We had no maps where everything was available. City employees are finding that the more they use desktop GIS, the more uses they find for it. Now drawings can be found easily by drawing an enclosed box and asking for all the drawings that exist within that enclosure. Employees can view or print drawings. The city s Building and Land Use Services office has created parcel maps that hyperlink to the Pierce County Assessor Treasurer s Web site, where tax records and building and land characteristics for a parcel are a mouse click away.
Employees can produce mailing lists for land use actions and local improvement districts.
The Tacoma Public Utilities claims manager uses desktop GIS to research allegations of damage. Electric system maps, for example, help him investigate damage claims from power outages or power surges. Information such as pole locations and specific transformer numbers and configurations are available on the desktop, reducing research time. Because construction is still under way, service is available in some parts of the city and not in others. Before MapGuide was available, I had to go out into the field to verify addresses and existing utility locations.