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The County Information Project of
the Texas Association of Counties was formed by the
TAC Board in 1998 for the purpose of collecting, maintaining,
and disseminating county-level and county-related
data. The Project has a broad scope and has expanded
its mission since its inception. At this time, the
major components of the Project are:
The County Database
The Project has the responsibility for the
development of a database of county-level and county-related
data including local government structure and programs,
county financial data, demographic data, taxes, economic
data, etc. The initial database has been created and
is going through its evaluation period. At this point,
the primary benefit of the database is that it pulls
together several different sources of county information
into one, searchable, database.
The Financial Data Project
County financial data is the single-most
requested and important type of county data. With
the exception of what the Census Bureau is able to
collect from Texas counties, this data is virtually
non-existent. Although it resides in each county,
it is not maintained in a way that makes it easy to
locate or analyze. The Project, working with the Texas
County Auditors’ Association, the Texas Association
of Budget and Planning Administrators, and the United
States Bureau of the Census has begun an initiated
a survey to collect "apples-to-apples" county
government revenue and expenditure data.
Annual Survey of County
Government
Information on county government structure
and programs at the county level is another set of
data that is lacking but greatly sought. This is the,
"everything we ought to know about Texas counties,
but don't" data category. The Project has,
with the assistance of the Texas Agriculture Extension
Service, begun another initiative to collect this
data. We are in the stage of gathering questions and
preparing the questionnaire. The County Extension
Agents will collect the data. If you have a suggestion
for a question or subject that ought to be covered
in the survey, contact
us.
Geographic Information Systems
Geographic Information System (GIS) software
and information are spectacular tools for a variety
of purposes including emergency response, planning,
and preparing thematic views of data. The Project
is working toward offering many, if not most, of its
data in a GIS-readable format.
County Research Library
The Project has the responsibility for establishing
and maintaining a County Research Library. This is
your library, so let
us know if there is anything in particular that
you would like to see included.
The Texas County Data pages are brought to you by the County Information Project.
- Bruce Barr, County/GIS Analyst
- Paul Emerson, State Financial Analyst
- Tim Brown, Senior Analyst
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