Morrisville, N.C. – The Board of Directors of the Property Records Industry Association (PRIA) approved the formation of a Geographic Information System (GIS) Workgroup, which will fall under the direction of the well-established Technology Committee, according to PRIA president Richard Bramhall. The GIS Workgroup is co-chaired by Peirce Eichelberger, International Land Systems, representing the Business Sector; and Diane Swoboda Peterson, Woodbury Co., Iowa, representing the Government Sector.
Local, state and federal agencies are concerned with land-related decisions pertaining to real property ownership, land use, taxation, planning and permitting, as well as infrastructure development, public safety, transportation and many other local government functions. GIS is a technology field that incorporates geographical features with tabular data in order to map, analyze, and assess these real-world issues.
County recorders collect land records focused on the rights and restrictions that impact real property but the documents collected by recorders also contain spatial data, primarily the address and legal description information, related to the referenced parcel. Approximately 70 percent of local government offices have incorporated GIS for use in their offices yet, in many cases, GIS is not integrated with the recorders office.
The real untapped potential of government managed land information lies in the ability to integrate the land records within the overall workflow of information in a government office – automatically assigning the new ownership information to the parcel in question and providing that information to the Tax Assessors office, or moving permitting information through the GIS to the assessor and land recorders so when records are filed, the various records systems are joined automatically. This allows government to better plan, analyze and provide timely and accurate information for increased productivity.
The PRIA GIS Workgroup will collaborate with other GIS interest groups to establish standards, procedures and best practices for data exchange between GIS and land records systems to facilitate the sharing of information and improve performance, security and revenue opportunities.
“This is an exciting opportunity to improve efficiency in two important land records functions,” according to co-chair Peirce Eichelberger. “County recorders and GIS offices have both leveraged cutting edge technology for years. The work products of this new PRIA Workgroup will help integrate those technologies going forward.”
“Anything we can do to improve communication and understanding between government offices is a positive step for the citizens we serve,” observes government sector co-chair, Diane Swoboda Peterson.
Specific questions on this new GIS Workgroup can be directed to the PRIA Technology Coordinator at mladd@priamail.us.
About PRIA
The Property Records Industry Association is a coalition of government and business partners within the property records industry, cooperating to formulate positions on issues of common interest. PRIA works to identify problems, opportunities and solutions that will make property records systems more efficient, effective and responsive to the public. PRIA strives to identify areas of consensus within the industry, leading to recommendations for national standards pertaining to recordable documents. For more information on PRIA, visit www.pria.us.