County officials are exploring a process that will allow people to request pistol permits online.

Sheriff Scott Neiswonger presented an agreement with Permitium to the county commissioners during Monday’s work session that would add the online option at no cost to the county.

“It’s a very easy process,” Neiswonger said of the online offering, who said that those who still want to apply in person or via the mail will be able to do so. “It just gives them other options.”

He specifically highlighted how adding this option “essentially makes the permit process available 24/7,” a benefit to people who can’t make it to the Sheriff’s Office during business hours.

A typical pistol permit, good for five years, costs $20.

Neiswonger said there will be a $5 service fee to use the online option as well as a $1.03 fee for anyone that uses a credit card to pay.

He outlined how it should also cut down people making several trips to the office – or playing tag in the mail – to correct errors with applications.

He said that 37 counties currently offer this option.

“It’s been around since 2020,” Neiswonger said. “It seems like a good program.”

Bill Gallagher, the county’s IT coordinator, said it could also save money for the county in decreased postage costs.

He noted that the application will still be processed through the Pennsylvania State Police’s system.

“This puts a portal in front of that,” he said.

“There is a lot of work that goes into screening, references,” Commissioner Ken Klakamp said.

The county typically processes around 3,500 permits per year and receives $19 per permit processed.

Neiswonger said it’s not clear when the proposal could be up and running. He speculated it may not be until the end of 2024.

Reassessment

Chief Assessor Brian Bull told the commissioners that over 90 percent of residential data collection for the reassessment process is complete.

He said that effort remains on schedule and commercial and industrial data collection should start next month.