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Boundary FAQs

Boundary FAQs

  • The Michigan Geographic Framework (MGF) is an official statewide basemap and geospatial repository hosted by the Center for Shared Solutions (CSS), a part of the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB). It began in the early 2000s in response to the need for one repository hosting state boundaries and geospatial data, as opposed to individual counties paying to maintain their own data. Having one centered location eliminates a duplication of work, allows for consistent data quality, and improved resource allocation. Learn more about the history of MGF here. 
  • The Open Data Portal is a geospatial repository hosted by the Center for Shared Solutions (CSS), a part of the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB). It is open to the general public, and users can browse, search, preview, and download all geospatial data that has been made publicly available. It is regularly maintained and has information on each layers attributes and many different data formats (KML, shapefile, geodatabase, API, KMI, etc.)
  • Much of the boundary data for the State of Michigan is maintained by the Center for Shared Solutions (CSS), a part of the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB). This includes counties, MCDs, cities, villages, school districts, legislative boundaries, voting precincts, and PSAPs. This data is made available through the Open Data Portal for public download. Tax parcels are maintained by individual counties and may have a fee associated with downloading. Find out more about tax parcel downloads here. 
  • The Center for Shared Solutions (CSS) a part of the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB) is the authoritative source for boundary data. This includes Counties, MCDs, Townships, Cities, Villages, School Districts, and Intermediate School Districts. The authoritative source for Parcels are the individual counties. The authoritative source for Legislative Boundaries are the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Committee.

  • The Center for Shared Solution (CSS) a part of the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB) has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) for boundary changes. Tim Lauxmann (Geodata Manager at CSS) is the State Of Michigan point of contact for the survey. That said, the annual survey is sent directly from BAS to the local jurisdictions. We at the state do not see the individual mailing/emails.

    If your question or concern is about the boundary itself (e.g. an annexation is missing or a boundary is mapped incorrectly), contact DTMB-CSS through Mike Udvare at udvarem@michigan.gov or Tim Lauxmann at lauxmannt@michigan.gov. For more information on boundaries and error reporting visit this site.
  • Minor Civil Division (MCD) refers to the governmental and administrative subdivisions within counties. In Michigan, the MCD layer contains township and city data for the state. In addition, a City layer derived from the MCD layer, all of which are available through the Open Data Portal. These layers are updated throughout the year and a new layer is typically released annually. 
  • ISDs or Intermediate School Districts consist of groupings of contiguous school districts, provide administrative support to those districts, and interact with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). Both ISDs and school district boundaries are are available for download through the Open Data Portal. 
  • A PSAP or Public Safety Answering Point is responsible for receiving 911 calls and dispatching emergency services within the bounds of its jurisdiction. Individual PSAP layers are maintained by the PSAP or a designated vendor and updated on an as required basis. A single layer containing all the PSAPs is maintained by CSS and available for download on the Open Data Portal.
  • Parcels are individual properties within a city, township, or village and are zoned for different types of land use and development and taxation. Parcels are maintained by individual counties. There is a statewide parcel layer, but it is for internal use only and is not available in Open Data. Find individual tax parcel downloads here. 

  • All three of these categories are units used by the United States Census Bureau to organize data and all are available for download through the Open Data Portal for the State of Michigan. 

    Census tracts are the largest of these three categories and are made up of census block groups. They are typically made up of about 4000 people and in the 2010 Census, Michigan had 2,773 census tracts. 

    Block groups are made up of census blocks, and are a subdivision of census tracts. They are typically made up of between 600 and 3,000 people. In the 2010 Census, Michigan had 8,167 block groups. 

    Census blocks are the smallest of these three and in the 2010 Census Michigan had 329,885 census blocks. 

  • Michigan has a unique process for some annexations called 425 Annexations. Learn more about them and other annexation processes here. 
  • If you have a question not listed here or found somewhere else in the MGF Data Hub, please contact Timothy Lauxmann at lauxmannt@michigan.gov