Shelbyville, Tennessee picks OpenGov to digitize permits and inspections

The City of Shelbyville has chosen OpenGov Permitting & Licensing to replace paper-based permitting, inspections and contractor licensing with a cloud platform. The rollout is aimed at speeding approvals, improving transparency and supporting growth without adding staff.

Why it matters: - Shelbyville is trying to handle more development with less manual work. - The new system is meant to improve permit turnaround, inspection coordination, and visibility for staff, developers, and residents. - City leaders also want a process that keeps pace with regulatory requirements without expanding staffing levels.

What happened: - The City of Shelbyville, Tennessee selected OpenGov Permitting & Licensing to modernize permitting, inspections, and contractor licensing. - The move shifts those operations from paper-based workflows to a centralized, cloud-based platform. - The city is located in Bedford County and serves as a regional hub for manufacturing, residential development, and commercial growth in Middle Tennessee. - Shelbyville is known as the “Walking Horse Capital of the World.”

The details: - Shelbyville previously used paper applications, PDFs, and spreadsheet tracking for building permits, trade permits, inspections, and contractor licensing. - Application intake and routing required manual handling across departments. - Inspectors returned to the office to enter field data. - Those steps limited permit-status visibility, slowed turnaround times, and added work for staff, developers, and residents. - The city evaluated permitting platforms based on usability, workflow automation, reporting, and the applicant experience. - Key goals included eliminating manual intake, enabling digital payments, improving inspection coordination, and increasing transparency without adding staff. - OpenGov was chosen for its interface, configurable workflows, and experience with municipalities of similar size and complexity. - OpenGov’s Public Service Platform will provide application intake, automated routing, inspection scheduling, contractor licensing, and operational reporting in one system. - The initial rollout will cover building permits, trade permits, inspections management, contractor licensing, and code-related workflows. - The implementation will be phased to support adoption while daily operations continue. - Shelbyville will launch a digital application and payment portal for residents and contractors. - Users will be able to submit materials, schedule inspections, and track status online. - Inspectors will use mobile devices to enter data in real time. - Automated notifications and workflow routing will replace manual coordination. - Reporting dashboards will give city leadership clearer insight into processing times and overall performance. - Kade Stier, Shelbyville’s IT Director, said the city wants a permitting process that supports growth while maintaining accountability. - Stier said OpenGov will help Shelbyville move beyond manual workflows and provide faster, more transparent service.

Between the lines: - Shelbyville’s decision reflects a common local-government shift from fragmented records to integrated digital workflows. - The emphasis on transparency, payment handling, and mobile inspection tools suggests the city is targeting both resident convenience and internal efficiency. - A phased launch signals an effort to reduce disruption during the transition.

What's next: - Shelbyville will begin implementing OpenGov in stages. - The first wave will focus on permits, inspections, contractor licensing, and code workflows. - City staff and contractors should see the new online portal and mobile inspection tools as the rollout progresses.