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Portland’s yearslong foray into paperless permitting has hit another snag.

The Bureau of Development Services let its contract with Sierra-Cedar Inc. of Georgia run out this month after the software vendor failed to timely deliver elements of the Information Technology Advancement Project – an effort to streamline and modernize the city’s permitting system.

The BDS is in the process of compiling a revised project budget and timeline, which it expects to take to City Council for approval by late fall, according to BDS spokeswoman Colleen Poole.

In 2010, the council got the ball rolling on the Information Technology Advancement Project, which was intended to digitize records, and allow project leaders to submit documents electronically. The next year the city conducted competitive bidding, and selected Sierra Systems (now Sierra-Cedar) along with three companies chosen to work under Sierra’s contract.

To date, the project has cost the city nearly $4 million. The anticipated completion date has been pushed back from 2015 to 2018. Three city commissioners have headed the effort.

The project most recently went before the City Council in December, when BDS director Paul Scarlett was questioned by commissioners about progress.

BDS officials are now working to procure new vendors and conduct an internal assessment of remaining scope of work while continuing with scheduled work.