Texas, USA – The Matagorda County Appraisal District (MCAD) will soon have the capability to integrate geographic information system (GIS) data with appraisal data.
MCAD received bids from two GIS service providers – True Automation of Plano and DCJ Partners of Matagorda County.
True Automation bid $165,625 for data conversion and $26,038 for annual maintenance while DCJ Partners bid $120,000 for data conversion with a slightly higher price than True Automation for annual maintenance costs.
According to Stephen Zapalac, MCAD board chairman, the board of directors was unanimous in its decision to accept the bid from True Automation.
Zapalac said one of the problems the board had was trying to select a company that would offer compatibility with the programs currently used by the MCAD.
“That’s one of the reasons that we went with True Automation, because we already have their system in place now for the appraisal cards,” said Zapalac.
“So it was kind of a shoe-in here that they would also do the GIS, although that wasn’t the primary reason we selected them.”
Zapalac explained that both companies were invited to give a presentation independently.
“As you know, I think (True Automation’s) bid was higher. I guess we weren’t that impressed with (DCJ Partners) presentation – none of the board members,” he said.
“The board was primarily sold on the services that True Automation offered.”
Vince Maloney, MCAD chief appraiser, said one important factor in their decision was that True Automation is a large established firm that has experience and contracts with about 90 other counties in the state. “We’re not a beta site,” said Maloney.
“We’re coming in after 90 other counties have already gone through this and those problems hopefully have been worked out for the most part.”
DCJ Partners have been under contract with the Matagorda County Economic Development Corporation and working with Bay City – Matagorda County United for about two years to develop a GIS system that will be useful to all county agencies.
Amanda Danning, of DCJ Partners, said in working with MCEDC for the past two years they have already completed much of the work that True Automation will just be beginning.
“Much of the data proposed to be provided by the Plano vendor has already been complete by the local vendor,” said Danning.
“If (MCAD) wants to choose another company just because they are bigger then fine, but don t do (the same thing) twice. If the county is already paying for this, we don’t understand why the appraisal district would know that it’s already being done, already being paid for and then pay more to have someone else do it again.”
Maloney said, as he understood DCJ’s proposal, they were basically bidding to digitize the appraisal district maps and add that information to the system they have already began work on with the other county agencies.
“We’re going to let (True Automation) digitize the maps and we’ll give (other county agencies) a copy so that at the end of the day we’ll be at the same place had we accepted just the digitizing the maps (from DCJ Partners),” said Maloney.
“But we’re carrying it a step further in that it will already be integrated into our system.”
“So DCJ was pretty much just going to digitize maps, and then they would turn that product over to a managing partner of some kind, and then they take the project forward from there and integrate all the different counties at that time,” he said.
“So as a protection, we’re keeping this part in house but then giving all the information to the group.”
Under MCAD’s contract with True Automation, the company will provide data acquisition and production, the parcel layer, the abstract layer, the subdivision layer, the street layer, the jurisdictional boundary layer, the precinct layer and all professional services including one GIS appraiser license and 10 GIS viewer licenses.
Danning said DCJ Partners proposed to provide data for many local agencies including precinct layer, school districts layer, taxing agencies layer, wells and pipelines layer, rivers, lakes, streams and drainage features layer, information about utilities and services layer and a public, industrial and business facility layer.
“Data conversion is only one aspect of the GIS project,” said Maloney. “The value is derived by how usable the product and service is to the appraisal district.”
“True Automation’s product is fully integrated into the (MCAD s) appraisal software with over 50 programs to assist the appraisal district in performing their duties,” he said.
Danning said DCJ Partners will no longer keep their GIS contract with MCEDC because “there is no sense in paying for the same information two different times.”
