Wisconsin Land Information Program LandInformation Board County Office Lk1its Grants-In-Aid Program Land Information Producers and Users Permission to reproduce this report is granted on the condition that the report is acknowledged. The illustration on the cover is a conceptual representation of the diagram o.n page19,-which more completely depicts relationships among the components of the proposed Wisconsin Land Information Program. To request a copy of this report,write to: Attn: WLRC Final Report, Center for Land Information Studies, Room 1042 WARF Building, 610 Walnut Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53705; or call (608) 262-9937. ::s n: '.:M7$>?*?S?»?=*W?3°'?'£"; ':???? j rn::; FINAL REPORT OF THE WISCONSIN LAND RECORDS COMMITTEE: MODERNIZING WISCONSIN'S LAND RECORDS July 1987 Wisconsin Land Records Committee State of Wisconsin c/o Institute for Environmental Studies University of Wisconsin-Madison 1040 WARF Building, 610 Walnut Street, Madison, WI 53705 (608) 263-6843 July 1, 1987 Committee Members Governor Tommy G. Thompson James Clapp, Chair State of Wisconsin Myron Bacon Kurt Bauer State Capitol Building William Chatterton Madison, Wisconsin 53702 Arnold Clement Barbara Crosser Helen Croteau Dear Governor Thompson, Earl Espeseth Phyllis Fuller On behalf of the thirty-two members of the WisconsinLand Records Committee and the seventy-one Kevin Hagen George Hall members of its twelve supporting subcommittees and task force, I am pleased to submit to you this final report. William Huxhold Contained within are the Committee's recommendations fora WisconsinLand InformationProgram which, if Carolyn Johnson implemented, would provide the means for the State of Wisconsin to address the immediate needs of state and James Johnson Craig Karr local agencies regarding land records collection andmanagement, and the long-term issues of land record$ Rebecca Keipe modernization. Anthony Kiedrowski Tom Krauskopf These needs and issues are extremely broad in scope, and profound in their impact upon the decision Julie MacSwain Florence Magnuson process in both the public and private sectors. Three recent issues that illustrate the need to recognize and Suzette Mullooly address the problem are: (1) a U.S. Supreme Court decision that found a financial lender liablefor site Bernard Niemann Jr. contamination that occurred prior to the loan; (2) analysis by. a private market research firm projecting an Meredith Ostrom investment by utilities and local governments of $45 to $92 billion by the year 2000 in automated land James Plourde Diane Preston information systems; and, (3) a Kentucky Supreme Court decision that found a tax assessment process Janet Price unconstitutional because it failed to take into account such factors as variation in soil productivity. In brief, Shirley Rasmussen decision-makers including citizens, privatefirms and public officials need access to accurate and timely land­ Judy Rendall Agnes Ring related information for a variety of purposes. A 1978 Wisconsin Department of Administration report revealed Bette Salmon that Wisconsin invests $80 million annually (approximately $135 million in 1987 dollars) to collect and Arden Sandsnes maintain land information. In efforts to improve efficiency, many local and state government agencies, Anita Sprenger Arthur Ziegler utilities, and businesses are beginning to modernize their land records. The State has a vital role in helping to manage the change that is already upon us, for the benefitof its citizens. Coordinating Staff At nine public informationmeetings held around the state, the proposed WisconsinLand Information James Clapp Program received widespreadsupport by elected officials and other concerned professionals. Hardly a week has Chair D. David Moyer gone by in recent months without a request for a presentation on the Committee's recommendations from Facilitator organizations of elected officials, nationaland international professionalassociations, other states studying land Bernard Niemann Jr. records modernization,and most recently, a National Governors Association conference on "Integrating Facilitator Vice Chair Information for Decisionmaking." To date, the Committee's recommendations have received support from Christine Reinhard several federal and local government officials, officers of professional organizations, and individual citizens. Facilitator Barbara Weisman Program Assistant It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve as your chairman. I am ready to assist you in the implementation of the Committee's recommendations. : . smc tr!J esL. Wisconsin�Land Records Committee Wisconsin Land Records Committee: FinalReport i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY After examining the needs and opportunities affected are property ownership rights and associated with modernizing land records for almost two responsibilities, property tax assessment, utility and years, the Wisconsin Land Records Committee transportation infrastructures, economic development recommends to the Governor and the Legislature that a and other land use planning, socioeconomic research, Wisconsin Land Information Program be and natural resource management. established. Increasingly available and affordable information The Program is a five-point plan for statewide land and surveying technologies provide a means to address records modernization with centralized coordination, yet many aspects of land records modernization. Interactive distributed responsibility. It is designed to foster and computer graphics, telecommunications, database guide the development of modern , multipurpose land management systems, and satellite systems for information systems - - development that is already under extremely accurate global positioning are a few of the way due to technological and socioeconomic trends. applicable state-of-the-art technologies. Wisconsin Land Information Program Wisconsin County Land lnfonnationBoard Land Jnfonnation Units Officeof LandInforma tion Grants-In-AidProgram Professional Private Federal State County Mwtlcipal Utilities Associations Sector Government Government Government Government KEV: statutorily established "·:�·:·:·:�·:·:�·:·:·:·;-;-:-;·;.:·:�·:-; Independently established - mo< - lines of lnflUence The Wisconsin Land Records Committee believes The Committee recognizes that many of the that state agencies, county and municipal governments, changes needed to modernize land records cannot be regional planning agencies, and certain private made overnight. Rather, new technologies and enterprises and utilities must act immediately to make legislative changes must be adopted gradually, and now-developing land information systems compatible. changes in administrative procedures should be based To fail to do so is to risk an inability to adequately address upon sound economic and technical precedents. increasingly complex policy and development issues, and to risk wasting tax dollars on systems with limited As expressed by the Committee, Wisconsin's applications and abilities. overall goal for modernizing land records is to develop, implement, and maintain compatible multipurpose land A large percentage of society's need for information systems that can provide useful, quality data information is related to the land. Day-to-day policy­ needed by citizens, public agencies, and businesses. A making, management, and government services are furtherobjective is to establish economic, legal, hindered by an inability to associate much of this land­ institutional, technical, and educational frameworks to related information with its physical location. Most fairly and efficiently support these systems. ii Wisconsin Land RecordsCommittee: Final Report The Wisconsin Land Information Program planning commissions, utilities, and the private sector will provide a long-range, strategic mechanism to guide will be encouraged as well. The Office will be the development of modern, multipurpose land administratively attached to the University of information systems, as well as a flexible process by Wisconsin System for the provision of physical space which to implement and maintain these systems. As and basic overhead services. such, it will enable Wisconsin to meet the goal set forth •The Grants-In-Aid Program will help fund by the Committee. The Program will: establish a Land development of local and regional multipurpose land lnfonnation Board, an Officeof Land Information, and a information systems. It will include technical Grants.. ln -Aid Program; encourage the establishment of assistance to local governments undertaking any County land Information Units; and cooperate with a degree of land records modernization. Any local unit non-governmental Land Information Association. of government will be able to apply for grants. The 11 The Land Information Board will establish and Board will review all grant proposals, and each grant direct overall Program policy. The Board will develop will require an equal or greater in-kind match from non­ programs to include: state sources. o a Grants-In-Aid Program to help fund local II Each of Wisconsin's 72 counties will be encouraged government efforts to modernize land records; to establish a County Land Information Unit. o guidelines for implementing multipurpose land Because the parcel-level land data maintained by local information systems; governments is crucial to a statewide land information network, County Units will be fundamental to the o methods for resolving legal and administrative discrepancies pertaining to land information; Land Information Program and will: o