Palatine launches new online portal for permits & more

The village of Palatine today launched a new online portal where residents, contractors and business owners can apply for permits and licenses, request an inspection, and find information about specific addresses.

The "Citizen Self Service" portal will ensure more effective communication with the public and eliminate much of the need for phone calls and office visits, village officials said.

At a village council budget meeting this month, Director of Community Services Harry Spila said the portal also will reduce the need for paper documents. "The bottom line is, we need to operate more like Amazon and less like Sears," Spila said.

On Monday afternoon, he said the launch was "going well so far."

The portal lists permits for things like commercial additions and alterations, single-family home re-roof and alterations, fences, sewer repair, and more. This is the first phase of the project; the second phase in summer 2021 will feature additional permits and licenses, Spila said.

Those who start an online application don't need to fret about getting it done quickly, as they can save their work for submittal at a later date. They also will receive updates on submittals and requests in real time.

Spila said the contractor for the project is Tyler Technologies, based in Texas.

The village had long wanted to implement online permits and inspections but encountered problems with its previous vendor, village documents show. That vendor was acquired by Tyler Technologies.

The village council approved in January 2018 a $283,700 contract with Tyler Technologies, which provided its community development software Energgov for free, plus an estimated 1,600 hours of consulting, training, conversion and implementation, documents show.

The Citizen Self Service portal is at citizen.palatine.il.us. Anyone who needs assistance registering can visit palatine.il.us/DocumentCenter/View/2490/CSS-Registration-Guide-Nov-4-2020.