With the forward motion of technology, many local governments have taken advantage of what is on the market in order to bolster the productivity of their daily operations. For the Village of Morton Grove, IL Public Works Department, the use of such technology was twofold; one being the change out and upgrade of all water meters to a wireless meter reading system and two, the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to monitor the locations and status of these meter change outs.

This year the City of Highland Parked moved from doing street sweeping in house to contracting out the service. It was important to provide information to the contractor that showed how often certain streets needed to be swept. For example, curbed streets are swept monthly while uncurbed streets are only swept twice a year. Arterial and other major roads are swept once per week.

The Village of Glenview has currently been tasked to come up with ways to more effectively and efficiently answer and fix drainage issues, and has requested assistance from the GIS department. One solution would be to set up a storm water fund, supplying that fund by applying a utility tax, and using it to perform maintenance on drainage ditches (which is currently not maintained by the Village.) GIS created data and maps that display major and minor public ditches and major and minor private ditches, and these maps will potentially be used to present to the Board of Trustees to assist with the approval of setting this storm water fund up.

Municipalities typically pride themselves on the ability to keep their community clean. Whether that is in the form of street sweeping or garbage pickup, providing their residents with a clean standard of living an important part of local government. For the City of Park Ridge, IL, a problem was occurring where the contractor for garbage collection was continually missing the pickup of trash at several courtesy can receptacle locations causing the city to spend time making multiple phone calls in order to get this trash picked up.

The Village of Wheeling is in the process of acquiring a remote water meter reading system that will allow village staff to read water meter information through a computer rather than having to check the meter manually. Each water meter wirelessly connects to one of the main towers within the village and then the information is relayed to village staff. The location of the towers within the coverage area affects each individual meters signal and its ability to send information back to the tower.

Water meter billing can be a significant source of revenue for any local government, so ensuring that the billing address information is valid and complete is critical to the success of collecting all the necessary fees. A key component to maintaining these utility accounts is assuring they are up to date and cross-checked with other sources, which can often be difficult and time-consuming. To assist with validating the account locations for each billing record, the City of Des Plaines Public Works department asked the city’s GIS department to map out all the utility billing addresses in order to get a better understanding of where potential address problems exist.

The Village of Lincolnshire Public Works Department conducts a Pavement Patch and Repair Program for Village Streets in need of work. The goal of this program is to maintain and repair roads within the Village that have been identified that work needs to be done to improve the quality of the surface.

The village of Riverside GIS (Geographic Information System) program mapped crosswalk locations in an area of town due to an event that occurred near a school. As a result of initiating this data creation, the remaining village crosswalks and some additional roadway striping information were mapped to have a complete inventory of their locations in the GIS system. Various village departments can now benefit from this information.

For many communities, the fall season is a busy time consisting of construction projects, landscaping contracts, and other operations that relate to the changing season. For the Village of Winnetka, this time of year means performing weekly leaf pickup along all the Village-owned streets as a service to Village residents. To assist the Public Works department with their yearly leaf collection budget, the GIS department was asked to provide the total Village-owned parkway area along these streets as a way to estimate the percentage of leaves being picked up that were coming from Village-owned trees versus trees on private property.

Currently the Village of Glenview does not maintain existing drainage ditches or culverts. This long-standing policy may merit review by the Board of Trustees as many neighborhoods depend heavily on ditch flow as their primary means of storm water drainage. Development of a Village-wide inventory of the existing right-of-way, and easemented drainage ditches is proposed for completion within 2010. Currently the Village is using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to create this inventory.

Coordination between the Elk Grove Village Public Works and GIS Departments recently has enabled integration of televised sewer records into the GIS system. The initial objective of this effort was to be able to show where televising has taken place and link, or access, the corresponding videos by clicking on the sewer mains in a dynamic map. An added benefit was realized during the integration process in that all comments noted during the televising process such as the location of service lines or where cracks exist in the pipes could be mapped and/or queried.

Each year Public Works selects sections on roadways throughout the Village for its Minor Area Resurfacing Strategy or M.A.R.S project, and they use GIS to plot these areas based off an address, multiple addresses, and\or intersections. Once these areas have been determined then small resurfacing patches are applied, which can extend the life of the full roadway for up to 5 years.

The Village of Skokie’s Geographic Information System (GIS) Team has been hard at work developing tools to increase productivity and simplify employee’s workflows related to geographic data. Through MapOffice Advanced, a customized web mapping application, Village employees have many tools aimed at extracting tabular data using geographic contents. This new tool, the Water Main Isolation Tool, is aimed at providing Village water maintenance crews the ability to find all water valves connected to a section of water main. Water crews can now simply click on a water main and find all connected valves eliminating field work and research. This in turn will save not only time, but also water during a main break which can become very messy during the winter months. In addition to showing connected valves, the tool documents affected water hydrants, which have importance if a fire were to break out in the vicinity during a main break.

Lake Forest will have access to the web version of MapOffice beginning June 1st. The month of May was spent preparing the base data needed to get MapOffice up and running, which involved loading previous GIS data into the GIS Consortium standardized database.

FEMA defines an area of repetitive loss as: "a property for which two or more claims of more than $1,000 have been paid by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) within any 10 – year period since 1978." The properties only represent 1% of all of NFIP’s insurance policies, but have accounted for nearly one-third of the claim payments. FEMA provides all repetitive loss information to every community each year and if a community wishes to participate in the Community Rating System (CRS) program, then they must map out each area and property and submit the maps to FEMA.

Every year the Village of Oak Brook performs improvements on roads, water main and infrastructure as a part of their capital improvement program. Prior to the improvements starting, the village is required to notify all residents that are directly and indirectly impacted by the improvements.

The Village of Lincolnwood’s Geographic Information System (GIS) team has been hard at work developing tools to increase productivity and simplify employee’s workflows related to geographic data. Through MapOffice Advanced, a customized web mapping application, Village employees have many tools aimed at extracting tabular data using geographic contents.

The Village of Skokie’s Water and Sewer Department rely heavily on data within the Geographic Information System (GIS) for planning and field work. Field Note Mapbooks (FNM) were created to simplify the process of editing the data and bridge the gap between the field crews knowledge and the data projected in the Village’s GIS. Employees can make comments and corrections in the paper FNM and GIS will check the book on a quarterly basis to incorporate the changes. For example, if a valve is not shown or shown in the wrong location, an employee can draw and comment on the valve showing the correct location and providing all other important information. This process was just implemented and the first changes have been completed this month.

Springtime in the Chicago land area in some cases can mean more noise from construction then the sounds of birds chirping. And although the nice weather at this time of year allows for field crews to work with little disruption, local residents would often disagree that they are not disturbed. When streets are suddenly closed or traffic begins to build, residents of a community can certainly become irritated and thus complain to the community staff. Even though it is impossible to stop these complaints completely, a community can do their best to notify the residents where and when these big construction projects will be occurring, this is exactly what the Village of Morton Grove, IL did.

A recent development in the Riverside, IL Geographic Information System (GIS) has been the creation of a street inventory. Information captured includes the type of surface material, road base material, cross section type, curb and gutter information, last improved dates, planned improvement dates, and other statistics that can be derived from the GIS such as the length of roadway and even surface area could be calculated quickly.

A recent development in the Glenview, IL Geographic Information System (GIS) has been the creation of the landscape site locations. Information created includes the site description and which group the site is associated with. One other statistic that can quickly be calculated using GIS, is the total area for each site.

The Tyler Edens application is an important financial and permit enterprise system that allows the city easily track finances and permit status. The application will only function efficiently if it has good base information such as zoning districts, addresses, and owner information. This information is readily available but requires the tools within the GIS to combine this information into one table. The GIS tools also clean up the County provided assessor owner information to assure owners within the city of Highland Park has correct street names. The GIS office annually creates a flattened import file that is used to keep the Edens data current.

The isolation of a water main is an important function of local government. Isolation of a water main needs to occur for a variety of reasons. Typically it is done to allow for maintenance or inspections, but it can also be done in the event of a spill or leak to prevent something from getting in rather than to stop something from getting out. Water main isolation can also used to take a piece of a plant out of use for a short or long period of time or to change the process stream.

The Village of Skokie has begun the integration of streetlights into the Geographic Information System (GIS). GIS is a technology that relates geographic features with tabular data, allowing users to view data from a central repository rather than disconnected databases. The integration of street lights will be a key asset to the Village’s street light and sign post maintenance. During the next few years, the engineering department will be overseeing the installation of new halogen light bulbs, replacing the old mercury vapor. Having the ability the track installation dates will help maintenance crews and other support staff in the field. This information will be shown in MapOffice Advanced™ in the community.

The Village of Lincolnshire has been conducting an ongoing process to ensure all overland, open channel, and other features are connected to the storm sewer system. Field crews from the Street’s Department began this process using existing GIS utility atlases to help identify all open channel and overland water flow that connects into the storm sewer system. After completion and some field verifications the data was provided to the GIS Department for updating.

The Village of Deerfield Public Works Department met with the GIS Department to discuss a very important phase of utility updating involving field verification. It was decided that a new Field Note Map Book series would be developed based on a custom grid to fit a usable 11 by 17 inch format vs. the customary 17 by 22 inch standard Field Note Map Book Series. It was decided by staff that the larger sized books were tougher to handle while out in field conducting when conducting their business.

The Village of Lincolnshire has been going through a process to ensure all overland, open channel, and other features are connected to the storm sewer system. Field crews from the Street Department began this process using existing GIS utility atlases to help identify all open channel and overland water flow that connects into the storm sewer system. After completion and some field verifications the data was provided to the GIS Department for updating.

The Village of Oak Brook Public Works department performs a wide variety of services to the village including snowplowing and street sweeping. They also maintain various street lights within the village. Prior to the implementation of GIS, Public Works referenced a hand drawn street light atlas of the village. This contained the location of the street lights as well as their id number and the location of fiber optic lines within the village. While this atlas was useful, it did not contain information on each street light for bulb type, ballast, wattage, etc. If a street light needed repair, village staff would have to reference a separate table.

It is apparent that technology is getting better as new ways of using it are also on the rise. Within Geographical Information Systems (GIS), technology also continues to advance and allow for data to be edited in many different environments. One enhancement of technology that GIS has encountered is the ability to make a copy of a database, release it to a field crew for disconnected editing and then bring those field edits back into the original database. In GIS it is considered a “checkout database” and it is something that the Village of Morton Grove, IL is taking full advantage of for their Street Sign Inventory.

An accurate inventory of sign locations is crucial for keeping roads safe for driving. Missing signs or faded signs can lead to motorists missing important warnings about road hazards.

Keeping a utility system running at high capacity is a major component of local government operations. Coordinating maintenance, capital improvement projects, and every day operations can be a challenging task that requires numerous man-hours to run effectively. Having an accurate spatial inventory of utility system components helps a community perform these operations more efficiently by providing a quick reference tool for checking the physical location of a feature and providing vital attribute information such as manhole depth or pipe diameter. To assist with a recent sanitary system cleaning effort, the Village of Winnetka Public Works Department requested that the GIS Department develop a series of maps to help the field crews gain a better understanding of the system before going out into the field.

Starting in 2009, the Village of Wheeling began using a survey grade GPS system to collect utility information in the field. The village started with the sanitary system, moved on to the water system, and is then planning to collect information for the storm system last. Collecting this information using a survey grade system provides a level of accuracy not normally seen in field collection GPS and allows the data to be integrated into GIS and CAD with minimal effort.

The Village of Skokie has progressively added new users, taking advantage of the Village’s Geographic Information System (GIS). While adding users is key to the success of the GIS Program, new users have a learning curve for the new applications and software whether it be ArcView™ or MapOffice Advanced™. Training and demonstrations can alleviate many of the questions and issues users have with interacting with the new technology.

The largest objective for initiating Geographic Information System (GIS) services in the Village of Riverside was to create a digital representation of the utility systems. This objective was realized when a Sewer and Water System Map Books were constructed at the turn of the new year. The books display the culmination of many projects that were necessary to produce such a resource. The first step was to convert GPS point data of the system structures such as fire hydrants, water valves, sewer manholes, etc. into the GIS system. Next the data needed to be connected with water and sewer main features. Additional structures were added as suggested by existing hard copy resources including as-builds and the former map books. Hydrant flow, manufacturer, identifiers, pipe material, and size information about the system was also entered as noted on plans, in other community databases such as FireHouse, and as provided by staff through their knowledge about the systems. The map books incorporate a page grid that was developed and the map design was generated utilizing the repository of other data layers that the GIS houses.

The Village of Lincolnwood has been hard at work trying to secure grants that will help produce bicycle routes and paths throughout the Village. The grant, Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC), is administered through the Regional Transportation Authority. It is federally funded to help people of lower income travel to their places of employment. Providing assistance for this grant application has been the Village’s Geographic Information System (GIS). Throughout the process GIS has played an important part by providing maps and analysis. The Village is a member of the GIS Consortium (GISC) which is a Using the GIS Consortiums subscription to Business Analyst Online, the Village compiled necessary statistics for use in the grant. In addition to the statistics, locations of stoplights were mapped out to provide a list for use in field checks. Also, using GIS, the Village was able to verify that manhole covers and inlets along the proposed bike route corridors were of a certain type; openings were not large enough for a bicycle tire to become stuck.

At the heart of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is the organization and storing of data. Typically the data is a geographic representation of a real world feature as well as a database containing fields of information describing that feature. GIS however does allow for an additional level of visualization besides analyzing the existing data within the system and that is the ability to link to existing resources that reside outside the GIS.

During an emergency event, the type of event, the extent of the area affected, and the number of issues occurring as a result of the event are just some of the factors that need to be processed, organized, and reviewed by local government staff to determine the most appropriate course of action. Perhaps the greatest challenge of any emergency response is controlling where information is coming from and which pieces of information are more critical than others. Using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) as a tool in all stages of the emergency management process brings a spatial component to the planning and implementation of an action plan, helping to visualize all relevant information for a more efficient and successful community response.

The Village of Lincolnshire has completed a process of identifying all storm sewer outfalls that discharge into streams and rivers. This process was completed to help prepare for NPDES requirements and also to determine if all outfalls have been correctly accounted for throughout the village.

The Village of Wheeling is responsible for the landscaping and upkeep for various public areas throughout the village limits. There are roughly 160 different areas ranging from village owned property such as village hall, to areas along streets such as right-of-ways and cul-de-sacs. Each year the village bids out the job and provides a large map for reference. This map contains numbers that represent locations detailed in an accompanying document. The document provides basic location information, a description, and the type of services needed in that area i.e. mowing or landscaping. The village asked the GIS department to simplify the process and provide an updated product to be given to any company bidding on the project.

During the winter holiday seasons, local municipalities often will setup a series of decorations or lighting displays to celebrate the holidays and provide a fun attraction for the community’s residents. While the amount of decorations on display is mainly regulated by a community’ budget, some times these restrictions can come from a lack of existing space or resources for displaying or powering a certain decoration setup. For the Village of Winnetka, IL, this was the case for a business district area located at the northern end of the Village. While many of the businesses and residents in this area wanted to have more lights displayed in the areas numerous trees, there were not sufficient power sources available to accommodate this request. To determine the best solution for this problem, the Public Works and Water and Electric departments used GIS to assist with the planning and mapping of numerous proposed scenarios.

JULIE (Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators) is a not-for-profit corporation that provides homeowners and professional excavators with a place to call when planning to dig. Before any ground breaking occurs, the homeowner or excavator has to call JULIE and answer questions about the excavation. JULIE will then notify its members with underground utilities in that area to be marked. Because the Village of Wheeling is a member of JULIE and owns a majority of the sewer and water lines in the village, they are responsible for going out and marking utility locations.

A sign inventory allows for the quick identification of signs for replacement based on criteria such as age and condition or high vandalism areas. It can be used to manage personnel and maximize productivity if combined with work orders and maintenance activities as well as provide for supplemental information in map products as was done recently in a pedestrian safety assessment near Ames Elementary School in Riverside, IL.

In the past few years, the Village of Norridge has contracted a company to come out and take an inventory of all the trees within the village limits. In addition to the location of each tree, the company inventoried the species, trunk size, health, and other descriptive information. Although the database that was created from the information has been useful, the village was looking to better utilize the information.

Seasonal operations planning is a process all municipalities, large and small, must go through as the seasons change throughout the year. Whether it’s ordering salt for the winter months or flowers for the spring plantings, all municipalities are involved with planning out the process by which seasonal services will be executed. For the City of Des Plaines, IL Public Works department, snow removal and street salting have always been two of the primary services included in the winter operation plans. In past years, the various plow and salting routes have, primarily, been determined by the individual truck operators and had little coordination across the department from route to route. To help better coordinate this effort, and to avoid routes overlapping, the department asked the city’s GIS department to assist in creating a series of city-wide maps showing the various routes to help make the overall snow plowing process more efficient.

Utility mapping is a critical function of any municipal GIS system to help support the daily workflows of various departments, including Public Works and Engineering. While most communities are only responsible for maintaining water and sewer utility systems, the Village of Winnetka, IL includes an electric system as a component of their standard utility maintenance. By maintaining this complex system in GIS, the department has helped to streamline their electric system inventory and improve the efficiency of both the field crews and the office staff in locating system components.

Planimetric data are geographic features captured during a photogrammetric (airplane fight) mapping process that are flat and without elevation information to depict the terrain. Such features include bridges, roadways, building footprints, bodies of water, and railroad lines. Photogrammetry is the most cost-effective method for producing this type of mapping information for large areas and these features typically represent the base data in a map. As a member of the GIS Consortium the Village of Riverside participates in an annual data collection process which allows them to obtain such planimetric data. An advantage for the community is that they receive cost savings being a part of such a large group contracting these services. The current service provider for photogrammetric mapping is Ayres and Associates of Madison, WI.