Government Technology - February 2008 - (Page 40)

geo info S TAT E | L O C A L | F E D E R A L j j Synopsis: A crossjurisdictional effort brings rich mapping features to municipal Web sites. Agency: North Central Texas Council of Governments. Less T GISfor hough Rowlett, Texas, has a population of just 53,000, it has an interactive online map that puts many larger municipalities to shame. Want crime statistics, building footprints, property for sale or sex offender data? Come and get it. Krishna Veeragandham, the city’s assistant director of development services, helped build the site, and even he admits it is an anomaly. “Normally smaller cities don’t have that level of funding or even that level of need to run such a robust system,” he said. The secret weapon of Rowlett’s online map — available at http://maps.ci.rowlett. tx.us — is iCommunities, an ambitious GIS initiative by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), a state-sponsored entity charged with aiding development efforts in approximately 250 communities. The project uses the council’s GIS expertise to bring local government data to life with interactive, customizable maps that mesh with existing municipal Web sites. NCTCOG generates maps using ESRI’s GIS software, which already was in use within the organization when iCommunities launched in 1999. “It’s taking information about a specific jurisdiction and providing that information across the Web for use by employees of that organization, and also by citizens of that area,” said Mick Maguire, research and information services program manager at NCTCOG. In the big picture, iCommunities serves several needs for both large and small municipalities. It provides a template that makes assembling maps quick and easy, and it takes the maintenance burden off the jurisdictions, since NCTCOG hosts, maintains and updates iCommunities data. Perhaps most signifi- Technologies: ESRI GIS. Contact: Mick Maguire, 817/704-2519, mmguire@nctcog.org. Shared service helps Texas cities create online maps without busting budgets. cantly, it dramatically reduces the cost of creating and running a rich GIS site. The agency charges a municipality $8,800 to create a basic iCommunities site or $14,000 if the site includes in-depth economic development information. Annual upkeep costs $4,800 for the basic site, $6,000 with the economic development upgrade, or $7,200 with economic development and detailed crime data. Casey Gardner, enterprise GIS manager for Dallas, calls it a bargain. “We’re paying what we consider a very small amount of money to have this information out there,” said Gardner. Prior to joining iCommunities in 2002, Dallas operated its own map site, a rudimentary interface displaying such basics as libraries and council districts. Security was a headache, with constant care needed as data left the city and went out into the wide world of the Internet. “There are just a ton of issues you encounter when you start publishing this kind of information,” Gardner said. When he takes into account the software, hardware, maintenance and staff time he would need to host an interface as rich as iCommunities, Gardner knows he is coming out ahead. “It would take at least one person to manage that site,” he said. “And I promise FEB_08 40 BY ADAM STONE | CONTRIBUTING WRITER http://maps.ci.rowlett.tx.us http://maps.ci.rowlett.tx.us http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - February 2008

Government Technology - February 2008 Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile On the Screen Products Four Questions for... CSI Effect Bad Medicine Making Health Care Personal Cashing In GIS for Less Nabbing Speedsters First Person: Records Management Chatter Box Oregon Data Centers Go Green Products Two Cents Spectrum Up Close Personal Computing signal:noise Government Solutions - Spring 2008 Power Play Double Duty Cleaning House Twice Prepared Smart Move The Path to Success Foundation for Service

Government Technology - February 2008

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