Like most other community development departments, Norfolk City Planning deals with constant regulatory and environmental change. But with their Clariti Enterprise permitting system, admin staff don’t have to wait (or pay) for someone external to make updates – they can easily do it themselves.

Before implementing Clariti's Enterprise permitting software in 2016, Norfolk had an on-premise system that only allowed the city to move some of their permitting processes online. But now, with Enterprise, all permits are submitted virtually. And inspectors use tablets in the field so they don't need to make multiple trips back to the office to add data or file paperwork. “They’re out there inputting their inspection results – it works perfectly,” said Kathy.

Though she's no longer the exclusive system admin, Kathy spent many years managing the system, so she knows just how easy it is to configure. “As a Super Admin, you can do a lot of things yourself; you don’t have to constantly ask Clariti to do it for you,” said Kathy. “I can build letters myself, and I even add fields from time to time. It’s been a great experience.”

Another big win Kathy highlighted when speaking about Enterprise's configurability was that the plan review team was able to configure their own process into the system — and keep to a 10-day turnaround time because of it. As she put it, “Why use something else when you can configure what you already have?” 

Enterprise’s flexible APIs also allow Norfolk to easily connect to other essential tools. This year, for example, the city plans to implement specialized floodplain software to help accelerate its response to changing sea levels. They’ve also connected Enterprise’s extensive reporting with PowerBI to provide transparency to the public.

Because of all the data the city can pull from Enterprise, anyone can go to Norfolk’s website to find the information they need. And as a result, staff get fewer customer calls. Instead of answering basic questions, like where someone is in the permit queue, they can focus on higher-impact tasks. Staff can also make better data-driven decisions using dashboards which provide visibility across 4 different departments.

Another thing Kathy noted is Clariti’s Premium Support offering and how helpful it is to have a dedicated person at Clariti to help out whenever they need. “Premium Support has been critical in keeping us updated on the status of all work being done by Clariti and ensures we’re always made a priority,” said Kathy. “I’ve seen things taken care of quickly.”