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GIS Partnership Summary

Erie Niagara Intermunicipal Agreement
for Shared GIS Services

Partnership Purpose and Goal

The Erie Niagara Intermunicipal Agreement for Shared GIS Services developed out of a mutual interest between Erie and Niagara counties to develop and maintain GIS programs in the most cost effective manner. The goal is to provide the staff and residents of both counties with high quality geospatial services while saving money through sharing of GIS infrastructure and geospatial applications.

Participants and Resource Contributions

The Erie Niagara Shared GIS Services project is supported by the NYS Shared Municipal Services Incentive (SMSI) program. The project received a $305,000 SMSI grant to fund the installation of a high-speed microwave network connection between Erie and Niagara Counties. Installation and testing of the microwave link was recently completed. This microwave connection will support sharing of GIS data and applications between the two counties, and will also be used for sharing of public safety information.

The Erie Niagara Shared GIS Services project recently received a second SMSI grant to extend the partnership to all local governments within the two counties.

At the participant level, Erie County provides an enterprise-level GIS infrastructure to Niagara County, hosts the Niagara County spatial data and applications, and maintains a suite of GIS servers and applications to support the GIS programs of both counties. Niagara County provides annual funding to Erie County to help sustain the GIS infrastructure, and shares spatial applications that are being developed by the Niagara County GIS team and consultant.

Time Frame

Date Partnership Began: January 2008
Completion Date: On-going

Deliverables

The Intermunicipal Agreement covers these major areas of GIS cooperation between Erie and Niagara Counties:

  1. Enterprise geodatabase hosting- Erie County hosts Niagara County’s geodatabase and provides direct access to it from Niagara County departments.
  2. General assistance on geospatial issues- sharing of information and advice on GIS issues.
  3. GIS emergency assistance- agreement on providing GIS "mutual aid" in the event of a disaster, including equipment and staffing.
  4. Internet/ Intranet mapping- Erie County will host up to 8 sites for Niagara County, with additional fees for additional sites.
  5. Sharing of custom GIS applications among similar departments within each county.
  6. Off-site storage of geospatial data- each county will store the GIS critical infrastructure data for the other county, to be used as disaster backup.

Brief Summary of Partnership

On January 1, 2008, Erie and Niagara Counties entered into a five year Intermunicipal Agreement (IMA) to share Geographic Information System (GIS) services. Erie County has been developing and supporting a GIS program for many years, and has invested in a robust GIS infrastructure.  Niagara County has recently recognized their need to begin implementing a similar enterprise- level GIS program.  Under the terms of the IMA, Niagara County will be able to take advantage of Erie County’s GIS knowledge and infrastructure to rapidly build their GIS program at a significantly reduced cost compared to implementing a stand-alone system.

A $305,000 SMSI grant was awarded in 2006 to fund the installation of a high-speed microwave network connection between Erie and Niagara Counties. This microwave connection will support sharing of GIS data and applications between the two counties, and will also be used for sharing of public safety information. Erie County will host Niagara County's GIS data and applications, which reduces the need for Niagara County to invest in and maintain this technology. In return, Erie County will receive annual payments from Niagara County, which will be used to maintain and enhance the Erie County’s GIS program and infrastructure.

The Intermunicipal Agreement for Shared GIS Services covers 6 major areas:

  1. Enterprise geodatabase hosting- Erie County hosts Niagara County’s geodatabase and provides direct access to it from Niagara County departments.
  2. General assistance on geospatial issues- sharing of information and advice on GIS issues.
  3. GIS emergency assistance- agreement on providing GIS "mutual aid" in the event of a disaster, including equipment and staffing.
  4. Internet/ Intranet mapping- Erie County will host up to 8 sites for Niagara County, with additional fees for additional sites.
  5. Sharing of custom GIS applications among similar departments within each county.
  6. Off-site storage of geospatial data- each county will store the GIS critical infrastructure data for the other county, to be used as disaster backup.

The Erie and Niagara Counties Shared GIS Services Program is projected to save over $900,000 in GIS and public safety related expenses over the five year term of the agreement. The Shared GIS Services Program received an award from the New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competiveness as a model program for intergovernmental cooperation.

Primary Contact Information:  

Dale J. Morris                                                 
Director of Geographic Information Services
Erie County
95 Franklin Street
Buffalo, NY 14202

Phone: 716-858-7422
E-mail: morrisd@erie.gov

Secondary Contact Information:

William Budde, Jr.
Director of Real Property Services                   
Niagara County
Brooks Co. Office Bldg.
59 Park Ave.
Lockport, NY 14094

Phone: 716- 439- 7077
E-mail: William.Budde@niagaracoounty.com