The Geographic Information System (GIS) section creates and maintains a variety of applications, digital map databases and maps. GIS is a computer-based technology that digitizes, stores, organizes, analyzes and displays maps of anything that can be represented graphically. The mapped entities have “real world” coordinates directly tied to the earth’s surface, enabling easy viewing of the spatial relationship among mapped features.
The applications and maps cover all topics of importance to local government such as infrastructure, policy zones, hazards, environmental features and jurisdictional boundaries. Databases store numerous characteristics or attributes about the mapped features, enabling the maps to be color-coded and labeled according to a set of characteristics. Staff uses the attributes to perform analysis on a wide variety of spatial phenomena and relationships.
Using computer desktop, mobile device and Internet browser-based software, staff creates applications to bring computer mapping capability to everyone via the Internet.
In addition to publishing maps via standard templates within GIS applications, staff occasionally creates custom thematic maps for County departments, other public agencies and private clients.