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Montgomery demonstrates BS&A online permit portal; staff says many simple permits now online
Summary
Building inspection staff demonstrated the BS&A online permit portal, saying contractors receive pins and homeowners can apply without accounts; staff said the portal opened for contractors in February, that many solar contractors already use it, and that typical processing time is one to three days depending on workload.
Village building staff introduced Matt Fitzpatrick, the village building inspector and BS&A superuser, to demonstrate the BS&A online permit portal and describe administrative changes from the village’s ERP.
Fitzpatrick walked the board through a homeowner permit application on the portal and stressed homeowners do not need an account while registered contractors are issued BS&A pins. “If you're a resident, you basically, you just go to BS and A online,” Fitzpatrick said as he displayed the site, adding that users must be sure to select “Village of Montgomery, Illinois” because other Montgomerys are listed in the system.
He said the village opened the portal for registered contractors in February and that a few contractors use it regularly; staff have not heavily promoted it to homeowners yet. Fitzpatrick described required attachments and form fields (address, parcel number, owner name, construction value) and noted that the portal enforces required uploads so applicants must include items like a plat survey where applicable.
On processing time, Fitzpatrick said web requests notify staff in real time and that the village aims to process web requests in about "1 to 2 days, 1 to 3 days" depending on workload. He advised residents that not all permit types are on the portal (larger commercial jobs and multi-contractor projects remain offline) and offered additional in-person assistance for residents who prefer to file at village hall.
Staff answered board questions about mobile access (the website formats for mobile devices though staff had not tested every phone model) and saving progress (accounts allow saving progress; one can apply without an account but may need to restart if they do not save required details).
What happens next: Staff offered to provide more-detailed demonstrations on request and to share the direct municipality-specific link to reduce user confusion when residents access BS&A online.
