The Stamford Advocate, Conn., Angela Carella column

Nov. 24--Say you wanted to build a deck on the back of your house. You would come up with plans. Then you would have to get a permit.

So you would go to City Hall to visit the building department. You probably would wait in line.

Someone in the building department might tell you that you need a signature from the engineering bureau. So you would go to the engineering bureau, where you might have to wait in line.

Someone in engineering might then send you to the zoning department. In the zoning department, you likely would wait again.

Someone in the zoning department might tell you that, because your backyard borders wetlands, the Environmental Protection Board must sign off on your permit. There, you probably would wait some more.

You might then learn that something in your plans was of concern to the health department or the fire marshal's office, and you had to get sign-offs from them.

You could be in City Hall for three or four hours or more, and still you could walk out without your permit.

You would have to return another day.

No more.

As of this month, Stamford residents, businessowners and contractors may obtain building permits using their home computers, smart phones or electronic tablets.

Stamford is one of 22 municipalities in Connecticut to join an e-government initiative that began in 2010 and is funded in part by the state Office of Policy and Management.

Now you can apply for a building, electrical, plumbing, gas or mechanical permit, pay for it and obtain it online. You can even track it from department to department as it is reviewed.

The software, developed by ViewPoint Government Solutions, allows the permit applicant to not only fill out forms but also submit photos, plans, a certificate of insurance and other documents online. If a city engineer or inspector needs a document from you, you'll get an email and can email your response.

The best part is you don't have to wait in lines.

"This is a major shift in the way we allow residents and contractors to apply for permits," said Director of Administration Michael Handler, who oversees the project. "We hope it will capture 60 percent to 70 percent of total permits, ease up bottlenecks and free city employees to handle other stuff."

City engineers and other employees, for example, have to work with contractors on applications for large projects, Handler said.

"You can't build a skyscraper by getting permits online," he said. "It's just too complex."

But it looks like the e-permit program is catching on with homeowners and contractors who are expanding a family room, installing a generator, building a garage and tackling similar projects.

From Nov. 1 to Nov. 22, Stamford had 283 walk-in permit applications and 229 online applications, for a total of 512 applications, said Nasser Hajo, chief executive officer of ViewPoint. So, within three weeks of the start of the program, nearly half the applications were online.

Of the 395 permits that were issued during that time, 130, or a third, were issued online, for a total revenue of $77,366. Revenue from permits issued in person in City Hall was $105,789, Hajo said.

The e-permit program seems to fill a demand. Hajo said Stamford has more permit applications than Worcester, Mass., even though Stamford is smaller by 60,000 people.

Residents may be flocking to it but some city employees were resistant.

"It's a challenge to institute a new system," Hajo said. Stamford has had a "manual system dependent on paper, so we had to go through a culture change in city departments."

He has been working on the program with Handler's office for a year, Hajo said.

The software displays the different fees for each permit, tells whether you require a certificate of occupancy, verifies contractors' Connecticut licenses with the state Department of Consumer Protection, and flags applicants that owe city taxes or Water Pollution Control Authority fees.

When the work on your project is inspected, you can view the report online.

If you pay online, the cost is 2.2 percent of the permit fee plus 30 cents. According to the contract with PayPal, the fee will decrease as the number of online permits increases, Handler said.

The software allows him to "see permit revenue in real time. I don't have to wait for a report at the end of the month," Handler said.

With the grant it provided the state OPM opened the e-permit program to all towns and cities, which reduced the cost to each one that joins, Hajo said. Stamford signed a contract with ViewPoint for $120,000, about half of what it would cost otherwise, Handler said.

Now only permit applications to the building department are online, but by the second week in December residents should be able to apply for permits that originate with the health department and possibly the engineering bureau, Handler said. Eventually it will include applications to the fire marshal's office.

Handler wants to add beach parking stickers, hoping to cut the long lines that wind through the government center lobby each May. And he wants to add service requests. You could, for example, take a photo of the pothole on your street with your smart phone and send it to City Hall, where it will be routed to the highways department and allow you to track the response.

Besides the e-permit program, the city this month launched an app, MyStamford, that can be downloaded for free on Apple and Android phones. The app allows residents to submit requests for service, view meeting schedules and navigate city programs.

The e-permit program was rolled out slowly so problems could be identified, and some still are being solved, Handler said. But the future is online.

"The government center is a good place to visit if you want to, but you don't have to," Handler said. "Eventually this will reduce costs to the city."

[email protected]; 203-964-2296.

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