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City Commercial and Residential Construction Permits Valued At $1 Billion

Technology Streamlines Safety and Permits Department

 2006-06-05

(New Orleans, LA) Mayor C. Ray Nagin today acknowledged the work of the City’s Department of Safety and Permits and Director Mike Centineo for issuing commercial and residential permits valued at more than 1 Billion dollars in construction rebuilding activity.

“We are very excited about the number of permits issued daily to our citizens so that they can start the process of rebuilding our neighborhoods.  This department has performed extremely well under adverse conditions, including a significant decrease in the number of employees due to Hurricane Katrina.  This is a giant step for our citizens and for the revitalization of our City,” said Mayor Nagin.

Post-Katrina, the Department of Safety and Permits has implemented leading edge technology solutions, such as online applications and self-service kiosks to streamline and accelerate the permitting process.

“We’ve issued more than 10 times the number of residential permits since September than were issued in all of 2004.  Over the last 9 months, the Department of Safety and Permits has successfully issued what would normally take us up to 5 years. This is significant for all citizens of New Orleans and will assist residents in their rebuilding process,” said Mike Centineo, director of Safety and Permits. 

To date, approximately 70,000 permits have been issued to New Orleans Residents since September 1, 2005.  The department is issuing permits 500 percent faster than pre-Katrina due to online and kiosk access.  The Department will continue to focus on improvement, and take the necessary steps to ensure permits are issued efficiently and safely in order to help drive the rebuilding of New Orleans.