posted on 7/26/2022
The City of Dover has created a new online system to streamline the process for applying and renewing permits and licenses, submitting construction plans and scheduling inspections.
Available 24 hours a day, the city's portal for permits, plans and licensing at https://permits.dover.nh.gov allows customers to utilize the system without entering a municipal building. It is geared to residents, contractors, real estate developers and businesses that support operations within the city. The portal has about 60 applications for permits, plans and business licenses, ranging from a driveway permit to a Class I Health License. Customers can view the status of their application at any time, pay fees online, receive email alerts when a permit or license is issued and download that permit or license from the site.
"This new system is designed to improve our customer service by increasing efficiency and transparency while reducing the turnaround time for approving permits and licenses," said Dover Inspection Services Building Official James Maxfield. "The system will also assist our inspectors in the field by providing them access to a wealth of information, such as regulatory checklists to ensure code compliance. We'll also be able to complete inspection reports in the field and share them with permit holders in real time."
This new service also supports land use and development process from application to signed, stamped plan, to site work, to construction and ultimately resulting in a certificate of occupancy, completion or business license. As part of the application process, customers can submit plans electronically and view City of Dover staff feedback as electronic plan markup on the plans submitted and listed in a corrections report in the portal.
"The City of Dover is always seeking new and better ways to serve the public," said Planning Director Donna Benton. "The new online portal will allow our residents and businesses to access critical information quickly from anywhere at any time."
From its inception as a Lean initiative, this project, led by the Office of Information Technology, is a collaboration of many municipal groups, including the Inspection Services and Engineering divisions, Planning and Community Development, Police and Finance departments, and offices of the City Clerk and City Attorney. Lean is an organizational management system comprised of principles, tools, and techniques focused on customer value. Public, private and non-profit sectors use Lean to improve processes by removing waste, increasing efficiency and elevating quality.
In creating the city's new online system, the collaboration team began with their problem statement: How can we streamline the permitting/inspections process to make it more consistent, accessible and transparent so all qualified applicants are processed efficiently? How can we better work across departments and with the applicant to provide accurate and upto-date information on the status of permit/inspection, including fee collection, and accommodate revisions and large amounts of information, particularly in large projects?
The new portal aims to solve these problems.
"This online permitting, plan and licensing portal strives to meet the customer where they are at. Customers can take full advantage of the online service, continue to utilize paper applications or land somewhere in the middle," said Information Technology Director Annie Dove. "True to Lean principles, employees at all levels of the organization have provided great insights to improve this complex process and the systems that support it. I am grateful for everyone's work on this project."
Customers can provide feedback to help improve the system at support@dover.nh.gov.
For more information about the project and its use, contact Inspection Services at 603-5166038, Planning and Community Development Department at 603-516-6008, the Engineering Division at 603-516-6450, or the Office of Information Technology at 603-516-6099.
