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Resource Management Agency rolls out Tulare County Connect, GIS maps, online forms and knowledge tools
Summary
RMA Director Reid Schenke and staff demonstrated new tools — WaveTech lobby queuing, Infila FAQ knowledge base, Emulate Cities fillable permit forms, an upgraded GIS zoning viewer and the GoGov-based Tulare County Connect app — intended to speed permit review, improve transparency for Measure R spending and centralize service requests.
Resource Management Agency Director Reid Schenke told the board that RMA has been developing a package of digital tools to improve customer service, speed permit processing and provide better data for internal decision-making. Schenke said staff hired Guidehouse for an assessment and then prioritized software investments that respond to customers’ needs and internal performance measures.
"I recognize the workforce is changing, that demographics change, and we need to be able to be flexible and proactive," Schenke said. He described GIS as "the dataset for that" and said RMA is building a Measure R story map that will allow residents to see where sales-tax funds were spent and to review project photos, costs and timelines.
Assistant Director Aaron Bach walked the board through the customer-facing elements: a WaveTech lobby system and kiosk to reduce in-person wait times, Infila as a centralized knowledge base to produce consistent FAQ responses, and Emulate Cities fillable online forms to pre-screen permit completeness. Bach said pre-screening can reduce incomplete submittals and speed processing by an estimated 20–30% for some projects.
Assistant Director Ahmed Al Kayat demonstrated the Tulare County Connect (TCC) mobile app, built on the GoGov platform, showing a "start request" flow that captures location and photos and routes requests automatically to the responsible division. "That's it. It's already registered," Al Kayat said while showing a photo-based pothole report and the automated routing to the road yard. Staff said the app can identify requests outside county jurisdiction and, where compatible, forward them to cities or other agencies.
Supervisors pressed on user friendliness for less-experienced applicants, integration with contracted cities (for example, Exeter), and ADA accessibility. Schenke said ADA compliance work is underway with an April 27 deadline called out during the presentation and that phone and email channels will remain available during rollout. Staff said TCC and other tools have been tested internally and will be phased in with outreach materials and QR-code flyers for the public to download the app.
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