There have been discussions with the county commissioners over the past year about how the county as a whole can be more transparent and provide more data and information to the general public, Development Services Director Marcus Pacheco said.
"We've been working hard with our stakeholders and county staff to create this central location of all GIS data that the county has said is authoritative data," GIS specialist Kellsey Schilly said. "This is a place where external stakeholders or citizens can go to download or view data as it relates to them in an authoritative way."
The benefits of having this data readily available to the general public, without the need for open records requests, are greater transparency, accessibility and efficiency, according to the presentation.
"We've received map requests and data requests daily as part of the GIS team. For example, a typical data request might be from an engineering firm or a graduate student, and they're looking for authoritative Hays County GIS data. That goes with addressing, center lines—maybe they want to see what the commissioner precinct boundaries look like," Schilly said. "This platform is going to lower the barrier for general public and stakeholders alike to view and understand what it is we have and what we're using to make a lot of our decisions in the county."
She added it will be easier for people to view and download whatever data they are looking for rather than sending in email requests to the county.
There are categories of data in the portal, such as education, environment, transportation and more. The data available includes Hays County boundaries, extraterritorial jurisdiction lines, subdivisions and more.
"As we start to expand on our online presence, ... this is going to be a great platform for us to present it in a very transparent way," Schilly said. "We can facilitate questions and get answers to citizens that they're looking for."
To view the portal, visit the Hays County website or click here.
