Last week the
City of El Paso, Texas, Building Permits & Inspections Division (BPI) of Development Services initiated the first stage of becoming a paperless operation. According to a city press release, all new issuances, such as licenses and permits, will now be digitally captured to provide faster and more efficient documenting capabilities. Customers of BPI in need of scanned official documents will be able to attain copies quicker or can be emailed upon request. This process will assist the department in supplying information in a timely and efficient manner.
Information now instantaneously available includes:
- Permits
- Licenses
- Blue Prints/Plans
- Contractor Information, Bond and
- Insurance
Procedures in place to become a completely paperless department include:
- Stage 1- All new issuances are instantly scanned into the new database for internal and public review upon request
- Stage 2- All historical data starting in 1971 will be scanned and included in the database for documentation
- Stage 3- Permit related online research capabilities for information retrieval will be made available to the public
Additionally, the project will save an extensive amount of paper resources upon completion providing an additional environmental and cost incentive throughout its implementation.
"This initiative is beneficial to all parties involved. The department yields an extensive amount of paper transactions on a daily basis. This will improve efficiencies in our operations," said Alan Shubert, Development Services Department Director.
