Submitted by Jonathan B. Beall, Coldwell Banker Commercial MECA
At a meeting on Friday, February 19 at the Hal Marshal Building, a discussion was started regarding the Mecklenburg County GIS system (Polaris) and upcoming changes to the system. The meeting was attended by real estate brokers, appraisers, surveyors, attorneys, paralegals, etc (“Power Users”).
Very little of the discussion was geared toward the removal of “Search by Name” features (as previously thought). The main focus of the meeting was for the technology team to discuss upgrades to the current system. At nearly 8 years old, the Polaris system we currently use is antiquated. According to the speaker at the meeting, the existing system will be completely replaced sometime between October and December 2010. In open discussion, the website development team asked for candid answers to the following questions; “What do you like about the current system?” “What do you dislike about the current system?” and “What would you like to see in a new system?” The answers were plentiful and well documented by the development team. If they are able to incorporate the Power Users’ suggestions, the new system will be a tremendous improvement over the existing system.
As mentioned, very little time was dedicated to the proposed removal of “name search” functions on Polaris. The attendees were polled about whether it would significantly impact the usability of the system and a few alternatives were discussed. The best alternatives discussed were: a) Implementing a subscription service that would allow name queries thereby allowing the system to track who is searching for whom; or b) Suggesting to public officials and law enforcement that they put their homes in a trust.
The meeting leaders strongly suggested that everybody with an opinion complete the survey on Polaris. http://checkbox.co.mecklenburg.nc.us/NameSearchSuppression.survey. Please include your e-mail address in case they need additional information or would like to contact you for discussion.
Filed under: News, Technology | Tagged: Mecklenburg County, Polaris
