Implementation and Evolution of a Multipurpose GIS in a Rural County

The Case of Beaufort County, North Carolina

Abstract

The North Carolina present use value system, the 1994 property revaluation, and value defense/contest all created a need for a modern land records management system in Beaufort County, North Carolina. The existing manual system was inadequate to answer an increasing number of questions, and so the county began to explore the possible implementation of a geographic information system (GIS). Though its development was often arduous, the resulting GIS system found many uses as a decision support tool outside the confines of taxation, fueling additional system growth. Growth and technological evolution present a challenge not to be taken lightly. However, through vigilance, opportunism, and a keen sense of industry direction the future continues to look bright for the Beaufort County GIS.