GIS is deployed and used actively in 8 of 12 city departments. GIS users are distributed throughout these departments, with GIS Professionals located in three departments: Community Development, Information Technology, and Public Works.
Salem uses a hybrid approach to GIS technology delivery, with hardware, software, data, and policy centralized in IT, and GIS staff distributed among departments.
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Hardware |
| Salem GIS hardware systems require several components including, application servers, web servers, data servers, desktops, mobile units and peripheral devices. |
| Software |
| Salem GIS uses industry-standard GIS software, including the ESRI suite of products and Oracle relational database. |
| Data |
| The content of Salem GIS is rich, with a history of over 15 years of data development and maintenance. Virtually all basemap features are present and many specialized layers have been developed for custom analysis and departmental use. Check out "GIS data" for more detail. |
| Policy |
| The GIS Advisory and Planning "(GAP)" Team and the Information Technology Division are the central players in policy development. Some of the current policies in place include: software Master License Agreements, Council approved fees for products, Data Sharing Agreements with other jurisdictions, and Data License Agreements with outside users. |
| People |
| Information Technology has 3 senior GIS Analysts performing system administration, data management, web development, and applications development. Public Works has 1 GIS Supervisor and 5 Engineering Technicians. Community Development has 2 GIS Analysts. Salem Fire has an Information Services Coordinator. There are approximately 300 regular users Citywide, and all employees have access to GIS via the intranet. |
Department/Division Samples
Below are descriptions and samples of how GIS Works in Salem within city departments and divisions:
Community Development
Two GIS professionals produce data and maps that assists in zoning, land uses, and ward boundaries. Primary work involves annexations, zoning, comprehensive plans, land use, urban renewal projects, neighborhood associations, parks master plans, and wetlands mapping.
Amanda Permit System
Fire
The Fire Department utilizes GIS for incident response, resource deployment, and strategic planning analysis. GIS allows the Fire Department to cross reference many different types of information such as call load, population base, topography, and driving distance to continually refine and enhance its service delivery to the citizens of Salem, and the Salem Suburban Rural Fire Protection District. Below are some examples of GIS applied to fire department processes.
Fire Truck Maps
Information Technology
Information Technology administers the hardware, software, and policy issues with the GIS. IT also operates the web development, database, network, and servers for the system. Address information is maintained by IT. IT also is involved with elevation models and emergency situational maps.
Web Development
Elevation Maps and Models
Emergency Incident Maps
Library
The library uses GIS to determine if a card holder lives within the City of Salem.
RegGIS use in Library
Parks, Recreation and Community Services
Parks utilizes GIS for park master plan analysis, park acquistion, sensitive area management, mapping for reports and public information, and management of city street trees.
Police
GIS is used to plot aerial photos for SWAT briefings, for neighborhood associations crime maps, school buffer maps, and to plot stolen and recovered stolen vehicles.
School Buffer Map
Public Works
Public Works is the largest department using GIS. Sewer, storm, and water utilities are maintained in GIS. Public Works also manages GIS data for city limits, aerial images, and transportation systems.
Aerials
WVCC-911
The 911 computer system uses a map-centric approach to deliverying dispatching services. Dispatchers view maps on their computer screens of streets and addresses, to assist them when taking calls and talking to emergency staff. GIS stores address, street, and emergency dispatch information.
Dispatch Boundaries