Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Gis topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
LaPorte County council backs GIS usage study to divide costs among departments
Summary
Council members agreed to commission a study of GIS usage across departments to better allocate software and hardware costs rather than relying on the general fund; reassessment and other restricted funds could cover initial study work.
The LaPorte County Council on July 28 agreed to pursue a study to inventory departmental use of the county's geographic information system and to develop a cost-allocation plan so departments that use the system pay their share rather than the general fund.
Council members said the GIS request is similar to past years and has not substantially changed since 2018. Speaker 9, who outlined the study, said it will examine each participating department's databases and software to see whether existing systems can be leveraged and to measure actual usage to determine fair contributions: "Right now, there's at least 7 different departments that utilize the GIS software" (Speaker 9). Speaker 7 told the council reassessment and other funds could be used to pay for the initial study and Mike (auditor/staff) indicated reassessment funds may not require a formal appropriation for the preliminary work.
Why it matters: council members said equitable cost-sharing could reduce pressure on the general fund and produce clearer reporting of what each department spends on GIS services. Several speakers stressed that some funds (for example, 9-1-1) cannot be used for salaries but could pay for hardware or licensing, so the study will clarify which costs each fund can legally cover.
Council members discussed governance for the GIS service. Speaker 3 proposed creating a board to represent all participating departments, and the council agreed the board should be established before year-end so all users are represented. Auditor and staff cautioned that splitting salaries across many department accounts is administratively difficult; contracting or keeping salary in a single account while charging other departments for non-salary costs was floated as a practical approach.
What comes next: staff will convene participating departments, complete the usage inventory and cost study, and return with a recommended allocation and governance structure for council approval.
