Job Information
FERGUS COUNTY ROAD & BRIDGE DEPT. Planner/GIS Mgr in LEWISTOWN, Montana
Full time, permanent, year-round position
WAGE:Starts at $23.50/hr to $26.50 depending on experience with county benefits included.
DUTIES:
Oversee the planning department through the management of staff and consultants to ensure the provision of professional, accurate and timely services for the public, various boards, and commissions related to zoning and development in the County. Establish work priorities and supervise, train, and evaluate personnel as required.
Plan, organize, and control planning and community development functions and services within the County to ensure that policies, programs, and services comply with department goals and established or newly created ordinances.
Prepare recommendations for long-range planning projects reports to County Commissioners on topics including maintaining compliance with the County Comprehensive Plan. Direct preparation of all planning, zoning, and community development documents.
Analyze community planning and development by proposing programs to meet these needs and evaluating projects in accordance with County policies and applicable laws. Review specific plans such as subdivision plans, rezoning requests, variances, and development plans and projects to ensure adherence to related ordinances. Administer and enforces land use, subdivision, zoning, and floodplain regulations.
Review, update, clarify, and recommend amendments to land use, development, and subdivision regulations at the request of the Board of County Commissioners. Confer with the County Attorney on interpretation and legal consequences of regulatory decisions. Conduct research, data collection, interpretation and analysis of data on planning, zoning, and development issues.
Coordinate County planning and development activities by maintaining communication with other County departments and outside agencies concerning land acquisitions, development projects, rights of way, land exchanges, zoning, and transportation to ensure compliance with laws and adherence to department goals.
Provide information to the public on the requirements of land use, subdivision regulations, legal documentation, regulations, and related issues. Represent the Planning Department when making presentations to the Commission, Planning Board, other Boards, committees, and various organizations.
Negotiate with developers, engineers, surveyors, and attorneys regarding infrastructure requirements for project approval and conditions of development including privately-funded construction on improvements to public facilities.
Prepare and administer the department budget to ensure expenditures are within limits and that the department has adequate supplies, services, and equipment. This may include applying for, implementing, and managing grants for community development, planning, and infrastructure improvement programs.
Plan and update systems, data, processes, and procedures; participate in the selection and implementation of software; and coordinate and perform systems development and modification to develop and maintain systems that provide information such as property owner name, address, legal description, parcel identification number or geographic extent; assessment/property tax; jurisdictional information; infrastructure data; and other information required by County users. Establish project standards, guide project plans and funding decisions, and ensure compliance with requirements.
Evaluate existing computer programs, databases, and other systems to develop short and long-term automation plans and recommendations, and to identify priorities for automation projects (e.g., developing GIS applications for the management and presentation of data). This requires assessment of existing data (information in county, state and local planning databases), County information needs, alternatives for accessing and integrating data, and the resource requirements (e.g. budget and staff) of various alternativ s. Attend application development, GIS, network, database, and web site-related meetings as required.
Research new products and application packages through sources such as manufacturers, current professional literature, consultation with other agencies, etc. Conduct feasibility studies for applications to support county GIS management and data dissemination efforts.
Prepare cost/benefit analyses of alternatives by identifying all direct and indirect costs, identifying current information on these costs and project components, and estimating the costs of solutions and enhancements in context of the benefits they provide.
Analyze outputs from GIS to ensure generation of the necessary information by establishing methods and policies for the manipulation and analysis of data, quality control and assurance, the creation and maintenance of spatial data topology and attributes, format manipulation, geo-referencing, and datum and projection transformations.
Review new procedures and software applications prior to full implementation to determine ease of use, functionality, and to detect potential problems.
Manipulate, modify and utilize computer applications including GIS, database, presentation, Internet and related systems and tools to enhance the integration of data, increase efficiency, and deliver information and technical assistance to users in a timely and effective manner.
Define the major outputs of county GIS applications including reports, real-time user access to data, and GIS interfaces to integrate requested end user outputs and application parameters. This includes defining which information databases should be made publicly available; designing logical models, physical models, and data flows of database files and programs, input/output formats, screen and report formats and other design features based on system design practices, user needs, and application parameters; and integrating new technologies into the Web environment.
Capture, store, manipulate, document, distribute, and display geographically referenced information from a variety of sources by using utility and data conversion software, digitizing tablets, computer screen digitizing, or other methods for capturing data.
Compile, attribute, edit, and maintain data in geographic and operational databases and use queries and GIS applications to generate reports and maps, and to ensure and enhance data quality. Ensures data and data processing procedures adhere to standards, policies, and other guidelines.
Respond to technical questions from GIS users; resolve problems and/or refers and discusses complex problems with designated contacts. Translate technical concepts and terminology into terms understandable to non-technical GIS users.
Provide GIS equipment and application support by prioritizing support needs based on the overall significance of the application, logistics, and options to keep the system functioning and impacts on related systems; providing technical assistance on the maintenance of software programs and hardware; and serving as contact for complex system problems. Resolve user problems by troubleshooting and isolating problems; analyzing hardware and software configurations, network components, and communication issues; and developing or coordinating solutions to correct problems.
Manage or coordinate projects to achieve objectives within allocated resources by developing work plans, establishing and administering project budgets, coordinating the work of staff and contractors, monitoring progress and the accomplishment of objectives, resolving problems, and completing project reports and close-outs.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
This job requires knowledge of land-use planning techniques for urban and rural planning, subdivision and surveying regulations; zoning and floodplain ordinances; Federal, state, local laws, and regulations regarding land use; community economic conditions and growth patterns;