Columbiana County officials unveiled a new tool to help with economic development and zoning.

The county's new Geographic Information System (GIS) was announced during a meeting with over 50 government officials present.

The new GIS system is the result of a four-year project that included the County's Office of Economic Development and Ohio University's Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.

The release says the GIS system will be used as the starting framework for projects related to economic development, zoning, utilities, law enforcement, tourism, and many other areas.

Columbiana County Auditor Nancy Milliken believes it will also save the county money.

"Previously, we had to pay an outside vendor for parcel data that we used for appraisals. Now, we will have access to much more accurate and up-to-date information and we won't have to pay a third party for it," said Milliken.

Web portals to the GIS data can be found here.