Planning and Land Services

IT has partnered with Pierce County Planning and Land Services (PALS) to make the permitting process more efficient and convenient. New online tools make it easy for customers to apply for permits, search for public records, or check the status of their applications.

Improvements to the Planning and Land Services website include:

• The ability to search for applications and supporting materials for any Pierce County permit.
• Email notifications alerting users when a permit's status changes.
• Expanded types of applications that can be made online. It?s now more convenient to apply for replacement applications, mechanical and plumbing permits and amnesty applications.
• QR codes for smart phones added to all permits, certificates of occupancy and public notices.
• The enhanced ability to schedule or cancel inspections online.
• The 'About My Property' page provides basic details and links to more information about properties.

Web Content Manager

Pierce County Information Technology is coordinating with Pierce County Communications to develop a new web content management system. Once completed, the new standards-compliant system will feature improved design, functionality and usability for the 6,000-plus pages on the Pierce County internet and intranet sites.

The new content management system will provide the following benefits:

• Improved navigation to make it easier for users to find information.
• Improved self-service for content contributors through simplified web content creation and editing functions.
• A wider range of options for displaying content.
• Improved integration with existing on-line business applications.
• Enhanced appearance of web pages and navigation elements.
• The new system will also meet state and federal requirements for public information and accessibility.

These planned benefits add up to an improved user experience for the citizens of Pierce County when visiting the Pierce County web site. A decision on the vendor to deliver the new system will occur by the end of 2011. The new web content management system is slated to go live in the second half of 2012.

Public GIS

Public GIS has been updated with new data and functions that provide a contemporary look and feel. It is used by residents in Pierce County to view information about their property, neighborhood and community.

Additions to Public GIS include:

• Numerous choices under the Locators menu to find an address, parcel, or a community.
• New functions under the Tools menu to print the map to an Acrobat PDF file, measure and reverse-geocode.
• New Subject Data menu to turn on additional focused data.
• New slider bar at the upper right of the map to select the background map of your choice.
• Buttons above the slider bar can be rearranged to create different combinations of background maps.
• Data is categorized in the Layers column, and can be turned on for viewing or acquiring more information.
• Identify tool on the toolbar above the map to get more information about the layers that are turned on.
  

LINX 2 Re-Platform

In 1994, Pierce County implemented an integrated justice system with the first release of Legal Information Network Exchange (LINX). PowerBuilder was initially used to develop LINX desktop applications. In 1998, ColdFusion was introduced to develop LINX web applications. Over the last several years, both technologies have shown a steady decrease in use and lack many modern programming language improvements. In December 2009, the Pierce County Council approved the release of LINX software under an open source license to encourage future development of LINX with interested outside parties.

While the current network has been received with great success and supports a high level of use, LINX does have deployment concerns with individual desktop applications residing on multiple users' computers across several departments. Current web application configurations require our Software Development team to dedicate full-time personnel to resolve support issues in PowerBuilder, ColdFusion and database code. Obsolescence is also a growing concern: the decline of applications using PowerBuilder and ColdFusion makes it more difficult to acquire training and enhancements.

The LINX re-platform project is a multi-year endeavor that, once completed, will feature a fully web-based, modularized application. The new system will deliver enhanced communication and coordination with partner agencies and improved efficiency for all users. The modular functionality will be of benefit to outside agencies who will be allowed to use portions of the LINX system with their existing systems. We also anticipate a reduction in technical support needed for the web-based system compared to the current LINX.

HR2U HRMS replacement

The goal of the HR2U project is to select a replacement of Pierce County's existing HR and payroll system with a new commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) system that best fits the county's requirements.

Pierce County's current human resource management system is difficult and costly to support, and limits the county's ability to implement best practice processes for HR and payroll. Technology limitations and limited interfaces with other vital business systems have resulted in the use of 'shadow' systems throughout the county (e.g. spreadsheets, documents, custom developed applications, etc.) to conduct county human resources and payroll business. It has become increasingly difficult to meet the expanding demands for information and analyses from county constituents, regulatory agencies and other stakeholders. This impacts the county's ability to quickly analyze performance, poses increased risks for errors, increases security risks and impacts employee productivity. Additionally, the current system does not handle the unique HR and payroll needs of some county departments.

A new, modern system will allow county departments to configure the system to meet business processes. Modernization benefits of the HR/payroll system are focused on improving data quality, flexibility in work processes, improved efficiency and transparency of the data. The RFP for this project was issued in September, 2011. Implementation of the new system is targeted for the latter part of 2012.