Milford staff previews OpenGov rollout, MS4 reporting and celebrates StormReady certification

Staff reported several administrative items to the Milford Inland Wetlands Commission on Feb. 18: mandatory statutory training for commissioners, a planned rollout of OpenGov permitting software, MS4 reporting deadlines and the city's new StormReady certification.

Mayor Mary Rose told commissioners the OpenGov system is scheduled to go live July 1 and staff will begin integrating wetlands permits into the platform in March. She said statutory training for commissioners and staff is mandatory and links are posted in the meeting documents.

On stormwater, Mary Rose said the MS4 annual-report draft is live and will be edited through March 15 ahead of the state submission due April 1; she noted MS4 sampling requirements increasingly apply to private/commercial parcels above acreage thresholds and that staff must track those obligations. "We've been in the MS4 program since like 2004, 2005," she said, adding the program is an unfunded mandate that requires more staff time.

Mary Rose also announced Milford received National Weather Service StormReady certification, noting it contributes points toward the Community Rating System that can reduce residents' flood insurance costs. "When we get all four or five of those things, we'll have enough points to go down to the next category, which would increase the savings for flood insurance," she said.

Staff said many items are ongoing; commissioners asked questions about staffing, how MS4 obligations will affect private property owners and how OpenGov will streamline permit intake.