City of Houston Selects GovPartner for One-Stop Online Permit & License Portal via CommunityDevelopmentPartner

Fourth Largest in U.S., Houston Is First U.S. City to Launch Groundbreaking Online Permitting & Licensing Portal Refined With the Municipality of Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

The City of Houston, TX has selected GovPartner (www.govpartner.com) to implement CommunityDevelopmentPartner and establish a one-stop e-Government portal.

Houston issued more than 435,000 permits (over $50 million) in 2007. The GovPartner software was selected by the City following an exhaustive RFP process. With the ability to complete the entire process online via simple point and click, Houston residents will soon find the permit process to be as fast and easy as any other modern e-Commerce transaction.

"We want our customers to be able to go online and not have to stand in line," says Houston Mayor Bill White. "Our implementation of GovPartner's software marks an important step toward establishing a centralized, user-friendly one-stop portal where customers will receive the highest level of service and efficiency."

Alfred J. Moran, Director of the Administration & Regulatory Affairs Department, explains, "As one of the largest municipalities in the nation, it is certainly a challenge to streamline and simplify issuance of hundreds of unique permit types. By combining GovPartner's portal technology with our efforts to re-engineer internal management processes, we will establish a venue for anyone anywhere in the world to conduct business with the City of Houston in an easy, secure and professional manner."

Houston's $1.18 million five-year project follows GovPartner's groundbreaking project with the Municipality of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (pop 1.6 million), the first e-Permits system to handle the entire construction process via the web -- from new home builds to one of the most modern international airports in the world with all information presented in English and Arabic.

Despite the challenges, GovPartner believes the unity and vision of the Houston team will ultimately allow the City of Houston to achieve its goal of a one-stop permitting solution. Mike Daniel, President of GovPartner, explains, "The cohesiveness of Houston's IT department with other top policy and management officials makes it clear that the right leadership is in place for this substantial effort to be a success."