North Reading awarded $85,075 Community Compact IT Grant

A release from House Minority Leader Brad Jones:

North Reading has been awarded $85,075 under the state’s Community Compact IT Grant Program.

North Reading’s grant will be used for the purchase and installation of e-permitting software to allow for more efficient communication between the town’s departments and to provide faster service delivery to the public. The grant was one of 44 announced by Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito at the Cohasset Middle/High School on Oct. 16.

“This grant funding will allow North Reading officials to make technology upgrades that will not only improve local government services, but also will help to enhance local residents’ interaction with Town Hall departments,” said House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading).

The Community Compact IT Grant Program is a competitive grant program that provides municipalities with financial assistance to pursue technology investments, with the goal of making government more accessible to the public while increasing efficiencies and saving taxpayer money. The program helps fund one-time capital needs, including equipment and software purchases, as well as planning, design and initial training.

Community Compacts were created by the Baker-Polito Administration via an Executive Order in January of 2015 to foster stronger partnerships between the Commonwealth and its 351 cities and towns. Municipalities that enter a Community Compact agree to pursue best practices – in areas ranging from education and the environment to housing and economic development and public safety – with the state providing technical assistance to help the community achieve its goals.

North Reading signed its Community Compact on December 15, 2015.