Board favors map data fee

WALKER - Cass County Board voted to establish a fee schedule Tuesday for selling digital map data to businesses.

The information available free for viewing, not downloading, on the county Web site will be provided free for downloading to other government agencies or for educational purposes.

Management Information Systems Director Tim Richardson said some customers from whom he has inquiries include people who produce maps, engineers and people who develop programs for geographic information systems now available in vehicles.

Data requests from nonprofit agencies will receive a reduced rate.

Auditor-Treasurer Sharon Anderson reported the county earned $1,375,368.31 interest on investments this year or 72 percent more than expected when the budget was set for 2006. That also is more than $300,000 more than the county earned on 2005 investments.

Cass County will lease space in Sylvan Town Hall for a southern Cass County sheriff's substation in 2007 at no cost to the county beyond insurance for the county's property placed in the building and liability insurance for county operations there.

The county has phased out over the last two years contracts requiring the county to pay rent for the use of space.