Nacogdoches, TX: City gets new community development software
June 9, 2006
For the past five or six years the city of Nacogdoches has been paying SFA's Columbia Center to produce "smart maps" in the hopes that one day the city could use those maps to track building, inspections, complaints, permits and zoning issues.
That day came Monday, when the city went live with new a new software package called TRAKiT, which replaces a 20-year old computer program in the Inspection Services department.
"It's totally different," City Planner Aron Kulhavy said. "The old system was a DOS-based program with the black screen and green letters,"
he said.
The new system is Windows program with point and click capabilities, which have already begun to streamline some city services, Kulhavy said.
"This technology will bring several departments together and aid them in tracking projects, issuing permits, and scheduling inspections. It will also allow us to be more efficient and help to provide better service to the citizens of Nacogdoches."
The new software allows all City staff to track several functions including contractor licenses, building and fire inspections, zoning cases, health inspections, and construction of various capital projects. And one function of the program will even track citizen complaints internally and automatically assign an individual to resolve most issues, he said.
Another advantage in switching programs is that charts and reports that used to take hours and sometimes days to compile, can now be done in a matter of minutes, he said.
Eventually, as more funding becomes available to expand the programs capabilities, Kulhavy said he hopes to have a more interactive program that lets citizens have access to reports and gives them the ability to file for permits or report complaints using their home computers.
While that level of interaction may be a few years down the road, Kulhavy said the new software has already totally changed the way the city operates.
"We are still working the bugs out, but it has already made our lives much easier. Over the next couple of months we will continue to make minor changes and adjustments to the system so that we may realize its full capacity," Kulhavy said.
City gets new community development software
By Johnny Johnson
The Daily Sentinel
About CRW Systems, Inc.
CRW Systems, Inc. is a leading developer of state-of-the-art enterprise solutions for managing community development. Such solutions include software applications for Permit Management, Project Application Tracking, Code Enforcement, License Management, Citizen Response Management, Interactive Voice Response, Mobile/Field Access, eGovernment, and GIS Integration. CRW has been serving the needs of municipal, regional and state agencies nationwide through the TRAKiT application for the past 18 years. CRW offers a complete range of services including training, project management, business process review, data conversion, and on-going customer support. TRAKiT is intended to be the final solution for local municipalities, due to its ever-evolving outlook on understanding the business practices of Community Development Departments.
For further information about CRW Systems, Inc. and the TRAKiT system, please contact Nathan Hershkowitz, Vice President of Business Development, by calling 888-CRW-2043 ext 119, or via email at marketing@crw.com, or by visiting www.crw.com.
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