AGENDA #6b

BUDGET WORKING PAPER

TO:                  W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

FROM:            Bob Avery, Information Technology Director

SUBJECT:      Geographic Information Systems Position for the Information Technology   Department

DATE:             April 27, 2005

This memorandum is provided in response to a recommendation by the Technology Committee presented to the Town Council on March 23, 2005 to add a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) programmer/analyst for the Information Technology (IT) Department.

BACKGROUND

Geographic Information Systems provide the modeling and mapping tools to analyze and visualize a wealth of geographic data. It has become a key resource for many agencies in the management of homeland security, environmental security, health care, land use, social services, and emergency management. For the Town, it is an essential tool for effective land management and planning and is becoming a valuable tool for public safety.

Our GIS resources have grown from a single user application in the Engineering Department to a multi-user resource used directly by Engineering, Planning, Police, Public Works, and Storm Water as well as indirectly by all departments. We coordinate data management with Orange County, Carrboro, OWASA, and the University to ensure our data is accurate and complete. With over twenty direct users and eventually, through web applications, all staff and citizens, assuring that user data sets within the Town are consistent is becoming increasingly difficult to manage. Thus, there is a rapidly growing need to implement an enterprise-wide database management capability for GIS data within the Town.

The April 2005 Operations and Efficiency Study by Maximus noted the need for several land management capabilities including “A GIS that is developing as an enterprise asset and tool.”

DISCUSSION

The Technology Committee recommended “Significant progress in extending GIS to other uses and Town departments will be most practically accomplished with the hiring of a GIS programmer/analyst for the IT Department. This person can develop GIS applications and train staff in their use.”

The Town has one full time GIS position. That position is assigned to the Engineering Department and is responsible for updating core GIS data based on inputs from Orange County, surveys, deeds and development projects as well as managing updates for Town street addressing and producing a variety of maps for all Town departments. These maps include Fire Department grid book maps, agenda maps, zone maps, street maps, greenway maps, snow removal maps and others. In addition, there are many requests from citizens for mapping information.

Enhancement of GIS usage can be achieved through the addition of a full time staff member who would fulfill several GIS roles. The first role would be as a centralized manager of GIS data including management of internal data and coordination of updates with partner agencies. The second role is to provide online access to GIS information through an online GIS database and a GIS web server. The database would ensure every staff member using specialized mapping programs, such as ArcView, has direct access to up-to-date GIS data; updates to core data would be immediately accessible to all users. Web based services would ensure every staff member, and eventually every citizen, would have access to GIS data through a web browser based application. (This would greatly benefit citizens by providing direct access to mapping information and would reduce the need for citizens to request maps from the Engineering Department.) A third role would be to develop GIS applications. An example would be an application that provides remote access to data for Engineering or Storm Water field workers. A fourth role would be to train Town employees in use of the GIS services and applications.

This position would require ability in three areas - GIS data applications, database management, and web services management – with the GIS data applications area as the prime area.

This GIS programmer/analyst position will be included in the Manager’s Recommended Budget to be added to the Information Technology Department. The position would include the following responsibilities:

· Implementation and management of an online database system for GIS data.

· Management of the GIS web site and server

· Coordination of GIS data exchange with partner agencies

· Development of GIS applications

· Training of Town staff in the use of GIS programs and services

The position (salary plus benefits) is to be funded at $71,500 for twelve months ($53,600 for nine months).

RECOMMENDATION

Approval of the full-time position is recommended.