The Municipality of Middlesex Centre has received the esteemed Peter J. Marshall Innovation Award for its exceptional use of technology to establish efficient shared services. At the 2023 AMO Conference in London, Mayor Aina DeViet and Arnie Marsman, Director of Building and By-Law Services, were presented with the Plaque Award.
Middlesex Centre’s pioneering move to a fully automated, paperless e-permitting system for building services earned recognition. Utilizing Couldpermit, this system automated multiple stages of the building permit process, including applications, plan revisions, fee calculations, payment tracking, inspections, and reporting.
The initiative extended building services to four neighboring municipalities in Middlesex County, along with their existing service area, enhancing efficiency via e-permitting technology. The integration of shared services and e-permitting led to substantial time and cost savings, even amid a building boom and pandemic challenges, resulting in a 50% reduction in permit processing time. Mayor DeViet highlighted the efficiency gains, and Middlesex Centre’s influence in improving processes across neighboring counties.
Online inspection requests streamlined staff routes, and connected tablets offered immediate results to builders. Cloudpermit, tailored to Ontario’s building procedures through close collaboration between Middlesex Centre and technology providers, contributed to enhanced building permit delivery in over 100 municipalities.
The P.J. Marshall Award, sponsored by AMO, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and other associations, commends innovative public service approaches. Middlesex Centre’s recognition exemplifies their creative embrace of solutions to enhance public service.
written by: C. Soares