Case Study
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About the Breckenridge Tourism Office
The Breckenridge Tourism Office serves a big need in the community, facilitating up to 150 permits a year for special events ranging from the International Snow Sculpture Championships and Oktoberfest, to film shoots and farmers’ markets.
Challenge
“Before cloud permitting, we would take a literal sheet of paper and go to six to eight different stakeholders, depending on the permit, to talk to them about it and have them physically sign it. It was a much more lengthy, cumbersome process,” explains Event Coordinator Molly Herwehe. Molly and the Special Events Department needed to find a better solution to their outdated, inefficient internal workflows to secure event permits.
Solution
OpenGov Permitting & Licensing
Why OpenGov Permitting & Licensing?
After years of cumbersome paper-based processes to secure special event permits, staff in Breckenridge decided it was time to make a change. In addition to speeding up the painstaking process of collecting signatures, they wanted to more easily communicate with and educate applicants, while also gaining flexibility in the permit forms themselves. These were the key factors in selecting OpenGov Permitting & Licensing after demoing several other products.
Customer Results
100% Digital Submissions
Able to easily collect online signatures
3-7 day average for permit processing
Increased revenue from events and film
From Paper to 100% Online Submissions
Since going live with their customizable permitting portal in March of 2017, Breckenridge has seen major gains in efficiency, communication, and user satisfaction. Having made a complete switch to digital submissions, permits now take an average of only 3-7 days to complete. Slow, paper special events permitting is no more.
“We always try to find ways to make our team more efficient and to make the permitting process more seamless. OpenGov has made processing permits truly days, if not weeks, quicker.”
Molly Herwehe, Event Coordinator, Breckenridge, CO
The Breckenridge Tourism Office also has regular meetings with the Town’s government employees who are most called upon to sign off on permits. The feedback there has been positive as well.
Special event permits that used to take weeks to complete are now handled online
and take only days using the OpenGov Permitting & Licensing platform.
“It’s so much easier because they know what’s coming down the line. They don’t have to review a permit in three minutes to have someone sign it.”
Molly Herwehe, Special Events Department, Breckenridge, CO
Herwehe noted that there was a transition for some applicants who were accustomed to paper permitting, but after explaining the system and getting them started, everyone involved has been extremely happy with the experience. On the internal side, OpenGov Permitting & Licensing’s integrated support team has helped office staff members quickly address any hiccups throughout the process.
This new workflow has paid dividends during a time-crunch for larger events, but also for the Town’s most regular permittees. For example, the Sunday Farmers’ Market runs every week from July through September. With the previous system, the market would have to submit a separate permit for each day they planned to operate. With OpenGov, Breckenridge has been able to issue one permit covering the recurring event without losing their avenue for continued communication. Stakeholders can keep track of their comments under the one digital permit and easily hear back from the applicants about any issues.
Better Customer Service Means More Customers, and Revenue
The Town has also seen an increase in film shoots—and revenue—as a result, because applicants prefer Breckenridge’s online system over what neighboring towns offer.
“We’re able to provide such a better customer experience to our permittees than many of our neighbors. Having OpenGov makes a really big difference because we’re easier to work with and very responsive in our communication.”
Molly Herwehe, Special Events Department, Breckenridge, CO
To Herwehe and her team, transitioning from paper to cloud-based permitting has made all the difference. She encourages other local governments looking to improve customer service and streamline operations to begin looking at modern, user-friendly software too.
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