Carbon County is beginning a web-based project that will make parcel information more accessible for area residents.

On Thursday, the county commissioners voted to approve an agreement with Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. of Redlands, California, for consulting services for leveraging a web geographic information system consisting of ArcGIS for server and online to support county initiatives.ESRI will provide up to 40 hours of consulting services for $9,395.Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that the project will help make the GIS parcel viewer’s information more readily available to Realtors, surveyors and citizens via a web-based system.“This should help reduce the number of people coming into the mapping office looking for these parcels,” he said, adding that the system may be useful for additional departments, including the sheriff’s department and tax assessment office and possibly in the future, emergency services.He added that municipalities can also load utilities into the system if they choose.Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said that Jason Shellhammer, director of the GIS/Mapping department, provided the county with information about the parcel viewer that showed the need.The online parcel viewer will provide access from anywhere as long as the person has an Internet connection.Gerhard said 54 of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania currently have a parcel viewer or resolution to have a parcel viewer this year.Seven of the eight counties in the Northeast Emergency Response Group already have or have plans for a viewer in place.Gerhard said the system will provide municipalities with an accurate mapping system instantly.The system, which is expected to be up and running by 2017, will be a free service for users.