Alas, cartophiliac Mr. Heppler won't be getting his e-map fix in Lake County any time soon.
MDL reports that the Lake County Commission is planning to put off funding a Geographical Information System (GIS) for a year. Former equalization director Jerry Seidel proposed installing GIS last year, and the county agreed to budget half the cost in the 2008 budget and the remaining half in 2009. But now the county is shifting the latter half of that funding to cover equipment upgrades in the 911 dispatch center [see Elisa Sand, "County Commission Shifts Funding for GIS," Madison Daily Leader, 2008.09.04].
Now if the choice is as simple as cool online maps or being able to get hold of the sheriff, I guess I'd pick the sheriff, too. A number of folks would probably also prioritize patching our roads over computerizing operations in the equalization office. (Of course, if the equalization office had all their maps and records online, we wouldn't need to drive to the courthouse to look at them....)
Still, it's a shame to let the GIS project drop, especially if we've already paid for half of it. (Did that first half go through last year's budget? Commissioners, if you're reading, a little update, please?) Right now, if you want access to geographical information about Lake County, all you can get online is this static map of the county. Our fair county can't even manage to put tax records online the way Minnehaha does. At MinnehahaCounty.org, I can type in any address (for instance, KSFY's HQ at 300 N. Dakota Ave.) and find the legal description, lot size, property value and tax assessed (KSFY's building and lot are worth $2.3 million). Imagine how useful it would be to have information like that at everyone's fingertips here in Lake County (commenters questioning my fiscal policy could Google the actual value of my house!).
GIS would give county employees and citizens alike easy access to all sorts of geographical information that can be used to inform public policy and even business decisions. (Watersheds and FEMA floodplain info, lot boundaries, land use, changes in population... for a fuller rundown of what GIS can do, see GIS.com.) After some initial extra work in converting records from old maps and documents and the legacy computer system, GIS would help the equalization office and other county officials serve citizens faster and with better information.
GIS is an important component of making public information more accessible to the public. Even if we can't swing the money this year, I hope Lake County will look into ways to save money to put this project to work in the FY2010 budget.
Ok I'm a Luddite.
ReplyDeleteI may be in the minority, but I don't want everyone to know everything about me. Certain things are no one else's damn business. All this really doesn't need to be on the internet.
Luddite...News Flash! The information is ALL public at the courthouse, how many square feet your home is, how much you paid for it, what the County values it at and photographs too.
ReplyDeleteFrom a staffing standpoint, realtors, appraisers and insurance folks are stopping by all the time to get information which takes staff time. If they can access it via the internet, that would allow staff at the courthouse to do other things.
Unfortunately, Lake County Commissioners are still a little bit stone-age when it comes to technology and they don't see the value of trading a one-time investment for years of freeing up staff time for other work in the office.