The Austin City Council approved two contracts worth nearly $60 million to replace the software the city uses to process permits during its Sept. 24 meeting, a move which a city council member said could speed up housing construction and drive down costs for residents.
Permitting software is used by governments to track applications for permits and adherence to them, according to Granicus, a company that develops software for government agencies. Austin’s previous permitting software did not use AI, but the new contracts will.
For 20 years, the city used a case management system called the “AMANDA” system. The system “no longer meets the need” of city staff nor the Austin community, wrote Maggie Holman, public information and marketing program manager for the City of Austin, in a statement.
“This new permitting software will replace our current AMANDA system with a simpler, more responsive tool that brings all departments and processes onto a single platform,” Holman wrote.
The first contract authorizes up to $28.1 million for Clariti Cloud, Inc., a company that handles the permitting software for major cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix, to support the city’s permitting, licensing and land management operations, including the processes used to review and manage development applications. The contract has an initial term of three years with six potential year-long extensions.
The second contract authorizes up to $31.2 million for implementing the city’s enterprise case management system and maintenance services, also in collaboration with Clariti Cloud, Inc., which will handle licensing, permitting, inspection and enforcement processes. This contract has an initial term of three years with two potential year-long extensions.
Students and advocacy groups have continuously raised concerns regarding affordable housing in the West Campus area. Zohaib “Zo” Qadri, Austin City Council member for District 9 who represents UT and West Campus, wrote in a statement that the city’s update to its permitting software is long overdue.
“Retiring Austin’s existing permitting software system and investing in new modern technology will ensure speed and reliability for new housing construction,” Qadri wrote. “Streamlining our permitting processes has been one of the key ways we have tried to drive down housing costs in Austin.”
However, Austin resident Philip Fitzgerald said at the city council meeting Sept. 24 that he worried the company’s implementation of AI into its software could cost some Austinites their jobs.
“What we’re seeing in a lot of industries that are integrating a lot of these AI products is massive layoffs,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m deeply afraid that by adding another $30 million contract, which is apparently gonna be over nine years potentially, that’s a lot of layoffs that we’re going to be staring down the barrel.”
Holman wrote that the new software will be implemented in phases over the next three years, and because the process is in its early stages, Austin Development Services does not have any more details at this time.