GIS SECTION PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
GIS technology helps Columbia County to streamline business practices while adhering to complex political and regulatory requirements. The LID is responsible for the modernization of land records and land information systems, and the deployment and support of GIS data and technology in Columbia County. The GIS data structure in Columbia County organizes features with descriptive characteristics, integrates this spatial information, and identifies relationships between data layers. It is possible to question or query a GIS database to answer complex questions. The GIS in Columbia County provides one of the most powerful and cost-effective management tools available for planning and decision-making.
Our GIS Section can assist with collecting, managing, and using location-based information to analyze trends, develop projections, and design spatial models for land use, urban and regional planning, environmental management, transportation, water resources, agriculture, soils, and develop applications for departmental needs. We participate in all phases of GIS project design and implementation, including user needs assessment, database development, hardware/software configuration, software development, remote sensing, and the production of ready-to-use information.
Functions Performed
Data Services
Long Term Goals
Functions Performed:
- Acquiring software, hardware, and licenses for departments who use GIS.
- Provide or arrange training in GIS software.
- Technical support.
- Application development.
- Application development.
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Data Services:
- Problem solving
- Custom data, report, and map requests development
- Assist other departments and county initiatives as needed
- Application Development
- Maintain and document GIS library.
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Long Term Goals:
Our long-term goal is to use the best value technology to build data and applications, which meet the needs of decision makers, and to improve the efficiency of county operations. Ideally, the county's GIS services will become the focal point whereby any citizen or agency needing basic information may get one-stop services for all county data products. This has two significant benefits:
- Save customers the frustration of running from department to department to get the information they need.
- Free up other departments to focus on specific questions and issues rather than general information.
The LID will continue to increase the number of foundational elements that are either available or maintained by LID staff. Columbia County will continue to apply for grant money that is available from private, state, and federal sources as well as to lobby the County Board to support the LID program and initiatives with continued and additional funding. In addition to making these data sets available for use, it is our goal to continue to provide better, easier, and more efficient means of data access to our customers. To accomplish this goal, the LID will continue to develop its data-sharing program by adding to the list of partners. We will also continue to work with the MIS department to make both land records and GIS datasets available to our customers over the Internet and to participate in the development of an Intranet to service internal customers using interactive Internet Mapping technologies. It is our goal to have our first interactive Internet mapping site available for use in 2003.
For more information on Columbia County Land Information GIS Data: GIS Data Availability, FGDC Metadata & Other Documentation, GIS Data Standards
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