GIS is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing objects and events.  It combines the power of an informational database with the visualization capabilities of an easy-to-understand map.  Good decisions require good information.  Producing good information requires powerful tools to help people organize and think about data and information in new ways.  With the visual power of a map, policy-makers, City staff and the public alike can consider and discuss a number of different issues with a common understanding of the situation and the probable implications of their decisions.  Simply put, the City's GIS allows for better decision-making.

The City of Andover's GIS Department manages the information collected by various City departments, federal agencies, the State of Kansas and Butler County.  This information provides a way to incorporate, visualize and understand the relationships between different types of data to create new information.  The City's GIS allows decision makers to present this new information more clearly to the citizens.  For local government policy-makers and City staff, the availability of GIS as a tool for better decision-making has profound implications in three major areas: