To help the city of Zephyrhills address annexations, rezoning and land-use changes, a new technician is being added to the municipal payroll.
A Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technician is being added to help manage the city’s geographical database.
The technician will provide ongoing mapping analysis for the city.
The Zephyrhills City Council unanimously approved the new position on March 13, and the job was advertised on March 14.
For the current budget year, the technician will be regular part-time with no benefits, Steve Spina, the city manager said.
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The job, however, may become full-time “with a salary not to exceed $39, 239.69.”
The position, meanwhile, will be paid out of the city’s General Fund, Utility Fund and Sanitation Fund, due to the variety of work involved.
During the past decade, various city employees have contributed to the creation and management of the city’s GIS database, incorporating GIS shape data files, information and maps.
For instance, the assistant city planner’s job description allocates 10 percent of job duties toward GIS.
The city also has a planning intern, Kevie Defranc, assisting the utilities department with GIS mapping.
Defranc, a student in University of South Florida’s Masters of Urban Planning program, recently discovered several properties annexed into Zephyrhills that were not on the city’s tax roll.
Defranc’s findings reportedly brought in several thousand dollars to the city, including one parcel that uncovered $50,000 in unpaid taxes.
But, as workloads pile up, Spina said the city now requires a single point of contact “educationally trained to handle the duties and responsibilities” of GIS.
Addressing the council, Spina said it took city staff about a year and a half to upgrade all of the city’s maps, and reform rezoning and land use changes, from prior years.
Moreover, he noted, all of the city’s GIS data and maps will need continual updates, as the city grows and develops.
In addition to planning, the technician will assist other departments on special projects, such as categorizing dumpster locations, utility line locations and sidewalks throughout the city.
“The position’s a real asset to the planning department,” Spina said. “There’s just a wealth of things that can be done, in addition to the planning.”
Public works director Shane Leblanc also addressed the council to offer his support for the newly created position.
Leblanc said GIS responsibilities could prove even more critical once the city transitions to an automated garbage collection, where optimized routes for drivers can be identified and developed.
“As technology evolves, GIS is just going to continue to be a more important asset, especially for public works,” Leblanc said.
Published March 22, 2017
