DECEMBER 3, 2024 |

Photo – Tax District map of Carbon County – Courtesy carboncountywy.gov

County officials discuss what is needed in a new Geographic Information System.

GIS maps are an essential tool to keep track of just about every aspect of the county, including the locations of roads, sewers, and houses.

During the November 19th Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting, Chairwoman Sue Jones said the commission is considering hiring a new GIS provider. The owner of Greenwood Mapping, the county’s current GIS company, has retired, and the county is dissatisfied with the arrangements made by his successors.

Before submitting a request for proposal for a new mapping company, Chairwoman Jones asked the gathered department heads to explain what they need from a GIS provider.

Sheriff Alex Bakken said his officers need accurate maps to effectively respond to emergency calls. The sheriff said whatever GIS provider the county chooses must be able to integrate with his existing systems.

In April, the sheriff’s office partnered with the Rawlins Police Department to have Motorola, the communications company, automatically update the GIS maps used by law enforcement officers, known as Spillman. The initial cost of the program was $52,464, split evenly between the county and the city of Rawlins. Because of the agreement, Sheriff Bakken said any proposed GIS company must be able to provide its information to Motorola, which will then update the Spillman maps.

County IT Director Matt Webster explained that the sheriff’s office must work with Motorola to remain in compliance with emergency 911 regulations. Webster said the county is paying the communications company to update the maps and suggested having the proposed GIS provider perform that duty instead.

Sheriff Bakken relies on Motorola to update the GIS maps. The sheriff said if the county’s own GIS provider takes over that responsibility, the Rawlins Police Department may not continue to split the cost.

IT Director Webster said he believes that having multiple companies update the county’s GIS maps increases the likelihood of errors. Sheriff Bakken asked if, under the current agreement, having a single county-wide GIS provider will give the Rawlins Police Department free map updates.

Commission Chairwoman Jones asked Sheriff Bakken how he would like to proceed with the search for a new county GIS provider. The sheriff replied that, because of the current agreement with the Rawlins Police Department, he prefers to exclusively use Motorola for his mapping services.

For this reason, Sheriff Bakken said he has been pursuing a combined, county-wide emergency dispatch center. A single dispatch agency would be responsible for paying for its own map updates.

The commission chairwoman asked the Sheriff if he would like to have his department excluded from any future GIS contracts. The sheriff said no, he just needs the GIS provider to agree to send updates to Motorola.

The board agreed to include a requirement to work with Motorola in its request for a new Geographic Information System provider.

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