Mecklenburg County partners with Centralina Council of governments and nine surrounding counties to produce a regional ortho photo coverage.  The participating counties are Alexander, Burke, Cabarrus, Catawba, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg and Richmond. Union County was interested but didn't participate because it recently finished its own aerial survey.   The project is being administered by the Centralina Council of Governemnents.  The administration cost is being offset by funding from state and federal agencies.

The information collected is used by a people with a wide range of interests, from developers looking to build new subdivisions to planners making decisions about land use, school or transportation needs.  Dispatchers use the photographs to send police and ambulances to correct locations, and landfill operators use them to see how full the facilities are.  Mecklenburg last took photos in early 2004 .

The total cost for the nine counties is $850,000.  Mecklenburg's contribution is $120,000, about $55,000 less than we spent doing it alone last year.