Sometimes, keeping track of everything is the hardest part of the job. In a few cases, keeping track is the job.

North Huntingdon township employee Ryan Fonzi knows full well the importance of knowing where everything is. As a geographic information system, or GIS, coordinator, Fonzi has the task of running the massive computer database that contains a multitude of information about the township.

"It's a way to have everything at your fingertips," said Fonzi of the GIS. The system stores information from the precise location of property lines to the layout of zoning districts across the township.

But GIS is more than just a repository of information. It also serves as a means of organizing and using that data.

Township engineer Andrew Blenko compares it to diagrams of the human body he encountered in the World Book Encyclopedia when he was growing up.

A basic outline of the body was printed on the page, and transparent sheets on the sides could be folded in to show muscles, bones or arteries and veins. Each system could be shown individually or combined with the others.

GIS operates in a similar way. Sitting at his computer, Fonzi can call up a base layer showing all the properties in the township and then superimpose different informational layers on top of it.

One click shows the location of the township's sewer lines and under whose property they are placed. Another click highlights areas that sit in a flood plain. Different layers can show aerial photos, contour lines, where roads and streams run and even the location of the township's fire hydrants and light posts.

"It's a graphical mapping of what's out there," Blenko said.

The system can print maps showing the information displayed on the screen. Fonzi has used this tool to create maps showing the distribution of zoning districts and different uses of land in the township, and he made the maps available to the public on the township's website.

As powerful as GIS is at showing where things are, it also integrates information about objects in the township. Clicking on parcels brings up their owner, size, address and deed number; clicking on sewer lines and fire hydrants brings up the date they were last serviced.

"To me it's a phenomenal tool for asset management," said Blenko, who added he uses the GIS to help do his job.

The system is networked, so all the multiple users can access the information stored on Fonzi's computer from their own desks. Blenko and Fonzi extended access to the police station, which allows officers to check what precinct specific addresses are in to better assign police coverage.

Fonzi said the public works department designed new snowplow coverage routes using the system.

To get the benefits of GIS however, a municipality has to make a sufficient investment of time and money in the system.

The power of GIS comes from the information it contains, and that information has to be both entered and updated. Fonzi and Blenko gathered data from old maps and records and determined objects' location with a portable global positioning system device.

"You're just constantly adding to it," Fonzi said. "It's a big job."

Adding data is only half the battle. Any time owners sell property, redraw lots or alter buildings, Fonzi must update the database to reflect the new reality on the ground and verify entered data, especially because information from older maps can be unreliable.

Only a few communities in the area choose to make the effort. Monroeville and Penn Hills use GIS, and Penn Hills makes use of GIS generated maps, but North Huntingdon is unique in the emphasis placed on putting GIS to work.

Although the work takes time, Fonzi and Blenko agree the benefits are worth it. Blenko pointed to a case in Lincoln Hills where, by using GIS, township officials discovered Allegheny Power was charging the township for a streetlight that did not exist.

Blenko also can ensure the township gets its fair share of state funding based on miles of roads locally owned because GIS makes calculating the total length of roads simple and accurate.

Fonzi and Blenko said they hope to keep expanding the number of people who can make use of the system, as well as come up with new data to add and new ways to use it.

"You're only limited by your imagination, the things you can do with this," Blenko said.