Butler County commissioners on Thursday approved two renewals that county staff said keep geographic information systems consistent across departments and save money compared with stand-alone licenses. The Commission voted 4-0 to renew ArcGIS Hub Premium for $6,163.01 and to renew the Esri Small Government Enterprise Agreement for $45,000.

Mark Schmidt, Butler County GIS director, told commissioners the Hub Premium subscription “gives us the ability to provide secure account based access to GIS data and services,” and allows contractors, vendors and residents to sign in to view information such as building permits, trade licenses and inspections specific to them. He said the Hub renewal aligns with the county’s existing Esri enterprise agreement cycle and reduces staff phone and email workload.

The county’s Esri enterprise maintenance, Schmidt said, provides editor licenses for field staff, cloud services, 24/7 technical support and continuing education. “It ensures that every department in the county is operating on the same most current version of GIS software which improves efficiency, reliability, and collaboration,” he said.

Commissioners discussed price increases and expanded usage. Schmidt and commissioners said the county’s move to an enterprise agreement in 2023 enabled other cities and counties to view Butler County’s web applications, and that the enterprise package is less expensive than buying individual software pieces. The Esri renewal was budgeted to line item 6233 for 2026, and the Hub Premium renewal was presented as fully budgeted in the same line item.

Formal actions: Commissioner Herzit moved to approve the ArcGIS Hub Premium renewal for $6,163.01; Commissioner Murphy seconded and the motion passed 4-0. A separate motion to approve the Esri Small Government Enterprise Agreement for $45,000 was moved and seconded and passed 4-0.

Why it matters: County staff said the combined agreements support public works, emergency services, appraisers, the clerk’s office and other departments with shared, current GIS data and reduce the need to buy separate products. Commissioners noted the purchases will keep ongoing projects moving and maintain countywide access to data and mapping tools.

What's next: Staff will implement the renewals and continue coordinating GIS services with other county departments and neighboring jurisdictions that have asked to view Butler County’s GIS model.