DeKalb County has a tool that can be useful to everyone, but not everyone may know about it.

The Geographic Information System, GISWeb, is a Web-based mapping application that allows anyone in the county to view maps online.

Sheila Santos, GISWeb manager, said various information is available for people to look up with the application.

“There are over 100 map features on the Web site that allow people to view property and tax information, school taxing boundaries, see where sex offenders are in the area and much more,” Santos said.

Santos said GISWeb appeals to everybody.

“Everybody is looking for something different when it comes to looking for certain types of information,” she said.

She finds that GISWeb is very popular and used on a regular basis.

“It is used very actively by people from a range of title companies to private citizens,” Santos said. “People who search for property information are using it to buy or look for housing.”

Santos said that with the property information, it comes in handy when looking for housing.

Dick Wickness, an agent at Century 21 Elsner Realty, knows other real estate agents use it but not how often they utilize the system.

GISWeb is not something that is new for the county; it has been used for eight years now.

“GISWeb has been online for eight years and has continued to be rebuilt from the public’s feedback in order to cater to their needs,” Santos said.

To access GISWeb, Internet users must have at least Internet Explorer 6 and may have to download the Adobe Scalable Vector Graphics plug-in.

Kim Williams, IT director for the city of DeKalb, has been looking at GISWeb and thinks it is a good idea.

“It would be good for the public to be able to access the information online, saving them time,” Williams said.

He said the city is currently looking into having a specific GISWeb system for the city of DeKalb somewhere down the line.

“Due to financial concerns for DeKalb, it won’t be something that we will get as of now but hope to in the future,” Williams said.

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