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Pueblo County building department outlines permitting overhaul, OpenGov rollout and ambassador program
Summary
County building staff described a package of permitting reforms on Sept. 25: new OpenGov workflows for residential and commercial permits, an ambassador program to manage back-routing and inspections, two staff hires and planned code housekeeping to move fee schedules to resolution. Staff said these changes aim to speed inspections and reduce developer friction.
Director Howard (referred to in the discussion as "Arnold" and identified in the presentation as "director Howard") briefed the Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 25 about a set of permitting reforms intended to streamline permitting, inspections and contractor interactions.
Howard said two positions — a permit technician and a lead building inspector — have been posted to support current workloads and that temporary staffing options are being explored to bridge near-term gaps. He described collaboration with County Attorney Marcy Gay on Pueblo County code housekeeping necessary before Dec. 31, largely to remove fee schedules from the code and adopt them by resolution so fees can be adjusted more flexibly.
Wally, who presented details of the county's ambassador program, described a new back-routing workflow: after permit issuance the county will email applicants a contact list for agencies responsible for final sign-offs, cc those agencies, and follow up monthly to prevent last-minute inspection rushes. Wally said the goal is proactive outreach so applicants don’t miss required back routing and final inspections.
Permitting-technology staff member Jen described the county's work with OpenGov to develop four permit templates — residential, commercial, contractor registration and an over-the-counter MEP permit — and said the residential template is complete and will be used as a base for the commercial permit. Jen said OpenGov will show applicants routing and inspection requirements up front and will integrate with the ambassador/back-routing process.
Commissioners praised the customer-service emphasis and encouraged coordination with regional partners (including Pueblo West Metro) while staff said a technical advisory committee will test workflows at upcoming working sessions.
Next steps: staff will continue TAC testing, finalize OpenGov workflows, return code-revision language to the board for adoption and recruit new permit staff.
