Data supply and distribution methods and costs vary widely from time to time and place to place. Some of the costs are associated with fees charged by various localities or private data suppliers for the data itself, although there are no standard policies about fees. Interviewees reported wide variation in fees and data sharing polices across and within the levels of government. For example, some sources require a formal data sharing agreement or contract to be signed before providing data, while others provide it on request. Some require formal Freedom of Information Law requests, others treat these requests as routine. Similarly, costs of data sets vary. For example, some offices charge only for reproduction or no charge at all while others have price lists or subscription fees. Some local governments, such as Suffolk County, reported obtaining significant revenue from the subscription sale of parcel data, while state agencies and most local governments charge little or nothing. Consequently a range of approaches is in use including:

• Single transactions at no or low cost to requesters
• Single transactions at revenue-generating cost to requesters
• Standardized access mechanisms such as web sites at no or low cost to users
• Standardized subscription services that offer restricted access for an annual fee

This variety of access methods and philosophies causes confusion and adds both direct and indirect costs for many users, although it generates some cash flow for certain data suppliers. As noted above in the discussion of stakeholder interests, conflicting views on this topic are a major barrier to achieving a readily usable statewide parcel data resource.