Award App - CMRTA Lighthouse 2008

California Municipal

Revenue and Tax Association:

Lighthouse Award for Excellence

2008

Richland County

Business Service Center

Richland County, SC 2008 Lighthouse Award Application 2

The Challenge

Richland County, South Carolina faces challenges like counties and cities everywhere. In

addition to ever-present budget challenges, there are also constant challenges, perhaps less urgent

but no less important, to improve operational effectiveness and efficiency. Meeting those

challenges means evaluating what is done and how. More importantly, it means daring to learn

new ideas, search for new ways of doing things – not simply doing old ways a little better – and

seeking better, greater visions. Ultimately, meeting challenges means embracing risks, and this

is perhaps the greatest challenge of all.

To evaluate the County’s business license operation, which was outsourced with a city, the

County initiated a benchmarking effort in October 2003. Participating were seven of the eight

counties in South Carolina with business license programs and four cities. Also involved was

USC’s (that is, the University of South Carolina) Institute for Public Service & Policy Research.

The initial benchmarking effort involved a thorough review of how business license operations

were conducted and how the County provided services to businesses. This effort resulted in the

identification of several significant issues, including the need for:

- a streamlined approach to providing services to businesses;

- greater use of technology to improve compliance, capacity, and convenience; and

- greater communication with the business community.

The County has various requirements of businesses, and these involve obtaining various licenses

and permits and paying various fees and taxes. The locations for these activities had been

scattered in buildings within a large downtown area. Businesses had to visit several locations

and departments to meet these obligations in order to operate lawfully within Richland County.

This fractured geography was mirrored in the County’s databases. Without a consolidated

database, the County would issue a business license to a business that owed the County

thousands of dollars in Business Personal Property Taxes. Without a common database, the

County would issue a refund for an overpayment of Hospitality Taxes to a business that did not

have a business license.

Compliance was not heavily enforced. Efforts to increase the County’s licensing capacity, i.e.,

targeting different business sectors to increase the number of businesses obtaining business

licenses, was indeterminate. Little attention was given to improving the convenience for

businesses in fulfilling the County’s business requirements – or in staff’s effort to assist

businesses in this endeavor. And finally, communication with the business community was

limited to mailing renewal forms and answering their questions by phone or in person.

The communication challenges also associated with this outsourcing had great impact on the

County’s knowledge of its own business license operations. The County believed this

knowledge and understanding is critical and fundamental to ensuring the operations were being

administered in as efficient, effective, and financially sound manner as possible. As a wise man

once observed, “It’s hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you are.”


The Solution

The concept of a Business Service Center (BSC) was the outcome of this benchmarking effort to

address these issues. The Business Service Center addresses some of the County’s fundamental

concerns regarding service provision to businesses. It has three primary functions: (1) improve

the coordination of County databases, (2) improve business compliance with applicable business

regulations and (3) improve the convenience to businesses. The critical element in fulfilling this

mission was, and continues to be, technology.

Official approval to proceed was not obtained until mid-October 2005. At that time, the Business

Service Center only existed on paper. Under an absolute deadline to be open January 3, 2006, a

team was quickly assembled consisting of five developers, a project manager, one network

engineer, a GIS analyst, and a new department head also serving as the primary business analyst.

They created a brand new department in 2 ½ months with desks, phones, carpet, PCs, scanner,

printer, two new employees and a fully functional custom-written business license software

system. The new, state-of-the-art software system was written by in-house staff that is integrated

with GIS and imaging, and is totally web-based, including a web-based cashiering module.

Database Management – While the Business Service Center became a “one stop shop” by

physically consolidating different business activities geographically, this was not the limit to

consolidation. The County’s assorted databases also began to be coordinated, if not outright

consolidated. This required consolidating the issuance of different licenses and permits as well

as the collection of taxes and fees that businesses need to pay. The licenses and permits include

Business Licenses, State Pyrotechnics Licenses, Peddlers Licenses, Hazardous Materials

Permits, and Precious Metals Permits. Fees collected include those associated with these

licenses as well as Zoning fees, Hospitality Taxes, Tourism Development Fees, Business

Personal Property Taxes, and others. This coordination greatly assists with compliance, ensuring

that businesses are not issued refunds if they have County liabilities and maximizes the use of

business licenses as leverage to enforce all the County’s business requirements.

The coordination extends beyond the County’s own databases. Other relationships are being

developed with the State’s own online business service center. There is also cooperation

between the County and the State Dept. of Revenue and the Dept. of Consumer Affairs. The

State’s Licensing Boards and other State

agencies are also being coordinated.

Servers and Software – Genius and elegance in

delivering complex solutions is in how

architecture is made simple. The County’s IT

Department standardized its technology

platforms for all new development, with the

Business Service Center being one of the first

benefactors. The tools of choice are Microsoft

ASP.NET and VB.NET for programming,

Microsoft SQL Server for database access,

Microsoft Project Server for project

management, ESRI ArcGIS Server for mapping,

`

Database Server

`

ArcGIS Server`

ArcSDE Server

`

Imaging Server

`

DataBroker

`

Application Server

SQL Server

Stored Procedures

House for Business Data

Web Services

Crystal ReportsOTG Imaging Software

House for GIS Data

(e.g. Business Layer)

GIS Web Services

GIS Applications

Main Application for Business Service Center

AtalaSoft. Image Viewer

`

Project Server


OTG for document image storage and retrieval, Crystal Reports for reporting, and Atalasoft’s

document image viewer for document printing and viewing. There was also a comprehensive

data conversion from the prior system to the County’s new system. Each of these serves an

important role in supporting the new system, from data preservation to protection from hackers.

Website – The BSC’s website (at www.rcgov.us/bsc) provides important information to

businesses. This information includes important announcements and contact information, all the

office’s forms, informational guides, frequently asked questions, a calendar of events, glossary of

terms, links to other business organizations and agencies, ordinances used by the department,

online Hospitality Tax payment vouchers, finding NAICS codes, finding what jurisdiction the

business is located in, online payments, and a deduction calculator.

Online Payments – The website also currently allows online calculations and payments of

business license renewals, ensuring payment accuracy. This dramatically increases the

convenience to businesses by providing twenty-four hour service from the convenience of their

own location. Online renewals also have reducing the staff time necessary to process renewals.

GIS – The software was designed from the start with GIS in mind, collecting information on new

businesses and storing that data as a GIS layer. This then gives the capability to display all the

businesses and their locations on an online map. The ability to query the locations of business

types, or delinquent businesses, or in relation to convoluted city limits becomes effortless. The

GIS component becomes even more important in light of public safety concerns, such as

identifying where businesses with Hazardous Materials permits are located.

Automatic Vehicle Locators (AVL) – The Business Service Center vehicles were one of the first

to have this tool installed to use GIS to track where the vehicle goes, how fast it goes, how long

it stays when it gets to its destination, and whether or not the seatbelt is used. It is primarily a

management tool to ensure that the vehicles, and the employees driving them, are using their

vehicles – and their time – efficiently and in accordance with County policies.

Laptops – Laptops, equipped with GIS layers, are used by inspectors in the field to see which

businesses are non-compliant, and where cities’ limits are. This is invaluable for ensuring that

only the appropriate businesses are inspected. It also shows those hard-to-find roads. Data can

also be entered in the field, and then uploaded to the system back at the office.

Barcode Scanners – These are used to save staff time in finding the appropriate business in the

system. More importantly, they also ensure accuracy by finding the exact business.

Networked Scanner – Electronic document imaging is important not only for reducing staff time

in searching for documents, but also for saving on record storage costs as well as reducing the

amount of space necessary for storing documents. It also ensures the document is available for

staff review regardless of how much time passes.

Project methodology – The Project Management Lifecycle was used to manage this massive

project. Once the green light was given, many hours went into planning the project. The plan

was executed and controlled by managing scope, time, cost, quality, human resources,

communication, risk, and procurement. As a result, the Business Service Center opened its doors

on time two and a half months later and within budget. The following phases of the Business

Service Center were also a tremendous success.

http://www.rcgov.us/bsc


BEFORE AFTER

The Results

It was by specific design that the Business Service Center was borne from the Information

Technology Department, which has been absolutely essential to its spectacular success.

Improved Coordination – By coordinating with other County databases, staff ensures greater

compliance by businesses in obtaining required fees and permits by ensuring that businesses

requesting business licenses obtain all other required permits and licenses before being issued a

business license. This increases revenue and efficiencies while also improving operational

excellence for the County and its businesses. The dramatic improvement is best shown visually:

Improved revenues – Revenues, those collected and not collected by the Business Service Center

saw significant improvements. This includes business license revenues, of course, but also

Hospitality Taxes, which is enforced by the Business Service Center. Hazardous Materials

Permits saw substantial increases since businesses with business licenses were reviewed for

compliance in this regard. Business Personal Property Taxes have also increased. These

increases are a result of active enforcement by the Business Service Center and by using business

licenses as leverage to obtain compliance with County requirements.

Reduced costs – Costs of administering the County’s business license operation has decreased

substantially. Since the BSC’s opening, no additional funds have been requested beyond the cost

of the outsourcing agent’s last budget amount. Each fiscal year end sees tens of thousands of

dollars unspent. The increases seen following the BSC’s opening is the result of additional staff

and the implementation of a Classification & Compensation study. Operational costs remain

substantially below historical levels.

Better enforcement – With coordinated databases, BSC staff focused their efforts on active,

thorough, and consistent enforcement. Staff begins a series of steps to assist businesses that are

have County liabilities, whether for Hospitality Taxes, Business Personal Property Taxes, or

some other business-related liability, pay those liabilities prior to being issued a business license.

Additionally, ordinances have been revised to specifically authorize BSC staff to issue court

summons to further enforce compliance.


Better compliance – With improved enforcement naturally comes better compliance. By

coordinating the County’s and other business databases and using the business license as

leverage for enforcement, compliance with many different requirements have dramatically

improved. The software used identifies what requirements may apply to each business, based on

the type of that business, identified by NAICS codes. Those potential requirements are then

checked for applicability and compliance prior to a business license being issued.

This application is particularly critical to the public safety in Richland County as it relates to

Hazardous Materials Permits: the Hazardous Materials manager estimated that the 488 HazMat

permits issued in 2005 represented roughly only 20% of the businesses that should have HazMat

permits. Subsequent to the BSC’s enforcement, hundreds of businesses were found to need these

permits that did not have them previously.

Greater convenience – With the implementation of the Business Service Center’s website,

greater information and functionality was now available to businesses. Within four months of

the BSC’s opening, online payments were made available to businesses for the very first time.

The usage of online payments is increasing substantially every year, as seen in the chart below.

The number of online payments in 2008 represented approximately 10% of all businesses.

Year # of Online Payments Percent Increase

2006 200

2007 684 242%

2008 1,219 78%

Improved cooperation – The Business Service Center not only cooperates with other County

departments, the office also coordinates with State departments and shares business-related

information for improved compliance. The BSC just recently assisted the State Dept. of

Consumer Affairs, which regulates businesses extending credit, in identifying businesses that

need to register with that State agency. The BSC and the State Department of Revenue also

exchange information regarding businesses that are found in each other’s databases.

Better information – In administering the County’s business license operation, the Business

Service Center now has access to detailed information about that operation. This information is

essential in order to continuously improve all aspects of the operation, from revenue generation,

cost reduction, greater compliance, establishing policies and procedures as desired by the

County, and any other aspect included here. This information is then shared with County

executives. This knowledge also provides much greater accountability for public funds.

The Business Service Center’s website is also an important tool for providing information. A

wealth of information is now available to businesses that was previously not readily accessible.

The information on the website is updated frequently to remain current and useful.

The Business Service Center represents an outstanding achievement for Richland County. With

frequent attention to the variety of tools that technology continues to offer, the future of the BSC

is brighter even than its brief history. The Business Service Center will continue to grow and

develop in astounding ways that benefit the County as well as the greater Richland County

community. It may also serve as an example of the possibilities that exist for every operation.


Appendix A: Graphs and Charts

List of Potential County Requirements of Businesses

Approval Type Description

Life

Time

Before

License Active Edit

Bond - $1,000

Bond - $2500

Business License Costs

-

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

1998 -

1999

1999 -

2000

2000 -

2001

2001 -

2002

2002 -

2003

2003 -

2004

2004 -

2005

2005-

2006

2006-

2007

2007-

2008

Th

ou

san

ds

The increase in 2007 - 2008 results from implementation of a Classification & Compensation

study, not operational costs.

Business License Revenues

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1998 -

1999

1999 -

2000

2000 -

2001

2001 -

2002

2002 -

2003

2003 -

2004

2004 -

2005

2005 -

2006

2006 -

2007

2007 -

2008

Million

s

Fiscal YearThe line indicates when the Business Service Center opened.


Approval Type Description

Life

Time

Before

License Active Edit

Business License

Clearance from DHEC

Clearance from Fire Marshall

Clearance from Sheriff's Dept.

Clearance from Zoning

County Council Approval

Decal - Coin Operated Machines

Decal - Contractors

Decal - Limos, Shuttles, Taxis

License - Peddlers

Local - Accommodation Tax

Local - Bus. Pers. Prop. Taxes: County

Local - Bus. Pers. Prop. Taxes: Exempt

Local - Bus. Pers. Prop. Taxes: PT-100

Local - Bus. Pers. Prop. Taxes: PT-300 (DOR)

Local - Hospitality Tax

Local - Tourism Development Fee

Permit - Fireworks

Permit - Hazardous Materials

Permit - Precious Metals

Proximity Registration

Regulations - Sexually Oriented Businesses

SC Dept. of Consumer Affairs

SC Dept. of Labor Licensing & Regulation

SC Dept. of Revenue

SC Pyrotechnic Safety

SC Secretary of State

Award App - CMRTA Lighthouse 2008

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