|
|
| GeoCommunity Mailing List |
| |
| Mailing List Archives |
| Subject: | [gislist] RE: GIS staffing for local governments - summary |
| Date: |
03/14/2005 08:45:01 AM |
| From: |
Trish Long |
|
|
Hi, I received a number of responses from a people across the country
with a variety of experiences. Nearly everyone recommended that GIS
should be managed from within IT.
But, for now, surprise!, I am not going to recommend that Trenton take
that route. Here's our situation: The Department of Administration wants
to expand GIS use and benefits to other departments (beyond the Division
of Planning, which is where I work, as a Senior Planner). I was asked
for recommendations in terms of GIS staffing. I suggested they establish
a GIS Coordinator/Manager position. But I think the demands on this one
person will be incredible. So, I am rethinking things and might suggest
that rather than hiring a coordinator, at this point, instead they look
to establish two GIS Specialist positions. These two positions would be
based in the departments with the greatest demands. They would meet
regularly with the IT director to make sure city-wide GIS coordination
proceeds in a reasonable way. I have already also recommended that we
use interns as well as keeping our GIS consultant on-board to help, as
needed.
I was encouraged to receive the following comment from Bill Thoen:
"Well, a successful GIS has more to do with the people who implement it,
and it doesn't always have to be IT departments... Sounds to me like
your plan is quite reasonable and that Trenton is overdue for a GIS
department."
Although, I don't think we'll be establishing a GIS department anytime
soon, I do think city administrators are finally realizing that they
have not adequately addressed GIS needs.
I've been thinking about Bill Thoen's question, "So how small is too
small for a local government to support GIS services?" Trenton is 7.5
square miles and has a resident population of 85,000. I call it a small
city. Too small for in-house GIS? I don't think so. So, for the time
being, we'll do what we can to build up our capacity. At some point, a
GIS Coordinator should probably manage our GIS development from within
IT.
Someone suggested that I give our City Council "a map of our size and
relationship of comparable cities using GIS for city services for many
years." (She went on to say that our administrators should be "a little
embarrassed that they have been working in the dark." I agree.)
Finally, I checked out URISA's website and found a document called,"GIS
In Cities & Counties: A Nationwide Assessment." I have a feeling the
report is somewhat dated, but it sounds like it will have some useful
comparative information in it for us.
Thanks to Ed Ayres, George Stram, Hilary Perkins, Ian Chapman, Matt
VanDyken, Darrell Allen, Michael Carson, Gavin Malia, Dan Bubis, Bill
Thoen, Kreh Germaine, and L. Haley for all your input. Extra thanks to
Korinne Leonard who sent an especially thorough response. If anyone
wants more info on the responses I received, contact me.
Trish Long
Dept. of Housing & Economic Development
City of Trenton
319 E. State St.
Trenton, NJ 08608
(609)989-3291
_______________________________________________
gislist mailing list
gislist@lists.geocomm.com
http://lists.geocomm.com/mailman/listinfo/gislist
_________________________________
This list is brought to you by
The GeoCommunity
http://www.geocomm.com/
Get Access to the latest GIS & Geospatial Industry RFPs and bids
http://www.geobids.com
|
|
Sponsored by:
For information
regarding
advertising rates
Click Here!
|
