Ponce Inlet, FL

‍Ponce Inlet, Florida, a small coastal town repeatedly affected by hurricanes, is using Forerunner to consolidate critical floodplain, permitting, and inspection data into a single, cohesive system. As Ami Pierce, Office Manager for the Town of Ponce Inlet, explains, this has been a significant shift for a government of its size. By modernizing previously fragmented workflows, the town has improved how staff tracks (NPDES) permits, organize National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Community Rating System (CRS) documentation and communicate with residents. Local officials note that the platform helps a small team operate with greater efficiency and clarity while preparing for the next hurricane season.

Managing "Multiple Hats" in a Coastal Town

In Ponce Inlet, a small municipal staff is responsible for meeting the rigorous requirements of both the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and the Community Rating System (CRS). Before partnering with Forerunner, Ms. Pierce explains that compliance depended on manual logs and software “workarounds”—a system that worked but was becoming increasingly burdensome.

By consolidating these efforts into a single, map-based platform, the town streamlined its workflows and reclaimed more than 10 hours of staff time each week, allowing the team to focus on higher-value priorities while maintaining full compliance.

The Challenge: Manual Logs and Software Workarounds

Before Forerunner, the town faced three primary hurdles:

• ‍The Documentation Gap: Documentation relied on inspectors taking specific photos at the beginning and end of a project. Because this was manual, it was easy for steps to be missed or for photos to be lost in disparate folders.‍
• System Workarounds: Inspections were tracked through a permitting system not designed for stormwater. Staff spent extra time every week on "workarounds"—like generating "partial passes"—just to trigger the next inspection, which then had to be recorded in a separate manual log.‍
• Data Fragmentation: Elevation Certificates (ECs) and site plans were saved across various locations with inconsistent naming conventions. Finding information for a resident or an internal department meant hunting through multiple systems.

The Solution: From "Workarounds" to Unified Workflows

These challenges weren't due to a lack of diligence; they were a result of a lack of centralization. Ponce Inlet moved its weekly NPDES tracking and floodplain records into one "single source of truth."

• ‍Purpose-Built Field Inspections: Code officers now use iPads to track weekly inspections and upload photos in real-time. Everything is closed out on-site, ensuring no documentation is lost.
• Centralized Record-Keeping: All historical ECs and property data are now in one place. Staff can search for a property on the map and instantly see its history, plans, and certificates.
• Proactive Customization (Milestone Inspections): When Florida introduced new "Milestone Inspection" requirements for condos, the town partnered with Forerunner to integrate these mandates into their digital map. These are now tracked and open to the public for maximum transparency.
  

The Return on Investment (ROI): Measurable Value for a Small Staff

For a community with limited time and budget, the transition has delivered measurable operational gains:

• 10+ Hours Reclaimed Weekly: By switching to iPad-based inspections and eliminating manual logs, the team saves more than 10 hours of administrative work each week, time that can now be redirected to higher-priority projects and resident support.
• Audit-Ready Reporting: During CRS reviews or NPDES reporting, staff no longer spend hours pulling data from general reports. Instead, they generate targeted reports in Forerunner and instantly access exactly what’s needed, reducing stress and improving compliance confidence.
• Storm Readiness: The town established a process to download maps to iPads for offline use, a critical upgrade during storm events when cell service may be unavailable and staff capacity is limited. This ensures uninterrupted field access to essential information during response and recovery.
• Internal Synergy: The planning and code divisions now function as a centralized data hub for Public Works and other departments, maintaining plans and ECs that were previously difficult to track. This shared visibility strengthens coordination and improves overall operational efficiency.

The Bottom Line

For Ponce Inlet, Forerunner is about efficiency and accuracy. It allows a small team to have a better handle on a wide range of responsibilities without data getting lost in the shuffle.

"For small communities where staff wear multiple hats—whether NPDES or CRS—it streamlines the process and enables one person to have a much better handle on everything. It saves time when you don’t have a lot and makes you more efficient," Pierce noted.