real-time revenue tracking, cost recovery analysis, and staff time allocation reporting that was previously impossible across disparate systems.

Departmental Use Cases

Planning and Buildings: Building permit technicians and planning permit technicians can now work on the same records and serve customers without handoffs, providing true cross-departmental customer service. The county made the strategic decision to start fresh with building permits rather than migrate legacy data, ensuring clean data from day one.

Public Works: The transformation was particularly dramatic for Public Works, which moved from 100% paper and spreadsheet-based processes to fully digital operations. Large utilities like PG&E and AT&T now experience permit issuance and inspections completed within days rather than weeks, significantly improving these critical relationships.

Business Licensing: Approximately 5,000 business license holders transitioned from paper invoices and mailed payments to online renewals and payments, though the county invested significant time in helping less tech-savvy customers make the transition.

Code Enforcement: With implementation underway, Code Enforcement staff will gain the ability to place conditions on parcels and flag properties, preventing permits from being issued on properties with active enforcement cases—eliminating a persistent coordination challenge.

Environmental Health: Scheduled to go live in March, Environmental Health will complete the unified platform vision, ensuring all land management and regulatory functions share data seamlessly.

Strategic Goals

Accela’s solutions have enabled Merced County to achieve multiple strategic objectives that align with both regulatory requirements and community expectations:

• State Mandate Compliance: Meeting California’s transparency requirements for permitting while exceeding minimum standards
• Modernization at Scale: Demonstrating that even smaller, rural counties can “move at the speed of technology”
• Customer Service Excellence: Delivering on the promise of being a true one-stop shop with staff empowered to answer any question
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Providing county leadership and policymakers with analytical tools for fee-setting and resource allocation
• Bridging the Digital Divide: Implementing modern technology while maintaining high-touch customer service for residents less comfortable with digital tools

Measuring Success

Success in Merced County is measured through concrete metrics and qualitative improvements:

• Quantitative Metrics: The platform tracks average turnaround times by permit type, staff time allocation, cost recovery rates, and revenue streams across all departments. The 72% improvement in residential permit processing times provides clear evidence of transformation impact.
• Customer Feedback: The county deployed surveys on its public site to continuously gather constituent feedback and identify areas for improvement.
• Staff Efficiency: Reporting tools enable analysis that was previously impossible, from tracking staff time associated with specific permit types to understanding revenue streams across the entire department.
• Operational Excellence: The county measures success through reduced phone calls to leadership, fewer counter visits requiring extensive assistance, and improved interdepartmental communication.

Benefits

Staff: Back-office and departmental staff across Planning, Buildings, Public Works, Business Licensing, and Code Enforcement benefit from streamlined processes, unified data access, and the ability to provide comprehensive customer service without transferring calls or directing customers to other departments. Subject matter experts from across the organization collaborated on implementation decisions, creating organizational buy-in and confidence.

Community: Residents, builders, and business owners enjoy 24/7 online access to submit applications, make payments, and track permit status. The dramatic reduction in turnaround times—from 185 to 52 days for residential construction permits—directly impacts the community’s ability to build and do business efficiently. Large utilities experience permit processing measured in days rather than weeks.

Merced County’s partnership with Accela represents a transformation that extends far beyond technology implementation. By unifying previously siloed departments onto a single platform, the county has fundamentally changed how it serves its community, moving from manual, disconnected processes to an integrated, transparent, and efficient operation.

The county’s approach—combining bold technological change with thoughtful change management, extensive customer support, and continuous evaluation—provides a roadmap for other municipalities embarking on similar journeys. As Nicole Ubbink, Assistant Director of Community and Economic Development, notes, “We always just want to make it better. We’re happy with where we started and now we’re looking to do the next level of improvement.”

With Code Enforcement and Environmental Health implementations ahead, Merced County continues to expand its unified platform vision, demonstrating that modernization is not a destination but an ongoing commitment to excellence in public service.