Building a G.I.S - a fist full of dollars,or,a few dollars more
A Phased Program Budget/Implementation (Recognizing “The Ugly”):
The LVMWD Board adopted and approved the GIS Program and Implementation
Plan in late 1997 (to start in fiscal year 1997-98) with an implementation budget
of $1,038,600 to be expended over a 3-4 year time period. This was a significant
milestone to be achieved yet the challenge now placed on the staff was
formidable and set in motion the commitment to build the GIS. (The overall
budget as adopted is presented in Table 1. Also shown for reference are costs
as they have actually occurred during the implementation period to date.)
Table 1
LVMWD’s GIS Implementation Budget
| Expenditure Category |
Budget |
Actual |
| 1. Consulting (GIS platform software, database
design, custom applications, etc.) |
$248,600 | $285,000 |
| 2. Hardware Acquisition | $85,000 | $20,000*
|
| 3. Software Acquisition | $55,000 | $15,000
|
| 4. Database Development | | |
| - Base Mapping | $80,000 | $55,000/yr |
| - Pilot Study Data Conversion | - | $85,000
|
| - Contracted Data Conversion | $450,000 | $225,000
|
| - In-house Data Conversion | $75,000 | $25,000* |
| 5. Training | $45,000 | $45,000*
|
| 6. Other Contractual Support | - | $25,000* |
| 7. Application Development | - | $150,000* |
| TOTAL | $1,038,600 | $995, 000-
1,040,000*
|
-Estimated costs. In some cases other district funds have been used for some acquisitions,
notably for district network compatible upgrades serving other functions and the GIS. Also,
some costs continue to accrue as expenditures are made annually, or will occur in the near
term future.
It was now time to execute the various contracts and staff effort needed to
perform the work. The planning, understanding, and confidence referenced
above are now really put to the test.
The first step was to negotiate a contract with a consultant to develop the
detailed Implementation Plan. This was accomplished and the next major
milestone was the identification of the GIS software platform that would be used
for the overall implementation. The consultant assisted in preparing the Request
for Proposals (RFP) for these services and products and acted as a technical
advisor in evaluating the proposals received.
Although the Board had approved a multi-year budget, the District’s
implementation team knew that on-going support for the program relied on
achieving early results. To this end, we worked with our consultant to define a
system development plan focused on the early delivery of GIS capabilities. We
knew that the development of the water and sewer system data models and
subsequent database conversion would take a relatively long time to accomplish,
so we did not want to wait on the completion of these databases before showing
results. We decided to first focus on establishing a base map and implementing a
few key applications that would be visible to our Board and senior management.
Building an appropriate GIS support environment (Getting “Better”):
An important aspect of the success of our current GIS operation as well as our
GIS expansion program is the development and maintenance of an institutional
support environment. At LVMWD we have achieved this through two primary
mechanisms: 1) establishing the institutional responsibilities to ensure the GIS is
properly administered and 2) providing for routine, on-going training.
Establishing Institutional Support
The district splits responsibilities for administering the GIS between two primary
divisions. Responsibility for maintaining the network and performing database
and system administration is assigned to our IS Group. They are also
responsible for administering the district’s office LAN/WAN and Customer
Information System. 5 LVMWD staff assigned to the Planning division perform
the technical administration and maintenance of the GIS. The Planning
Administrator is serving as the overall GIS Program Manager. The District’s GIS
“Guru” is a Civil Engineering Associate who has received extensive training at
the software vendor’s training facilities. Two Drafting Technicians perform day-to-day
use of the GIS program as well as updating existing databases related to
various applications. The final user is the Civil Engineering Assistant whose
responsibilities deal primarily with district real estate functions (easements,
rights-of –way and the like). What is notable about this institutional arrangement
is that the district has not attempted to formally create a separate GIS Division, or
hire additional staff. Rather, the GIS program has been directly integrated into
the on-going work functions of the Planning staff. The “pre-GIS” roles and
responsibilities of these 5 individuals have not substantially changed. In the case
of the Planning Administrator and the Civil Engineering Associate, GIS
responsibilities have been added to their previous work functions while the others
who perform GIS functions and database updates have altered their current work
methods (using manual techniques or Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) and the
like) to using the GIS to perform map and data updates.
Providing On-going Training
LVMWD has also made a conscious commitment to provide on-going training
and personal GIS skill development of the staff. The district budgets
approximately $15,000 per year to send its GIS staff to GIS vendor training for
core training or for training updates as the vendor’s software evolves. The GIS
Program Manager and “Guru” also attend numerous sessions in advanced
training with the vendor, professional conferences, and participation in related
“User Groups” for Water and Wastewater industry GIS professionals. They also
assume responsibility for the training and daily assistance to others in the
effective utilization of the GIS. The district has also opened use of its GIS to
other agencies in the area to perform training and prepare land-base related
studies and project work facilitated by the GIS format.
