New York State Office of Cyber Security
Geographic Information Systems Clearinghouse
A Compendium of
Community Models
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Municipality: Warren County
Project Description:
In June of 1999, after more than a decade of struggling with tax parcel
conversion issues, Warren County hired a full-time GIS Administrator.
The GIS Administrator is located within the Planning Department, but
works closely with Real Property, other county departments, and local
municipalities in the County. Because most of the municipalities are
small, rural communities with limited resources, the County has made
a concerted effort to provide training, data, and customized GIS tools
for use by town, City and Village employees. The County has assisted
most of the municipalities in the County with setting up their own geographic
information systems. All of the municipalities within the county use
GIS regularly, either through a custom ArcView application at the desktop
level, or through a custom ArcIMS application over the Internet. The
Planning Department also provides GIS services to the other county departments
through a custom ArcIMS application available over the county intranet,
providing training, developing data, and assisting departments with
map production and spatial analysis when needed.
Program Status and Schedule:
The County’s GIS is fully operational and available to all county
and municipal employees over the Internet or intranet through an ArcIMS
application. Tax parcel mapping is up-to-date, regularly maintained
in AutoCAD, and converted annually to a GIS format. The County has
downloaded all available relevant data layers from Cornell University
Geospatial Repository (CUGIR) and the New York State GIS Clearinghouse
and has obtained data from the Adirondack Park Agency. Warren County
has also begun to collect and develop its own data, including zoning,
utility and public works infrastructure, and road centerlines. The
Real Property Department, with assistance from the GIS Administrator,
is beginning to convert and maintain its tax parcels in an ArcGIS Geodatabase
format, which should enable GIS users to have more current parcel information.
Barriers and Impediments/How Overcome:
Warren County’s GIS efforts began in the late 1980’s under
pressure from the New York State Office of Real Property Services to
move its tax maps into compliance with state standards. The program
floundered for more than a decade with a lack of GIS leadership at the
County level, poor advice from consultants, problems with contractors,
and hardware issues. Finally, in the late 1990’s County leaders
realized that they had invested a large amount of money into data development
and had little, if anything, to show for it. The County formulated
a three year plan for GIS and decided to hire a full-time GIS Administrator
to help get the tax parcel project back on track and implement the
GIS plan. Since 1999, the County has successfully completed the tax
parcel conversion project, met all goals outlined in the initial plan,
and is moving forward with a new set of objectives.
Resources and Funding Sources:
When the County’s GIS efforts first began in the 1990’s,
the County received $12,000 from the Adirondack Park Agency’s
Local Planning Assistance funds. Recently, the County received $73,000
from the New York State Archives’ Local Records Management Improvement
Fund grant program, which it used to purchase hardware and software
(including ArcIMS), procure training, and hire consultants to develop
custom applications. In 1997, in anticipation of beginning a GIS program
in the Planning Department, the County set aside $50,000 from its General
Fund to establish a GIS Capital Fund, which was used to purchase hardware
and software and partially fund the GIS Administrator’s salary
for the first year. Since then, the County has established a regular,
yearly budget for GIS.
Involved Agencies:
Warren County and most municipalities within the County.
Supporting Parties:
The Adirondack Park Agency has provided monetary and technical assistance
throughout the project. In the initial phases of the project, the
state Office of Real Property Services helped convince the County
Board of Supervisors that it was on the right track with GIS. The
County Board of Supervisors has been very supportive of the GIS effort.
In addition, the County has worked closely with municipalities to
provide assistance with selecting computer hardware, training, data,
and customized GIS tools.
Benefits to Community/Cost Savings etc.:
Having a functioning GIS has increased the efficiency and quality
of service in a number of departments within the County, including
the Planning Department, Real Property, the Sheriff’s Department,
and the Department of Public Works. Nearly every department in the
County has taken advantage of the GIS in one way or another. The County’s
management of GIS efforts at the municipal level allows towns to
acquire GIS software for a lower price through bulk purchases. Managing
GIS efforts in this way also allowed municipalities to get up and
running with GIS without requiring costly consultants or additional
expenditures beyond purchase of hardware and software. In addition,
since the County is very aware of the GIS needs of its municipal
users, it has been able to provide training, data, and tools that
are specifically geared towards their requirements. Standardizing
systems in municipalities throughout the county and holding regular
GIS Users Group meetings and training sessions have allowed GIS users
at the town level to assist and encourage each other.
Program Staffing Needs: Currently, the County has one full-time GIS employee.
Program Costs:
The County has a separate, dedicated yearly GIS budget. Below is the
budget for 2003:
Salary: $47,070
Equipment: $ 4,500
Administration, Supplies & Contract Services: $15,900
Member of Data Sharing Cooperative: Yes. Data from the Cooperative is used for County purposes and is made available to the towns for their use.
Collaborative Effort:
As described above, the County has collaborated with municipalities
within the County to a large extent, which has helped the municipalities
take full advantage of GIS in their daily work. In addition, the County
has worked with towns to develop data, such as zoning, which has benefited
both the towns and the County.
Model Feature(s):
This is a rural county that has a successful and productive working
GIS relationship with most of its towns. Success is due, in part,
to the fact that the county law form of government (Town Supervisors
also act as County Legislators) has enabled the lawmakers responsible
for making decisions about GIS at the County level to see GIS being
successfully implemented in their towns from a first-hand perspective.
Managing of municipal GIS implementation from the County level is
fairly unique within the state and has proved to be very successful
in Warren County.
Keys to success:
Hiring a full-time GIS Administrator was crucial to the success of
this program. In addition, having an initial plan for GIS implementation
(which has been updated as needed) helped the County set and meet
goals. During the beginning stages of establishing the GIS program,
the GIS Administrator did a few fairly quick projects, such as creating
results maps after local elections, and town maps with layers readily
available from the Adirondack Park Agency and the State GIS Clearinghouse.
These maps attracted the attention of County department heads and
town supervisors without requiring major time expenditure on the part
of the GIS Administrator. A good working relationship with the county
departments, the towns, and the Board of Supervisors has garnered
enthusiasm for the program and has helped insure its continued success.
Demographics:
Location: North Country, Lake George area, eastern portion of Adirondack Park
Population: 63,303
11 Towns, 1 City, 1 Village
Contact Information:
Warren County Planning Department
Sheri Norton
GIS Administrator
1340 State Route 9
Lake George, NY 12845
Phone: 518-761-6410
Fax: 518-761-6411
Email: nortons@co.warren.ny.us
Website: www.co.warren.ny.us/gis