City of Sandy Springs Building Official Jonathan Livingston demonstrated the city's new OpenGov inspections portal during a training session for certified building inspectors and trade contractors, saying the system will be used for next year's inspections starting Jan. 1.

The portal is intended to consolidate permitting and inspection work into a single online system, allow inspectors to upload qualifications and business-license information once via a contact registration, and deliver real-time PDF inspection reports to property owners and managers. "Our software that we're using is called OpenGov," Livingston said during the demonstration.

Why it matters: Staff said the switch will make inspections mobile-friendly, speed reinspection turnaround and produce a concise "failed-only" report when items are not approved, which inspectors and property managers have requested. Livingston said approved inspectors will be published online so property owners can easily find vetted third-party inspectors.

During the session Livingston walked through portal registration (sign up with an email and password), the contact-registration workflow for recording professional qualifications and business licenses, and the multifamily rental housing annual-inspection icon on the OpenGov home screen. He described the portal's step logic and mobile access and demonstrated how an inspector can complete an inspection, send the PDF report in real time and reopen an inspection for reinspection when items are fixed.

Livingston described two features emphasized for inspectors: an automated renewal reminder attached to each uploaded license or certification, and a "failed-only" output so a property manager sees only the failed items instead of the full checklist. "I only want the failed report," he said, recounting a common request from owners; he showed how the portal can generate both a failed-only report and a full pass report once all items are cleared.

The demonstration included a walkthrough of required document uploads: minimum professional qualifications (examples cited included ICC certificates and professional-engineer credentials), a business license number and expiration date, and a photo ID for identity verification. Livingston said the system will track expirations and trigger renewal notices when dates approach.

No formal action or vote was recorded in the session. The presentation was instructional: Livingston noted this was not the city's annual certification class but a software setup session to let inspectors "hit the ground running come Jan. 1." He also said he will make slides and a recording available online for attendees who want to review the steps again.

Less critical details: Livingston repeatedly described the portal as icon-based and browser-agnostic, and he demonstrated navigation back to the home screen and the specific icon for multifamily rental housing inspections. He referred attendees to the portal link shown in the demo (spoken as "sandyspringsga.portal.opengov" during the session).