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Franklin County approves process for limited GIS licenses after public questions about WSP access
Summary
After an extended public-comment period, the Franklin County Commission approved a commission order establishing the process and fees for limited GIS data licenses — residents pressed for clarity about what WSP would use the county's GIS files for and whether the public could review agreements in advance.
The Franklin County Commission voted to approve commission order 2026-201, a process that sets fees and conditions for limited licenses to the county's GIS database after public comment raised concerns about transparency and potential commercial uses.
Residents repeatedly asked what WSP would do with the GIS files and whether the county had asked the company for project-specific uses. Anne Hayden asked, “What can WSP do for the residents of Franklin County? What are they going to do with this GIS data?” Staff and commissioners said the order approves the licensing process and fee structure rather than a contract with a specific company.
County staff explained that the GIS parcel layer contains property ownership from vesting documents, acreage where available, abbreviated legal descriptions, parcel IDs and owner mailing addresses, and that publicly viewable maps remain free. A GIS technician said, “All of the data that we provide… is on our GIS map that is open to the public,” and that the county sends shape files to requestors who pay for the prepared format.
Officials reiterated that the information is public under state law and that the county charges to prepare and deliver data in certain formats. Staff cited the state statute number that governs records access, saying, “The statute is 67.1850.” The order also sets a $494.10 baseline fee for a licensee to receive prepared data copies, according to comments made during the meeting.
Supporters of greater transparency urged the commission to post cooperative and limited-license agreements alongside agendas so residents can review attachments before meetings; staff said website ADA-compliance issues have limited direct linking but that a copy can be made available on request and staff have used a separate Dropbox when necessary.
The commission’s approval authorized the process and fee structure; commissioners said they were not approving a particular external request for data access. The measure passed by voice vote following motion and second, after which commissioners moved through several other agenda items.
