The Village of Riverside Finance Department recently took advantage of GIS (Geographic Information System) in an effort to assess were village stickers had not been purchased nor renewed. Village stickers are required for all vehicles that are registered to a Riverside address and a new sticker is required every year. Sticker fees range from $65 to $95 depending on the type of vehicle.
Initially a review of purchases in the previous year was performed in the Finance office to identify businesses that did not renew their stickers. Next GIS was utilized to compare all residential addresses against those that did purchase a 2009 sticker. This allowed for creation of a map of addresses where stickers were not purchased as well as a spreadsheet of those locations from which a mailing could be sent to remind those individuals and potentially to focus ticketing efforts at those locations. Significant penalties are enforced upon individuals who do not purchase a sticker after which they may purchase a current year sticker. The village web page concerning village stickers is available here or under the ‘For Residents’ tab on the www.riverside.il.us home page.
Considering penalty fees and potential new applicants a modest estimate of generated revenue to the village resulting from these efforts would be thousands of dollars. This use of GIS is a prime example of the decision support capabilities of the technology as it directs the efforts and attention of this village program.