Halton technology strategy streamlining for growth

NRU
July 25, 2018
Rob Jowett

Halton Hills is upgrading its technology to help manage its anticipated growth. In particular, the town aims to streamline the development application process and make it less expensive.

July 17, Halton Hills council approved a Corporate Technology Strategic Plan, prepared by Perry Group Consulting. The plan is intended to help the town manage its anticipated growth, as well as improve overall service delivery. It includes moving some services online and streamlining the application process, as well as investing in hardware and software upgrades. Implementation calls for an anticipated $3,995,000 capital investment and an annual operating budget of $1,357,000. Details will be considered in the 2019 budget process.

Halton Hills mayor Rick Bonnette says that moving services online will help streamline them without diminishing their quality.

“The challenge we face in Halton Hills is managing growth in a way that doesn’t compromise the small town charm and high quality of life that we are known for,” he says. “Town hall remains open to folks who want to come in and discuss their planning applications, pay a tax bill or secure a building permit. I’m determined that preparing for growth will not come at the cost of customer service.”

Halton Hills is planning for significant growth. The community of Georgetown will be adding up to 19,000 new residents, a 31 per cent increase over Halton Hills’ 2016 population of 61,161. Managing that growth is a major reason for the new technology plan.

“We’re looking for the strategic plan [to] support that [growth] in delivering technology services to that increasing population and to be able to scale and effectively provide services to that growing community,” says information services manager Murray Colquhoun. “Part of our initiative is to look at digitizing processes, with the end goal of making those services available in more of an online fashion.”

Corporate services commissioner Jane Diamanti told NRU that improving the planning application process is be a major part of the technology plan. She says that digitizing the process will save the town time and money while streamlining town services and making them more accessible.

“We know that planning and building services will most keenly, probably, feel the pressure of that growth, particularly at the front end,” she says. “So we are anticipating greater digitization of the planning and approval processes. So, for example, we’d like to see … people [have the ability] to submit site applications and their drawings online, and to be able to pay for building permits online.”

Colquhoun adds that studies into the operational costs of offering services online run about 15 to 90 cents per transaction, where it would cost $5-7 over the phone and $30 in person.

Building Industry and Land Development Association Halton Chapter chair Glenn Wellings (Wellings Planning Consultants) says streamlining the application process will make it easier and cheaper for developers to build houses, which will ultimately lower the costs for buyers.

“If you have a piece of land, normally it’s financed, and then you have the carrying costs on top of the land, and you have those payments to make and then you have an application process that’s taking far too long,” he says. “That all ends up… as part of the price of the house.”

He says most municipalities still require development applications to be physically submitted, which makes the process more labor intensive and expensive.

“If you have a complex application, you have a number of architectural plans, you have a number of technical studies, and you can walk in there with two or three banker’s boxes of paper,” he says. “So I applaud Halton Hills for actually trying to streamline the process and make it a little more user friendly.”

Field employees like building inspectors and road crews will be equipped with now devices to make their jobs easier. Council members and staff will have access to up-to-date technology like cloud computing and video conferencing to help gain efficiencies. As well, most service delivery, such as tax payments, permit issuance, and by-law complaints will be online, and some public consultations will be conducted online.