U.S. Census BureauGeography Division Programs

Presentation to the Indiana Government Geospatial Coordinator Forum

September 20, 2012

Overview

• Boundary and Annexation Survey

• Consolidated BAS Agreements

• BAS State Certification

• GSSi Partnership Program

Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS)

What is the Boundary and What is the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS)?Annexation Survey (BAS)?

• A voluntary survey of local, county, and tribal governments

• Conducted annually to collect information about legal geographic areas

• Primary source of information for:– Legal boundaries and boundary changes– Names, functional statuses, and types of governments– New governments – Dissolved governments– higher-level geographic relationships

• e.g. a place annexes into a new county

4

Why do we conduct the BAS?Why do we conduct the BAS?• Ensure that population and housing counts are assigned

to the correct geography in all Census Bureau products.• Support the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Circular No. A-16– Collecting and maintain boundaries for legal areas– Geo.data.gov– The National Map (http://nationalmap.gov/)

• Present statistics for various censuses and surveys:– American Community Survey (ACS) – Population Estimates Program– Economic Census– Decennial Census Programs

5

• Available to states that mandate local governments to report boundary updates to the state government.

• Under this agreement, states report to the BAS by:– Submitting all boundary updates in the state, OR

– Submitting a list of entities that had boundary updates.

• State participation improves the BAS process in the following ways:– Reduces duplication of effort in collecting information

– Reduces the burden on local governments

– Improves the completeness of the boundary data collected in a given year

6

BAS State AgreementsBAS State Agreements

• The county government responds to the BAS for governmental units within their jurisdiction.

• Under this agreement, the county reports to the BAS by:– Establishing an agreement with entities whereby the county shall

respond to the BAS for the undersigned entities.

• County agreement does not require every entity to sign on

• County participation improves the BAS process by:– Reducing the burden on local governments

– Minimizing mailout; only the County BAS contact receives materials.

– Improving the completeness of the reported boundary data

7

BAS County AgreementsBAS County Agreements

• A program for state governments to review information that local governments reported to the previous BAS:– Legal boundary changes (annexations & deannexations)– Functional status of governments– Legal names of governmental units.

• The current State Cert reports information collected during the previous BAS year:– Ex: 2012 State Cert reports information collected during the 2011

BAS.

8

BAS State Certification Program BAS State Certification Program (State Cert)(State Cert)

• Ensure that legal boundary changes and government status changes reported to the BAS are legal.– implemented in accordance with applicable State Laws

• Maintain the accuracy and completeness of boundary information:– The Census Bureau is responsible for collecting and maintaining

correct Legal Boundary information– Make sure Census Bureau MTDB matches State record

• Verify the attribute information submitted to BAS is correct:– Ordinance Number– Effective Date

9

Why do we conduct State Cert?Why do we conduct State Cert?

• The extent of State Cert varies depending on the State Laws for incorporations/disincorporations and boundary changes:– State Statutes– Constitution– or State Code

• Some states have strong state laws requiring local governments to report to the state government:– The state contact has the authority to request the Census Bureau

to edit or delete BAS information

• In states that do not have such provisions, the Census Bureau will not edit or delete BAS information without confirmation with the local government.

10

State Laws and State CertState Laws and State Cert

• In strong law states, the state contact may notify the Census Bureau of any missing or illegal boundary changes:– The local entity is sent a discrepancy letter describing the issue

• For boundary changes missing from the Census file:– The entity may simply report the missing boundary change to the

BAS

• For boundary changes flagged as invalid by the state:– The entity is responsible for resolving the discrepancy with the

proper state authority.– After resolving the issue, the entity may submit the valid boundary

change to the BAS.

11

Missing Annexations and ReversalsMissing Annexations and Reversals

12

Important Dates and DeadlinesImportant Dates and DeadlinesDate(s) Description

December Advance Response Letters and Forms mailed to the BAS Contacts

December -April

BAS Materials mailed to the BAS Contacts

January 1 Boundary Changes (annexations and detachments) reported to the current BAS must be in effect on or before this date.

April 15 Last day for participants to request BAS materials to be shipped by mail.

March 1 First Deadline: Changes received by this date will be included in the upcoming Population Estimates Program and ACS. Boundary updates will be depicted on the next release of BAS maps.

May 31 Final Deadline: Changes received by this date will be depicted on the next release of BAS maps

BAS WebsiteBAS Website

Geographic Support System Initiative (GSS-I)

Partnership Program

Key Components of the GSS-IKey Components of the GSS-I• An integrated program that utilizes a partnership

program for:

– Improved address coverage

– Continual address and spatial feature updates

– Enhanced quality assessment and measurementAddress Updates

123 Testdata RoadAnytown, CA 94939

Lat 37 degrees, 9.6 minutes NLon 119 degrees, 45.1 minutes W

Street/Feature UpdatesQuality Measurement

The GSS-I Partnership ProgramThe GSS-I Partnership Program

• Recognize local governments as the definitive authority for quality geospatial data within their communities

• Provide a repeatable opportunity for partners to exchange geospatial data with the Census Bureau leading up to 2020

• Provide simple tools that allow data transfers with partners through web-based technology and service-oriented architecture

How will the Program work?How will the Program work?

• Request address, housing unit structure, and street feature data for purposes of updating the MAF/TIGER System

• Reach out to national & state organizations, commercial partners, and federal agencies as other potential sources of this quality data

• Apply quality checks to determine if partner-provided data meet our minimum requirements

What Kind of Address Data?What Kind of Address Data?

• City-style addresses and/or

• Non city-style addresses (i.e., Rural Route #)that ‘ideally’ meet:

1. USPS minimum delivery requirements, and 2. the ‘FGDC Address Standard’ (U.S. Thoroughfare,

Landmark, and Postal Address Data Standard)

See the Census Bureau Address Data Content Guidelines:http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gss/gdlns/addgdln.html

What Kind of Housing Unit Structure Data?What Kind of Housing Unit Structure Data?

•Latitude/Longitude Coordinates for a Housing Unit structure or access point (i.e., from E-911 or Next-Gen E-911 database)•Structure centroids•Latitude/Longitude Coordinates for a real property parcel or parcel centroid•Other points used by partner?

Again, see the Census Bureau Address Data Content Guidelines:http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gss/gdlns/addgdln.html

What Kind of Street Feature Data?What Kind of Street Feature Data?

• Street centerline geometry• Street attributes – names, address ranges, etc.

Why?• Expand Census centerline and attribute coverage• Spatially-correct misaligned streets in conjunction

with high-quality imagery

Feature Data and Metadata Content GuidelinesFeature Data and Metadata Content Guidelines• http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gss/gdlns/addgdln.html

Planned Schedule for FY13-14Planned Schedule for FY13-14

• October 2012– Kick-off program with data from limited partners

(@50, TBD)• February 2013

– Start providing feedback• March 2013

– Identify 300-400 supplemental FY13 partners based on quality audit of MAF/TIGER data

– Make “Community TIGER” available for beta testing• October 2013

– Planning for open participation

GSS-I Web SiteGSS-I Web Site

See the GSS-I internet site at the following URL:

http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gss/

Questions?

Monica SmithU.S. Census Bureau

301-763-9168monica.smith@census.gov