The GIS Steering Committee, including Planning, Assessor, County Manager, Public Works, County Counsel and Information Services have investigated the public records issues related to GIS and the various approaches taken by other agencies. Such issues are expected to arise very soon, and consequently the Committee recommends that the County establish, prior to production implementation, a formal policy to handle data requests, multi-agency coordination, private commercial requests, and data interchange issues. The attached recommended policy establishes the basis for governing GIS data distribution, including the following major elements: _ Assert County intellectual property control of the GIS and all products for ensuring accountability, legal risk management, and a measure of control over potential misuse. _ Implement intellectual property control by the customary means of licensing agreements. _ Establish processes for efficient and orderly response to public records requests. _ Ensure a structure for accurate, reliable protection of properly confidential data. _ Provide a foundation for data interchange with cities and other public agencies. _ Establish processes that will apply to all departments and all County geographic data, processes that can be administered effectively and efficiently with minimal staff impact and legal risk. _ Make available to all departments and cooperating agencies access to the master GIS and to working copies, conveniently and reliably.
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