Dane County mapping software updated, available to public

Dane County is updating its geographic mapping and planning software after nearly 15 years of use, according to Diann Danielsen, manager of the county's Land Information Office.

The software is called GIS, or a geographic information system, and it allows users to selectively view a large amount of map data, including property ownership and environmental information.

The new system is available through the Web.

"In that sense, GIS is on the desktop of every county employee," Danielsen said. "As budgets tighten up ... technology is one of those things that can help you continue to deliver services to the public."

The public can also access parts of the system — including the newly added property information — through Access Dane. In addition to resource management, geographic data is important to wireless phone providers, who need to be able to determine the location of a phone's signal when it calls 911.

The new system uses the same vendor — ESRI — but takes advantage of the latest ArcGIS 9 software.

GeoAnalytics, a Madison-based GIS consulting firm, has been working with the county for several years now to modernize the system, said Carol Miller, a company spokesperson.

The numeric data is updated nightly, Danielsen said, and property lines are updated monthly — a figure the county would like to improve, but which is already much better than many systems.