So, good morning everybody. Welcome to 1010 Massachusetts Avenue. My name is Tanya Del Rio. I'm the commissioner of inspectional services for the city of Boston and I'm really thrilled to be here this morning um to share update about Mayor Woo's initiative to
transform permitting here in this city. At ISD, we know that permits aren't just paperwork. They are the foundation that we need to make people for people to make Boston their home. So whether it's a family moving to a new apartment, a
small business owner that's opening their doors for the first time, or a developer who's building much needed housing, the permitting process really does shape people's experience of our city. That is why today's announcement matters
so much. By modernizing technology and streamlining the work that we do here, we are making Boston more predictable, more accessible, and more welcoming for everybody. People should not have to
navigate a maze of offices uh to chase or chase down paper forms. they should have a clear consistent path to getting what they need and to build their lives here. Uh to that end, here at ISD, we're focused on improving and digitizing
every single process that happens here. Over the years, uh, we have moved nearly all of our permitting processes online, and we are finishing that job this year by bringing the last few applications, uh, trench, sheet metal, sprinkler
permits, and soon certificates of occupancy into the digital system. And as of last week, contractors can request their inspections for all of their projects online as well. This means that by the end of this year and
for the first time, more residents and businesses will be able to complete their permitting journey completely online from start to finish. You know, uh there are people who have been coming to this building for years and they come here often enough that
they've been able to form real friendships and uh report with our staff. And in the last months, we have heard from several of them and they'll say, you know, I love coming here and I will miss miss seeing Nicole or Megan or
Isabelle. Uh but you bet that I will now be completing this application online because simply it's just going to save me time. It's going to save me money. So the impact is really simple but really powerful. There are going to be fewer trips to 1010 Massav. We're going to
have less uncertainty. We're going to have time saved and ultimately more money in the pocket of the people who call Boston home. And uh you know in these times our middle class really needs that um
affordability. A restaurant owner should be spending all of their energy cooking and serving their customers, not filling out the same form three times. A new homeowner should be able to see exactly where they are on their application status instead of being left wondering.
So for us as at ISD, this is about efficiency, yes, but it's also about equity. When the permitting process is transparent and when it's easy to access, we make it possible for more people to invest in Boston, to put down
roots, and to thrive here. So that's how we plan on making Boston truly a home for everyone. I thank you for being here. You're now going to hear from my colleague Santiago Garces who is uh the city's chief innovation officer. Thank you.
[Applause] >> Thank you everyone. I'm Santiago Garces. I am the chief information officer for the city of Austin. Um we are delighted to be here because we know that government works best when technology and process come together to support
people. and nothing more important than connecting our city employees with the constituents that they serve. We know that when we are making things easier, safer, and more convenient, everybody wins. So, just to talk a
little bit about the impact of what the executive order that the mayor is going to sign today enables us to do, I'll give you a quick story. Um, whenever a student needs to be registered for Boston public schools, we need their birth certificate. And our registry
office has all of the birth certificates for any child that's been born in the city of Boston. And last year, we worked with BPS and with registry to enable the welcome center to be able to access those birth certificates so that families didn't have to go pay $12, go
to city hall, get a copy of the birth certificate so that they had so that they would be able to enroll their kids. We are able to do this because we have great infrastructure and we've been able to invest in the past few years in new firewalls and new systems that allow us to do this securely. That same
technology allows us to connect over 50,000 people to free Wi-Fi every month. So, the authority that we get through the executive order and the investment that we have, thanks to the mayor and to the council, allows us to continue to do these projects that make it a little bit
easier for people to get what they need without having to go from one office to the other and without having to wonder where um the what step in the process they're in. So, we can move data securely. We can make our residents experience better. We can save money and
all of this because we can invest in making sure that our employees and our departments have the right technology to do the right tool. And I just want to say the the work that we're doing is just built on the foundations of a long time of the work of our employees, Rich and
Kevin and Kelly and all of the folks that have created an innovative all of the systems that our city uses. We're only going to take this to the next level and make it a little bit easier to make sure that people have the right resources. So, I'm very grateful to the mayor, thanks to the council, and for an
amazing team and all of the people that do technology at the city, not only in do it, but in the other departments and cabinets. So, very excited about this. I turn it over to the mayor, I think. >> Thank you so much, Chief. Good morning, everyone. >> Good morning. >> Thank you so much for joining us. I am
so grateful to all of our city team members here who work hard every single day on the immediate issues, the fires, literal and uh in in every um
uh metaphoric way. uh but also all of the the big picture issues that we're talking about here today that have had to come on top of uh responding to the urgent needs, finding time for the city to take a step back, think about how we can change our systems, close some of
the gaps that have been happening, and and stop pretending like each department is its own separate world. uh when we're all part of one city government, all here together to serve our residents in whatever way we can uh take to make
people's lives easier, to open a business, to improve your home, to build a new space and and housing or or commercial space in the city, we've got your back. Um, and I'm so grateful to the city team members who have put in
all of this work for us to share out a little bit about what we've accomplished and what is still coming ahead. I want to thank our interpreters today for making sure uh that we are always reaching all of our community members and uh thank you also to my colleagues
in elected office. um some of whom couldn't be here, but we have um the the person who really helped drive this on the council side, city council Brian Warell, who helped introduce the um some of the items that we will be signing here today, and who has been focused,
laser focused on making sure that Boston can be a city that's open for business, smooth and efficient, and predictable for everyone. I want to also just um repeat the shoutouts to a few of the team members who have been particularly immersed in our permitting transformation
initiative. So to Kelly Mackey, to Julia Gutierrez, Shelby Hton, um thank you, thank you, thank you. We also have some of the leadership uh whose teams have made it possible for us to get into the guts of all of the teeny tiny details
and steps uh while we're still taking care of all the services that are needed. So, thank you to Commissioner Paul Burke of the Boston Fire Department and to uh Sean Barrett who's the assistant fire marshal and to all of our firefighters uh uh of course our
firefighters who are out in the firehouses but also here who are in the fire prevention uh division. Thank you to our chief of housing, Sheila Dylan, and to all of your team as we've made some really important strides in speeding up affordable housing permitting. And those insights have
helped unlock how we can improve the process for many, many other types of interactions with the city. and to chief of planning Kyro Shen. Um and uh Devin Quirk also from the planning department and and and everyone from um all of your
teams. Thank you for digging in because we know that building permits, construction permits, and how that fits into making Boston a place where um everyone has a smooth and understandable process fits into your your daily priorities. as well. I want to recognize
some of our um partners in the private sector. Creio uh who is a local here we have two representatives here. Thank you so much for all that you do. We're so proud of our local tech companies who also then turn right around and make sure that their services and the
products and the innovations that they're introducing go right back to helping our community members. So through their partnership, we've been able to upgrade 311 and talk about many of the technological improvements we're here today. And of course, um, thank you
to Santi who, uh, will be signing some of the, um, uh, I'm trying to think of the opposite of the word brainchild is brainfather. Uh, anyway, who whose, uh, visionary leadership has been driving how we think about technology in a much broader way than many cities are. It's
not just about the networks and the websites and and um technology as its own thing set apart, but really about the infrastructure for all of us to do the things in person and uh online that can connect us as a city. Most of all,
shout out to our hosts here today, uh to Commissioner Del Rio and to all of our inspectional services team members. Thank you to everyone here at 1010 for all that you do to make our city a home for everyone. The vision of being home and having home away from home in every
possible space, making sure people are at home throughout our city is what drives every single thing we do in our administration. And today is no exception. We are excited to celebrate some of the big ways we're getting city hall out of the way and instead throwing our weight behind the people and the
projects that our communities want, need, and deserve. Um I realized I neglected to mention Alicia and um Aaliyah and all of our small business team. Thank you to our uh economic opportunity and inclusion cabinet for all that you do. We've had a lot of time together at some really fun events
lately. So whether you're opening a business, whether you're taking care of your family and building designing the improvements to your dream home, whether you're making sure that our buildings can be safe throughout the city. We're announcing some big steps forward today.
First, we're celebrating updates that are being made to our permitting process so that it's faster and easier to get the permits you need. and I'll sign an executive order shortly to formalize this work. And second, I'll also be signing an ordinance to modernize our department of innovation and technology,
which again, thank you so much to the city council for partnering and stewarding this through. So, on permitting, we have heard from residents that getting a permit is more difficult, tedious, frustrating, and complicated than it should be. A headache when it
doesn't need to be one. This has been a long endeavor for me. Uh my very first project working for Mayor Manino and as an intern way back in the day was to take on restaurant permitting. And at that time, as a then uh former
restaurant owner who was trying to figure out how we could improve the process in Boston, I went on an actual journey to all the departments and locations that were needed to collect just the instructions for how to put together that process because at that
time there was no single guide to even understand how to do it from start to finish. You'd basically show up somewhere like at 1010, ask how you could open a restaurant and you'd learn about one permit that was one step of the process and what you needed to have
in hand before you could get that step and then try to figure out how to go there and learn what was needed there. And sometimes it would send you in a circle everywhere. Nothing was online back then. And uh even in those early days, getting all of the permit
application and instructions online was a big deal in the first step. Getting a guide together was a big deal and a first step. And I'm so grateful for all of the progress we've seen since then and today marking another huge several uh leaps and bounds forward. I thought
my time nearly 15 years working on this issue was a long time. Uh but then commissioner introduced me to John Connors uh who I met on the way in who is has been uh serving most recently for 20ome years as court liaison for
inspectional services but he has served the city of Boston now for 57 years. So I also just want to extend a congratulations to Mr. Connors. Okay, he's hiding in the back there but thank you so much for all that you do for the city.
So anyway, um getting the approval that say that says you're good to go with what you need to do for your family, your business, and for our community has been taking too long for far too long. So over the last few years, we've worked with our community stakeholders to gather feedback and make it easier to
get the permits that are needed. Through today's executive order and changes we'll be making to our internal processes, we aim to follow these guiding principles. First, no wrong door, only great service. You don't need to know the right person at the city,
the right starting point, the exact uh relationship or location that you have to get to. No matter where you start, no matter who you talk to, we'll help you find your way and we'll be able to do that online as well. Second, tell us
once. As you heard, it's been a pattern to ask for information over and over and over again. And that's because every department has wanted to be sure that we're doing things right and that we have all of the documents that we need on file. But now through upgraded shared
information systems, the city can save you the trouble of repeating yourself to different people and agencies and different departments all to get a simple permit. Tell us once and we'll take care of it. And third, real time status updates. We want to make sure that you can easily
understand where you are in the process. see what's coming next and get your questions answered before you even have them. We're making coordination between city departments smoother, making it easier to get things done, and saving residents time and money. Thank you so much to all of our city team members who
have worked so hard to make sure that we could make these improvements. Behind the scenes of these updates are these incredible teams in our department of innovation and technology and in all of the departments that touch the permitting process. With leadership from
Chief Garces, everyone in Dit is working hard to deliver the best possible services to every one of our residents. And with the ordinance we're signing today, DIT will accelerate improvements to the tech infrastructure and the digital processes that our communities, our partners, and our workers rely on,
making it easier to keep your projects moving forward. Over the last few years, uh, we have worked on passing long overdue zoning reform to get more shovels in the ground and more families in homes. We've made it possible to request inspections and pay
more permitting fees online. We've made it easier and simpler to open a business that meets fire safety guidelines. So, since taking office, our administration has shown just how much we can get done when city hall gets out of the way. when we work as a partner rather than a barrier, when we roll up our sleeves and
do the work that our communities are counting on us to do. I am so excited and so grateful to all of our city workers for having this dedication and focus to do the work alongside our families, our residents, our small businesses, and our partners. Um, okay,
a little bit in Spanish and then I'm going to pass it over to city councelor Brian Warell and then we will do the official signings. Alcadia. Authorizab. Perfection Profess process.
Maybe no perfection at that. extraordinaress. for administr Um I will if there's interest from the media or anyone uh during Q&A we have u details on the exact types of permits
that have been streamlined and tucked in um over the last couple years and some of the impacts on dollars saved and all that. But um I won't get into all of that at this point. Um just to say thank you so much again to everyone and I'd like to pass it over to Councelor Brian Morurell. Thank you for championing this on the city council and making sure that
we're partnering across all parts of city government. >> Good morning everyone. Uh again, I just want to just thank Mayor Woo, Chief Santi, Commissioner Del Rio, um my colleagues on the Boston City Council, um and everyone here today, all the city departments that played a role for
helping us come to this moment, um which has been in the years in the making. Uh when I first talked to Chief Santi about this, a word that Chief Santi kept on bringing up was trust. Uh I know he was focused on building trust between city departments and our residents. Trust is
so important when we're thinking about our city's digital future. Change is never easy, but knowing that residents and workers can trust that change done thoughtfully and efficiently can make a world of difference. And what we're doing when we codify or modernize and
grant new powers to the Department of Innovation and Technology is a positive step to building that trust by making our city work more efficiently for people. So, how will this work in action? Something as simple as streamlining the building permit process, whether you're putting up a
porch or develop a new housing, can help reduce costs and make it easy to build easier to build in our city. It will be allowing greater city access to digital birth certificates to Boston board residents never need to bring their birth certificate to any city transaction. Time and hassle save for
our residents. It could be leveraging AI or language access um or adaptive technology for residents who are visually impaired so that no one faces a barrier in accessing their city. Improving digital access is just the beginning. The transformative
possibilities of technology and how it can reshape city services, helping us use data to understand what's working, fix what's not, and expand the programs that deliver the biggest benefits for our residents. And those possibilities can only be realized when there's trust
and we're working together across city departments, schools, and state agencies. Establishing the Department of Innovation and Technology is a big step forward, but the real work begins when putting it into action. Today, we celebrate the hard work that got us
here. And again, I just want to uh shout out and thank uh Chief Santi, his whole entire team, and all the city department that made today possible. I look forward to continue our work together to propel our city forward in the next chapter of innovation for all residents and
businesses. Thank you. So, let's sign first and then we could do questions off to the side after or and then I'll come back here. Is that the right flow or should we do Q&A a little on this and then sign >> sign? Okay, sign then we'll come back. >> All right. So, can we get anyone who's
been involved on the Harmony over here. We can all gather behind the table. >> Okay, this one is executive order. [Applause] Hi Mar. Um, does this new tech plan come
with any financial investment? How do you uh improve tech infrastructure without the funds to do it? If not, >> yeah, I'll invite up Santi. Um there's been vigorous advocacy from do it for more greater investments and thank you so much to the chair of ways and means
and the city council for moving some of that through. I mean we've had a very rigorous conversation about budgets over the last few years in the city of Boston. Obviously it is challenging times when the federal government is pulling back on so many of the resources
coming down and that means we're having to stretch in other areas. But when there was so much discussion about the city budget um not this current cycle but two years ago when we were making additional investments a big chunk of that was in technology infrastructure
exactly for what we're talking about today. If we had not and if the council had not approved those investments in last year's budget cycle, we would not have been able to put in those first steps to get us to what we're announcing today and off and running on on the next couple steps. And there have been continued investments thanks to that
partnership. Why don't you say more Santi? >> Yeah, as the mayor mentioned, um, in the past couple of years, there's been investments to our department, um, including additional staff and investment capital funds and operating
funds to be able to support this work. So, the good thing is that the order and the ordinance allow us to actually do this work in a way that is more efficient. So we have a lot of redundant systems and if we have the opportunity of working together and having you know
consolidate some of the systems that we have we're able to deliver something that works better but also save money overall over the next few years there's going to be some additional investment because we can't shut down the old system before the new one's working. need to set those systems in parallel.
But um I think that in the long run we're going to see a lot of um benefits financially and we're already starting to see that the approach that we have has allowed us to start delivering on projects much sooner compared to the paso. Whereas in the past we've gone over two years without having any code
in production. the work that we're doing with 311 shows that in less than four months we're already shipping um we're already people are already using some of the technology investments uh without having to wait as much and with much lesser investment than we've had in the past.
>> Yeah. And I guess I'll just just to put a fine point um on this a little bit more as well. There's a lot of talk about what government efficiency means these days, right? There's a lot of push and um insinuation for example, at the
federal level that, you know, governments must be full of bloat or or this or that and any spending from the public side needs to be sort of cut down and slim down. And I believe us, we will be the first to step
up and say that our work has to be absolutely efficient, has to deliver value for the taxpayers, and we have to make every dollar really count. and we're stretching every dollar three, four, five different ways. But it is important to recognize that good
services and staying up to date on infrastructure and having the capacity as an organization to deliver on that in a lasting sustainable way. That takes resources and so we have invested as you heard in some of the technology
platforms directly. Santi made a great point that it's also been in some ways adding headcount to the department so that we can bring some of these functions inhouse. So just to be really explicit about what he said when we've had to contract out to do things like
improve for example a website or build a new app or feature on our website that not only takes more money it also takes longer and then we can't deliver those improvements as quickly. So, um, what we've been doing in partnering and and
bringing in some of our local innovators, but also being able to bring in some of this in-house has appeared that the budget has gone up, but in the long run, it saves or even in the the short run, it saves the city a lot. Um, when I started in this role and even, you know, having served on the city
council, I know that I've I've seen that our technology investments sometimes fall to the bottom of the list because there is always something more urgent. When when residents need an emergency service, of course, we're going to drop everything and try to make sure that
we're taking care of what's needed from our community members, right? out out the right food access, public safety, education. These are all critical critical immediate services. Um, and we've had to find the time and the resources to carve a little bit of space
to do the right investments so that we can actually deliver those other services more effectively. The city council um when I was serving on the council was still using uh what was that even called sire or um >> sir >> what was it called? Sirius
>> Sirius sire right anyway there was a platform that was how you could find where the agendas were on the city council that was so old that the company stopped making updates to the software and then said they couldn't even provide the tech support to help us when there
were problems with us. We were basically one of the few entities still using it after they had tried to shut it down themselves and move on to other things. And so then for a time there were two platforms up where you could access the agenda and now finally it looks good and it's easy to navigate and all of that.
But that's just an example where if we're not putting in the right investments early on and letting things kind of you know de facto deteriorate that that's the result. We end up paying more. I will say also that speaking of money,
um this is an investment not only in our um effectiveness, but it's also finding ways that the city can be more efficient because in fact, what we're doing is slimming down on some of the city's revenue sources. Right? There was
a time when having someone come in and pay a fee for a license renewal or something else was how we pay for city services. And so we're recognizing the places where it doesn't make sense for residents to have to pay a certain type
of enu renewal over and over again. For example, one of the things that will be implemented starting the very next renewal cycle um in 2026 is that certificate of in certificate of inspection annual renewals um and redundant inspection requirements for
certain establishments with a less than 50 person capacity and no alcohol service um will not have to come back and pay those fees every year and will not have to do those renewals um in the same way every year. That will save countless hours for those businesses,
but it will also save tens of thousands of dollars on fees. We have already saved $2.2 million and 804,334 hours across 40 city departments through the Bostononia's process improvement
initiatives. Um that has meant that has been um building capacity internally for our through our city team members. uh instead of hundreds spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on consultants as mentioned. Okay, no one's asking but I'm going to tick through the specifics anyway just
because I I'm very excited about these. So in addition to removing certificate of inspection annual renewals for the small the small establishments that have um that are not alcohol serving one uh we are also making it so that no inperson visit is
needed for many many of the transactions. Online payment is now available for more permitting applications and renewals which means a 75% increase in businesses choosing to pay online versus coming in person over the last few years. Um, thank you so much to our fire department and to all
of our partners on that side for helping us find the right balance to be able to improve our fire safety process while not sacrificing at all on safety. Um, previously the requirements around flame proof and um, just flammability testing
for any fabrics in restaurants or any other businesses meant that very often a chemist had to go out and and physically test uh, the fabric or the swatch before the rest of the permitting could continue. And now um thanks to the leadership of the commissioner and the
fire prevention um division, our partners in 718 um and and throughout the department, we are able to simplify the certification around the um flammability standards for materials. So instead of having to submit samples that are physically tested by the city
directly, businesses can submit flame tested flame testing reports directly from the supplier, which is a part of um how many of these companies that are meeting certain uh national standards are are building into their business models. Anyway, so this will make it
easier and faster to open a business while upholding fire safety. Um, next, we're also improving on fast and simple inspection requests. So, instead of asking applicants to call by phone, you can request ISD building permit inspections online.
We are also removing unnecessary zoning board of appeal steps for many groundwater conservation overlay district projects. This has been one that's been on my list for over a decade. Um there are many ways that as a coastal city we have to be very careful about the water table and the stability
of the foundation underneath many of our buildings. But um rather than having this proven and tested and then signed off by multiple different city entities um we are combining that and that will save months in the project in in the process for projects to be approved for
development. Um we're also streamlining the process for renovating large spaces. This will be particularly applicable for some of our downtown conversions and the investments that are happening um downtown, but in me in in any large space. We're simplifying procedures for
uh the category called substantial rehabilitation. Projects that are undergoing interior renovations will no longer be required to undergo a lengthy review, which makes it easier for building owners to reinvest in existing buildings and for institutions to upgrade their aging
facilities. Um and finally, this is a big one, but um under Chief Shen and the planning department, we are uh we've now made the first improvements to article 80 of the zoning code in 30 years and um there's more to come, but
that that was approved by the zoning commission last week and the city has published full action plan for ongoing improvements to development review which are being implemented now thanks to the feedback of so many of our stakeholders. Okay, some other non things I'm quick ticking through very quickly. Save $2.2
million as I mentioned. Um reduce registry department weight times by nearly 60% allowing residents to obtain their marriage licenses, birth certificates, and death certificates much more quickly and more easily. The do it department also built a mattress recycling
application in house working with public works of course and our other departments. So that after the state law passed uh that did not provide any resources for cities to manage uh mattress recycling as a requirement, we've now built that whole process to
reduce the pickup wait time from 14 days to between one and three days and saving over $250,000. As you heard, we've expanded Boston's free Wi-Fi network to include more than 300 access points and upgraded public libraries and public schools to
high-speed internet. We've created a new automated enrollment tool for Boston Family Days, our program that guarantees free access to every child growing up in the city of Boston to museums and cultural institutions. So, more than 10,764
students and their families uh have received free passes to local museums and those institutions. We've decreased traffic delays for residents at more than 114 intersections throughout the city by reducing unnecessary stops, looking at the real-time traffic data through Google's partnership called
Project Greenlight, analyzing it with AI, and u then identifying places where the signal timing could be improved to help traffic flow more quickly. Uh and finally, we've launched the beta AI search on boston.gov, which makes it easier so you don't have to know the
right department website to start from to get to the answer that you have. Um this will simplify everything and connect Bostononians to all the resources and information online with greater re with greater ease and reliability. Okay, anything else? Good. Thank you so
much everyone for being here.