Adams permit payments belong in the ePermit Center

There is one rule that makes permit payments simple to police: Community and Economic Development only asks for and accepts payment through the ePermit Center. Anything that lands outside that channel deserves a second look, because fake invoices have been sent to people with open permit applications.

The sender is the other tell. A genuine message comes from a county email address, so a payment request from anywhere else is a red flag on its own. A real project throws off a steady stream of email, attachments, and small deadlines, and that noise is exactly where a fraudulent invoice hopes to hide. Scammers count on a busy owner or contractor treating one more bill as routine.

Holding to the channel cuts through all of it. Before any money moves, log into the ePermit Center and see what the county is actually asking for. If a request arrives by some other route, look hard at the sender’s address before doing anything, and never wire money off a surprise invoice just because the project is mid-stride.

When something still feels off, the One Stop Permitting Center can confirm a payment in a single call. That short check is the difference between a fee that goes where it should and money that disappears. A legitimate permit fee will wait the few minutes it takes to verify it, so there is no cost to slowing down and every reason to.