Rochester, Minnesota has launched Accela Automation® from Accela, Inc. to streamline its land-use processes and improve the quality of service it provides to its citizens and development community.

Accela Automation provides a centralized database for tracking and managing the city's building, planning, and licensing activities, allowing staff to be interconnected and operate more efficiently. The new solution automates permitting, inspections, workflow, rental housing licenses, zoning, development plan review, and other critical functions.

The Department of Building Safety issues more than 10,000 trade and building permits annually and conducts approximately 26,000 inspections. The Housing Inspection division is responsible for issuing certificates and performing inspections bi-annually for over 2,800 structures containing more than 12,000 dwelling units.

Rochester also launched additional Accela applications that augment the functionality of Accela Automation:

Accela GIS(TM) seamlessly integrates with Accela Automation to provide powerful real-time visual analysis to enhance land use, zoning, and infrastructure data. It allows creation of multiple map layers, automated map analysis, parcel and asset inventory management, direct editing of GIS data or files, and auto-distribution of information to mailing lists. It is built on the ArcIMS(TM) platform by ESRI®.

Accela Wireless(TM) is a mobile government software application that allows agency staff to perform their jobs from the field for inspections, code enforcement, work orders, and service requests. Optimized for Intel Centrino® Mobile Technology, Accela Wireless is compatible with PDAs, laptops, and Tablet PCs running on the Microsoft Pocket PC 2003, Windows Mobile 5, Windows 2000, or Windows XP operating systems.

Rochester plans to launch Accela Citizen Access(TM) early next year to facilitate online self-service options for citizens.

"Accela is excited to support Rochester with the very best technology and services available to meet its customer service goals," said Maury Blackman, Accela president and CEO. "Our experience has shown that the more accessible and responsive government agencies are in making services available, the more their communities realize economic growth and prosperity."

About Rochester

Located in Olmstead County and approximately 80 miles southeast of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, Rochester is a growing community of more than 95,000 residents, making it the third largest city in the state. Rochester is home to the Mayo Clinic, and has long been a fixture on Money magazine's "Best Places to Live" index. For more information, please visit www.rochestermn.gov.

About Accela

Accela provides innovative, Web-based enterprise software solutions that automate land, permit, and asset management processes for local, state, and federal government agencies of all sizes. Backed by nearly 30 years of development and implementation in more than 500 agencies in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, Accela products and services empower agencies to increase efficiencies, reduce workload, and provide citizens and businesses with more convenient access to government services. Accela is located in San Ramon, Calif. Accela products can be purchased directly from the GSA Schedule Contract #GS-35F-0249R. For more information, please visit www.accela.com.