Let there be free GIS.
In an effort to make the information that serves as the basis for foreclosure maps, poverty maps and other forms of data-based mapping more accessible to the masses, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday voted to lift the price tag and distribute county GIS data without fees or user licenses.
The seven-member board voted unanimously to support the measure, making Ramsey County the first in the state to give its GIS — or geographic system information — data away free. With other metro counties likely to do the same in short order, however, county officials said Minnesota is once again leading the way in making public resources more publicly available.
The county will still charge buyers for customized maps, applications and analysis based on GIS data, but the data itself will soon be available off the county website for downloading free of charge. The county’s Department of Information Services will coordinate with counties, cities and government agencies “to simplify and consolidate access to public GIS data,” according to the board resolution and staff report.
GIS information is frequently used by public agencies, academics, advocacy groups and businesses to map trends and locations of everything from foreclosures to earthquake hazards. Prosecutors can use GIS data to determine if a drug-related arrest is within 1,000 feet of a school, which might carry additional penalties, and meteorologists can use the data to show and predict the paths of hurricanes.
County officials figured they weren’t making much money off the sale of GIS information anyway, and fees were doing more to discourage the public from accessing the data rather than “maximizing the value of a publicly funded asset,” according to the staff report.
“We’re the first to do this,” said Ramsey County Board Chair Jim McDonough. “My office was contacted about a year ago by one of our district councils and one of our (Community Development Corporations). They decided they wanted to do some tracking of foreclosure homes, and they just couldn’t do it. They had limited funds, mostly government money, and it just didn’t make sense to be transferring government money from one place to another.”
County officials projected Ramsey County would otherwise receive $3,000 for the information in 2014, a “relatively insignificant” sum that they are confident can be absorbed within the county budget.
In October, the MetroGIS Policy Board passed a resolution supporting “free and open public GIS data,” and followed up in November with a letter to Ramsey County encouraging it to do likewise. Other counties are expected to look at their GIS fee structures in the weeks ahead.
Managers from the two Ramsey County departments that rely most heavily on GIS data, Public Works, and Property Records and Revenue, were supportive of the resolution. The staff report notes that while there may be several methods eventually implemented for data access, the first and most simple would be accomplished by making a downloadable GIS file accessible through a link on the Ramsey County website.
Ramsey County established its fee schedule for GIS data in 1989. Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt, the county’s representative to the MetroGIS Policy Board since it began in 1997, said counties spent years trying to make their GIS fees uniform, only to realize free was the way to go. Some discussions centered on legal liabilities if the data were to be misused, as well as reassuring officials that private information was not being released.
“In 1997, the GIS data that was available — it’s like going into the stone ages compared to where we are today,” said Reinhardt, who previously chaired the MetroGIS board. “It’s not about the revenue. It’s about making sure people have access to public data.”
Hennepin County passed a similar resolution Tuesday. Hennepin County staff will spend the next few weeks exploring how best to make the information available to the public, as well as any security features or legal disclaimers that may be needed.
“They’ll have to iron out the exact ‘how’ details,” said Kayla Bromelkamp, a spokeswoman with Hennepin County.
In Ramsey County, “the plan is to have the link up on our website by the end of this week,” Reinhardt said.
Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo.
