Clearwater outlines permitting customer‑service prototypes after Bloomberg‑Harvard program; staff seeks to pilot OpenCounter

City staff on June 15 presented final results from Clearwater’s participation in the Bloomberg‑Harvard City Leadership Initiative, which focused on improving the customer experience for permitting and related services.

Hunter Carlson (Office of Management and Budget) and Ally (Ally) Chandler Bear (interim director of public communications) summarized a user‑research driven process that produced seven insights into inconsistent pathways and unclear requirements that erode customer confidence. Rebecca Moulder (planning and development) and Lieutenant Hasty described how the team prototyped nine ideas and concentrated on two pilot concepts—branded internally as "Can I do that?" and "Access Granted"—designed to give staff and residents clearer, more consistent guidance about which permits are needed for a given project.

As a next step, the city presented an IT procurement to add an OpenCounter (Asella) module, expand e‑permitting hub features and add user licenses to support guided permit navigation and checklist‑style requirement summaries. David Pearson (IT manager) said the requested increase adds OpenCounter functionality, cost estimation features and professional services to implement the pilot; council approved the purchase order increase by consent.

Staff said they held 39 prototyping sessions with residents and staff and will finalize an implementation portfolio by the end of July, with a schedule to pursue additional initiatives through 2030. The team plans to form implementation teams across departments to roll out completed prototypes and track impact.

"We heard inconsistent answers across departments create frustration; the prototypes aim to give residents a clear path to know what is required for their projects," Rebecca Moulder said.

What happens next: the city will implement the OpenCounter pilot, expand the e‑permitting hub, stand up cross‑department implementation teams and return to council with implementation schedules and budget details as projects progress.