The Village has had a Geographic Information System (GIS) in place for several years. GIS is computer hardware, software, and geographic data used for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information such as street addresses, sewer and water utilities, zoning and land use, tree inventory, bike paths, school districts and boundaries.

Earlier this year, the Village’s GIS Manager retired. Staff took the opportunity to review the current use of GIS in the Village to determine what might be necessary to meet current and future needs.

We learned that GIS is a very specialized area and that it is necessary to have highly trained and diversified staff to keep pace with rapidly changing systems and capabilities. We also learned that, while the Village has a mature GIS, it had become stagnant and not all departments were aware of the GIS program or capabilities. Finally, we learned that the Village’s GIS data was sometimes insufficient or not within proper formats for consultants and others working with our data. Therefore, the benefits of GIS were not being utilized to their maximum potential. We established a goal of moving toward more advanced data analysis and mapping solutions throughout the organization.

Three options were considered for moving forward with GIS. The first option was to keep the status quo and replace the GIS Manager. We felt that this option was too limiting. By hiring only one person, we lose the ability to have a variety of experts available to address different needs. Additionally, because of the size of our community, the amount of information is so large that it is more than one person can manage. The goal identified was to move away from a “maintenance only” GIS program and to have the resources available to enhance the Village’s GIS data to be used correctly and to its fullest capabilities.

A second option was to expand the staffing level in the GIS Division. In order to move the Village’s GIS program forward, at least two full-time employees would be needed, if not an additional part-time person as well. This would be significantly more costly than the first option and more costly than the outsourcing program evaluated below. Adding to the employee headcount does not seem to be the most effective means of achieving the outcomes needed for the organization.

The third option was to look at outsourcing the GIS function. We talked to members of the Geographic Information System Consortium (GISC). GISC is an organization of Chicago-area communities that share a common goal of optimizing the value of geographic information systems. It is a Shared Services Model, meaning members are unified by the ability to share resources, information, staffing, and technology, as well as identifying opportunities for minimizing costs and risks. It was created in 1999, when the municipalities of Highland Park, Glencoe, Lincolnshire, and Park Ridge formed the consortium to share the services and resources of GIS in order to combine staffing and reduce expenses. Currently, there are 33 members of the GIS Consortium from throughout Cook, Lake, McHenry, DuPage, and Will Counties.

The foundation of GISC is its innovative staffing approach. Since GIS is an information technology that requires multiple skills, specialized staffing is key to success. However, specialized staffing can be costly. GISC outsources staffing, which allows any community, regardless of size, to gain access to the necessary staffing resources—with competitive rates negotiated through GISC’s collective bargaining power.

At its onset, GISC partnered with Municipal GIS Partners, Inc. (MGP) to provide GIS services to the consortium members. MGP’s sole client is the consortium and it provides the necessary staff (GIS Manager, Developer/Business Analyst, Platform Administrator, Client Account Managers, Analysts, and various GIS Specialists) that can be shared between each community to achieve implementation goals. By sharing these resources, the group created a cost effective way to establish, implement, and sustain GIS programs in each community. Further, they are able to reduce hardware/software costs by using their collective purchasing power to obtain aggressive pricing. 

In addition to MGP providing onsite staff, the Village would benefit from the ability to use the intellectual property that has been developed through the consortium. Sharing applications created for one community with a group of governmental entities having similar interests creates a great benefit to all members of the consortium. Additionally, this model would also allow the Village to quickly and seamlessly engage more staffing (as identified above) on a short-term basis for major projects as needed, have access to higher-level expertise when engaging in long-term planning, and have no loss in service if staff turnovers occurs. The GISC board routinely identifies opportunities where cost and operational efficiencies can be improved by the organization. Once these improvements are identified, the members cooperatively develop the solution.

Additional benefits of joining GISC are:

• Improvements in efficiency that are available from a standard, centralized GIS model;
• Ability to capitalize on shared solutions developed through GISC to accelerate project outcomes that are standard and already available;
• Enhance decision making by bringing GIS data together with data from other systems;
• Improve access to information for residents, businesses, and customers by providing more relevant content online;
• Increase the value and power of Arlington Heights data by employing processes and governance that insure data quality.

Village Staff have worked with GISC in the past and have been impressed with this model and its dedication to smart solutions and innovation. In addition, the service provider, MGP, is well respected, extremely qualified, and a leader in the GIS field.  Member communities provided positive feedback about the consortium and MGP and showed enthusiasm for Arlington Heights joining the consortium.

Each member adopts an agreement to join GISC and then another agreement with MGP for the staffing resources. Upon joining, there is a one-time membership fee due to GISC. The membership fee allows the Village to benefit from past expenditures by the consortium related to intellectual property. The amount of the membership fee is based on the size of the municipality and the amount of staffing necessary to meet the municipality’s needs. In consultation with GISC, we anticipate the Village would have a 100% allocation, meaning GIS Staff from MGP would be working in Village Hall five days a week. With the 100% allocation, the cost for the Village to join the GISC would be $20,000. The Village has the right to terminate its membership in GISC at any point in the future with the provision of six months’ notice.

Costs for MGP are negotiated by GISC. In order to determine savings and compare costs, GISC calculated what the Village’s cost for MGP would have been if the Village was a member of the consortium for all of 2017. That amount would have been $194,406. The earliest membership date for the Village in GISC is September 1, so the Village’s cost for MGP 2017 would be one-third of that amount or approximately $64,802. For Fiscal Year 2017, we had budgeted $191,600 for GIS staffing. As a result of the retirement of the GIS Manager as well as the fact that we did not fill the GIS Intern position, there is $134,900 remaining in the 2017 GIS budget for personnel costs, which will easily cover the cost for MGP for this fiscal year.

For MGP cost purposes, the GISC board annually determines the rate increase for MGP. Pursuant to the contract with MGP, that increase cannot be more than 3%. For 2018, GISC board just established the rate increase at 2.2%. Therefore, for 2018, the Village cost for MGP would be $198,893. If instead, the Village went with the first option (status quo) described earlier, the anticipated budget costs for GIS staffing would be $197,802.

For the next three years, using the highest increase possible, the estimated costs for MGP are as follows:

          2019   $204,860

          2020   $211,005

          2021   $217,336

Typically, there may be other costs associated with implementing new GIS features, including hardware and software purchases and licenses. However, the Village has already invested in various GIS software, maintenance and licenses. Ultimately, we believe we will reduce costs in these areas by eliminating certain renewals and using a GISC recommended “remote access service model” that allows the Village to keep its investment in hardware and software to a minimum by sharing these assets across the GISC membership.

Recommendation