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Planning director asks county to share permitting seats on CitizensServe; warns of branding tradeoff
Summary
Planning director said the department’s budget request includes personnel cost increases and asked the county to consider adding seats to the city's CitizensServe permitting system to save per‑seat costs; the tradeoff would be Grand Island branding rather than Hall County branding on the portal.
The planning and building department presented the board with a largely steady budget but noted some increases tied to personnel costs and new software seats. The planning director said the interlocal agreement with the city has been handled informally and that for 2026 the county’s requested share is $206,361 with the city and CRA picking up portions of the cost for personnel and services.
On permitting software, the director outlined two options: buy independent seats and brand the portal as Hall County or add seats to the city’s CitizensServe contract at lower per‑seat costs but with Grand Island branding. The director said the county could add three seats for about $4,500 and that the city’s contract includes a setup fee; commissioners discussed whether a Hall County link to the city portal would address discoverability and user experience concerns.
The board asked staff to continue exploring options, including linking from hallcounty pages to any shared permitting portal, and to return with a formal proposal and cost breakdown.
