The Town of Beacon Falls is implementing technology solutions to increase the public’s ease in working with the Building Department.
The Town of Beacon Falls’ Assistant Assessor, Lisa Daigle, has developed multiple tools to enhance the building permit process in her municipality. Recently, Daigle developed a Permit Fee Calculator to allow residents and developers to calculate their building permit fees online. She also linked a QR code so that users can access the calculator easily on the website and to better accommodate people who walk into the office with questions.
Daigle shared that her overall goal for the Land Use office has been to leverage cost-effective technology to improve self-service capabilities. “Both the fee calculator as well as transitioning our inspection request process to a scheduling software has been pivotal.” said Daigle.
The tools give contractors the flexibility to schedule inspections and pay fees independently, allowing the Town to cater to high-volume clients and people who prefer self-service options. The Town still schedules inspections via phone or email, ensuring comprehensive service delivery.
The online scheduling system, Calendly, gathers essential information during the initial request submission, enabling the Building Official to expedite post-inspection tasks, such as electrical releases with Eversource, without requiring contractors to follow up separately.
These improvements are not all Beacon Falls has planned: the Town’s commitment to improving constituent’s experience with Town processes is a collaborative effort at 10 Maple Ave.
Daigle also discussed future tools that the team is working on for further improvements. “Currently, we’re digitizing and consolidating all our land use files, into a unified repository. Our aim is to enhance accessibility and organization, providing a comprehensive view of each parcel of land in Town all in one place.”
The consolidation helps create a clearer and more complete picture of each property. This initiative was conceived by Erin Schwarz, Finance Assistant, and Daigle, with Branden Burns, the Land Use Intern, leading the project efforts. Nicole Pastor, Land Use Coordinator, is ensuring that new files are seamlessly integrated into the system and maintaining the quality of the digitization system.
Another project in the works under Daigle is an update to the Town’s detention basin record-keeping system with hopes to integrate this data into the Town GIS to create a comprehensive layer documenting townwide detention basin, their conditions, and responsibilities.
Speaking about her work and Land Use office, Daigle shared “I’m genuinely proud of these efforts and of my colleagues. Together, we’re driving progress in the department and the Town, aiming to make services more accessible for officials, employees, and residents alike.”
Stay Connected
Contact the Town of Beacon Falls, located at 10 Maple Ave, Beacon Falls, CT 06403 . Telephone: (203) 729-4340
Lisa Daigle, Assistant Assessor (Email)
Learn more about the Building & Land Use Department
Explore a range of valuable resources and NVCOG projects on the Beacon Falls NVCOG web page.
Contact Us
The “Municipal Land Use Best Practice” spotlight features an exemplary initiative from a municipality in the region. Do you have a tool or practice that you would like to share that works for your municipality? Contact Savannah-Nicole (SN) Villalba.
