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Home My WebLink About0299.094.-: .... '. o BUDGET 94-95 May 26. 1994 TilE HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL Palo Alto, California Attention: Finance Committee Ge.Qg~~InfQmat ion System--R.e.1W.o.ns..e. Membel.'s of the. Council ~ Di..e,CUflSioo Following are l"eSpOnses to questions raised at the Finance Committee on Hay 12, 1994, regarding the Geographic Information System {GIS). 1. What has been budgeted c?Jld spent on GIS? The total amount budgeted for GIS from FY 1987-88 through FY 1993-94 is $2,060 i 750. An additional $319,000 is recommended for FY 199~-95 to complete building the basic system. Future projected expenses beyond FY 1994-95 are for needed system enhancements and include $701, 000 for GIS applications. 'i'otal GIS expenditu:r:es and enculY'ln-ances an of April 30 i 1994 are $1, 932i 733. Budgeted and actual expenses include both the General and Utilities Funds. 2. What benefits do citizens receive as a consequence of GIS? Typical of the major benefits are: A. Cut'rent Benefit.s of GI$ All utilities projects 3)"e designed and drafted using the GIS system. Because this is done through an automated system rather than manually at a desk or in the field, plans and specifications can be prepared mOl.·e quickly at a lower cost with less chance for errOl"S and omissions. As a Tesult, the overall <:ost of providing new utility infrastructure to the community ie minimized. -1- " // i : . r I o The interi.TI base map iB currently being used to idenU,fy and then «void potential conflicts between planned utility, public works and priva'te sector projects. In[rastl'ucture replacement projects' can 00 packaged, thereby reducing street disruptions to citizens. The GIS has been used in the preparation of nearly all the oxhibitf.J for the Compl-ehensive Plan update, 'fhese exhibits have allowed the CompJ::eheoeive Plan Advisory Committee to mak.e decisions based on more meaningful and accuxatc information. The m~ps contained in the exhibits will aid in making the Comprehensive Plan document more understandable to citizens. The aet: ial photoqraphy used ir:. the creat ion of the GIS basemap was the basis fox determining the impcl-meabl c areas of non-residential properties in the City. This information is necessary to establish monthly stol"m drainage fees. Without thlG tool, other more costly means would have been necessary. Avoidance of this cost results in more funds for storm drainage improvements, \llhich dh.-ectly bCL)eCit the citi zens. B. h'iture Benefit-.R of GIS Suilding the Geogr.aphic Information System is not unlike building oth"3l: types of infrastructure. An initial investment must be made before the benefits can be realized. The City's investment in its information infrastructure must be made before the full potential benefits of GIS can be recognized. Follmling are examples of the benefits planned and expected from the GeOgraphic Information System: Use of GIS will allow all departments of the City to provide better customer service. As examples, the Planning Department will be able to quickly generate mailing labels for public noticing requirements; <'lnd the Public Works Department will be able to provide more timely infrastruc"ture - 2 - " ~ . information. to homeowners and developers, in .a form that is accm:ate and canily understandable. OIS Permit Tracking will allow 9l"Catly improved coordination of developinent l-eview8, and tl"acking of project p,togres8 once pel-mils .ore issued. Citli-WllS will benefit by experiencing: more efficient revie''';s and inspectiOJl9. GIS applications will provide ,enhanced eme:t.-gency and maintenanco setvice to citizens. As ex.amplcs, 01S wi 11 ~ abl~ to ident i fy the shol-test route between t,'o(O Qr more points for a Fin~ or Pol ice Dcpal"t",ent H!sponse to a citizen's 911 call. Nei9hborhood disruptions will b~ rnil1imiz(!d~ as o,pti~t'lol l"¢-utes lOl-sU:cet -s .... -eepi,ng and gdrbage pickup aTC idcllti f led ""lUI the least amount of back-tracking. Incident napping .... ·i II a 11 ow invest igaton.l to identi f}' trt!l')ds in edrr.inal act ivity and ilr'lpl-OVe their «bil ity to solve cl-jrr-C's j n neighborhoods. Net'Work t:rac.iny ~.-ill help utilities .... ·orkers to quickly identit)· thf.! correct valves to close for containing a water or gas leak, tlwr~by red\lcing inc(;mvenience and polel\ti~1l dcmger to citiz.ens. It will also a11o..... hc.z.a.-dou5 material teams to idenlify tho So\u-ce of i'I toxic spill into a creek_ The GIS baselMp will en •• ble the Police Department's Co:nputar-J\ided 01SPltch system 'to be implemented more quicl<ly and econo,'1lically~ pk-oviding valuable g.raphic and addr~e81n9 Informfltion. • Enhancing existing. ___ Dat.ilb"lses Many existing cO<I!pute-r datab.1ses/programs, which indirectly serve the community. will benefit greatl}' ft'om integration "'-it.h OIS. -rlu,: ability to perform incrcaned analysis .. based on location, with graphical displaya will add tremendous value to these progTamo. 1\8 an example. members of the City's Tree Task Force and the Arborist are ",·or.king on integrating the Tree M(lJlagement System with GIS. This will provide em .1.CCurate graphical inventory of the urban fOl'e.9t. thercby enhancing the rnaint~nance ann rep) acement". pl.-ogram to the Community. -3 • \ 3. The Pavement ~!aintcnance Management System and Storm Drainage Management Systeil1 are also plcumcd to be integrated into the GIS sy&t<cm. This wi 11 provide accurate and timely ill format ion. in responding to citizen Jr.quirics on flood ZOlle9~ drive,W'ay l"eplacements. etc. In -summary, there is virtually no limit to the mHnhet' of ",'.:\ys that the Gec-graphl~ Infoxmat1on System C.1n be applied to the task of sel-ving the citizen.<=:: of Palo Alto. Just as the personal computer has gone fro.."T'l being a technological curiosity to being a basic business tool. so will OIS bec~~~ an integral part of the City stafflo effort to .aet:'Io the community more efficiently and economically. How dees the City's GIS program c01:'1pare to other jUl."iedictiolls? Due to the \miquenesB of Palo Alto. it is not possiblo to identify a truly cornparablf': jm."isdiction with r·c.spect to GIS. Unlike other jurisdictions. Palo Alto o .... 'ns .<lnd z.."pel'atC!J a ga.6, electric and watel" utility. in additio:'l to the stan.d<il.:d wastewater and storm dl:·ainage syBterns. This lBoults in the need to map a larger volume of inft·astl"\lctun~· datal-ls. Secondly~ t.he infrastl:·uctul-e is mapped to .1 (]n:!dte:t: ac.:cur,'cy in GIS than in other agencies. Dm·in9 the dc\'clop,,,ent of the GIS project, accuracy was identified as a ct·itical attl"i'butc in order to accommodate the design rcquirc,,;cnts for an accelerated util ity infl-astructu:re repl<1Cemenl pl.-ogr.u.1. In researching the issue. staff found the follo .... ·ing fOUL· jurisdictions in the Bay Area that had substanti.:~lly cOfTIpleted GIS Systems: City of San Jose East Bay rtfunicipal Utilities PG « B Midas Project Contra Costa county $7,000.000 $3,100,000 $5,950,000 $1,500,000 It flhould be pointed out the costs 1 isted above do not include the in-house labor for placing map data L)to the computer. (This task was performed by contract for Palo Alto's GIS System development and is included in the total budget.) Also, none of the above agem:ies has a GIS System which has mapped five utilities, at an accul'acy which would accommodate design req""Uiremente. Their maps aloe at lfiore th<ln twice th~ Bcale of Palo Alto's and are useful only (or planning and maintenance purpose.s. Staff estimat.ca that costs listed above would need to be increased by 30 to 40 percent in order to obtain the map accuracy necessary for design. -4- ; .-~.~ .. '[ : .. 1.\ " QJ Respectfully submitted l IJ::~~¥~ lli.7!flPbliC GLENN S. ROBERTS Directol' of Poblic Works Ci ty Manager ,0., •• , \ , Works -5- ....