July 8, 1999

Contact: Geoff Ryan (718/595-5371)

New York City Grant Will Help Delaware County Upgrade Tax Maps

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Delaware County announced today that they have signed an agreement to upgrade the County's computerized tax maps. Under the agreement, which became effective June 23, 1999, the City will provide up to $87,500 to the County to upgrade existing digital tax maps and purchase computer hardware and software to maintain the data.

“The project to upgrade Delaware County’s tax maps is an excellent example of the cooperative spirit embodied in the Watershed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) of January 1997, and which continues to this day,” said DEP Commissioner Joel A. Miele Sr., P.E. “To help develop this project, DEP is providing funds that go above and beyond our commitments under the MOA. The money will be well spent in direct support of the watershed protection and economic development goals of the MOA for both the City and our partners in Delaware County.”

Up to $62,500 of City funds will be used to update Delaware County’s tax map files to the standard developed for the watershed by the New York State Office of Real Property Services. In addition, the County will receive up to $25,000 to offset the cost of hardware, software or training to maintain the data. The City will pay for all tax maps in the County lying within the watershed area. The O’Connor Foundation of Delhi, New York, will provide a matching grant so that the County can convert tax maps outside of the watershed to the same format.

“I am pleased that the County of Delaware and the City of New York continue to work cooperatively to enhance our economic development goals while still maintaining and improving watershed protection,” said Joseph P. Hanley, Chairman of the Delaware County Board of Supervisors. “This funding will upgrade our existing Geographic Information System (GIS) which is used extensively by our Planning and Economic Development Department. It will bring 21st century, state of the art equipment to the Department, as well as our Department of Real Property.”

The County currently uses this system on a variety of planning issues such as analyzing site conditions for new development, flood control projects and subdivisions. The types of data that can be displayed, using these and other digital maps, include streams, soil conditions, property lines, rural electric line distribution and soil topography.

The enhancement of the Delaware County tax map data will enable DEP to create a seamless land use map of the entire West-of-Hudson watershed. This data layer will be incorporated into the agency’s GIS and will benefit a wide variety of watershed protection programs. For example, the detailed maps of the City's newly acquired lands will help towns and sporting advisory committees make recommendations for appropriate recreational activities on individual parcels and will assist DEP in developing long-term stewardship and management plans.