| We can substantially enhance our capacity to | | | | Management System (NIMS) and the Incident |
| serve our nation by adopting a Geographic | | | | Command System (ICS) will be greatly enhanced |
| Information System (GIS) approach to managing | | | | if we are operating from a GIS-grounded baseline |
| and operating the city's public safety and | | | | capability. I believe the upfront costs of |
| emergency services activities. A GIS-based | | | | establishing this system can be shared and |
| system will not only allow us to more effectively | | | | mitigated through a number of creative |
| save lives and property, but it will also allow us to | | | | approaches and that what remains will pay for |
| operate with greater efficiency, enhancing ourr | | | | itself in the efficiencies we achieve. |
| ability to extend a limited budget to address long | | | | The nation can be proud of the capability |
| sought after priority needs. In addition, the | | | | represented in its current public safety and |
| system proposed will give our nation tools through | | | | emergency services organizations. However the |
| which we can unambiguously and graphically | | | | world has grown more complicated and |
| portray the challenges and risks associated with | | | | investments in our nation has brought industry, |
| managing a geographic information system within | | | | infrastructure and growth that is rapidly |
| current budget limitations. It will allow the country | | | | outstripping our capacity to maintain our security. |
| a powerful means to communicate to local | | | | Our ability to build on personal relationships, |
| officials make the public aware of the risks and | | | | individual knowledge and archived records for the |
| tradeoffs that have to be made in order to keep | | | | data that informs public safety and emergency |
| our nation safe and secure. | | | | service actions is no longer sufficient or practical. |
| GIS is rapidly becoming a standard information | | | | We owe it to the citizens of our nation to create |
| protocol for public safety and emergency services | | | | an enduring information management system that |
| throughout the country. Our ability to rapidly | | | | will serve the needs of cities long after any of the |
| engage surrounding jurisdictions and participate | | | | incumbent expertise or knowledge has moved on. |
| with federal partners under the National Incident | | | | |