News Release: City of Concord
Concord Introduces Eproval Online Event Permitting Platform
Automated system expected to make event permitting easier, reduce administrative costs, and process online transactions
Concord, CA – The City of Concord is pleased to announce that event organizers applying for permits to hold special events in the City will now be able to apply and pay online.
City of Concord
POPULATION 109,737 (2021)
We wanted a one-stop shop for special events permitting. It was important for us to automate communication among the event producer, event office, finance, recreation services, transportation, the police department, and public works. Another important consideration was preparing invoices, taking online payments, and having all financial records stored securely in a central location.
Lisa Potvin-Roeber, Downtown Program Manager
Concord was also looking for the ability to show where a permit application is in the review and approval process.
“Permitting transparency is important to us,” said Potvin-Roeber. “In the past, event producers might have thought that the application was unopened and sitting on somebody’s desk, when in reality it’s a multi-step process that does take time, now they will be able to see where it is in the approval process. That kind of transparency benefits everyone.”
Events in Concord have grown at a remarkable 143% over the past two years. The surge in activity has placed greater demands on the small team responsible for permitting and City-hosted events. In addition to charitable (or philanthropic) walks, runs and makers markets, each summer the city produces its own 22-event concert season. Therefore, finding ways to reduce demands on the event office was an important consideration to proactively plan for future growth.
The new platform will support Concord’s three-stage process whereby applicants pay their initial application fee, make a 25% deposit against costs for police and public works, and settle balances at the conclusion of the event. Eproval works at each step to allow the City to generate invoices, receive online payments, and track and report on all transaction history.
“Working with Concord is a win-win,” said Jonathan Thompson, Managing Director of Eproval, “We knew we could deliver on Concord’s requirements for taking online payments, centralizing all transaction history and automating reviewer coordination. We also knew we could do it in a compressed timeline. Concord is a great partner and we are excited to introduce this tool to the community.”
Event organizers wishing to hold special events in the City of Concord can apply for a special event permit at: https://specialevents.cityofconcord.org
For more information, please contact:
City of Concord
Lisa Potvin-Roeber
Economic Development & Base Reuse
(925) 671-3403
Lisa.Roeber @ cityofconcord.org
Eproval
Jonathan Thompson,
Managing Director
1-877-787-2228
jonathan @ eproval.com