BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA — Town of Massena residents applying for a building permit or hoping to obtain or file paperwork with Code Enforcement will soon be able to handle everything online.

Code Enforcement Officer Pat O’Brien said the move will save the office and town both time and money in the long run.

O’Brien previously updated officials regarding a new online portal for the office, which includes forms like building permits applications. He said the new portal was already saving time and money, noting that anonymous code violation complaints were being filtered out. 

That alone cut down on man hours, he previously said.

Both residential and commercial property owners are able to utilize the portal for all their needs, O’Brien said. 

Now with the portal in place, all documents are sent directly to the code office for review once completed, he said.

O’Brien detailed the previous process, saying it would take two to three trips to the town clerk’s office to finally get a permit.

“Now it will be one and done. You fill it out online, it comes to us, it’s approved, they’ll get the invoice, the town clerk receives a copy of the invoice. So, when they begin, she already has everything up. She knows what they owe, and you pay for it,” he said.

O’Brien commented that the process is now much simpler for all parties involved and has been “streamlined.”

Next up for O’Brien will be the town planning packet, which he said will operate similar to the code office forms. 

“You’ll be able to go online for anything that’s going to go to the Planning Board. You’ll be able to fill out all of that,” he said.

Forms that require an affidavit are also in the works, he said..

“We have a process in place for that where we can submit the application. When they come in to pay and pick up, we would have them sign anything required,” he said.

All forms currently available online can be found on the town’s website at massena.us/323/Code-Enforcement.