LANCASTER — The city will continue to use Environmental Systems Research Institutes’s GIS (geographic information systems) technology for the next three years under an agreement approved by the City Council at the Dec. 14 meeting.
Lancaster has used the company’s GIS technology platform to support essential functions and operations such as viewing and researching important real property information, including parcel boundary, ownership, zoning and land use, according to a staff report by Director of Finance George Harris.
In addition, the city has used the technology for an inventory of assets for water, sewer, storm drain, telecommunication, and road and sidewalk improvements. The company’s GIS technology has also been used to support Lancaster’s land management and work order systems with GIS data. Additionally, the technology has been used by the city to create maps and other visualizations needed to communicate location information for capital improvement projects, special events and land use change.
According to the Small Government Enterprise Agreement, the city will pay the company $110,000 for year one, $155,000 for year two, and $165,000 for year three.
The agreement offers virtually uncapped access to the company’s multi-faceted GIS platform, which includes powerful desktop software, mobile device applications, on-premises server software and cloud-based infrastructure, according to the report.
The new three-year agreement will help maintain the city’s existing GIS infrastructure and will increase access across the city to a variety of products allowing every employee to be a GIS user..
“(Environmental Systems Research Institute)’s Small Government ELA will provide the City with numerous benefits that outweigh the fiscal impact,” the report said.