Meet the Client
Brunswick County, North Carolina spans 846 square miles of coastal beauty. With beaches, waterways, and a booming construction market, this community attracts builders and homeowners eager to develop. Economic development depends on responsive permitting, and county leaders knew their existing process couldn’t keep pace with growth.
Daily Detour: Long drives, longer waits, lost time
Citizens drove miles to county offices only to stand in long lines. Builders and homeowners wanted permits; staff wanted to help. But paper-based processes slowed everything down. Documents traveled between departments at the speed of interoffice mail. Revisions got lost in the shuffle. Special conditions were hard to track.
Communication gaps created confusion for everyone involved. Deputy MIS Director Michael Read saw residents spending too much time just trying to get a permit. Projects that should have taken days stretched into weeks. Meanwhile, inspectors in the field couldn’t access job site documents without calling the office and waiting for staff to pull paper files. The county needed a better approach.
About our Client
CLIENT NAME:
CHAMPION:
Michael Read
Deputy MIS Director
POPULATION:
est. 167,000 residents
SOLUTIONS:
The Solution: A proof of concept that proved itself
MCCi helped the team build almost the entire online application using Laserfiche Forms. The county added minor CSS styling and JavaScript, but Forms handled 99 percent of the work. It created a simple wizard that displayed relevant questions based on user selections. Before launch, the team reached out to major builders for feedback. This collaborative approach built goodwill and ensured the new system met real user needs.
The county also created a Laserfiche mobile app for building inspectors. Integrated with ArcGIS, the solution maps job sites and gives inspectors instant access to application materials and documents in the field. No more phone calls. No more waiting for file pulls. Inspectors equipped with iPads can complete their work faster. Residents can also view the map to check inspection status, see inspector names, and track completion times.
The Results: 900+ permits, 10,000 inspections, one great decision
Since going live in October, Brunswick County has processed more than 900 permit applications, 1,200 change-out applications, and 10,000 inspection requests. The web portal alone saves approximately $4,000 in paper costs annually. More importantly, staff now has time to help the 20 percent of applicants who need extra assistance navigating the permit process.
One builder completed five applications before the county even called to offer help. That’s how intuitive the new system is. Other departments took notice. Instead of the IT team promoting Laserfiche, departments started asking how they could get on board.
“We’re not having to go to departments and solicit Laserfiche solutions. They’re coming to us and asking how they can get on board.”
Michael Read, Deputy MIS Director, Brunswick County
Brunswick County won MCCi’s Excellence Award for Most Transformative Change Management Initiative. Looking ahead, the county plans to expand the permitting process to include sub-permits for electrical and plumbing work. Additional Laserfiche implementations are planned for code violations, automatic listing forms for the tax department, employee action forms for HR, and more.
Working with a knowledgeable Laserfiche solution provider made all the difference. MCCi’s expertise in Laserfiche implementation, ongoing Laserfiche customer support, and deep understanding of government workflows helped Brunswick County deliver results that matter to residents, builders, and staff alike.