Pueblo County outlines OpenGov permitting rollout and launches "ambassador" support to speed building reviews

Pueblo County planning staff on Aug. 15 updated commissioners on progress transferring building inspections and permitting into the OpenGov platform, and described an "ambassador" program to track applications, catch routing problems and help applicants navigate the process.

The nut graf: County staff said the new system and the ambassador program aim to reduce application delays and improve interdepartmental routing. Staff also reported ongoing coordination with metro districts and the county assessor's office and said OpenGov will enable export of permitting data directly into assessor systems.

Planning Director Carmen Howard introduced the briefing and said the slides reflected topics ready for public conversation and that county and city discussions about the transition are ongoing. Jen Wagner, deputy director of public planning, said staff have spent multiple hours with OpenGov this week building the residential building-permit workflow and working with the assessor's office so exported data will interface with assessor systems.

Wally Wallace, a permitting ambassador (role described in the meeting), said ambassadors are now assigned to every ZABP (Zoning Authorization for Building Permit) application and can track where each application is in the routing process. "Right now, we're going through every single ZABP... we can just see where things are active, where things are on hold, where things are pending," Wallace said, adding that ambassadors have already caught assignments that "slipped through the cracks" and that some recent applications were completed the same day.

How the ambassador program will work. Wallace said ambassadors send an introductory message when an applicant files a ZABP, provide contact information, and encourage applicants to use OpenGov so communications are documented. He said ambassadors will escalate issues and can pull in public-works or other specialists when needed. "If at any point you get stuck or something doesn't make sense, you can reach out to us, and we're happy to help," Wallace said.

Staff also discussed outreach and coordination. Wagner and Howard said they met with representatives from Pueblo West Metro and Colorado City Metro and received positive feedback; they plan broader outreach and possibly a joint work session with metro districts later in the year. Howard said OpenGov will allow automated export of permitting data to the assessor's GSA software, reducing manual reporting. A technical advisory committee notice was issued; five letters of interest had been received by the time of the meeting and more were expected.

Commissioners praised the customer-service emphasis. Commissioner Myles Lucero thanked staff and said having a person to talk to when applicants hit a snag is important. Commissioners expressed enthusiasm for a January launch of the new permitting workflow and asked staff to demonstrate the system once it is more mature.

Ending: Staff said the slide deck will be updated monthly and that work on office space and building-official staffing is ongoing. The county will continue weekly coordination with city partners and metro districts during the transition.