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| GeoCommunity Mailing List |
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| Subject: | [gislist] article re local governments selling GIS data |
| Date: |
09/04/2003 08:45:01 PM |
| From: |
gary_hubbs (???) |
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Re the recent discussions abiyt GIS data pricing, see the article below =
from the Chicago Daily Herald
(thanks to GIS Monitor newsletter for the pointer)
Will County looking to sell geographic data
By Marni Pyke Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted 9/3/03=20
A wealth of information from maps of streets in south Naperville to =
aerial photos of Peotone is stored in the brains of computers belonging =
to Will County government.=20
And now officials are willing to share that knowledge - for a price.=20
For several years, the county has been building a geographic information =
system, or GIS. The computer program contains a wealth of data related =
to geographic areas, ranging from maps to locations of sewer pipes.=20
Creating the system has cost the county about $3 million so far. At a =
Tuesday finance committee, officials talked about recouping some of that =
investment by opening the GIS to the public.=20
But there's a lot of questions to be answered before the county takes =
that step - including how much to charge.=20
"When you're looking at fees, obviously you've got to look at =
operational costs," said board member James Moustis, a Frankfort =
Republican.=20
"We're $3 million into the deal, we know the cost to maintain the =
system, I assume these can be the building blocks (of setting fees)," =
said Finance Chairman John Gerl, a Joliet Republican.=20
Other issues are whether to copyright the information and whether =
businesses should be charged differently from other users.=20
"The concern I have is with the private sector," said board member Ann =
Dralle, a Lemont Republican.=20
"If they use it for marketing or solicitation, there needs to be a =
breakdown because they're using it for profit."=20
Bruce Cowans, a consultant with Maximus Inc., acknowledged that a GIS is =
not a standard commodity.=20
"What people should be charged to use it depends on the people," he =
said.=20
"I certainly think when you look at the fees, there's more than one =
component," Moustis said.=20
Committee members agreed to pay Maximus Inc. a consulting fee of $10,700 =
to prepare a report on the GIS pricing.=20
The county currently shares its GIS with other municipalities for free. =
But that is hinged on municipalities giving the county access to their =
GIS programs.=20
Also Tuesday, committee members took a step toward permitting residents =
to start paying taxes with credit cards.=20
The county is limiting credit use to Discover cards but is expected to =
expand those options later.=20
A public hearing will be held on the credit card proposal at the Sept. =
18 county board meeting.
This electronic message deals with the business of Taiwan High Speed =
Rail Corporation. If the message was not intended for you, please =
permanently delete the message without making a copy and advise the =
sender. It should be noted it is the policy of the Corporation that =
electronic messages are used for administrative matters only and that =
contractual and legal commitments will only be entered into by formal =
written correspondence.=20
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