The County Perspective Melissa Scott – Greenbrier County

 Tax Maps – different levels of data  Sharing Digital Data  With State  With Public  Who “Owns” the Rights to Data  Modern data distribution regs.

 Mapping is a very under-rated part of the taxation process  Instead of an ancillary product of the process it should be recognized as crucial to the process  There are numerous ways better tax maps can increase the efficiency of the appraisal & assessment process You can’t tax something when you don’t know where it is, or who owns it!

 Hard Copy – always available to everyone  Non-Editable Digital (TIFF & PDF)  Editable Digital (CAD or GIS) $ Editable Digital Maps with linked Data (GIS)  Better Data Costs More, BUT it is More Valuable

 State Tax Department is entitled to County Map Data; it is necessary to carry out the functions of taxation  BUT  Some Counties are spending a lot of local money to upgrade tax maps into digital data that is of much higher quality than is required to be shared back to the State Tax Department Better Data = $$ More Valuable Data $$

This becomes the question!

 Sharing data benefits State/Federal Projects, and when data is used for gov. purposes, those benefits trickle down to the local governments  Helps build a statewide seamless tax map which leads to more informed taxation and better policy  Promotes use of data standards which in turn makes sharing data easier  Especially helpful along county boundaries

 Easy to use info keeps (most) citizens/voters happy  If fees are charged it can help counties recoup some of the money needed for map maintenance and upgrades – only works as long as others aren’t re-distributing the data  Easier public access to data fosters economic growth; more information leads to more interest in the area

Misuse of the data which leads to Lost Resources and Complications

 Clear Guidelines and State Backed Regulations on Public Data Distribution and Pricing  Clear no re-distribution agreements  Who decides how much to charge for what  Clear Procedures on Local/State Data Share  Who has the right to redistribute what  Who “owns” the data  Without Clear Regulation, we are all at risk  Lost revenue  Law Suits  Compromised Inter-Agency Relationships

 Counties Share Data with State  State (or County) Sells Data – per map  No specification on different formats  No clear pre-purchase agreement is required stating what the purchaser knows and understand what can and can not be done with this data  Digital Data distribution is not Addressed in Current Regulation  No Enforcement Measures for Data Misuse

 Change Title 189 Series 5 - “Tax Map Sales” and WV Code §11-1C-7 to reflect the following:  Hard Copy or non-editable digital tax maps (pdf or tiff) can be purchased at County or State Tax Dept…  Establish reasonable price for digital transfer and adjust cost of hard copy to cover new printer ink prices  Digital Tax Map (editable) may be purchased at County  Add in provisions to allow for counties to establish their own regulation and pricing on editable digital data release  Update “Drafting” section of Series 5  Formulate Policy to Share Data with State  Encourage the sharing all formats with State by creating an agreement, with understanding that state relinquishes rights to sell editable digital files that have been created and are maintained by the Counties

 Information needs to flow up and down or relationships can get strained and cooperation can be compromised  With communication, issues can be resolved or prevented before they become an obstacle to cooperation

Inter-Agency Relationships Communication = Cooperation

 Realize the benefits of better mapping  Inform yourself on the data distribution regulations  Support efforts to modernize our current regulation to reflect current issues