In 2005, Genesee County built a partnership and coordinated a project with its local units of government to advance GIS throughout the County, minimize the duplication of efforts, and bring significant benefit through increased cooperation and information sharing. More than 30 government agencies including Genesee County, the State of Michigan, and the USGS came together to fund a county-wide aerial photography and mapping software project that will put vital information in the hands of emergency workers, public service providers, and policy makers throughout the County. A project that could have cost Genesee County over $275,000 is now being done for less than $23,000. This joint effort will not only save Genesee County a lot of money, but will make GIS technology and information available to many local units of government that otherwise might not be able to afford it.

This initiative, called the Genesee County Pictometry and Orthoimagery Project, combines a number of products and services to support both development and deployment of geographic information across the County. In the spring of 2006, Pictometry International Corporation will capture both oblique (taken from an angle) and orthogonal (straight down view) high-resolution, true-color digital aerial photos for all of Genesee County. Images of every square foot of the County will be taken from multiple directions, providing complete views of every building, structure, road, and natural feature. All of the imagery will be useable through a number of GIS applications, including a lightweight software tool called Electronic Field Study, ArcMap, and ArcIMS. To meet the additional needs of GIS developers and planners, the orthogonal images captured by the vendor will be further processed, orthorectified, and certified by Sanborn Corporation to produce a traditional orthophoto product that meets or exceeds national map accuracy standards at a minimum scale of 1”=200’.

The City of Grand Blanc was a part of this initiative as of 2013. The City of Grand Blanc will continue to be a part of this initiative as this is a great savings to the City of Grand Blanc.