Introduction to the Charlevoix County GIS Program

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Government Directory>Geographic Information Systems>1) Introduction to County GIS Program

Department Mission Statement

The Charlevoix County GIS Department develops, maintains, and promotes the use of public resources involving the use of geographic information technologies enhancing the delivery of public services. The Department will establish a coordinated approach to develop resources meeting clearly defined objectives as defined by Charlevoix County, local government units, and government affiliated agencies.

GIS Explained & Its Applications in County Operations
County GIS Development Summaries & Plans
County GIS Advisory Committee
County GIS Intergovernmental Data Sharing Opportunities

GIS Explained & Its Applications in County Operations

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GIS Defined
A Geographic Information System (GIS) combines the visual elements and features on a map with the ability to link characteristics about these features in databases. This relationship provides a means for GIS to locate, display, analyze, and model information. Generally, databases only tell us what descriptive information exists about an item. GIS expands our ability to depict where things occur and help us infer why and how these things occur during an analysis. GIS applications enhance a government's capability to deliver manadated services. A few examples include, accurate property valuation/assessment, protecting public health through emergency service responders locating residents, maintaining safe transportation systems, tracking development to plan for expansion(s) of public resources and sustaining the quality of our natural resources.

Uses/Advantages of GIS
The special ability of GIS to use information and display it as a map allows the opportunity to visualize information thereby conveying information in an entirely new perspective. This new perspective assists decision makers to evaluate information in new ways and become more efficient in comparing alternatives.

What Makes GIS Different from Any Other Information System?
GIS is a unique type of information system because it is designed to recognize the inherent spatial relationships of points, lines, and areas. When we reference maps, we naturally infer these spatial relationships including the direction, shape, area, adjacency, connectivity, and proximity of elements like cities (points), transportation systems (lines), and public lands (areas).

Here is a scenario where GIS has been applied. We might ask to identify where properties in the Boyne City School District are located. We might further refine our question to only those properties in Eveline Township. Then we might ask to classify properties in Eveline Township according to their district including East Jordan, Charlevoix, and Boyne City School Districts. Each of these school districts is evaluating its revenue from properties within Eveline Township. Since non-homestead properties have higher tax rates, the schools may want to compare the number of non-homestead properties from last year to this tax year to determine if the increased tax base will meet operational expense forecasts. We then ask our GIS to indicate the locations of all non-homesteads in 2000 and those in 2001. After locating the non-homesteads we can calculate the total, taxable value of the non-homesteads in Eveline Township for each of the school districts where the properties are located.

GIS Applications in County Operations (Not Inclusive of All Activities)
The County Equalization Department initiated the conversion of its hand drawn, paper tax maps to a digital format during the early 1990s. The Department has completed the conversion of these maps and is now in the process of connecting the assessment database information to each property. Property tax assessors will use GIS to fairly evaluate property valuations and substantiate their research conducted through annual studies.

The Planning Department has pursued the acquisition of aerial imagery to conduct an existing land use profile of the county. In 1997, digital aerial images were acquired using vertical (directly overhead) aerial photos and applying a special procedure to remove distortion in map scale. These images allowed specially trained photo-interpreters from Central Michigan University to classify the land uses and land covers throughout the County. This snapshot of land use is significant as the County prepares its new Land Use Plan (Visit the County Planning Department for more information).

The County Road Commission is interested in using a device called a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to acquire the locations of new driveways throughout the County. Each new driveway connecting to a public right-of-way requires a driveway/culvert permit. Collecting the positions of the driveways will assist in assigning new address numbers as well as evaluating the future travel demands on our County road system.

There are many more applications under development. Visit the County GIS Implementation Committee Section on this page to learn about additional GIS applications.

County GIS Development Summaries & Plans

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An Overview of the County's GIS Program Development
Charlevoix County initiated the development of GIS during the early 1990s within its Planning and Equalization Departments. During this time the County began to realize the value of information available from GIS and decided to research ways to manage, distribute, and use information generated throughout the County's operations. In 1998, the County received a grant to develop a GIS Strategic Plan and commissioned the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments to guide its formation. The plan's purpose was to evaluate the use of geographic/spatial information within the County, explore opportunities to improve the technologies currently being used, assess the applications (uses) of GIS, and provide the structure for developing a productive, efficient, and cost-effective GIS program.

In August of 2001, the County Board of Commissioners established the position of the County GIS Coordinator. The Coordinator was directed to work interdepartmentally to phase new GIS resources and applications into use as outlined in the GIS Strategic Plan. The Coordinator is responsible to identify and expose as many stakeholders and beneficiaries of GIS-related information as possible, therefore promoting the use and understanding of these resources. This is important because the public's return on its investment in GIS resources is maximized because they are introduced, mantained, and enhanced with feedback from those using the information.

GIS Data Under Development
The GIS data under development are described in the document below entitled GIS Data Development Summary below. Please contact the County GIS Coordinator for updates on the development of the projects outlined. An executive summary of the County GIS Strategic Development Plan defines the immediate project priorities and applications is also available for download below.

Documents/Forms:
County GIS Strategic Development Plan (Adobe PDF Format)
GIS Data Development Summary (Adobe PDF Format)

County GIS Advisory Committee

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The County GIS Advisory Committee was established to serve as a recommending body to the County Board of Commissioners on GIS policy and technical issues. The Committee generally meets on a bi-monthly basis to review the progress of GIS resources under development, discuss how to better distribute these resources among County departments and affiliated agencies, and to ensure diverse interests are represented as applications/resources are prepared. These meetings are open to the public and meeting announcements and agendas are posted in the display case inside the County Building next to the 301 State Street entrance.

Members of the GIS Advisory Committee

Charlevoix County Commissioner Resolution 01-064 established the Committee would be composed of eight members with three alternates representing the following County departments, affiliated agencies, and local units of government:

County Commissioner: Chris Christensen, Chairperson
County Building Official: Ken Doty, Vice-Chairperson
County GIS Coordinator: Brian Kelly
County Equalization Director: Tom Wolf
County Planning Director: Larry Sullivan
County Road Commission Engineer: Jim Vanek
Health Department Sanitarian: Scott Kendzierski
CCE-911 Director: Bob Bradley
Soil Conservation District: Kelly Martin, Alternate Member
Township Representative: Todd Sorenson, Alternate Member
NW Michigan Council of Governments : Sarah Merz, Alternate Member

The minutes of the Committee's meetings are available for download below.

Documents/Forms:
January 9, 2002 Minutes
March 6, 2002 Minutes
April 10, 2002 Minutes
June 12, 2002 Minutes
August 14, 2002 Minutes
October 16, 2002 Minutes
December 12, 2002 Minutes
February 19, 2003 Minutes
April 16, 2003 Minutes
June 18, 2003 Minutes
September 10, 2003 Minutes
November 19, 2003 Minutes
January 21, 2004 Minutes
June 16, 2004 Minutes
November 24, 2004 Minutes (Unofficial)
January 26, 2005 Meeting Summary

County GIS Intergovernmental Data Sharing Opportunities

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Charlevoix County Board of Commissioner Resolution 02-028 authorized a voluntary agreement to establish a mutual understanding where other County governmental units and Charlevoix County will share digital geographic data for the advancement of public programs. A copy of the agreement is available below for download in Adobe PDF format.

Each year the County GIS Coordinator will invite the County's local government units to meet where they may enter into an agreement with the County for a one year period. During this period the local units may have access to digital copies of data as approved by the County GIS Advisory Committee. The agreement allows the local units to share County data and permit the County to access data created by these units as well. The value in sharing County data is recognized when local government units build other layers of information on a common base/framework (County generated) and provide these layers back to the County. Therefore, all governments benefit from the expediture of public funds derived from the same people they serve. In addition, the County promotes the use of GIS tools relating to tasks the it is mandated to perform (planning commission reviews, assessment valuation studies, permit issuances, school district funding allocation, voter registration record maintenance, etc.).

Each of the agreements will be signed by the Chairperson of the County Board of Commissioners and by the chief elected official of the local jurisdiction sharing data with us (township supervisor, city mayor, etc). The initial series of agreements will remain in effect until either member wishes to withdraw at their option (there is no longer an expiration date).

Eligible Data Sharing Members
Any township, city, or village within Charlevoix County may participate with Charlevoix County government in this agreement. Furthermore, the following agencies or institutions may also benefit from the mutual sharing of this data:
Charlevoix County MSU Extension
Charlevoix County Conservation District
Charlevoix County Road Commission
Northwest Michigan Community Health Department
Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District
All Charlevoix County school districts
CCE-911
Charlevoix County Transit Authority
Northwest Michigan Council of Governments
Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians
Northern Lakes Economic Alliance

Petition to Become an Eligible Member
Any government unit or affiliated agency not included in the previous section may petition the GIS Advisory Committee to be added as an eligible member. County Board of Commissioners Resolution 05-001 adopted on 1/12/2005 provides for this procedure.

GIS Intergovernmental Data Geographic Data Request/Order Form
Government units participating in the County Intergovernmental Data Sharing Agreement should download complete this form when requesting data from the County GIS Office.

Documents/Forms:
1) Charlevoix County Intergovernmental Digital Geographic Data Sharing Agreement (Updated 3/24/04)
2) GIS Data Request Order Form

This page last updated on 6/29/2007.