The Stark County GIS
Strategic Plan Mapping the path forward
225 4th St NE Canton, OH 44702
p. (330) 451-7193
[email protected] starkcountyohio.gov/auditor-gis
Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary ............................................................................................... 3
Objectives
Mission Statement
Keys to Success
II. Stark County GIS Organizational Context ........................................................... 4
Background
Staff and Resources
Products and Services
GIS Steering Committee
SWOT Analysis
III. Path Forward ......................................................................................................... 8
ArcGIS Server Infrastructure Administration and Migration
Database Administration
Data and Metadata Standards
Solution Development
Local Government Package
GIS within Cities
Trends in GIS
Outreach, Education, and Training
Conclusion
IV. Offices .................................................................................................................. 20
Stark County Auditor
Stark County EMA
Stark County Engineer
Stark County Health Department
Stark County Parks Department
Stark County Regional Planning Commission
Stark County Sanitary Engineer
City of Alliance
City of Canal Fulton
City of Canton
City of Louisville
City of Massillon
City of North Canton
V. Appendices .......................................................................................................... 26
Appendix A: Security Procedure
Appendix B: ArcGIS Server Migration Procedure
Appendix C: Schema Change Procedure
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 3
Executive Summary
Objectives
The Stark County Geographic Information System (GIS) Department has continually been driven by the collective
needs of entities and agencies it serves. To effectively support all variations of local government within the county, Stark
County GIS (SCGIS) must engage in perpetual assessment of GIS as a field. With that, SCGIS has come to agree with
the general consensus that there is only one constant in technology; change. A common culprit of agencies becoming
stuck in a “the way it has always been” mentality is foundational fragility. SCGIS’s foundation has been built upon a
centralized data store that feeds multiple departments throughout the county. With a well-structured, centralized core,
Stark County GIS is able to take advantage of the latest and greatest technology while ensuring little to no overhead for
each agency within the county. Not only is the need for additional licenses and hardware reduced, but the time and
effort involved in maintaining data is also reduced, benefitting all of the departments involved. More importantly,
benefitting Stark County’s constituents.
The primary benefits of such an architecture are bountiful. If executed properly, it results in drastic improvements of
workflows that oftentimes have not been reassessed for a decade, if not longer. Throughout this document, many facets
of SCGIS will be highlighted, the overall purpose being a well-established vision and clearly defined objectives for the
next few years. To best serve the people, SCGIS must continually reassess existing and emerging business practices. The
results of this reassessment are what will be called the four pillars of Stark County GIS; a core set of services provided to
GIS professionals and users throughout the county: database/server administration, architecture/infrastructure
administration, solution development, and data organization/dissemination.
Mission Statement
To revolutionize County GIS, in a quest to serve the residents of Stark County, through pursuing innovative concepts in
the field of GIS and continually improving interdepartmental collaboration.
Keys to Success
While funded by the Stark County Auditor's Office, the Stark County GIS Department strives to be a countywide,
service-driven resource of geographic information for Stark County. SCGIS provides spatial data and solutions, which
enable county citizens and local government partners to carry out their business purposes.
Stark County GIS aims to create flexible data standards, facilitate and maximize data sharing and integration, enhance
mapping services, eliminate redundant mapping activities, and continue to improve the quality and accuracy of
geographic data. SCGIS collects and disseminates geographic data created throughout the county and encourages Stark
County's townships, cities, villages, and local agencies to contribute to the development and utilization of data to be
added to the geographic information system.
GIS supports applications such as emergency dispatch, emergency management and homeland security, land planning,
property appraisal, civil engineering, natural resource monitoring, transportation planning, monitoring crime and
accidents, public health and environmental analysis, economic development, census analysis, and much more. Nearly all
governmental functions are associated with managing information about specific locations or geographic areas that can
be driven by GIS.
It is important to note that GIS provides accurate digital base maps, allowing different layers to be created, displayed,
and/or queried. This in turn, allows GIS users to lower their expenses by improving productivity. The majority of the
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 4
benefits in Stark County will stem from the use of three base layers: parcels, streets, and addresses. Within the GIS local
government community, the parcel layer is often chosen as the base layer due to the complete coverage of the land’s
surface. With the parcel layer being the standard for determining who owns a property, ensuring that all local
government offices have the ability to keep their internal parcel numbers up to date is of the utmost importance. To
tackle the county’s unmet potential with GIS, a more strategic approach to long-term GIS success and sustainability is
needed. This Plan provides organizational context and lays out a path forward.
Some specific efficiencies of using GIS include:
Reduction or elimination of redundant activities: e.g., map maintenance, data sharing, and analysis
Quick retrieval of geographic information and other research materials
Efficiencies in current practices - benefits of labor savings for mapping, collecting, verifying, reconciling, and using or analyzing geographically related data
Cost-avoidance decision-making - benefits of accessible data to foresee field conflicts, schedule maintenance, and especially in the way of pre-planning
Risk reduction for loss of records and savings from efficient planning and execution of emergency response
Stark County GIS Organizational Context
Background
The Stark County GIS Department was formed in 2000 to develop accurate, digital base mapping. Stark County GIS has
been fortunate enough to have positive direction in recent history. Those in charge have continually been interested in
obtaining a high return on investment, and the current iteration of Stark County’s GIS Department has reaped the
benefits of the path previously laid. When discussing the current status of the department, leaving out historical context
would be a disservice to those who did so much to get SCGIS where it is today.
Originally, the GIS Department carried out the responsibilities of a Tax Map Department. The focus was primarily on
parcel maintenance and creation for the Auditor’s real estate responsibilities. One unique feature to Stark County is that
the tax map and respective land parcels are maintained by the Auditor. This helps streamline the parcel maintenance and
creation; wherein other counties, the task is commonly maintained by the County Engineer.
While a persistent goal of the Stark County Auditor’s GIS Department was to further the reach of GIS in the county, the
vision was not fully realized until the Auditor invested in Esri’s ArcGIS Server (December, 2009). Prior to the County’s
ArcGIS Server infrastructure investment, the cost to maintain data, both internally and in the field, was much more cost-
prohibitive. It was also more time-intensive to disseminate data. Once the infrastructure was in place, the need for GIS
in differing levels of government became even more apparent. Due to this need, there became a clear separation of
duties within the Auditor’s GIS Department.
In 2014, it was determined that Stark County needed a more robust GIS Department. This need brought about a
restructure of the existing GIS Department, into two departments. One would become the Auditor’s Tax Map
Department. They would focus on the maintenance and creation of the GIS tax map, for parcel tax information inside
the Auditor’s Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) system. The second would become the Stark County GIS
Department. While this department is still overseen by the Stark County Auditor, it is now housed within the Stark
County Information and Technology Department. This new rendition of the Stark County GIS Department can now
focus on GIS for the entire county, as opposed to GIS for an individual office.
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 5
Staff and Resources
Prior to the split, the Stark County Auditor’s GIS Department was made up of eight staff-members. Five members
focused on parcel maintenance and creation, while three members took on growing roles in GIS support for many local
government agencies. Those three staff-members continued into the new GIS department: the Stark County GIS
Department. The timing of the split ideally coincided with the rapid growth of web GIS. The staff was eager to produce
content and supply solutions, directing focus towards developing GIS wherever there was a need. This project-driven
mentality generated a lot of content, with little time to execute proper follow-through post-deployment. This exponential
growth of content and services, lead SCGIS to quickly become understaffed. The time originally devoted to content
creation was being diverted towards ensuring the GIS environment was up and running and responding to break-fixes.
The GIS Department observed four primary functions which the team continually provided to local government
agencies: database/server administration, architecture/infrastructure administration, solution development, and data
organization/dissemination. These are the four pillars that support Stark County GIS’s adoption and enhancement
within the county. In order to sustain the GIS infrastructure that had been built, SCGIS would need to add additional
team members. The GIS Department has since grown to five staff-members: GIS Director, Senior GIS Systems Analyst,
GIS Analyst, and two GIS Technicians. The currently assembled team will be able to support continued integration of
GIS within the county, while supplying the same level of service instilled to partnering agencies.
Products and Services
SCGIS offers a wide assortment of products and services available to local government agencies and residents of Stark
County. SCGIS utilizes a Spatial Database Engine (SDE) enterprise database system to create a central repository of
spatial data. This enterprise database system is used to assist county and city departments with the maintenance of their
data. County and city departments store and edit their data within that enterprise database. In conjuncture to the
enterprise system, SCGIS utilizes ArcGIS Server to provide data and ArcGIS map services that can be accessed through
the internet. With ArcGIS Server, data can be published to meet varying needs. ArcGIS Online is utilized by the Stark
County GIS Department to manage and create web applications and maps to be used by local government agencies and
the public.
GIS Director
GIS Technician GIS Technician
Senior GIS Systems Analyst GIS Analyst
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 6
The GIS Department has many applications on the web that are accessible to the public, including a Property Viewer
that shows parcel boundaries and owner information and a Parcel History Viewer that allows users to enter historical
parcel numbers to retrieve the current parcel number. Other web applications are created by SCGIS for county
departments and cities in Stark County to use. The Stark County GIS Department also has multiple resources for data to
be downloaded through the web. The Open Data Portal allows users to browse datasets curated by the GIS
Department, which can be easily downloaded as a spreadsheet, shapefile, or KML. Additionally, data is available through
a GIS Data Downloads page hosted by Digital Data Technologies Inc. (DDTi) and a Historical Files Download
application.
GIS Steering Committee
Over the years, the GIS Department has had multiple iterations of a governing body for GIS within the county. This
governing body has always been a beneficial method of ensuring transparency while maintaining communication with all
involved parties on a recurring basis. The most recent iteration of the county-wide, governing body for GIS has been
dubbed the GIS Steering Committee. This committee meets on a triannual basis, with representatives from multiple
county departments and cities within the county. The purpose of the committee is to serve as the primary decision-
making body to establish and implement GIS policies and standards. The committee takes into account needs and
resources while seeking multilateral input, participation, and support in setting priorities and working through timelines.
SWOT Analysis
In order to objectively assess where SCGIS succeeds and where it falls short, an analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats was conducted. To effectively navigate the department’s future, the team had to dissect how
it currently operates. While this opened the door to scrutiny, it also became one of the more fruitful exercises on
determining how to plan for the future of the department. The results of this exercise played a significant role in
determining SCGIS’s path forward. It was a simple and effective way to develop smart strategies for evolving the
department and remaining in a position to be as dynamic as the field of GIS.
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
SWOT Analysis
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 7
Strengths
Competent GIS Department with great problem solving skills and a desire to utilize an enterprise environment to
continually innovate and integrate government practices
Newly modified GIS infrastructure that has the capacity to continue serving a large enterprise while allowing room for
growth
Part of a county eager to collaborate, with continued support from executives
Well-organized GIS data disaster recovery plan
Many GIS datasets available for the public to download at all times via the Open Data portal
Well informed about GIS best practices with an eagerness to adhere to industry standards
Currently utilizes replication in order to efficiently keep data up to date while ensuring little down time when changes
need made
Have a highly accurate parcel layer redrawn to line up with the county’s geodetic controls and survey monuments
With the recent decision to move Stark County GIS into the IT Department, SCGIS became well-aligned with IT’s
directive, and in turn accrued more technical staff to help with the GIS environment
Weaknesses
Inadequate documentation and standards throughout the Geographic Information System
Lack of clearly defined Return on Investment (ROI)
Redundancy of datasets and GIS services provided for various departments
Inconsistency with simplicity and intuitiveness within organization’s maps, apps and items
Disconnect between resources available and the public’s knowledge of those resources
Lack of Service Level Agreements (SLA) to clearly define expectations
Deficiency of scheduled audits
Insufficient follow through with deployed solutions
Tendency to rely on individual strengths rather than cross-training team members
Opportunities
Demonstrate the adaptability of maps and apps to meet the consumer shift to mobile devices
Given the executive level support, Stark County GIS could continue attending GIS conferences and training courses,
which will continually engage the staff in latest releases and new trends
Take advantage of available data sharing opportunities, i.e. Esri Community Maps, WAZE, data.gov to further
incorporate our data into nationally used datasets
Continue to improve and expand the use of GIS within Stark County
Incorporate Esri’s latest product offerings into local government workflows, i.e. Workforce, Operations Dashboard,
ArcGIS Pro, Local Government Information Model (LGIM)
Increase collaboration with other GIS entities in the state
Threats
Migrating focus from “creating” to “maintaining” might result in poor reception from peers in the GIS community
Pressure to support multiple GIS platforms of different business systems
Potential of overlooking how products and services benefit the public while pursuing innovative solutions for county
departments
As seen from the SWOT analysis above, Stark County GIS has identified many focus points to address in its
organization to more efficiently provide GIS to Stark County. Identifying strengths, affords SCGIS with the ability to
adequately combat its weaknesses, and consequently, formulate a path forward for its organization: one that accounts for
its shortcomings while continually striving to improve how it approaches and implements GIS solutions for a County
Government.
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 8
Path Forward
GIS as a field, has undergone an immense change within the past five years. Thankfully, ideal decisions have been made
enabling Stark County GIS to take advantage of the emerging technologies. With the Stark County Auditor investing in
ArcGIS Server and the subsequent release of ArcGIS Online, SCGIS was primed to take advantage of the recent
department split and migration to the Stark County IT Department. The immediate need for seamless workflows driven
by GIS was readily apparent. That need, combined with the eager staff, caused the server infrastructure to quickly grow
to its capacity. Within the past year, the Auditor has chosen again to invest in growing the existing ArcGIS
Infrastructure. SCGIS is approaching a massive migration from a legacy environment to a larger, more robust
environment which will improve the department’s existing support, while also paving the way for an even larger web-
presence.
Success has been driven by the central data repository, which is fundamentally SCGIS’s foundation. The establishment
of Stark County GIS as its own department allowed it to grow into what it is now. Now that GIS workflows have been
established within the County Auditor’s Office, the goal is to enable other agencies to reap the same benefits. As the
countywide GIS Department, the goal is to effect those same efficiencies within other county offices and local
government agencies. Seeing that GIS fundamentally performs best when it integrates multiple parts into a whole
system, the premise of the Stark County GIS Department’s path forward will be collaboration and integration.
ArcGIS Server Infrastructure Administration and Migration
The use of ArcGIS Server began in 2010 with the purchase of four cores of ArcGIS Server. This was purchased to allow
the Stark County GIS Department to supply data through the web for two applications. The first application was an
internal application that integrated with the CAMA system, called “Go To Map”. The second application was the
Pictometry Online Self-Hosted application, which was heavily used by the Stark County Auditor’s Appraisal Department
and given freely to other local government organizations to view Pictometry imagery with parcel and address data. From
2012 to 2013, the Stark County GIS Department began a new initiative to fully leverage the ArcGIS Server
infrastructure. Shortly thereafter, Esri began offering free ArcGIS Online subscriptions, based on existing Esri license
maintenance. ArcGIS Online is an Esri-hosted platform used to simplify and expand an organization’s ability to provide
GIS to the masses via internet based maps and applications. This server initiative expanded the GIS services Stark
County GIS could provide, which resulted in its department’s clientele quickly increasing. By 2015, the system reached
capacity, causing ArcGIS Server to slow to a halt. This setback was caused by lack of knowledge, lack of monitoring, and
exponential growth of services. The following year was dedicated to increasing the knowledge of staff, planning with
Esri, and working with the County IT staff to establish a sustainable system that would allow the Stark County GIS
Department to continue growing and serving the people of Stark County.
As a result of newly learned skills, Stark County GIS has designed a multi-tiered, clustered environment that will leverage
two load-balanced ArcGIS Servers, as well as two isolated ArcGIS Server environments. The Stark County IT staff has
set up a load-balancer to handle passing requests between the servers. SCGIS will also deploy staging environments
which will enable SCGIS to test services prior to publishing them into production. This change in workflow will ensure
that any services published will not negatively affect the system.
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 9
Security
In order to ensure the best experience for varying levels of security between county organizations, SCGIS took a long
look at the existing security practices in place. In observing recent changes implemented by prominent web-browsers,
SCGIS determined that it was in the county’s best interest to add a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to all GIS-related web
requests. To accomplish this feat, it was necessary to migrate from an HTTP environment to an HTTPS environment.
In doing so, the protocol over which data is sent between a client’s browser and a website, is encrypted. A key influencer
was that Esri highly encouraged utilizing HTTPS in applications and services. Furthermore, securely stored and delivered
information improves availability and reduces risks.
To see the procedure followed to make the security switch, please reference Appendix A.
Planned ArcGIS Server Infrastructure
Stark County GIS has embraced Esri’s best practices by setting up a new infrastructure utilizing a load-balanced
environment for view-only services and workload isolation for feature services and geoprocessing services. By embracing
this technology, Stark County GIS can deliver more sustainable services. The planned structure is shown below.
To read the detailed procedure for the migration, please see Appendix B.
WebAGS A1, WebAGS A2, and WebAGS AX: view-only map services and updated cache services
WebAGS B1 and WebAGS BX: feature services, static caches, and high-use views
WebAGS C1 and WebAGS CX: geoprocessing services, address locators, and print services
Planned ArcGIS Server Infrastructure
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 10
Continuous Monitoring
The final component of the ArcGIS Server administration is continuous monitoring of the ArcGIS Server infrastructure
and annual auditing of security, map services, ArcGIS licenses, web maps, and web applications. These audits will
provide Stark County GIS with necessary action items to ensure the GIS products that are deployed, are operating
optimally.
ArcGIS System Monitor has been implemented to monitor the ArcGIS Server infrastructure. This will allow Stark
County GIS to monitor:
Server Statistics: Random Access Memory (RAM), Central Processing Unit (CPU), disk space, and the use of
the page file
System Processes: ArcGIS Server, Arc Server Object Container (ArcSOC), and Javaw.exe
Site and Service Statistics: requests per second, busy-time per request, and free instances
User-loads and performance fluctuations
Web Application Statistics: uptime, response time, and response code
With the System Monitor in place, Stark County GIS will have a much better understanding of the system’s status, and
will be able to make more informed decisions.
In order to maintain a well-organized and secure system, a security audit will be run annually. An Esri-provided python
script will check ArcGIS Server for security protocols, and will generate a report of its findings. This report will inform
Stark County GIS if there are any settings, or services, that are compromising the ArcGIS Server system. With this
information, SCGIS will be able to make adjustments and adhere to Esri’s security best practices.
A collection of tools will be utilized to perform map service usage and tuning audits. First of which, will be a python
script that will audit each ArcGIS Server and list each map service and the number of instances in use. ArcGIS Excel
Report, a supplemental tool to the ArcGIS System Monitor, will also be employed. It consolidates the data gathered by
ArcGIS System Monitor and performs statistics on the data. The Excel Report Tool generates a spreadsheet to help
make more informed decisions, helping tune the map service instances based on usage and shows how frequently a map
service is being used. Based on those statistics, adjustments can be made to the number of instances a particular service
utilizes. Lastly, an audit will be performed on SCGIS’s ArcGIS Online organization that will generate customizable lists
of pertinent organizational information. After completing the audits, Stark County GIS will be able to make adjustments
to the map services to ensure they are running optimally.
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 11
To audit ArcGIS license usage, Stark County GIS has implemented a batch file to monitor the users and usage time of
ArcGIS licenses. This tool consolidates data gathered every fifteen minutes and generates a report. This report will be
used by Stark County GIS to provide necessary information needed to pursue purchasing additional ArcGIS licenses
based on usage.
The web map usage audit will be utilized to determine how often a web map is visited. These statistics can be gathered
from ArcGIS Online. The statistics will help evaluate continued usage of web maps, and allow the GIS team to
determine if changes need to be made or if the web map needs to be deprecated. The Stark County GIS team will also
utilize a python script that will generate a list of applications and list which web maps are a component of those
applications. A similar process will be put into place to monitor web applications.
Due to rapid advancements in technology, the solutions that SCGIS deploy need to be continually audited. Solution
templates deployed in 2014 have since been enhanced by Esri, and migration of the legacy deployment to the more
recent, more robust template is needed. Without undergoing a system-wide audit on a scheduled occurrence, deployed
solutions can become stale, and the county would not be receiving the greatest return on investment. In order to avoid a
situation of diminishing returns, the audit must become a staple within Stark County GIS.
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THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 12
Database Administration
The Stark County GIS Department is responsible for the creation, storage, and administration of SDE geodatabases in
Stark County government. In the fall of 2012, SCGIS worked with Bruce Harris and Associates to setup a SQL server to
support an SDE geodatabase. With the setup of SQL server, SCGIS then established a central repository to store all of
the GIS data in the county. In order to keep the GIS data up to date, Stark County GIS established replication between
the parent SDE geodatabase, where the data is maintained, and the child geodatabase that serves as the central
repository. The child geodatabase acts as the publication database for SCGIS (see below).
To see the procedure SCGIS follows to perform schema changes, please see Appendix C.
Once replication is established between the parent and child geodatabase, the schema of the two geodatabases must
remain identical. Any change in schema between the geodatabases will break their ability to synchronize data.
Enterprise Database Design
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 13
Data and Metadata Standards
Stark County’s GIS Department manages and/or hosts a large and diverse collection of spatially referenced data. The
many geodatabases that SCGIS now hosts have been heavily relied upon throughout the years to complete a vast
number of projects. Until recently, many entities within Stark County created, maintained, and hosted their own
authoritative data that oftentimes served a department-specific purpose. Additionally, the storage method for each
department’s data differed vastly from agency to agency. To make matters worse, identical data was frequently
maintained by multiple departments to varying degrees. Although creating spatial data with a specific purpose provides
for a quick turnaround, it has many downsides.
By structuring and planning for authoritative data to cross administrative boundaries, the county coincidentally achieves
an improved return on investment. Nationwide, there is a desire to encourage data sharing between authoritative
sources. In order for data to reach its fullest potential, it is important to embrace pre-existing standards set at the state
and federal level to ensure that the proper authoritative data sources are being utilized correctly. A collaborative effort to
combine all of the county’s available authoritative datasets into one coherent dataset would enable the county to make
better decisions going forward. In addition to standardizing data, a need exists for standardizing the metadata that
accompanies these datasets. A heavy reliance on the geodatabase’s owner and title of the datasets are not enough when
accurate results for a project are necessary.
Moving forward, Stark County GIS will encourage that all authoritative data have the end-goal of serving multiple
purposes. In cases where standards have already been established by either the Ohio Geographically Referenced
Information Program (OGRIP) or Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) for spatial data, the Stark County GIS
Department will promote and encourage the use of these standards to others. Where standards do not exist and multiple
entities are capturing the same “types” of data, the GIS Steering Committee will be consulted to establish a standard to
enable all users to benefit from the dataset. The Stark County GIS Department will continue to populate all authoritative
spatial data with metadata following the recommendations of OGRIP to guide the process. Metadata will enable internal
and external customers to more accurately choose the appropriate authoritative datasets for their projects.
Solution Development
While a large part of the Stark County GIS Department’s focus will be on content management, SCGIS still intends to
fully pursue expanding the use of GIS throughout the county. GIS has become less of a platform dedicated to
specialized professionals, and more of a platform that can be used by everyone. Technology, in general, has become
more accessible, and the advancements in web GIS make software more easily navigable. Individuals no longer need to
install an entire package of software for the ability to view and/or edit spatial data.
The use of GIS promotes integration. As technology evolved, it became commonplace to branch out and create silos of
data that became less integrated over time. Today, there are many differing levels of government that all use similar
datasets, however the accuracy of these datasets differ based on when each department downloaded their version of the
data. Furthermore, each agency spends valuable time maintaining their cut of the data. To remedy that situation, Stark
County GIS pursued feeding multiple agencies with a common core of layers which pertain to all departments. By
creating these layers once, and allowing every agency within the county to view and build off of them, it removes the
need for each agency to maintain their own set of data. It also minimizes discrepancies between agencies, giving all
involved parties the latest and most accurate information.
As all GIS professionals know, everything has a where question. By capitalizing on that, Stark County GIS is able to
integrate many segregated workflows, and continue to grow the county’s central data repository. The primary perk to
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 14
having one central data repository is the ability to supply all agencies with all data. Once the County GIS is integrated
into specific business processes, maintenance redundancies begin to diminish, and everyone can begin to use the most
current data. To efficiently sustain the high quantity of solutions deployed by SCGIS, it is in the Stark County GIS
Department’s best interest to form an application strategy to assess use, scalability and/or modifications, post-
deployment. Because each agency is often functionally similar, there are many opportunities to maximize benefits by
looking beyond a given need and identifying much broader opportunities. The goal is to create efficiencies by addressing
needs with an enterprise mentality, instead of focusing on isolated projects.
Local Government Package
Before becoming the County GIS Department, SCGIS handled needs on a project-by-project basis. Oftentimes, local
government agencies relied on their own staff to maintain their own data, while being limited in resources. Once SCGIS
was established, it strived to show what GIS could do for the different county departments and municipalities. That
initial push brought together many departments and demonstrated the usefulness of GIS. With a newly deployed
enterprise GIS system utilizing ArcGIS Server, SCGIS was in a position to shift from data maintenance to establishing
relationships with local governments within the county.
The development of new technology and server-centric GIS has allowed SCGIS to focus on both growth and
maintenance. One area of growth involves working with the local governments of townships and villages in Stark
County. Unlike many of the cities in Stark County, the villages and townships often lack the staff size to include GIS
professionals. The Stark County GIS Department helps to bridge this gap between professionals and users. SCGIS
accomplishes this through using solutions developed by the county itself and customizable templates available through
Esri. Esri offers multiple products for smaller municipalities in their Local Government Information Model (LGIM).
The products in the LGIM are very intuitive and clear; they are designed to be configured by GIS professionals and used
by anyone. An LGIM product that is already being used by Canton Township is the Citizen Service Request application.
The Esri product template was customized for Canton Township and was quickly ready for their use. Canton Township
can now receive service requests from the public 24/7 on this easily accessible application. Currently, Canton Township
is the only municipality using the service request application. In addition to the service request application, Canton
Township, along with eight other townships, have editable zoning maps created through ArcGIS Online; while four
townships are using ArcGIS Online maps for sign inventory. Esri’s LGIM will provide a standard for this package; and
as more needs arise that are not addressed by LGIM, SCGIS will continue to find solutions.
As Stark County GIS continues to work closer with these jurisdictions, a simple-to-use, customizable local government
package will be assembled for their use. This package will focus on three portions of Local Government that SCGIS has
come to observe as opportunities: Public Interaction, Asset Maintenance, and Fire Services. This package will contain
near ready-to-deploy solution templates provided by Esri. The primary benefit of utilizing these templates is taking what
has been developed for other local governments and making minor modifications for a quick implementation. By
configuring these templates, Stark County GIS will integrate local governments’ business processes with other county
departments, therefore becoming more transparent and involved with the public. The following descriptions showcase
the ready-to-deploy applications that can be configured, ensuring all jurisdictions within the county have equal offerings.
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 15
Public Interaction
Engaging the public in the townships and villages will further expand the use of GIS and also assure that SCGIS is providing solutions with
the general public’s needs in mind. The public interaction component would be spearheaded using Esri’s Connect with Citizens package. This
component contains maps designed to help the public learn more about what their community has to offer. It is also designed to get the public
engaged and more active in community conversation.
Service Request (Single Application) or Citizen Problem Reporter (Multiple Applications)
The Service Request application can be used for stormwater, sewer, and water assets. Utilizing GeoForm, it allows township and
village residents to report problems with service or infrastructure. The application offers the ability to report the location of the issue
on a map, provide a description of the problem, and leave contact information. The Citizen Problem Reporter consists of three map-
centric applications: a public-facing web map, an internal administrative app, and a dashboard to be used by executive level
officials. These applications can be accessed through the web on a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer.
Locate Parks, Activities, or Government Services (Multiple Applications)
These application templates are designed to allow the general public to locate parks, recreation facilities, and government facilities in
the community. The applications also provide information on government-provided, curbside, and drop-side services. County
residents could have the ability to locate nearby amenities and services in relation to their current location or place of residence.
Asset Maintenance
The asset maintenance component will allow townships and villages to efficiently maintain the various assets they currently track. Through
utilizing web applications, townships and villages can easily keep track of their data, while streamlining maintenance processes. These
applications will also allow for greater transparency with residents, as well as fostering an interest in local government among the public.
Inventory Right of Ways Assets – (Multiple Applications)
This package includes a group of applications that can be used by the staff of townships and villages to take inventory of right of
way assets located within their jurisdiction. Included in this package are applications for the inventory of traffic signs, traffic signals,
streetlights, street trees, railroad crossings, bridges, sidewalks, street furniture, pavement markings, and guardrails. These
applications will allow for right of way assets to be visualized by each township and village, while allowing for easy maintenance in
the future. The inventory can be maintained and updated by staff in the field, through the utilization of ArcGIS Collector, which
can be accessed on a smartphone or tablet.
Traffic Signs
Traffic Signals
Street Lights
Street Trees
Railroad Crossings
SidewalksStreet
FurniturePavement Markings
Guardrails Bridges
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 16
Map Change Request
The Change Request application can be used for stormwater, sewer, and water assets. Township and village staff can utilize the
application to indicate discrepancies between the dataset and assets in the field. Staff can also send change requests when new assets
are installed. For many townships within the county, SCRPC’s GIS Department executed the initial collection of Municipal
Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) assets. This application would be a very intuitive method of ensuring the data initially
collected remains up-to-date when maintenance or construction is performed. The application utilizes ArcGIS Collector and can be
accessed through a smartphone or tablet.
Capital Project Planning & Capital Project Tracking
The Capital Project Planning application allows townships and villages to create capital plans, while sharing this information with
the public. Capital projects for this application are typically utilized for stormwater, sewer, water, and transportation assets. The
Capital Project Planning application is commonly used in conjunction with the Capital Project Tracking application, which allows
for local officials and the public to keep track of capital projects.
MS4 Inventory Recorder
This collection of applications assists in the compliance with MS4 and stormwater guidelines in townships and villages. One
application in this collection is the Inventory Stormwater Assets application, which allows for local staff to maintain stormwater
assets, collect photos of assets, and send in completed forms. The information collected by the application can be utilized to complete
annual MS4 reports. The application utilizes ArcGIS Collector, and can be accessed on smartphones and tablets.
Photo Survey
Photo Survey is a web application that combines ArcGIS and a JavaScript application. The application allows for township and
village staff to conduct surveys of properties, in order to identify blighted properties, damaged structures, or construction locations.
The application allows for street level photos and a survey of the property to be conducted and submitted. The application can be
used by both township and village employees, as well the public.
Fire Services
The fire services component consists of multiple applications and solutions that can be utilized by local fire personnel to maintain related assets,
while helping to facilitate increased fire safety awareness within the community. While some of these solutions can be accessed via the web, the
Fire Station Wall Map solution requires ArcGIS desktop software that will require further coordination with SCGIS.
Fire Hydrant Inspection
The Fire Hydrant Inspection application allows for local fire personnel to inspect and maintain the fire hydrants within their
jurisdiction. The application can be used by firefighters to locate hydrants in the event of an emergency. Inspections of fire hydrants
would be conducted on a tablet or smartphone through the use of ArcGIS Collector.
Fire Station Wall Map
The Fire Station Wall Map solution is a process within ArcMap that SCGIS will utilize to produce large scale of a fire service
jurisdiction. A large wall map could be created, while smaller maps of sections of the large map could be created through the use of
Data Driven Pages within ArcMap.
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 17
Fire Safety Survey
The Fire Safety Survey application enables local fire personnel to conduct fire safety surveys of resident dwellings within their
jurisdiction. The surveys can be used to identify the level of safety awareness that exists among residents, indicate fire safety issues,
and improve the overall safety of residents. The fire safety surveys can be conducted on a tablet or smartphone, utilizing ArcGIS
Collector.
Automate External Defibrillators (AED) Inventory
The AED Inventory application enables local fire personnel to inventory the AEDs within their district. Automated external
defibrillators are portable devices that allow for the diagnosis of health conditions that can be treated by a defibrillator. The
inventory of AEDs can be conducted on a tablet or smartphone, utilizing ArcGIS Collector.
The tools listed above, that SCGIS plans to develop, will help townships and villages keep data updated and will be easily
available through an online application. Utilizing open data and the enterprise GIS System will bring to light the needs of
the townships and villages, allowing Stark County GIS to offer necessary solutions to all of them. In the future, SCGIS
plans to enhance existing relationships, while building new relationships with the remaining townships and villages. GIS
will serve as the integrator to bring all of these municipalities’ data together: increasing accuracy, streamlining processes,
and bolstering collaboration in the county.
GIS within Cities
The local government package provided to townships and villages will also be provided to the cities within Stark County.
Being larger municipalities, the cities will benefit from the local government package, but could also utilize additional
support/solutions. As it stands, the cities within Stark County vary in the development of their respective GIS
endeavors. While no municipality has a GIS Department, nearly all cities within the county have staff whose job
currently requires some form of GIS. A tendency within city departments is that GIS either solely exists for one
department, or GIS professionals are scattered throughout a handful of departments, who don’t continually interact with
one another.
A goal of Stark County GIS is to help these GIS professionals with integrating existing GIS workflows into additional
departments, where so desired. While SCGIS has done a relatively decent job of bringing together county departments in
the realm of GIS, this is still a hurdle within municipalities in Stark County. By continuing to utilize our GIS
Infrastructure to integrate GIS into more workflows, the intention is to bring municipal departments together with
spatial data. This venture will be heavily dependent on each municipality’s reliance on legacy systems for current
workflows. Additionally, the adoption of GIS-centric workflows will be driven by each departments’ eagerness to
change, and improve efficiency.
Trends in GIS
GIS has changed significantly in the past years, both in the methods used to maintain spatial data and in the consumers
of GIS products. Five years ago, GIS professionals, working for county governments, maintained spatial data for
departments and public officials in the county. The focus of GIS within county government was to accurately and
effectively maintain spatial data for the county. Oftentimes, the main consumers of spatial data were those who had
expensive software that could view and process spatial data. The general public had limited avenues for consuming GIS
products, mainly paper maps and simplistic web applications providing basic functionality for users to access and
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 18
download spatial data. Unsurprisingly, the smartphone has changed almost everything about culture. As a governmental
department, it is of the utmost importance to adapt to those changes, and meet the expectations of constituents by
providing information in the most relatable fashion; on a mobile platform.
The focus of GIS has shifted towards making products more easily available and appealing to a digital audience. The
current trends in GIS are centered on the growing prevalence of technology being utilized within county governments, as
well as among the general public. GIS has become more accessible through easy-to-use interactive web applications and
convenient online repositories of spatial data. Esri’s Open Data has allowed for GIS organizations to make their data easily
accessible to be downloaded and used by other GIS professionals and the general public. Consumption of spatial data has
shifted from the GIS professional to the public, where GIS users can utilize smartphones and tablets to view online maps
anywhere with an internet connection. Data maintenance no longer has to be done solely by GIS professionals, as members
of the public can use web applications to view and edit spatial data. This allows for a collaborative effort between GIS
professionals and the public to keep up-to-date data. Esri’s recent release of Story Maps has allowed geographic concepts
to be communicated as a story to its viewer through simplistic web applications.
Web GIS has allowed for GIS to be more readily available to the public. Now that GIS has become so accessible, its
sphere of influence continually reaches more and more people. In turn, it has paved the way for a new kind of GIS user.
The recent developments in the field of GIS no longer requires an individual to have a complete software suite of
desktop products to utilize and access GIS. An individual no longer needs to be a GIS Professional to make use of GIS
content. Any person, within any department (even the public, if so desired), can be set up to access and maintain GIS
with little to no training. Because of this, it has become increasingly important for SCGIS team members to act as
liaisons to the different county departments so they can utilize the GIS Infrastructure, even if the particular department
doesn’t currently staff any GIS Professionals.
Outreach, Education, and Training
Some of the existing steps that are taken to make the data accessible include creating web applications, deploying an
Open Data portal, and trying to require the fewest clicks possible to get the information a user is in search of. To make
the applications more approachable, SCGIS will evaluate the overall intuitiveness and usability of currently deployed
applications. The overall goal is to visualize complex information in an aesthetically pleasing manner, while making the
process friendly to the most casual of users. Web applications will be changed to meet these standards. The structure of
the application portals will also be reassessed in hopes of putting the most frequently used items on the most accessible
part of the websites.
One of the weaknesses derived from the SWOT Analysis is the disconnect between what products and services are
available and the knowledge the public has of those products and services. While the data provided by SCGIS is very
accessible, the efforts by SCGIS to advertise the data tend to fall flat once the information is published to the web. In
order to bridge the gap between end-users and the collection of county-specific spatial data, one of SCGIS’s areas of
focus will be public outreach. A monthly training course will be offered with the intent of not only training users (both
county employees and citizens) on existing applications, but showcasing emerging technology. As mentioned many times
throughout this document, the field of GIS is dynamic, and the use-cases will continue to evolve. A recurring class that
is freely offered to local government employees and the public alike, will not only provide an extra level of service, but
will also open additional channels of communication, and ensure SCGIS is meeting any and all needs.
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 19
Conclusion
The overarching goal of the next few years is to ultimately continue refining Stark County’s use of GIS. This will involve
perpetual reassessment of departmental workflows via melding existing practices with a GIS component. To achieve
continual improvement, the Stark County GIS Department will efficiently use data by ensuring the administration of the
databases and server architecture is centralized, and in turn, reducing duplication of efforts.
With the impending server architecture migration, SCGIS will take the opportunity to strengthen its foundation by
generating metadata, documenting workflows, and ensuring the Geographic Information System is scalable. By focusing
on proper organization and curation of data, the county’s repository of GIS data will not only be easily navigable by local
governments, but for local businesses and citizens alike. With a focus on integration, while promoting collaboration, the
Stark County GIS Department will solidify the role of GIS within the county, and furthermore, purvey the best interest
of the people, whom local governments serve.
Stark County GIS
County
Departments
Local
Governments
Local
Businesses
Citizens and
Academia
GIS Support
and Solutions
Database
Administration
Content
Management
and Data
Dissemination
Workflow
Integration
and Solution
Development
Architecture
and
Infrastructure
Administration
Data Availability
and
Transparency
Map Requests
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 20
Offices
In order to organize the needs within the county, documenting GIS operations for county agencies helps paint the
picture of GIS in Stark County. Having a formal understanding of the GIS related operations for each department helps
the County GIS Department gauge priorities, and in turn, helps ensure the quickest and most viable turnaround on
projects and daily needs. Below is a snapshot of each department’s integration of GIS, as well as a brief description of
SCGIS’s existing/planned collaboration with the respective GIS staff.
One obstacle facing the Stark County GIS department, when working with multiple county departments, is
understanding the varying levels of GIS experience within county departments. County employees who utilize GIS vary
between those who maintain GIS datasets and develop GIS workflows as their sole occupation, to those who utilize GIS
to assist in their workflows, while having to maintain non-GIS related data. Another obstacle involves the extent to
which GIS can be integrated with the current workflows within each department. Departments vary on how compatible
their data and records can be integrated with GIS. Both obstacles force SCGIS to evaluate the level of assistance each
department requires, as well as the extent to which GIS can be utilized by the employees within each department. The
Stark County GIS Department strives for GIS to be integrated within every department, through streamlining workflows
and improving public interactions, in the way that best suits the needs of a department and the GIS experience of those
employees that utilize GIS for that department.
Stark County Auditor
While many departments within the Auditor’s Office use GIS, the most prominent user is The Tax Map Department.
The Tax Map Department’s main function is maintaining and improving the parcel layer and jurisdictional boundaries
from record documents for the Auditor’s taxation responsibilities. Maintaining traditional, paper, tax maps may still be
standard operation in other Ohio counties while the Stark County Auditor’s Tax Map Department does all this through
GIS.
To assist the Tax Map Department in its role as chief editor of the parcel layer, the Stark County GIS Department
manages the Tax Map Department’s SDE geodatabase, assists in GIS-centric requests, publishes map services utilizing
the parcel data, and creates task-specific web applications. Having a department dedicated to maintenance of the parcel
layer has been crucial in having an accurate and reliable geographic information system.
With GIS playing a major role in Stark County’s Tax Map Department, the functionalities of the department are
constantly evolving. As of late, the ability to traverse metes and bounds descriptions, further confirming their validity
over time, has become a key tool in weighted conveyance transactions. Moving forward, SCGIS will deploy ESRI’s
Parcel Drafter application for this evolving quality control. This application will become an important piece to the Tax
Map Department’s direction moving forward. Rather than limiting this process to employees who utilize ArcMap, all
staff will have the ability to ensure the accuracy of submitted descriptions, less the licensing cost. The second phase to
the Parcel Drafter application involves training the public, more specifically title abstractors, to confirm their title search
for their clients. The department is optimistic that this will remove any gray area of legal counsel, of which they are
unable to give, while expediting the process of conveyance and recording of the public’s documents, with little error.
SCGIS will also play a large role in the planned migration to a new CAMA system. While not completely driven by GIS,
the new CAMA will be GIS-centric. By using a GIS-centric CAMA platform, SCGIS and the Auditor’s Office will
continue to operate at peak efficiency. By ensuring varying types of data are integrated spatially, both agencies will
continue to collaborate with other county departments further improving many cumbersome or outdated processes.
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 21
In addition, SCGIS will continue working with local governments to improve the flow of work pertaining to
assessments. For instance, with the recent deployment of the Parcel History Query application and the approaching
batch query geoprocessing service, each entity will garner the ability to maintain accurate data, prior to submittal to the
Auditor’s Office. This will allow the data to be analyzed by the cities, villages or townships, whom have a more distinct
understanding of the specific assessment, streamlining the overall process.
Stark County EMA
Along with utilizing GIS to keep Stark County’s 911 data accurate, up-to-date, and easy to access, Stark County EMA
has started to show great interest in using some of Esri’s web application templates. These templates are designed
specifically for the four phases of emergency management: preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. By
collaborating with Stark County EMA, the shared goal is to use GIS to make Stark County prepared to handle any
disaster. The templates supplied by Esri provide a great foundation to build off of, making this goal a reality.
Stark County Engineer
The Stark County Engineer’s Office is one of the more frequent users of GIS within the county. It currently has a
couple dedicated staff who manage GIS datasets for the department. SCGIS relies heavily on the Engineer’s
understanding of networks and controls within the county, some of the most valuable assets when maintaining accuracy
within a geographic information system.
Moving forward, the county’s ArcGIS Server infrastructure will be heavily relied upon to migrate multiple legacy
workflows to a more robust, more intuitive, and less costly method of field viewing and collection. The Engineer will
also benefit from a number of the integrated, interdepartmental workflows and consolidation of data. An existing
initiative envisions that local townships collect an inventory of signs in an identical schema, so that all assets can be
shared with the Engineer, and in turn, with the State. By ensuring the data has the same structure, and is connected with
one another, the entire process is streamlined and diminishes many unnecessary efforts.
Future endeavors include integration with Waze; wherein the County Engineer slightly modifies it’s method of
publicizing road closures. While the current method allows for all detours to be posted to their website, becoming a
partner with Waze enables all detours to be propagated to one of the largest and most widely used public direction apps
for crowd-sourced traffic info. Furthermore, Waze enables the county’s citizens to be more aware of circumstances that
affect their daily travel, without requiring them to go out of their way to get the information.
Other projects on the radar have been broken down into three groups that have varying levels of priority. The highest
priority projects include inventorying Right of Way Obstructions, a Sidewalk and Curb Ramp inventory, a Traffic Sign
and Traffic Signal inventory, altering the detour map workflow, improving the existing Drainage Complaint Form, and
deploying an enhanced Storm Sewer edit/view workflow. Once those projects have been completed, SCGIS will begin
focusing on the next collection of projects. This includes inventorying Guardrails, a Pavement Marking Condition
inventory, developing an application that makes Roadway Plan Files accessible for download, creating a bridge
inventory, and building an Off-road Ditch map. The last set of projects have the least priority, but include assisting with
a public-facing Snow Plowing application, and configuring a dashboard for executive level staff to tie all of this
information into one intuitive interface.
Stark County Health Department
The partnership between SCGIS and the Stark County Health Department began to develop in 2014. What started as an
exploratory meeting quickly blossomed into the realization of many GIS use-cases for the Health Department. A
thorough needs analysis was performed to determine which business processes made the most sense being integrated
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 22
with GIS. The first process that was addressed involved sewage treatment systems. Formerly, Health Department staff
were required to research data in many different locations and compile their findings into one final product. By working
together, the Health Department and SCGIS consolidated many of those datasets into one application, producing a high
ROI. In addition to maintaining solutions and hosting data for the Health Department, plans have been made for Stark
County GIS to continue assisting in further GIS integration.
The planned integration will include many projects: Audit of Property Transfers without Septic Inspection (Septic
Check), Reporting of Septage Pumping, an Operator Maintenance Planning Application, Water Service vs Water Wells
inventory, Annual Bacteria Testing, and Mosquito Spray Route management. A couple of the projects listed are
dependent on the Septic Check solution acquiring a spatial component. The data for this business process currently
resides in a Microsoft Access database and will be migrated to a SQL database. Furthermore, this data will be registered
as a view within GIS, satisfying additional needs for other county departments, without requiring those departments to
maintain their own set of data. To accomplish this transition, SCGIS will work closely with the Stark County IT staff to
ensure a proper and efficient migration of data. Once the Access database is migrated, the content will enable the
completion of other projects that require its data to have a spatial component. Thusly, enabling all future projects to be
rooted with the same data and reducing the time required to maintain such data.
Stark County Parks Department
Esri’s Collector application has been utilized by the Parks Department to obtain data regarding different amenities,
signage, and trails within the many county parks. Having this data allows them to track maintenance of parks and
perform other analyses. SCGIS will continue to aid the Parks Department in data collection and dissemination, while
deploying additional solutions to improve workflows.
In 2016, Stark Parks hired a Natural Resources Manager that will play an increased role in GIS utilization for the
department. While the new hire will pursue completing their trails and trailheads layers within a geographic information
system, SCGIS will work towards building a complete, countywide parks layer. Currently, Stark Parks and SCRPC have
done an admirable job of cataloguing parks for their respective jurisdictions. Moving forward, Stark County GIS will
combine the county parks, parks within unincorporated jurisdictions (township parks), as well as municipal parks, into a
singular layer.
As the county gets closer to a countywide parks layer, SCGIS will ensure that the data is organized, meets standards, and
is freely available for download in the open data portal. By working together, a workflow will be created that streamlines
the editing process while removing many existing redundancies. In order to fully utilize all of Stark Parks’ data, SCGIS
will perform a GIS data inventory. This will help determine which layers are most accurate, and which Esri solution
templates fit best into the organization.
Stark County Regional Planning Commission
The Stark County Regional Planning Commission (SCRPC) is responsible for improving the quality of life within Stark
County. SCRPC consists of multiple departments with varying uses of GIS. SCRPC is unique in that it has its own GIS
Department that supports multiple internal map-related functions. Regional Planning’s GIS Department also provides
data collection and maintenance services to communities within Stark County. SCRPC’s GIS Department has been a
crucial partner in SCGIS’s collaboration with townships and villages. To take advantage of web GIS, much of SCRPC’s
data had to be refined and consolidated into one SDE geodatabase. Once that was complete, many local governments
were in a position to view auto-updated maps about zoning and MS4 networks.
SCGIS assists Regional Planning by managing their geodatabase, improving various workflows, aiding with the
configuration of ArcGIS Collector, and providing the ability to get their GIS data on the web. The collaboration
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 23
between SCGIS and SCRPC has increased transparency, efficiency, and productivity. Moving forward, the intent is to
give township and village personnel the ability to manipulate GIS data. Currently, the ability to modify assets rests solely
on the SCRPC GIS Department, while townships/villages are limited to only viewing data. By configuring change
request applications that can be accessed via the web, the local community staff would garner the ability to submit
change requests to network datasets that SCRPC created. Instead of reassessing whether or not the network is up to date
on a somewhat recurring basis, local government agencies would be afforded the ability to submit a change request the
moment they modify the real-word asset. This in turn would promote a more accurate dataset and reduce costs and
efforts along the way.
Stark County Sanitary Engineer
The Stark County Sanitary Engineer (SCSE) is responsible for facilities design, construction oversight, administration,
management, operation and maintenance of the system, and billing and revenue collection. The primary method of
accomplishing these goals is through maintaining an accurate collection of the sewer infrastructure used within the
sanitary system. SCSE currently employs one GIS professional.
SCGIS partners with the Stark County Sanitary Engineer by assisting in the management of its SDE geodatabase, aiding
in the creation of web applications, and establishing more efficient and sustainable workflows. Moving forward, the
primary use of web applications will shift from view-only emphasis to an editable workspace. Some of the use-cases
involve manhole inspections and sewer flushing. Existing workflows rely heavily on paper, without efficient utilization of
readily available technology. As GIS becomes more integrated within the office, the necessity to integrate GIS into
relatively archaic workflows will become more apparent. With the gradual integration of always up to date GIS data,
Sanitary Engineer staff will become more cognizant of the benefits. By utilizing the common platform of GIS, multiple
entities maintaining their own sewer infrastructure can visualize their networks in conjunction with the County’s sanitary
networks in order to become aware of discrepancies between agencies, that ultimately affect billing.
As County Departments continue to expand on collaboration, property owner information that is maintained by the
Auditor’s Office will be natively integrated into the Sanitary Engineer’s billing system. This will improve the Sanitary
Engineer’s manual workflow of updating the GIS layers that track customers. By accomplishing this, Sanitary Engineer
GIS staff can focus more on deploying new GIS solutions to assist the rest of the Sanitary Engineer staff.
City of Alliance
The City of Alliance Engineering Department has created and managed data pertaining to the infrastructure they
maintain. The Stark County GIS Department has assisted in this effort by providing an SDE geodatabase, a web
application for disseminating the GIS data, and has made efforts to improve workflows.
Five years ago, SCRPC contracted with the City of Alliance to collect storm, sewer, water, and other infrastructure
assets. At the time, these newly created layers fueled map production and field work within Alliance. Since the original
collection effort, Esri began to develop solution templates that more easily operate off of LGIM schema. In order to
make use of those templates, SCGIS and the City of Alliance Engineering Department have begun migrating the City of
Alliance’s data structure into LGIM. While the migration process is cumbersome, the benefits of utilizing the template
solutions provided by Esri outweigh moving forward with the existing schema. Once migrated, the City will have more
intuitive methods of maintaining their infrastructure that do not require additional licensure for desktop software.
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 24
Once the schema is migrated, existing workflows within the City of Alliance will be evaluated to discern whether
deploying a more streamlined workflow, utilizing more cost-effective devices, is the most fiscally advantageous path. As
a handful of workflows become streamlined, SCGIS plans to assist the City of Alliance in the collection of data that do
not currently exist within the geographic information system.
City of Canal Fulton
While there hasn’t been a formal meeting to determine GIS use-cases within Canal Fulton, they do use SCGIS’s
Property Viewer to aid in decision making regarding zoning. Furthermore, SCGIS acquires an updated zoning layer on
an annual basis to capture any modifications to the zoning layer, within the municipality of Canal Fulton.
Moving forward, the goal is to incorporate readily available web tools into some of Canal Fulton’s workflows in order to
expedite the propagation of zone changes to the county’s zoning layer. As time permits, SCGIS will meet with Canal
Fulton representatives to discuss the Local Government Package and any other potential integrations of GIS.
City of Canton
Currently, GIS is heavily used by two departments within Canton City; the Canton City Engineering Department and the
Canton Water Department. Additionally, the Canton City Street Department has incorporated Collector for ArcGIS and
some web applications into its business processes. SCGIS’s involvement with these city departments has increased
within the past year. Currently, there is a lack of integration between the departments. Each department’s data is housed
in varying databases with different (and often restrictive) functionality. In the past months, the county and city have
begun a collaborative initiative to consolidate the databases, in tandem, improving functionality of existing practices.
Once these databases are consolidated, all authorized users will be able to access the data, regardless of other people
simultaneously viewing the data (an existing hindrance). On top of the improved functionality, the City of Canton will
gain the county’s ArcGIS Server infrastructure and vast web-presence. This additional feature will allow the city to
improve numerous workflows for field workers. The cost for devices in the field will drop considerably, and the amount
of data accessible in the field will greatly increase. Quantity of data will begin to increase and branch out into even more
data-dependent departments. Existing processes currently segmented between departments (i.e., Billing, Trash, Sewer)
will be in a position to be integrated with one another and concurrently give all users access to the same, non-discrepant
data.
While much emphasis is placed on the city departments mentioned in this section, GIS has become more prevalent in
the city’s emergency services, as well. There is currently an endeavor with the Canton Police Department to use more
automated procedures in mapping crime data. The city also recently collaborated with three other dispatch centers in the
county for a county-wide CAD deployment. This decision puts all involved parties in a situation where they can use
identical road, address, and emergency response GIS data. This will further reduce the cost to maintain such data, and
ensure all dispatchers observe the same information regardless of their location.
The steps currently being taken to consolidate the existing data into one central repository for the City of Canton is the
first step in the execution of the goals laid forth above. The willingness of city staff to collaborate with county staff has
been paramount in utilizing the existing ArcGIS Server infrastructure. Moving forward, SCGIS’s primary goal is to
reduce the duplication and costs of both county and city efforts. In addition to enhancing existing business processes,
this decision will also add a visual and intuitive means for executive level staff to view progress. Taking advantage of data
in this way could also improve the planning and coordinating of capital improvement projects.
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 25
City of Louisville
SCGIS’s interaction with the City of Louisville is currently limited to address maintenance and zoning. The city uses two
web applications for data viewing purposes; one for zoning, and one for infrastructure assets. Moving forward, it is a
goal of SCGIS’s to further explore use-cases within the city that would benefit from GIS integration. The Local
Government Package will be discussed with city staff to determine the most pertinent needs. After the initial needs
assessment, a strategy will be established to structure the integration plan so that Louisville is offered the same
opportunities the other municipalities within the county are given.
City of Massillon
The City of Massillon has built up their Geographic Information System by using many of Esri’s products. Massillon has
the resources needed to be self-sufficient, but serves as a collaborative partner with SCGIS in order to reduce
duplication of efforts and ensure data consistency.
A plan is in progress for the City of Massillon and Stark County GIS to actively share data between the two entities.
SCGIS’s plan is to utilize a geodata service to allow the city to view certain datasets hosted by the county. The geodata
service would enable the City of Massillon to utilize current data, through the use of replication between a geodatabase
hosted by SCGIS and a geodatabase utilized by the city.
City of North Canton
With the help of CT Consultants, the City of North Canton’s Engineering Department manages their infrastructure
assets using GIS. The Stark County GIS department has taken a supportive role by offering to manage an SDE
geodatabase and make the City of North Canton’s data web-accessible by utilizing the county’s ArcGIS Server
infrastructure. Moving forward, CT Consultants will migrate the existing schema to Esri’s LGIM schema. Post-
migration, SCGIS will play a larger role in solution development for North Canton. By employing the LGIM schema,
the city will be in a position to utilize the near ready-to-deploy templates made available by Esri.
Much of the City’s existing GIS data is used for view-only purposes. To reduce operational costs, the City’s Utilities and
Services Departments will begin to deploy paperless mobile workflows. Projects currently in the process of being
deployed include a streetlight inventory solution and an arbor management solution. These will be first steps in shifting
the focus from an infrequently updated set of GIS data to a constantly maintained set of GIS data. As new workflows
are assessed, SCGIS and North Canton will determine which Esri applications make the biggest impact. Some of the
workflows will incorporate Collector for ArcGIS, while others will involve Workforce and Survey123 for field
inspections. The approach to these solutions will be iterative in order to adapt on the fly, as business needs may change
along the way.
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 26
Appendices
Appendix A: Security Procedure
In order to minimize interrupting the usage of maps and applications, the switch to HTTPS will be scheduled on a
weekend because it requires a restart of ArcGIS Server. Once WebAGS* can accept HTTPS requests, the procedure will
be as followed:
1. Run script to migrate all map service URLs in the organization to HTTPS
2. Audit both organizations to confirm that URLs are updated to HTTPS
3. Switch both organizations (SCGIS and SCRPC) to HTTPS within ArcGIS Online
4. Reach out to all existing partner organizations to ensure that content is functioning correctly
*WebAGS is the name of the Stark County GIS Department’s legacy ArcGIS Server
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 27
Appendix B: ArcGIS Server Migration Procedure
The migration to the new infrastructure will follow a basic workflow and incorporate the knowledge SCGIS has learned
this past year. The basic workflow will follow these steps:
1. Migrate the service from WebAGS (legacy server) to the appropriate staging server in the new infrastructure.
2. Run the ArcGIS System Test Tool (make adjustments if it fails the test)
3. Migrate the service from the current WebAGS server to the appropriate production server in the new
infrastructure
a. WebAGS A1, WebAGS A2, and WebAGS AX: The updated cache services will be put on this
cluster because it will extend the updating window. WebAGS A1 will be taken down from the load
balancer, while traffic is directed to WebAGS A2. During that time the cached map services will be
updated. Once that is complete, WebAGS A1 will be put back up. Once WebAGS A1 is up, a similar
process will be taken to update cached map services in WebAGS A2.
b. WebAGS B1 and WebAGS BX: The static caches do not need to go through the update process.
Having the feature services on a dedicated server machine follows Esri’s recommendation for
workload isolation. It should also be noted that until the deprecation of WebAGS (which will be used
to license WebAGS C1), WebAGS B1 and BX will be used for geoprocessing services, address
locators, and print services. Once WebAGS C1 is created, the geoprocessing services, address
locators, and print services will be migrated to WebAGS C1.
c. WebAGS C1 and WebAGS CX: WebAGS C1 will not be created until the deprecation of WebAGS,
in order to keep within the license limit. The staging environment, WebAGS CX, will need to be
purchased and created, at the time of implementation of WebAGS C1. This will enable Stark County
GIS to test services on the staging server, prior to the creation of those services on the production
servers. These servers will be allocated for geoprocessing services, address locators, and print services.
These will be migrated from WebAGS B1 at the time of implementation of WebAGS C1 and CX.
4. Migrate any URL (map, app, item, etc.) that references the current WebAGS server to reference the new URL
This workflow will be repeated until all services are migrated from the current infrastructure to the new ArcGIS Server
infrastructure. The following service types will be migrated in the following order (keeping in mind that migration of
service types will be able to happen simultaneously):
1. Static Caches
2. Feature Services
3. Geoprocessing Services
4. Address Locators
5. Print Services
6. View-only Services
The view-only services will be migrated last in order to reduce time, and it will be best to happen in groups. Migration in
groups will help facilitate adhering to some of the best practices we have learned the past year, which include:
1. Republish/combine single-layer services into multiple-layer services
2. Restructure WebAGS MXD directory
3. Restructure ArcGIS Server directory
4. Switch symbology to Esri optimized symbology
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 28
Another component of the ArcGIS Server infrastructure administration and migration is implementing a new workflow
for creating map services. This workflow will ensure that the services published perform as best as possible. The
workflow is as follows:
1. Service planning
2. MXD Perfstat analysis on the MXD
3. Publish on staging environment
4. Make sure the file-size does not exceed the recommended max, when publishing (100mb)
5. Run ArcGIS System Test to inspect performance and impact of service
6. Publish in production
7. Add to web map
8. Create web application
9. Use Fiddler to evaluate the performance of the application
10. Release into production
THE STARK COUNTY GIS STRATEGIC PLAN – JANUARY 2017 29
Appendix C: Schema Change Procedure
The following steps outline the procedure SCGIS uses for schema changes:
1. Initial needs analysis
2. Run X-ray on the geodatabase to evaluate the current schema
3. Modify the excel sheets generated by X-ray to reflect the changes
4. Create a file geodatabase copy of the real geodatabase and perform the schema change in the copy
5. Re-run X-ray to show the schema after the change has been made
6. Write the procedure for how the schema change will be performed
7. Send the procedure and the X-ray sheets to the customer, to authorizing the change
8. Schedule and perform schema change during off-hours, once authorization has been confirmed