Consultant urges centralized permit center, clearer targets and tech integration for Jonesboro permitting

Matrix Consulting Group on Tuesday urged the Jonesboro City Council to centralize permitting intake, set clear performance targets and better integrate the city’s permit software to speed reviews and provide a more predictable process for applicants.

Lisonbee Breck, a Matrix manager, presented a multi‑month study of Jonesboro’s permitting and inspection operations that included staff interviews, customer surveys, benchmarking and a building‑and‑fire code review. Breck said the city’s strengths include an existing permanent software system, same‑day inspections in many cases and a dedicated construction outreach coordinator. Still, she said the city lacks documented performance objectives and has a fragmented intake spread across multiple departments, creating inconsistent guidance for applicants.

“The top recommendation is a centralized permit center as a single intake point for all applications and permits,” Breck told council. She described a physical counter in city hall paired with a digital front counter, unified review comments tracked in the permitting system, and a single accountable staff member to perform completeness checks. The firm also recommended consolidating application categories and enabling paperless submittals to reduce manual steps.

Matrix flagged two legacy platforms—Project Docs and iWork—that the city currently uses and recommended either better integration or migration to a single unified platform. When asked whether the systems could be adapted, Breck recommended starting with the existing tools and pursuing vendor support and targeted vendor training rather than building a custom system, which she said is typically costly and hard to maintain.

The report calls for performance dashboards and target review timeframes for every permit type so staff and the public can track improvements. It also recommends organizational changes: creating a development services department (two alternatives presented), designating a cross‑departmental management lead, and hiring a commercial plans reviewer to shift plan‑review work away from the chief billing official so that person can focus on managerial duties and certificate‑of‑occupancy oversight.

Breck said many high‑priority recommendations can be implemented with policy or process changes and reallocation of existing staff but acknowledged some items—such as a permanent permit center kiosk, a new plans reviewer position, or system integration—carry budget implications. She suggested incremental implementation beginning as early as third quarter 2026 and highlighted that Matrix remains available to provide follow‑up support and gather feedback during implementation.

Council members pressed for data on implementation success and how recommendations align with recent permit‑volume trends. Breck said the study used current workload and three‑year trends and that improved process predictability is valuable whether or not Jonesboro is the fastest‑growing city in the region. She emphasized the recommendations were designed to make operations more transparent and more consistent for applicants and staff.

The council did not take immediate action on the report but thanked Matrix for the presentation; staff were invited to follow up on specific technical and budget questions in coming meetings.