WISE-Decade CBAS Update

Hello all,

We have had some activity on the CBAS web application this week. Progress can be checked using these rest services end points.

http://wisedecadeservices.legis.wisconsin.gov/arcgis/rest/services/BAS/Statewide_MCD_DC/MapServer

http://wisedecadeservices.legis.wisconsin.gov/arcgis/rest/services/BAS/Statewide_Ward_DC/MapServer

So far we have 3 of 72 counties have uploaded data to the website.

We are still hoping counties will follow the timeline that is outlined on our website.

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/gis/bas/

LTSB is here to help if you have questions!

support.wisedecade@legis.wisconsin.gov

We are excited to announce that the WISE-Decade system is now live!

The first application that running on this platform is the Consolidated BAS & Data Collection Mapping Tool. This tool compares US Census Bureau geography with local municipal data to generate 1) a symmetrical difference, 2) automatically enter the correct Census required attributes, 3) filter for Census defined acceptable changes, and 4) flag potential annexations not yet submitted to, or absorbed by, the US Census Bureau.

This system also combines all county data used in this process into a statewide Geographic Information System (GIS) layer.

User Names and passwords were e-mailed to County Land Information Offices and County Clerks on Friday, January 09, 2015.

If you did not receive your login credentials please let the LTSB GIS team know at support.wisedecade@legis.wisconsin.gov

LTSB 2015 Statute Changes

Below is the e-mail notification sent to all County Land Information Offices and County Clerks on Monday, December 29^th, 2014:

Hello Wisconsin County Clerks and Land Information Offices,

The LTSB Boundary and Annexation Tool, previously made available as an Esri Add-In, is now available as a web application. This web application will replace the Add-In for counties participating in the 2015 CBAS program. The documentation for this web application has been attached to this e-mail and will also will be available here. This application requires no installation, no Esri license, and can be accessed from anywhere there is an internet connection. County accounts will become active after login and passwords have been e-mailed. This application can be accessed at https://wisedecade.legis.wisconsin.gov. 

We are asking the 48 counties that are currently signed up for the CBAS program to use the WISE-DECADE web portal to complete their CBAS submissions. All 72 counties will have access to the WISE-Decade web portal and the CBAS application. For counties without a CBAS agreement, you may still document any annexations and turn your change files into the Census Bureau. Your changes can still be incorporated into the Census Data if communities in your county didn’t submit data as part of this program.

We are also asking that counties try and use the following timeline for their submissions. This timeline follows the statute changes that would be in effect on January 1st, 2016.

2015 Program Timeline

January 1, 2015

• The 2015 Boundary and Annexation Survey Program begins.

January 12, 2015

• The WISE-Decade CBAS web application will be released.
• Counties login to the WISE-Decade web portal, upload their current municipal ward layer, and document any annexations that occurred between January 1st, 2014 and December 31st, 2014. Any annexations missing in the Census data prior to January 1st, 2014, should also be documented.
• BAS change files generated from the CBAS web application will be e-mailed to the designated county user once annexation documentation is completed.

January 30, 2015

• Target date for county clerks to submit data to LTSB using the WISE-Decade for “snapshot” of January 1st – December 31st 2014.

February 16, 2015

• LTSB will publish statewide municipal and ward boundaries to our Open Data Portal found here:  http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ltsb/gis/data
• REST feature services will also be made available at MCD and Ward level, and will be live updated as data is submitted.

March 1, 2015

• Deadline for BAS submissions to the Census Bureau that will be included in population estimates and the American Community Survey (ACS). 

March 31, 2015

• Deadline for BAS submissions to the Census Bureau. Change files generated from the CBAS web application should be sent to the Census Bureau on or before this date.

July 15, 2015

• Counties will login to the WISE-Decade web portal and upload a current municipal ward layer: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ltsb/gis/wise-decade/

August 1, 2015

• LTSB will publish statewide municipal and ward boundaries to our Open Data Portal found here: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ltsb/gis/data
• REST feature services will also be made available at MCD and Ward level, and will be live updated as data is submitted.

Wisconsin Statute Changes

To help coordinate and support efforts to make the Census Bureau’s TIGER geography align more closely with  local datasets, the Legislative Technology Services Bureau (LTSB) and the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) have proposed changes to the state statutes.  These changes will alter the way municipal and ward boundaries are collected in Wisconsin.

Here are some of the highlights the bill:

Current Law (During the Local Redistricting Period)

• After the decennial Census data is received and distributed by the Legislature, municipalities over 1,000 persons are required to divide into municipal wards.
• All municipalities that divide into wards must send information to the county clerk, or the board of election commissioners.
• Within 5 days after adoption, or enactment, of an ordinance, or resolution, under this section, the municipal clerk shall transmit one copy of the ordinance or resolution to the county clerk of each county in which the municipality is contained, accompanied by the list and map.
• If the municipality is over 10,000 persons, they must also send a copy of this information to the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB).

Changes (During the Local Redistricting Period):

• Municipalities over 10,000 in population are no longer required to send a copy of ward information to the LRB.
• Municipalities must send a report confirming the boundaries of the municipality and each ward within the municipality to the county clerk by October 15th. 
• This report must contain a map showing the municipal and ward boundaries, and a list of the census block numbers of which the municipality and each of its wards are comprised.
• The county clerk or board of election commissioners must provide LTSB a report confirming the boundaries of each municipalities by November 1st. 
• The report must include a list of the census block numbers of which the county, each municipality, and all the wards within the county are comprised. 
• This report must be in an electronic format that is approved by LTSB.
• Municipal boundaries that are incorrect in the Census Bureau’s data may be corrected by creating a ward from the area that intersects the current, accurate municipal boundary and the boundary used by the Census.

Changes (During all other years):

• The bill directs each county clerk, or board of election commissioners, no later than January 15th and July 15th of each year, to transmit to the LTSB, in an electronic format approved by LTSB, a report confirming the boundaries of each municipality, ward and supervisory district within the county as of the preceding “snapshot” date of January 1st or July 1st respectively.
• The bill provides that, upon receipt of the information from each county clerk or board of election commissioners at each semi-annual reporting interval, LTSB must reconcile and compile the information received into a statewide database consisting of municipal boundary information for the entire state. 
• The bill also directs LTSB to participate, on behalf of the state, in geographic boundary information programs when offered by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Summary

The Wisconsin Legislative Technology Services Bureau will:

• Use ward and municipal boundary datasets directly from the county
• Provide applications and support
• Create and update the statewide layers based on the county/GAB’s required cycle
• Be the steward of this data and make it available on our website to anyone who needs it
• Submit data and coordinate with the Census Bureau in regards to any data improvement programs

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you,

Tony

Tony J. Van Der Wielen

Legislative Technology Services Bureau

GIS Manager

Liaison to the U.S. Census Bureau - Redistricting Data Program

Phone: 608-283-1817

E-mail: Tony.VanDerWielen@legis.wisconsin.gov

2015 Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) Info

Here is our first communication for the 2015 BAS cycle. More information about BAS and the

WISE-Decade Consolidated BAS/Data Collection tool will follow soon!

This e-mail was sent to all Wisconsin County Clerks and Land Information Offices on 12/16/2014

Good Afternoon,

We would like to once again thank you and your staff for your assistance with the Local Redistricting effort following the release of the 2010 Census Data. The process of local redistricting in Wisconsin went relatively smoothly, thanks to all who were involved.

There were some challenges that local governments around Wisconsin faced with regard to the U.S. Census Bureau data. Wisconsin’s constitution requires that federal census data be used for redistricting. Over the last ten years, census data used for this process has dramatically improved, but it can be made better.

The Minor Civil Divisions information released by the U.S. Census Bureau needs to be updated by local governments on an annual basis to be accurate. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) annually to collect information about selected legally defined geographic areas. The BAS is then used to update information about the legal boundaries and names of all governmental units in the United States. The Census Bureau uses the boundary information collected in the BAS to tabulate data for the decennial and economic censuses, and annual estimates and surveys such as the Population Estimates Program and the American Community Survey.

To reduce the burden on local governments, and avoid the duplication of efforts, the Census Bureau offers consolidation agreements to counties that are interested in submitting boundary changes for the local governments (incorporated places and minor civil divisions) within their jurisdiction. The Consolidated Boundary and Annexation Survey (CBAS) program allows counties to report boundary and feature changes for some or all of these governments within their county.  Once a local government agrees to the consolidation, the local government will no longer receive BAS materials.  Instead, the county BAS respondent will be responsible for providing the Census Bureau with all boundary updates. For more information about the consolidated BAS (CBAS), please refer to the Census Bureau's website.

Currently, 48 Wisconsin counties have signed a consolidated (CBAS) agreement with the Census Bureau to participate in the 2015 CBAS program.

In an effort to help county and local governments streamline the process of submitting data to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Legislative Technology Services Bureau (LTSB) has developed software that quickly and easily compares census data and local datasets. This software was originally developed for Esri ArcGIS desktop, and creates all the necessary files needed to participate in the Census Bureau’s BAS and CBAS programs.

For BAS 2015, LTSB has created a web portal to access this software online. This software is currently available to any Wisconsin county or municipality free of charge.

It is LTSB’s goal to ensure every local government in the state has the ability to participate in the BAS program so that future releases of Census Bureau data (including the Census 2020 redistricting data) reflect the most accurate municipal boundaries possible for Wisconsin. Additionally, this online software will send accurate municipal boundaries to LTSB, enabling us to construct an updated, statewide layer of municipal and ward boundaries.

For more information on BAS, CBAS and the LTSB Data Integration tool please visit http://legis.wisconsin.gov/gis/bas

Information and documentation for this new system will be sent to individual County Clerks and Land Information Officers in the next few days.

Tony J. Van Der Wielen
Legislative Technology Services Bureau
GIS Manager

Liaison to the U.S. Census Bureau - Redistricting Data Program
Phone: 608-283-1817
E-mail: Tony.vanderwielen@legis.wisconsin.gov