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Attachment C
OpenCounter Specific Unique Features / Technology
Land Use and Cartography Features
Location Specific Permit Scoping: OpenCounter is
the only location-aware scoping tool
commercially available to local governments. Our
software uses City-qualified GIS data to
determine the specific permit payload for a
project in every location inside County limits.
Using our patent-pending Zoning API,
OpenCounter is capable of using location-specific
data to inform planning and zoning permits,
calculate impact fees and model highly specific
location-based rules codified in the municipal
code.
Secondary Use Questions: Will your business
have live entertainment after midnight?
Answer a simple yes/no question and the map
instantly reflects the nuances expressed in the
footnotes and limitations required by the
zoning code. We've turned a repetitive process
that can take staff hours or even days to do this
complex lookup into an online flow that takes
the average applicant less than eight minutes.
This information is sourced from an initial
reading of the code by our AICP certified
accounts team and then verified by staff.
Reverse geocoding: Constituents can search by address or across the entire city map with intuitive and user- friendly clicking and zooming. We have not seen this design feature in any other permitting stack.
Display of zones and overlay: Every community is a geographical Layercake. We detect the presence of hazard zones, flood plains, historic preservation areas, etc. and connect these attributes to additional requirements like Fire Mitigation requirements, and Design Reviews. Further, significant areas of the city can be subject to special zoning requirements as a result of planned developments. Our staff works to capture these exceptions and display that critical information to the applicant and built them into the flow of the permit scoping tool to both educate applicants and set a realistic timeframe for staff review.
Attachment C
Word Vectors: No one ever asks to open a
“personal services” business or a “group fitness
facility,” but they can ask OpenCounter to start a
“threading” business or a “yoga studio,” and get
to a properly classified Use Code. No other
vendor uses our search methodology which
employs a complex “word vector” methodology
that leverages a corpus of over 400,000 use
codes, definitions, and synonyms collected over
the history of the company. Our search
algorithm is also self-learning, so the more it is
used, and the more Cities and Counties sign up
for the service, the stronger this feature
becomes.
Use Normalization: Upon selection of a formal use code or project type, our software will normalize the project classification to the proper zoning designation, building occupancy class, impact fee classification, and NAICS code, automatically. This is accomplished with internal scripting tools and then verified by our clients before launch.
Permit Discovery Features
Rules Engine: OpenCounter has the most
sophisticated fee rules engine in the industry. Our
system goes far beyond the typical “if-then”
statements. Our rules engine handles even the
most sophisticated requirements. We've worked
with over 70 jurisdictions, and we've yet to
encounter a fee rule we couldn't model, from
complicated impact calculations to fees based on
locations or other geospatial conditions, we can
handle it all. This has tangible results for both
applicant and staff and leads to Time Savings and
higher rates of Permitting Compliance)
Rules Modeling: We are able to export and map the
dependencies and implications of every question in the
system, and the most important questions are placed
first. Each subsequent question in an application is
driven by a complex model and is not human-
generated.
Attachment C
Real-Time Fee Calculation: Powered by the
normalization process outlined above, we are the
only vendor who can calculate estimated permit
costs across all city departments in real-time as
applicants navigate through the system. Applicants
are able to change answers, explore different
scenarios and see the impacts on their project costs
in real-time.
Platform Features
Versioning: The only permitting platform with a versioning system built in to track implementation of public policy through various versions of fee schedules and permit rules. This is designed to empower metrics across time as well as reduce siloed data.
Responsive Design: Unlike the vast majority of civic
vendors, our software comes mobile and tablet versions
ready, out of the box.
Localization: We are also the only vendor who is able to localize these unique features experience into more
than 30 languages and then use a proprietary API
connection to a translation service that will update
localized sites within 48 hours of content changes on
the English installation.
Secure: We take security seriously. Our platform is
served over SSL, encrypted-at-rest, and backed up
to an ISO 27000/SOC 1 and SOC 2/SSAE 16/ISAE
3402 facility.
Accessible: Our platforms are compliant with WCAG 2.0 AA, Section 508, and ADA.
Attachment C
Service Delivery Features
Modular Approach Designed to Minimize Organizational Change:
OpenCounter now has a modular platform that can fill any gap in a community’s Service Delivery Model. Our Permit Discovery Portals can sit aside or atop legacy permitting stacks, while our Intake and Issuance tools can be used to digitize legacy permits or model new areas of public policy enablement.
Handoff Functions: Our solution provides a
unified front-end experience to the applicant
for an often disparate set of processes that can
vary greatly depending on which city
department owns it. Our team sets up detailed
"next steps" for each permit and then directs
them to the department’s preferred application
method, whether that’s in person, on paper, a
legacy permitting platform of a continuation of
the OpenCounter experience through our Intake
and Issuance tooling.
Attachment C
Ability to leverage existing City Systems: OpenCounter is capable of working with many existing vendors to “handoff” scoped permits to the proper endpoints in existing LMS/point solutions. We have completed over a dozen successful integrations/handoffs with other communities in the last five years and have worked to create non-customized handoffs that seamlessly lead applicants from permit discovery to permit application functions in legacy permitting platforms.
Notification and Audit Functions: Every OpenCounter session that requires/requests staff support is fully paper trail audited and digital copies of applicant answers are remitted to the applicant and staff. This prevents people from playing departments against each other in their code analysis or “shopping for planners.”
Professional Services
Experience: OpenCounter is the only permitting solution in the market that sources its account team from the public sector exclusively. Our implementations are provided on a fixed fee basis, and our pricing is based on real-time commitments from similar projects nationwide. We do not hire outside implementing firms.
Audit Trail: Every deliverable and task is tracked, documented, and delivered through email workflows using BaseCamp 3.
No Self-Service: The atomized nature of regulation means that we know that staff can’t configure this city- wide. Not only is there no time or technical inclination, but it takes a neutral, outside consultant to model rules and regulations across departments and divisions and create the dependency tree and land use matrix that powers these sites.
Attachment C
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“Because of the tool set that OpenCounter
provides, we are constantly chipping away at
turn-around time across all of our permitting
services. For example, with our tree permits,
there is not a single piece of paper involved
in that entire process, including the person
going out to the field to inspect the tree and
approving it. We know that, at scale, every
kind of turnaround between the city and an
applicant for a permit can be dramatically
shortened.”
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“For the end user, OpenCounter provides an
umbrella across all departments, yet keeps
every process where it is internally. We can
now move the needle towards providing a
modern digital experience while being able to
work with each department to transform their
internal processes when it’s right for them.”
Attachment C
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The information we get about people
going through the process has been
invaluable. The backend analytics
have been a benefit for us from a
service delivery perspective, and it
means we can be proactive in
following up with users. We have two
people on staff where this platform is a
good portion of their workday. Any
inquiries or applications that come into
the system - we will reach out and
provide help.
Attachment C