Accela will be releasing Civic Platform version 9.1 in the next few weeks.  We plan to install this new version in our DEV environment and begin our internal process of rigorous testing at the beginning of July with the expectation of installing 9.1 in Production by Fall/Winter 2017.  We would like to move as quickly as possible to test and finally install this version into Production because it should fix the “5 MB” error users get when attempting to email reports, like the Building Permit or Receipt.  It is rumored to also fix the intermittent “Contact your agency administrator” error.  And it has been advertised to be compatible with Microsoft Edge, which is the newest browser version that many agencies are upgrading to.  You will hear more about this project and see full release notes in the next several months when we are ready for agency staff to begin their testing of this new version.

Note: Civic Platform version 8.0.3.0.2 is currently installed in Production.  You can always check the software version in Production by going to this URL:
https://av.prod.oregon.accela.com/portlets/version.jsp

The Oregon Inspection Scheduling App v. 1.6 for Android was just released to the Google Play Store on May 17, 2017.  A network timeout issue was corrected to allow consistent search results.  A new version of the Android and iOS apps are expected to be released soon to include the new Public Works module.

On May 1, 2017 City of Springfield converted from a custom configuration to the Oregon Standard Model (OSM).  Springfield has participated in the ePermitting Program since 2010.  Their claim to fame is that they were the very first Full Services agency to participate with ePermitting.  Springfield uses the Building, Planning, and Public Works OSM modules to track work within the city.  Springfield staff helped develop our new Public Works module, now available in the back office and ACA.  Welcome to OSM, Springfield!

Soon we will be reviewing all of the OSM inspection reports to make them more efficient, accurate, and useful across all of our agencies.  We are soliciting feedback regarding changes to the inspection reports and would appreciate your input and suggestions by sending an email to [email protected].

Providing end user training for the Accela software and the Oregon Standard Model has been an ongoing challenge for the ePermitting Program and our jurisdictions.  In an effort to cover training needs, beginning in June we will provide short monthly focused trainings.  The topics will cover the most challenging issues and questions we regularly see.  Our first focus training topic will be “Using the ‘Deposit Slip’ and ‘Daily Summary’ reports” which will be held on Tuesday, June 20, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.  During this class, Chrissie Deibel will unveil the new Deposit Slip report and review the Daily Summary report.  She will describe the report parameter inputs and demonstrate how the reports behave for full payments, partial payments, refunds, voids, non-money payments, fund transfers, and moving money from a previous payment.  This class will be especially interesting for those who perform daily money balancing.  Up to 12 participants can attend this class so please send an email to [email protected] as soon as possible and let her know how many from your office plan on attending the training by Friday, June 16.  We will schedule additional training dates if this class fills up.

Future training topics to watch for:  New Building Permit Report, Using New Workflow Emails, State Surcharge Reports, Creating Phased & Deferred Records, Conditions of Approval (Building), Fee Estimates.

Accela developed a New User Interface (New UI) for the back office that was released in Civic Platform version 8.0 (in our Production environment since July 2016).  The New UI has an updated, modernized look and feel that provides an intuitive user experience to help you get your job done more effectively and efficiently.  The most noticeable difference is the look of the screens and the way in which you navigate.  We are working on transitioning OSM agencies to the New UI in waves.  We have completed the first and second waves.  The third wave will transition on June 12 and the fourth wave will transition on July 17.  We are moving in waves because of the bulk of configuration and training that is required for each agency.  Additionally, when we turn on the New UI for an agency, we also implement a new and exciting enhancement where you can email messages to your customers at any stage in the workflow and the emails are recorded with the record in a new “Communications” page.