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Orem Business Alliance, UVU Business Resource Center and licensing portal plan presented; city will streamline business licensing
Summary
Economic development staff reviewed the Orem Business Alliance’s outreach, partnership with the Utah Valley Business Resource Center and a plan to modernize business licensing with a user portal, online renewals and mobile accessibility. Staff said IT will prioritize a licensing portal after process design is finalized.
Orem economic development staff presented an update on the Orem Business Alliance, the city’s partnership with the Utah Valley University Business Resource Center (BRC), and a plan to streamline the city’s business‑licensing process.
Staff said the Orem Business Alliance has hosted ribbon‑cutting events, educational workshops and networking opportunities and has referred businesses to state programs, UVU resources and training. Mark Puetcher, general manager of a local Honeybaked Ham store, told the council the alliance helped his store by providing networking and local referrals.
Business Resource Center and federal funding Staff described the UVU Business Resource Center’s incubator and accelerator programs and said the city has discussed federal grant opportunities for expansion and renovation of the BRC with U.S. representatives and senators. Staff said a congressional visit to Washington, D.C., was used to brief federal offices on the center’s expansion needs and that follow-up congressional contacts were planned.
Licensing portal and process streamlining Elizabeth Gormley, business development specialist, presented a process map showing where business owners encounter errors, duplicate applications and payment issues in the current licensing portal. She proposed six improvements: a business-owner portal for status and edits; clear renewal instructions; robust troubleshooting and document upload; automated text/email notices; mobile and ADA‑capable design; and immediate digital licensing for download and proof of compliance.
Staff noted internal coordination needs because licensing touches building, fire, pretreatment and finance, and said the licensing team is working with IT to scope priorities. IT told council staff that top priorities are an HR portal, system integrations and business licensing; staff said the licensing process design must be completed first so IT can code an appropriate portal. Council members praised the user-experience mock-ups and asked staff to keep the rollout schedule on a short timeline.
Next steps Staff said IT will implement incremental fixes, then build an integrated portal once the process design is finalized; the city will continue to coordinate BRC expansion advocacy and will return with progress updates and a timeline for a licensing portal.
