Geography Matters for State and Local Government

GIS is used for local government. Local governments are increasingly required to operate with the speed and efficiency of private business while adhering to complex political or regulatory requirements. Local governments must digest an immense amount of information to perform their duties in a fair and sound manner.

Only a geographic information system (GIS) has the data management tools to help accomplish this task. GIS technology provides a flexible set of tools to perform the diverse functions of government. More importantly, it makes data sharing among departments easy so that the government can work as a single enterprise.

GIS is most often used by local governments to assist with administrative services, public utilities, human services, public counter, land records, public safety, and school districts. It is used for keeping track of equipment and facilities, as well as government-owned property and fleet. GIS can help determine patterns of complaints in certain neighborhoods and track their resolution by the appropriate department. Here are just a few of the many ways GIS is used by local governments.

Engineering
Engineering departments perform engineering and survey, transportation and traffic engineering, and maintenance of streets, storm drains, street lighting, rights-of-way, and trees. GIS, computer–aided design and drafting (CADD), global positioning systems (GPSs), document management, and related technologies are commonly used to support the project planning, design, construction, and ongoing operation of developments from street realignments, to new subdivisions, to industrial parks and even entire planned communities.

Community Development
Community development departments include planning and zoning, economic development, building permits and inspection, redevelopment agency, and resource management. GIS tools are very useful in supporting these functions and are commonly used for modeling of land use and environmental conditions and constraints.

Public Utilities
In public utilities, GIS can be used to model and analyze network flow, analyze specific facilities or features of the network, predict runoff rates, and determine pressure zones when planning new water distribution facilities. GIS is also used to support the planning, operation, and maintenance functions of the solid waste department. Network routing tools support design and evaluation of solid waste collection routes. The often controversial task of finding a suitable location for a new landfill can be eased greatly by using GIS.

Election Districts
GIS technology is playing an increasingly larger role in the election process. Departments such as the registrar of voters, the clerk of the court, and city and county clerks all benefit from using GIS in conjunction with their counterparts in land records and special district departments.

If you would like to know more, we invite you to explore our many informational and downloadable resources.