EVANSTON, IL -- 05/08/08 --
Evanston, Illinois has launched
Accela
Automation® as the city's e-government solution for delivering
services to the public. Evanston upgraded from a legacy system to the
Web-based technology of Accela Automation as part of a larger efficiency
effort aimed at putting processes in place to support the goals of the
city's strategic plan: "To promote quality of life by providing citizens
fiscally sound, responsive municipal services and delivering those services
equitably, professionally, and with the highest degree of integrity."
Evanston will utilize Accela Automation primarily to expedite tracking and
managing land-use activities through a centralized database of information
that can be shared across agencies. Community Development departments
utilizing Accela Automation include Building, Planning, and Zoning, which
handle a wide variety of permitting and regulatory processes. Users in the
city's Public Works, Fire & Life Safety Services, Health & Human Services,
and the Office of the City Clerk also have access to the system.
Evanston made the decision to upgrade to Web-based technology after hiring
a consulting firm to assess its existing technology in terms of its ability
to improve internal efficiencies and support a higher level of customer
service.
"Our outdated technology was holding us back from providing residents with
efficient and effective processes for doing business with the city," said
James Wolinski, Evanston's Community Development department director. "The
new technology of Accela Automation holds the key to accomplishing the
goals of our strategic plan and more reliably meeting the expectations of
the people we serve."
The city also launched additional Accela applications that enhance the
functionality of Accela Automation to facilitate sharing of GIS information
and enable field staff to work more efficiently in conducting inspections:
Accela GIS™
seamlessly integrates with Accela Automation to provide powerful real-time
visual analysis to enhance land use, zoning, and infrastructure data. It
allows creation of multiple map layers, automated map analysis, parcel and
asset inventory management, direct editing of GIS data or files, and
auto-distribution of information to mailing lists. It is built on the
ArcIMS(TM) platform by ESRI®.
Accela
Wireless™ is a mobile government software application that allows
government staff to perform their jobs from the field for inspections, code
enforcement, work orders, and service requests. Optimized for Intel
Centrino® Mobile Technology, Accela Wireless is compatible with PDAs,
laptops, and Tablet PCs running on the Microsoft Pocket PC 2003, Windows
Mobile 5, Windows 2000, or Windows XP operating systems.
Two additional Accela applications are planned to launch over the coming
months that will expand the use of Accela Automation to other areas of
business and increase public access:
Accela Licensing & Case Management(TM) automates licensing,
registration, and renewal programs for government agencies, including
general business licenses, pet licenses, simple and complex registrations,
occupational licensing, and more. The system allows easy creation of new
case types and business rules to reflect the regulations of the agency, and
helps provide quicker and more accurate customer service.
Accela
Citizen Access(TM) provides real-time, direct access via the Internet
to agency information and activities. For instance, online permit
applications can be configured to allow citizens and businesses access to
apply and pay for permits, schedule inspections, check the status of a
permit or inspection, or print an approved permit directly from the
Internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The city financed the upgrade project, including five years of maintenance,
through Accela
Financial Services(TM), which provides low interest rate, municipal
lease purchase financing for government agencies.
"The city of Evanston is to be congratulated for their commitment to
serving their citizens," said Maury Blackman, Accela president and CEO.
"The city did due diligence in assessing the capabilities of their previous
system against the benefits of Web-based technology and moved decisively to
put those benefits to work in making government services more responsive
and accessible to the public."
About Evanston
Evanston is located 13 miles north of downtown Chicago, and is home to
approximately 75,000 residents. Northwestern University, which opened its
doors for the first time in 1855, is the city's major landmark. The city
was, in fact, founded after the university opened and was named for one of
its founders, John Evans. For more information about Evanston, visit
http://www.cityofevanston.org.
About Accela
Accela provides innovative, Web-based enterprise software solutions that
automate land, permit, and asset management processes for local, state, and
federal government agencies of all sizes. Backed by nearly 30 years of
development and implementation in more than 500 agencies in the U.S.,
Canada, and Puerto Rico, Accela products and services empower agencies to
increase efficiencies, reduce workload, and provide citizens and businesses
with more convenient access to government services. Accela is located in
San Ramon, Calif. Accela products can be purchased directly from the GSA
Schedule Contract #GS-35F-0249R. For more information, please visit
www.accela.com.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Deborah Papp
Accela, Inc.
925-659-3244
Email Contact
Ron Jenkins
RBJ Consulting
972-473-3546
Email Contact
