Shelbyville’s mayor and city council heard a presentation Dec. 30 from OpenGov on a cloud-based permitting and licensing platform that city staff say could streamline permitting, allow online applications and payments, and provide staff dashboards to track inspections and turnaround times.

Jordan Bearden, OpenGov representative, told the council the company’s platform is designed for public-sector workflows and emphasized customer support, saying, “We are built for high performance government, and we bring transparency, and efficiency together in the program.” Bearden said the product is used in hundreds of U.S. jurisdictions and cited a Jackson, Tennessee, case study where permitting times fell from “20, 30 minutes for a permit to 5 to 10 minutes.”

Council members pressed about property-maintenance data and whether inspectors’ findings would be available in real time. Bearden said the system supports unlimited user seats and provides dashboards and reports so staff can run property searches, pull reports, and monitor turnaround times. A city presenter noted the platform’s cost comparison, saying it would cost “half as much as a new employee” and could serve multiple departments. Staff also told the council the system would be funded from building and planning fees rather than property or sales tax.

OpenGov representatives offered to share the public-facing experience for council review and to provide follow-up materials. City staff said they will evaluate next steps and bring a recommendation back to the council; no decision or vote was taken at the study session.