City of Franklin, Tennessee Works with Accela® to Offer New Digital Services for Special Events and Beer Permits

SAN RAMON, Calif., July 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Accela^®, a leading provider of cloud solutions for state, county, and city governments today announced that the City of Franklin, Tennessee has successfully launched new digital permitting capabilities with Accela, streamlining how residents and businesses apply for and manage certain permits online. As part of this milestone, Franklin has introduced a new special events permitting portal powered by OpenCounter™, providing a simplified experience for both special event and film permit applications. The City is also digitizing its beer permitting process - enhancing transparency, efficiency, and the overall applicant experience.

The new permit portal simplifies how event organizers navigate permitting, bringing what was once a complex process into a streamlined, centralized experience that connects applicants, city staff, and departments in one place.

Using OpenCounter, applicants move through a guided end-to-end process, from understanding what's required through the review process, while staying connected with city staff and real-time visibility into the status of their application. Similarly, staff can see all the activity from other departments happening on a single event, all within a centralized platform.

In parallel, Franklin has transformed its beer permitting process by replacing manual paper and spreadsheet-based workflows with a digital solution. Business owners can now submit their city beer permits online and pay their annual beer privilege tax through the platform via a secure third-party payment processor, reducing administrative burden for both applicants and city staff.

These upgrades reflect Franklin's broader commitment to modernizing service delivery and making it easier for businesses and event organizers to navigate regulatory processes.

"Cities like Franklin are redefining what modern government looks like," said Jonathon Knight, COO of Accela. "By digitizing core processes and connecting systems, they're not only improving efficiency - they're transforming how residents experience local government."

"This is a meaningful step forward in how we serve our community," said Monique McCullough, Public Outreach and Special Events Supervisor. "By digitizing these permitting processes, we're not only improving efficiency internally, but also creating a more transparent, user-friendly experience for our residents and businesses."

With these enhancements, Franklin is empowering applicants with greater visibility, reducing processing time, all while delivering a more modern, connected permitting experience.

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About Accela^®

Accela^® is the end-to-end platform that state and local governments, rely on to streamline permitting, licensing, asset management, and more. Agencies deliver faster, more transparent service to every resident. 

For more information, please visit www.accela.com.

SOURCE Accela