Geographic Information Systems
Several city functions depend on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to properly and effectively carry out their job. For example, the City Clerk's office uses city maps to support redistricting of council districts. Economic Development and Zoning heavily rely on GIS technology for making decisions that can potentially impact the future growth of the city.
In addition, the GIS staff has designed and developed a Network Analysis application to support Utilities Solid Waste Residential Services. The information allowed them to make decisions regarding Residential Trash Pickup Route services making them more efficient and cost-effective to the taxpayer. Also, with this design, GIS provided analysis on where to best locate a new Solid Waste transfer station and to support their budgeting projections for additional staff, equipment and additional route services for future planned development growth.
The City’s Fire Department requests an annual report on response times for incident calls based on locations of the Fire Stations and traffic conditions; this report is used by insurance companies to set premiums.
Fire and Emergency services are provided a view of the topological landscape to properly prepare for natural disasters or simply for wildfire.
GIS has also proven to be a successful crime fighting tool for law enforcement. City Crime Analysts utilize GIS to map crime activity and crime trends throughout the City. As a result crime waves are quickly identified and the proper crime prevention and deterrence techniques can be immediately applied in that particular location.