Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Customer Service Crm topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves $275,000 budget amendment to buy Salesforce for permit center
Summary
The Tyler City Council approved a $275,000 amendment to the Development Services budget to purchase Salesforce CRM and related customer-service tools, intended to reduce the need for four new employees and provide multilingual, AI-assisted customer support for permits and inspections.
The Tyler City Council on April 8 approved a $275,000 amendment to the Development Services budget to buy customer-relationship management software that officials said will reduce the need to hire four additional employees.
Heather, a city staff member presenting the item, told the council the city evaluated several platforms and "landed on Salesforce," which staff say will support permit-center calls, guide applicants through processes in English, Spanish and other languages, and include AI tools to help answer routine requests. Heather characterized the software as an alternative to adding staff to meet growing customer-service expectations.
Council members asked which departments would use the system; Heather said it will primarily support the permit center, building inspections, development services and planning, and will also be available to neighborhood services, engineering and traffic. She said the software can offer call-back functionality so residents do not have to wait on hold and can receive automated assistance when appropriate.
The council moved and approved the budget amendment (motion by Mark; second by Curtis). The motion carried without recorded dissent.
The city did not specify vendor contract terms, implementation timeline or the mix of one-time versus ongoing costs beyond the $275,000 amendment during the council discussion. Staff said the choice aims to improve responsiveness and reduce repeat phone calls to departments.
The council then proceeded to the next agenda items.
