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Glocester drops CivicPlus renewal, authorizes state-funded e‑permitting as residents raise access concerns
Summary
The Glocester Town Council told CivicPlus it will not renew a $5,300 statement of work and authorized a state-funded OpenGov electronic permitting platform for zoning; public commenters raised concerns about planner availability and digital access for residents without email or computers.
The Glocester Town Council on March 20, 2025 authorized the town clerk to notify CivicPlus that the town will not renew a statement of work on the vendor’s master services agreement, effective the May 6, 2025 renewal date, and separately authorized implementation of a state-supported electronic permitting platform for zoning applications.
Town Clerk Jean M. Fecto told the council in a March 19 memo that multiple attempts to implement CivicPlus had left the clerk’s office unable to justify a $5,300 renewal fee. “After many attempts to implement the software, we find that the renewal cost is too expensive to justify as the end product did not meet our expectations,” the memo says; the council voted to cancel the CivicPlus statement of work and master service agreement.
Dennis Bien, the town’s building official and zoning officer, briefed councilors on a state-funded platform for electronic permitting and zoning applications, saying the permanent statewide system will bring “a pretty wide platform which will...help us organize, it helps us digitize a lot of paper files.” Bien said the state pays the platform’s costs and that training for staff is already scheduled if the council approves.
During public comment several residents said the shift to electronic services raised access and customer-service concerns. Resident Jared Duhamo said he had left repeated messages and delivered maps in person but received no timely phone call or in‑office meeting with the town planner, and he asked that the planner maintain predictable office hours. An older resident told the council, “I don’t have email. I don’t have a computer. My only technology is a flip phone,” and asked how people without internet access are expected to use e‑permitting systems.
Councilors and staff said they will follow up. Bien said state training will be provided to town staff; a councilor told the resident who asked for contact that someone would call him the next day to respond to his outstanding questions.
