Municipal GIS Partnership

Municipalities in Northern Ontario are faced with the double challenge of satisfying a need for data and information from a wide variety of requesters (internal staff, councillors, investors, business people, officials from other levels of government, the media, social service organizations, the general public) and doing so from a widely disparate collection of data sets (tax rolls, zoning records, inspection data, various local inventories, etc.). Geographic Information Systems is a tool that has helped to simplify both of these challenges. Through a process of integration and automation, GIS sets up and delivers a set of “views” that customize the presentation of information to the specific needs, interests and capabilities of different groups of users. On the supply side, it provides tools to integrate and store disparate data sets, allowing them to interact in a mutually supporting and synergistic manner.

 

Municipal Geographic Information Systems increase efficiencies in capital planning, zoning, permits and maintenance, as well as planning in the areas of Health, Education and Lifestyle. Smaller municipalities can realize the increased taxpayer service benefits of GIS, implementation but has been cost prohibitive in the past.

 

Blue Sky Net is currently working with 22 area municipalities that have formed the Blue Sky Municipal GIS Partnership. Blue Sky Net has taken the lead in this project and is providing valuable project coordination/management services on behalf of the Partnership.

 

For more on this partnership please watch this short video.

For more information contact Jeff Buell
(e) jeff.buell@blueskynet.ca
(t) 705-476-0874 ext. 205

 

MRDAP (THE MUNICIPAL RECORD DIGITIZATION AND ARCHIVAL PROJECT)

The Municipal Record Digitization and Archival Project (MRDAP) is a project in partnership with and in follow-up to the existing 22 member GIS Municipal Partnership group.The project oversaw the scanning and conversion of Municipal paper documents to electronic records that were integrated with a GIS Interface. By doing so municipalities will secured their Property Information files.

 

Although there are several beneficial outcomes of this project, the main reason for our GIS group municipalities to participate is to ensure the preservation of paper files from loss due to disaster or age.