Why a Database Management System (DBMS) Is the Superior Choice Over a Geographic Information System (GIS) for the County Surveyor’s Office

Before any comparison of tools can take place, it is necessary to clearly define what the County Surveyor’s Office is required to accomplish. Technology should follow function — not the other way around.

What the County Surveyor’s Office Must Be Able to Do

To properly carry out the mandated duties of Section Corner Perpetuation, the County Surveyor must have tools that meet the following practical requirements:

1. Cost-effective within realistic county budgets
   County Surveyors must work within budgetary constraints, including those faced by the poorest counties. Any system adopted must be affordable not only to implement, but also to maintain.

2. Minimal specialized training required
   County Surveyors are elected officials. The individual holding the office may change every four years, and their technical background may differ greatly from their predecessor. A newly elected Surveyor must be able to step in and continue the work immediately using the same tools. It is unreasonable to assume that each incoming Surveyor will be a GIS technician or database specialist.

3. Ability to archive and integrate records while preserving history
   Records submitted by private surveyors must be archived and integrated with existing corner data. New records should be added — not replace — previous records. A true chain of title for each corner must be maintained, which requires the ability to concatenate and organize multiple records over time.

4. Reliable digital archiving of records
   The time has long passed when hard-copy records alone can be relied upon to perpetuate valuable public information. Records must be digitally archived in a stable and organized manner.

5. Fast and efficient retrieval of records
   County Surveyors must be able to quickly retrieve and dispense records to land surveyors and the public. Ideally, records should be available for immediate electronic delivery, such as by email.

6. Ability to support public-facing maps and websites
   Section corner locations should be graphically represented on public-facing maps or websites, allowing access even when the Surveyor’s office is closed. The data should remain portable and usable across different mapping platforms.

7. Integration of related survey records
   The system should allow other survey records — such as legal surveys, plats, original section notes, and unrecorded surveys — to be housed alongside section corner records in a single, unified system.

While not all of these capabilities are strictly required to meet Indiana’s minimum statutory requirements, items 1 through 4 are essential. Any tool used by a County Surveyor must, at a minimum, satisfy those core needs.

DBMS and GIS: Which Tool Best Fits the Job?

Prior to the early 2000s, the only technology capable of meeting these requirements was a computer-based database. Today, counties also have access to Geographic Information Systems. The question is not whether GIS is useful — it is — but whether GIS is the best primary tool for managing and administering Section Corner Perpetuation records.

My position is that a Database Management System (DBMS) remains the superior solution for this specific responsibility.

It is true that many of Indiana’s more affluent counties now use GIS for their section corner programs. With larger budgets, some counties are able to employ multiple licensed surveyors and full-time GIS technicians. In many of these cases, the GIS existed first, and the section corner program was later added as another dataset.

That sequence is backwards.

The section corner program should be the foundation, with GIS serving as a downstream consumer of that data — not the system of record itself.

Even in well-funded counties, a GIS-centered approach often fails to fully satisfy several of the practical requirements listed earlier, particularly those related to ease of use, record continuity, rapid retrieval, portability, and Surveyor control over their own data.

A Working Example: Orange County, Indiana

A Database Management System checks every box outlined above.

My home county of Orange provides a clear example. Orange County has fully implemented its Section Corner Perpetuation Program using a DBMS. The system currently contains over 8,000 records, all organized and retrievable in seconds.

The County Surveyor maintains complete control over his data. Regardless of which GIS vendor the county chooses to use, the Surveyor can export his data for public mapping or even host it on a public website using a lower-cost mapping solution.

Surveyors routinely call the office and have corner records, surveys, plats, and notes emailed to them immediately. The system requires only basic computer skills and is maintained by the deputy surveyor — not a GIS technician — fully satisfying the continuity requirement when officeholders change.

In addition to corner records, the DBMS houses old legal surveys, plats, unrecorded surveys, and original notes, making all of the County Surveyor’s land records digitally available in one place.

All of this is accomplished at a fraction of the cost typically associated with GIS-centric projects and without hiring consultants or specialized personnel.

Cost, Control, and Misalignment

In Indiana, there are well-known section corner projects that have exceeded $200,000 in cost — often just to scan and host existing records within a county GIS. Those same funds could have been used to employ surveyors in the field to actually locate and perpetuate corners, which is the very purpose of the program.

GIS excels at spatial analysis, routing, and trend visualization. These are valuable capabilities — but they are not the questions land surveyors are asking when researching section corners. Surveyors are not using GIS to measure distances between corners or analyze monument types across regions. They are looking for records, history, and documentation, and they want them quickly.

Many counties adopted GIS simply because it was already in place through the Recorder, Assessor, or 911 offices. When offered the opportunity to digitize records, County Surveyors understandably accepted the help. In doing so, however, they often relinquished direct control over records that their office is legally mandated to maintain.

Any updates, additions, or corrections must then be handled by GIS staff, effectively outsourcing a core responsibility of the elected office — often at additional cost to the taxpayers.

Conclusion

A Database Management System remains the most appropriate, defensible, and cost-effective tool for the County Surveyor’s Office in fulfilling its Section Corner Perpetuation responsibilities. A DBMS allows the Surveyor to maintain full control over records, ensures continuity across administrations, minimizes cost, and serves as a reliable system of record.

At the same time, a DBMS does not exclude GIS. It complements it. A properly structured database can feed GIS platforms and public-facing maps while preserving the Surveyor’s authority over their own data.

For this particular function — managing, preserving, and dispensing section corner records — a DBMS is not only sufficient, it is superior.

The information and videos throughout this website demonstrate this approach in practice. I encourage you to explore them and feel free to contact me with any comments or questions.