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Six Things Every Agency Should Consider When Choosing a

Community Development Software Solution

1. Choose a solution that saves times and allows inspectors to spend more time in the field

Your Community Development Software should reduce the time your officers have to spend in the office so they can conduct more inspections and site visits in the field. It should increase staff efficiency by automating routine processes. Comcate’s Community Development solutions deliver both process automation and time-saving tools, including:

• Integrated database, which automatically populates HTML permits and notices information pulled from cases
• Advanced search features that allow quick and easy case research
• Daily lists of follow-up activities and automated reminders, with information about case location, status, priority and follow-up actions
• Automated case management and tracking features for easy access to the information you need for court cases.
• Cloud-based inspection checklists that officers can generate, complete, re-schedule or print out in the field.

2. Choose a solution that is easy to use

Community Development software solutions should be easy to learn, because you don’t have time for your team to learn a complicated new workflow. Comcate’s solution is incredibly user friendly, and has been optimized based upon feedback from teams just like yours.  Comcate has refined the launch procedure to make it completely seamless, and provides both user and administrator training, as well extensive support resources to help with any questions.

The biggest justification is the efficiency of the system and the amount of time it saves our staff.  Inputting data and tracking alone would take us all of our time if we didn’t have the information at our fingertips.  It is a huge benefit for us to because of the reminders that are provided to our officers to make sure they follow through with a violation from start to finish.
Mike Yeager, City Engineer, Covington, KY

3. Choose a solution with the reporting sophistication to easily access the information you need to manage your department

One of the key benefits software solutions offer is improved tracking and reporting of department activities. Comcate’s software module delivers more than 25 unique reports that allow you to view department activity by employee, violation, location, case initiation type, and date.  Plus, you can even customize the reports with our easy-to-use filters so you can make decisions based on the most valuable information to you and your agency.

• Track officer productivity
• Drill down into reactive and proactive activity.
• Provide performance results to your city council
• Track the use of CDBG funds and report CDBG eligible activities
• Look at permit types and fees associated with permitting projects.

4. Choose a solution from a company that specializes only in public agencies just like yours

Your Community Development software provider should specialize exclusively in delivering solutions to cities and districts just your size. This is the only way that a solution provider can truly understand the needs, concerns and processes of your agency. With hundreds of successful implementations and thousands of active users, Comcate is uniquely positioned to provide trusted expertise and best practices recommendations to local governments and other public sector organizations. Comcate is the only solution provider exclusively dedicated to small and mid-sized local governments and public sector organizations. We continue to invest in product improvements based upon client feedback, ensuring that we always deliver the latest and most efficient solution for our clients.

5. Choose a solution that not only helps you implement best-practice workflows, but that is also customizable to support your processes

Your software should be built upon industry knowledge and best practices, with a workflow that makes your staff more efficient. Comcate helps you optimize and automate your current processes, but is configurable enough to support your agency’s foundational workflows .After you partner with Comcate, our dedicated team of implementation consultants will ensure that your system captures your specific violations, municipal codes, notices, reports, inspection checklists, licensing information, and any other custom information you need to track.

“Comcate’s team understands what it takes to make the implementation of a new program a success in a public agency.”
Judy LaPorte, Director of Administrative Services, City of Rocklin, CA

6. Choose a solution from a company committed to your success

Implementing a software solution to manage divisions like Code Enforcement, Inspections, Permitting and Animal Control is a huge accomplishment, and one that will make your staff more efficient, your reporting more accurate, and your service to your citizens more valuable. Your relationship with your software provider, however, is crucial to a successful deployment.  Comcate provides our clients with dedicated support and account management teams to quickly answer your questions, help you through technical issues and ensure the software meets your needs. We are committed to your successful deployment for the entire time that you are a Comcate client.

“Comcate demonstrates the importance and effectiveness of performance-based government. It allows for timely and accurate information sharing; rapid deployment of resources; effective tactics and strategies; and relentless follow-up. As a result there are better outputs and better outcomes for Salisbury’s citizens.”
Martin O’Malley, Governor, Salisbury, MD