“This makes doing business with Loveland a 24/7 option and not a nine to five, five days per week option,” said Councilor Andrea Samson in support of the new fee. “… So not only are you serving our community with an updated system, but also with, really, a lot of thought behind how it would be paid for.”
Currently, Loveland’s development division uses an 18-year-old software system to manage construction and planning activities in the city, as well as licensing. But that aging system has a number of limitations and is inefficient for both city staff and the contractors, developers and residents who use it, city IT Director Dan Coldiron told council members.
“It’s pretty undeniable that we need to replace the system,” he said. “It’s time. It’s been in place for 18 years. There’s some really significant challenges with the vendor that supports it, and the current technologies that are readily available to us will just simply transform how we do business and really facilitate our staff members working more efficiently, collaborating better in our community and being able to access information for development activities.”
And Coldiron said that you don’t have to just take his word for it. In other cities where the system has been implemented, it has significantly reduced the turnaround time for plans and permits and decreased foot traffic into development offices.
“In Pima County (Arizona), 90% of the applications were moved online from actually having customers having to come in and fill out applications by hand,” Coldiron said.
Later in the discussion, these contentions were backed up by acting Development Director Bob Paulsen, who added that the new system will also help with code enforcement. But most importantly, he continued, it will save the most precious thing of all for all parties involved.
“I think developers, particularly on the planning side, are very concerned about time,” Paulsen explained. “If they can avoid walking into the office, which many of them do, it’s a big savings. …I think we’re just catching up with the times here and really adding value to our customers.”
The $1 million needed to acquire and implement the new software platform was set aside a few budget cycles ago, but it will take more than $400,000 per year going forward to operate, including $220,000 to $270,000 for an annual subscription and $135,000 in salary and benefits to bring on a dedicated analyst to ensure the system is kept in top operating condition.
“If I don’t have someone, an analyst, that can actually configure and extend the system to take advantage of the new technologies that we’re buying … then we will lose the opportunity to maintain the system over time and to keep it up to date and current and to adapt to elements that change.”
A new employee will also provide much-needed redundancy to the current system analyst, an important consideration for security, Coldiron added.
Given the current strain on the general fund, Coldiron proposed adding a “technology” fee to building permits and planning activity to generate between $350,000 and $400,000 per year. It will be imposed on a sliding scale, with small residential projects paying low or no fees and high valuation projects paying an additional 10% of their building permit fee.
Planning applications, such as annexation and zoning, will also have 5% added on to their total fees, which is expected to generate between $7,500 and $10,000 per year.
Coldiron has been across the city to build support for the new system and the fee, including a City Council study session in January 2024. He also made stops at the Planning Commission, Utilities Commission and Construction Advisory Board and held a public forum on the subject at the end of February.
At each, there was overwhelming support for replacing Loveland’s antiquated system, Coldiron said, especially from representatives of the construction industry. And though no one was particularly excited about paying a new fee, it was recognized as a tradeoff to get the new software in place.
When it came time for the City Council to weigh in, there were a few questions about the system’s capabilities and the implementation schedule, but only one major objection. Ward 3 representative Steve Olson came out strongly against imposing the new fee on individual homeowners doing small projects on their properties.
“I fully support this for developers. I think it’s going to make their life easier,” Olson said. “… But if you’ve got a homeowner out here and they want to do a deck or they want to finish the basement or whatever, that’s immediate cost right now.”
Olson then attempted to amend the proposal to remove the fees on small residential projects, but did not get enough votes. He then went on to be the lone no vote against the proposal.
Other councilors were fully in support of the new system and applauded Coldiron for finding a creative and equitable way to pay for its upkeep.
“We do not have the money for charity,” Councilor Dana Foley said. “If you use the system — and if there is a requirement for you to pull a building permit, you essentially are using the system — you should pay your fair share of using that system, and that’s how we need to look at this moving forward.”
With the council’s approval, Coldiron said that work will begin immediately to finalize the deal for the new system and start implementing the new permit fees. However, data migration, configuration and training on the updated software means it will be between 12 to 18 months before full implementation.
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