As of Wednesday, building contractors, business owners and residents in St. Paul will be able to do something many may have assumed was long available, but wasn’t — submit permit and license applications online. That includes making invoice payments to the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections and looking up previously-submitted applications from the comfort of home or a mobile device.

The goal is to gradually transfer records into the city’s new inspections and permitting software, known as the “Permitting and Utilities, Licensing and Inspections Engine,” or PAULIE for short. An essential-features-only version of PAULIE is scheduled to make its debut Wednesday, a few weeks ahead of schedule, as a “minimum viable product,” or MVP, in a similar vein to a soft restaurant opening that lacks the bells and whistles of a full roll-out.

For now, those records will date back to July 25, the start of the city’s crippling cybersecurity incident, which resulted in a backlog of some 4,000 permit applications.

More features

More features and records will be added soon, according to a written statement from the city, which is investing $626,000 into the new software. PAULIE, which is smartphone-friendly, replaces DSI’s outdated legacy data systems, including AMANDA and ECLIPS. At full roll-out, customers will be able to pay invoices, schedule inspections, upload documents and track requests.

It also will allow users to save their progress and finish later, see all past and current requests and receive messages and notifications. A “create template” feature aims to make submitting routine requests more efficient by organizing data within a dashboard. After customers apply or submit payment, PAULIE will send a confirmation email with a receipt and reference number.

DSI no longer accepts phone and mail applications, and the goal is to reduce the need for in-person counter services.

If a contractor recently received an invoice from the city, that can be paid online now through a PAULIE invoice number. The launch also will include real-time status updates on active requests and access to applications submitted since July 25.

What will not be available at launch are historical data such as permits and licenses issued before July 25, as well as certificates of occupancy and older planning cases. Those records will become available soon, according to city Department of Safety and Inspections officials, and customers will then be able to search by property address and see both current and past permits.

Using the new system

PAULIE went live for city staff on Monday, and DSI offices and counter service were scheduled to remain closed to unscheduled business through Tuesday to allow staff to get familiar with the system, test workflow and enter pending permit and license applications. Scheduled inspections and appointments were still expected to continue.

“By moving to PAULIE now, the city is not only restoring services but also positioning St. Paul for stronger, more secure and more reliable digital operations in the future,” reads a statement from the city.

PAULIE requires all users to create a new account. To connect past projects to a single account, customers are asked to use the email address provided on past applications when creating their account. Otherwise, customers can email DSI to have the records connected once they are available in PAULIE or call the department at 651-266-8989.

More information, including a video about the public launch, is available online at stpaul.gov/paulie.

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