Butler County to adopt online building‑permit platform, staff OK integration work

County staff asked commissioners to award a three‑year subscription to LCT Software LLC for an electronic building permit application and plan review system (total $109,417.86; effective 12/17/2025–11/30/2028 with two one‑year renewal options) and to approve a one‑time integration contract with GovPath ($46,620) to connect the new platform to the county's existing Exela system.

David Fair, development director for Butler County, said the county has used Exela for about 20 years and that the new contract will allow members of the public to submit plans online rather than delivering paper rolls to Hamilton. He described a rollout plan that will include a small set of residential builders and one commercial developer to test the software, the creation of how‑to videos and public education on using the new system: "We will have a couple of residential builders that will help us as we create the software to kinda troubleshoot it for us... and as part of our contract, we will have how to videos," Fair said.

Commissioners asked for confirmation that training and outreach would be part of the rollout; staff said they will engage builders and produce tutorial materials to encourage adoption. The board moved, seconded and approved the resolutions as submitted.

Next steps: staff will finalize integration with Exela, begin builder testing and post instructional materials on the county website ahead of broader public access.