Monroe County modernizes its permitting process with Oracle Cloud

Located in the Florida Keys, Monroe County runs from Key Largo on the north to Key West—more than 100 miles to the south. It is responsible for permitting all unincorporated areas of the county. To serve its expansive terrain, the county maintains five permit offices spread many miles apart. Building, planning, environmental resources, fire, and code compliance are all involved in processing an average of 7,500 permits annually.

However, Monroe County’s 1980s-era system did not offer citizens the ability to submit or manage permits online, so residents and contractors were forced to travel to the nearest office. Because permits and inspections were relegated to specific office locations, county employees were unable to share resources and information across offices. Plus, a linear, paper-based review process would often take 35 days or more just for the first plan review cycle.

The agency recognized the need to modernize and combine resources across offices to streamline permitting and contractor licensing. The county decided to adopt Oracle Permitting and Licensing to provide a more helpful, business-friendly experience to agency staff and introduce 24/7 customer self-service capabilities.

After evaluating Oracle Permitting and Licensing, Monroe County officials liked the clean, easy-to-use design for public users. A simple interface was crucial because customers range from contractors who submit permits regularly to residents who are unfamiliar with the process.

The county was drawn to Oracle’s unique approach to managing workflow, because routing permit applications for review and approval are at the heart of its business. Oracle’s powerful routing tool, with role-based lanes, made it easy for agency staff to design or change their approval processes themselves when needed, instead of relying on technical staff.

The ability to have building, planning, environmental resources, fire, and code compliance agencies review plans simultaneously was another advantage because it helped the county issue permits faster without compromising the careful reviews needed to protect local wildlife, terrain, and public safety.

Finally, the county trusted Oracle to support the application into the future. With Oracle’s proven history in the public sector, investments in technology, and a mature support organization, the county was confident to move forward.

Today, contractors and homeowners are conveniently applying for permits, scheduling inspections, providing plan documents, and other requested information at any time without driving to an office. Applicants and contractors can easily monitor the progress of the permit approval lifecycle online. The county expects the online portal will result in an increase in customer satisfaction, improved consistency, and the ability to support higher throughput as necessary, such as after hurricanes. In addition, Monroe County hopes to support remote work opportunities across more disciplines, allowing agency staff to focus on processing applications.

The county selected Oracle Consulting to implement Oracle Permitting and Licensing in 2021. In addition to configuring the software, the project consolidated the county’s existing business processes to be more efficient, deployed online self-service for permit applications, and standardized permit data collection and processing. The project also included registration and management of state- and county-level contractors.