Abstract:

Municipal boundaries in New Jersey were gathered from USGS topoquads and other sources in 1987. Since that time, updates to the data have been limited to noting consolidations of boundaries. The scale of the original data varies, relying primarily on 1:24,000 topoquads.

Changes were made when inconsistancies with other maps were found based on preponderance of data. In area where the line was labeled as aproximate attempts were made to correctly locate the boundary.  The 1986 photoquads were used to move the boundary lines to photo-identifiable features as needed. Changes less than 5 acres were not made.  In July, 1997, the coverage was updated to reflect the consolidation of Pahaquarry Township with Hardwick Township.  New jersey now has 566 municipalities.  In March, 2000, the attributes were edited to properly label West Caldwell as a Township, as verified with the township clerk; it had been labelled as a borough.

In January 2003 the Census 2000 population information was assessed to the former stmun coverage to create this stmun data layer.  Additional attributes included population density  by square mile.

In May 2003 the FIPS codes and Township names were updated as identified.  Essex Fells and North Caldwell were redsignated Boroughs in 1991 and Passaic Township is now Long Hill Township.

Purpose:

New Jersey municipal boundaries were digitized into NJDEP's GIS to provide basic jurisdictional information.

Currentness_Reference:

ground condition

Use_Constraints:

Data Distribution Agreement (NJDEP) Agrees to abide by the terms and conditions of the following:

I. Description of Data to be Provided
The data provided herein are distributed subject to the following conditions and restrictions:

Subject Data Layers

For all data contained herein, (NJDEP) makes no representations of any kind, including, but not limited to, the warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use, nor are any such warranties to be implied with respect to the digital data layers furnished hereunder. NJDEP assumes no responsibility to maintain them in any manner or form.

II. Terms of Agreement

1. Digital data received from the NJDEP are to be used solely for internal purposes in the conduct of daily affairs.

2. The data are provided, as is, without warranty of any kind and the user is responsible for understanding the accuracy limitations of all digital data layers provided herein, as documented in the accompanying Data Dictionary and Readme files. Any reproduction or manipulation of the above data must ensure that the coordinate reference system remains intact.

3. Digital data received from the NJDEP may not be reproduced or redistributed for use by anyone without first obtaining written permission from the NJDEP. This clause is not intended to restrict distribution of printed mapped information produced from the digital data.

4. Any maps, publications, reports, or other documents produced as a result of this project that utilize NJDEP digital data will credit the NJDEP's Geographic Information System (GIS) as the source of the data with the following credit/disclaimer:

"This (map/publication/report) was developed using New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Geographic Information System digital data, but this secondary product has not been verified by NJDEP and is not state-authorized."

5. Users shall require any independent contractor, hired to undertake work that will utilize digital data obtained from the NJDEP, to agree not to use, reproduce, or redistribute NJDEP GIS data for any purpose other than the specified contractual work. All copies of NJDEP GIS data utilized by an independent contractor will be required to be returned to the original user at the close of such contractual work.

Users hereby agree to abide by the use and reproduction conditions specified above and agree to hold any independent contractor to the same terms. By using data provided herein, the user acknowledges that terms and conditions have been read and that the user is bound by these criteria.

Attribute_Accuracy_Report:

Fields were attributed and checked.

Logical_Consistency_Report:

Municipal boundaries in New Jersey were gathered from USGS topoquads and other sources in 1987. Since that time, updates to the data have been limited to noting consolidations of boundaries and data fields. The scale of the original data varies, relying primarily on 1:24,000 topoquads

The Last updates were made in May 2003 to include Census 2000 population data, FIPS code updates and name changes of Municipalities

Completeness_Report:

Complete

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report:

NMAS: Lines were proof plotted on mylar and evaluated to the original mylar overlays. Any lines over 30 feet off (1.5 line widths) were edited and redigitized.
The information present in these files is provided for the purposes of statistical analysis and census operations only. Coordinates in the TIGER/Line files have six implied decimal places, but the positional accuracy of these coordinates is not as great as the six decimal places suggest. The positional accuracy varies with the source materials used, but generally the information is no better than the established national map Accuracy standards for 1:100,000-scale maps from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); thus it is NOT suitable for high-precision measurement applications such as engineering problems, property transfers, or other uses that might require highly accurate measurements of the earth's surface. The USGS 1:100,000-scale maps met national map accuracy standards and use coordinates defined by the North American Datum, 1983. For the contiguous 48 States, the cartographic fidelity of most of the Census 2000 TIGER/Line files, in areas outside the 1980 census Geographic Base File/Dual Independent Map Encoding (GBF/DIME) file coverage and selected other large metropolitan areas, compare favorably with the USGS 1:100,000-scale maps.

The Census Bureau cannot specify the accuracy of features inside of what was the 1980 GBF/DIME-File coverage or selected metropolitan areas. The Census Bureau added updates to the TIGER/Line files that enumerators annotated on maps sheets prepared from the Census TIGER data base as they attempted to traverse every street feature shown on the Census 2000 map sheets; the Census Bureau also made other corrections from updated map sheets supplied by local participants for Census Bureau programs. The locational accuracy of these updates is of unknown quality. In addition to the Federal, State, and local sources, portions of the files may contain information obtained in part from maps and other materials prepared by private companies. Despite the fact the TIGER/Line data positional accuracy is not as high as the coordinate values imply, the six-decimal place precision is useful when producing maps. The precision allows features that are next to each other on the ground to be placed in the correct position, on the map, relative to each other, without overlap.

Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report:

n/a

Source_Contribution:

County lines were taken from mylar USGS topoquads

Process_Description:

Municipal boundaries in New Jersey were gathered from USGS topoquads and other sources in 1987. Since that time, updates to the data have been limited to noting consolidations of boundaries and data fields. The scale of the original data varies, relying primarily on 1:24,000 topoquads.

Census 2000 population tables were joined to existing municipality polygons in January 2003.

Process_Description:

May 2003 - FIPS codes were updated to match current federal Census Bureau lists.  Older FIPS codes were moved to FIPS1980 and FIPS1990 fields. Descrepencies between 1980, 1990 and 2000 FIPS were identified.  Essex Fells and North Caldwell changed designations in 1991 from Township to Borough. 
Two addtional fields Mun_Label and Mun_Type were added for display purposes only.
The data changes made May 2003 are as follows:
           
County          Current FIPS   MUN Name       FIPS1990  MUN Name               

Bergen         77135 Washington township    77480 Washington township
Essex           09220 Caldwell borough           09265 Caldwell borough
Essex           21840 Essex Fell borough        21850 Essex Fell township
Essex           26610 Glen Ridge borough      26620 Glen Ridge borough     
Essex           52620 North Caldwell borough 52630 North Caldwell township
Hunterdon   37065 Kingwood township       37050 Kingwood township      
Middlesex    59010 Piscataway township     58980 Piscataway township    
Morris          41362 Long Hill township          56520 Passaic township
Ocean         05305 Berkeley township          05300 Berkeley township
Warren        (annexed by Hardwick twp)       55650 Pahaquarry township

Attribute_Definition:

Internal feature number.