This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
There are two main paths, and each has its own "vibe":
The "Turnkey" Path (Proprietary): We hire a company like CivicPlus or Granicus. They handle the tech, and we pay a subscription (usually $15k–$40k/year for a city our size). It’s fast to set up and very reliable, but we have to pay that bill every year.
The "Sovereign" Path (Open Source): Since we’re in the heart of Silicon Valley, we could actually host our own "private" AI on a city server. We’d buy a high-end AI server (a one-time cost of about $25k), and the data never leaves our building. It’s more secure and costs almost nothing to run once it’s set up, though it requires a bit more "grease under the fingernails" from our IT team to maintain.
Why this matters for us
As a resident who works in San Jose and lives here in Santa Clara, I want our representatives to spend their time making policy, not hunting for emails. If we can automate the 80% of the work that is just "sorting and summarizing," we give that time back to the people who actually run our city.
I'd love to chat more about how we could pilot this—maybe just for one department like Public Works —to see if it helps. We have the tech right here in our backyard; I think it’s time we put it to work for City Hall.
Sincerely Brian Darby