[{"_1":2,"_110":-5,"_111":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,74,86,98],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},"mediaId",6586443,"mediaKeyId","5499999-5a3a5a2b81b1d4622b00ba7b69759806","parentId",5499999,"title","Staff proposes county AI policy; Board asks for tighter package and additional privacy and IT updates","audioSeconds",933,"startMs",21714000,"endMs",22647000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5499999-5a3a5a2b81b1d4622b00ba7b69759806&start=21714&end=22647","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5499999-5a3a5a2b81b1d4622b00ba7b69759806/thumbnail_21714000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6586443/Napa-County/California/Staff-proposes-county-AI-policy-Board-asks-for-tighter-package-and-additional-privacy-and-IT-updates","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6586443-4fa0a7137336f66891f832ec7248d713/orig.mp4?Expires=1770767309&Signature=Fiu4Grrw5P1SC9hBrw1BIBlyklY~rCbGkNyLvBNNfBTlC3JD7Z7Gr2tSbwPHCDcPh6ULrgqvhYYQI37L6BjFcWODyPuZKaxIcJL3RPH9FkX405HvsYlykWrCqpC06EZIbetgaSeoaX0uvf1kva0vYTNpkB-17odZzhehHxe7RsC3nd1IpczYWubkhut0EoUialLRfr~1TqwzvJlNmLzxI3eHG42vsm6yR7VP0paTu5QZiTwAZfFbgccV~DLr2qq1kNmVlS0WfbkZsy0UskhjYx~J5yYYkogP7TfWeKiJTkOhgr4lVVZZBhYRwJdiV78cRiO~WnA6SleiSdfD3JsFMw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-07-29T22:03:46Z","article","Napa County staff presented a draft artificial intelligence policy to the Board of Supervisors on July 29 and described an approval and oversight framework designed to manage data risk while enabling departments to use AI tools.

Digital Innovation Officer Meg Regan and Chief Security Information Officer Greg Bowne briefed supervisors on the proposed county policy, which would: require department-head approval and an ITS technical/security review before adopting AI tools for county work; prohibit sharing protected or otherwise sensitive data with unapproved AI services; require mandatory human review of AI-generated content before publication or decision-making; and create department-level procedures and training tied to specific uses. Regan said the policy would also establish an advisory digital governance committee and called for biannual policy review to keep pace with rapid change.

Regan illustrated the guardrails with examples: an AI draft of a public FAQ must be fact-checked and edited before release; an AI-enabled wildfire-smoke camera would need department approval, ITS security review and a defined operations guideline before deployment. Bowne stressed protections against data leakage, biased outputs and copyright exposure and said ITS is holding a small number of pending procurement requests for tools that include generative-capability until a policy is in place.

Supervisors generally supported the approach but asked staff to pare and clarify the document and to present a short, plain-language user guide or handbook. Several supervisors asked that the AI policy be bundled with an updated information-technology use and security policy and a distinct digital-privacy policy rather than carry all details in a single long document. Supervisor Manfrie flagged future issues such as embedded AI (where users may not realize AI is in the tool) and urged strong human-review controls. Supervisor Ramos requested an inventory or \"health meter\" of existing county systems to identify any deployed tools that might be out of step with future policy.

County counsel and IT staff said a draft revised IT security policy is nearly complete and that staff can return with a coordinated package. Staff recommended establishing the proposed digital governance committee and using the AI policy as a foundation while the committee and department-level procedures are developed. No final board vote took place; supervisors directed staff to revise the materials and return with a more concise policy and companion documents.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","County of Napa - Board of Supervisors July 29, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Staff proposed a county artificial intelligence policy that would require department approvals, ITS security review, limits on sensitive-data use and mandatory human oversight of AI-generated content.","taxTitle","Napa County, California","taxId",5735,"location","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6586447,"Assessor reports $57.5 billion roll; flags hotel-driven declines and a sharp Yountville impact",3978,12105000,16083000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5499999-5a3a5a2b81b1d4622b00ba7b69759806&start=12105&end=16083","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5499999-5a3a5a2b81b1d4622b00ba7b69759806/thumbnail_12105000.jpg","/articles/6586447/Napa-County/California/Assessor-reports-575-billion-roll-flags-hotel-driven-declines-and-a-sharp-Yountville-impact","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6586447-5e3b802217a3e0fdf8ea824f41a3ba46/orig.mp4?Expires=1770767309&Signature=gs7z-PhA8wF1XVCpOehMtG050tjvxJzvO9EeBjoxuMjR14foGiiio3EiupDrVSuJe9~8C~LzB3NMnxRkRqbtVR64frc2z6MD4-G4cRoABl-SVh681YkMBKtPwLusjn2bOatMp~2VgZz~1q4ok6rcBvQb4eeYcfsuyMRzTngCM0BJGAd1B~qHAelLR7kf3Laku6sLUk0zyFKanRCwoZvpEdBZNh~6dPqVc2QT4cmR9~drt1ZbgwV~hXHYgcUeRhoU~Qc77NTS16Lu28JXkASbSlknytHeD9kHMCQNeYRRVqxqo7yS~yhaUaqAgmUWV8WZWfqD-TUtc~muYJcEIQIbCw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","County Assessor (presenting July 29) briefed the Board of Supervisors on the 2025 assessment roll and how changes in the hospitality and commercial market have affected local assessed values.

The assessor said the county's total assessed value stands at about $57.479 billion. After describing the property-tax process and exemptions, he said roughly $2.0 billion of assessed value is held in exemptions (not including the homeowner's $143 million homeowners credit), and the unincorporated county accounts for approximately $28 billion of the roll. He noted Napa County is the fourth-highest county by assessed value per capita in the state.

The assessor reviewed Prop 8 (temporary reductions when market value falls below the Prop 13 base) activity: the county currently has 924 properties enrolled in a decline-in-value status. Staff reported that the aggregate assessed-value reduction recorded in 2024 was about $394 million; in 2025 that number rose to about $528 million. The assessor attributed much of the 2025 increase to declines in some recent hospitality and commercial transactions; he specifically cited a cluster of recent hotel sales in Yountville where newly enrolled Prop 8 reductions moved the town from about $16 million in reductions in 2024 to roughly $96 million in 2025, a swing that reduced Yountville's total assessment roll and led to an overall 3% drop for the town.

Board members asked clarifying questions about appeals, refunds and how temporary assessment declines cascade into budgets for taxing agencies. Treasurer-Tax-Collector Bob Minahan explained that where a taxpayer with a timely appeal is permitted to pay a reduced installment (the county previously adopted an optional 80% payment provision for large appeals), the tax collector holds those funds in trust until the appeal is resolved; full distributions to taxing agencies occur once the appeal is settled or the tax due is paid in full.

Supervisors also asked staff about longer-term trends, the effect of Proposition 19 (changes to parent-to-child and portability rules) and the volume of commercial transactions in 2021-22 that are now being reassessed at lower income capitalization values. Chief appraiser Jennifer Tydenko and supervising appraiser Tim Eggers joined the presentation and explained that recent higher purchase prices in 2021-22 followed by rising interest rates and higher operating costs have reduced investor-supported net income and driven reassessments under the income approach for some hotel and commercial properties.

The assessor told the board he and his appraisal team are monitoring active appeals and that several large hotel appeals are temporarily on hold pending a state appellate decision about treatment of intangible components in income-based hotel valuations.","Napa County Assessor updated the Board on the July 1 assessment roll, property-tax exemptions and an increase in properties and assessed value declines driven by hospitality and recent transactions; the town of Yountville saw a notable drop tied to recent hotel sales and appeals.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6586450,"After public pushback, supervisors send grand jury winery-database response back for further work and referrals",5808,5436000,11244000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5499999-5a3a5a2b81b1d4622b00ba7b69759806&start=5436&end=11244","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5499999-5a3a5a2b81b1d4622b00ba7b69759806/thumbnail_5436000.jpg","/articles/6586450/Napa-County/California/After-public-pushback-supervisors-send-grand-jury-winery-database-response-back-for-further-work-and-referrals","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6586450-789762c964cd7dbfea71199f1f3e6116/orig.mp4?Expires=1770767309&Signature=boierCO-NV75IGbXMClFE1rQsCbO9zsW36h5lmaM1n1ro-uw39oCtl-6LMnR5asi99qgvpYIS9lXuh-bu6goI2YMjEfbQrEgb25zlhrhyYxyXqlWz-FLaYunLWOaIaSzOgVYTINYmCmvEpJM1~b9y4S0BKHhBU59lyA9MlC5H1C0D3Z1ZbDqQQNJPbTUlkcSydwfDQJzjjGTkB4egVaDLRhGOQZDOWMtbeO2wbLWtFhPSFHoCcLyMgHcOQB8JWphsbZQv~bw49PeYU5zHGq~0N34s7Tv8gKW3DlnJsz2v8f9TAnR5TF7~LnENmnXXW2ioYrBeoXRoPvKENtjJraU3g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Board of Supervisors on July 29 pulled the county's draft response to a grand jury report that raised questions about the county's winery database, pre-application process, fees and winery audits, and directed staff to return with a revised response and follow-up analysis.

The item drew substantial public comment from winery owners, researchers and community members who urged retaining the public-facing winery database that tracks production, visitation and marketing-event entitlements. \"If you had a question and you said, 'I wonder what's going on over there on Silverado Trail,' you would go to the winery database,\" caller Kelly Anderson told the board. Several speakers said removing the dataset would shift public information requests onto county staff and slow transparency.

Planning director Brian Bordona told the board the winery layer was originally created out of the 2008 general plan to measure buildout and the county converted an older Access database into a GIS layer to enable spatial analyses. He said staff has proposed removing the public-facing layer while retaining internal maintenance because the dataset can be misused or interpreted incorrectly; staff reiterated that definitive entitlement documents remain available through the county's OnBase records or by requesting a formal status determination.

Staff provided workload estimates tied to the question of updating the dataset: Michael (planning staff) reported that the 21 status determinations done as part of code compliance averaged 14.2 staff hours each; extrapolating that rate to roughly 500 wineries would require about 7,100 staff hours (roughly 3.4 staff-years). Planning staff said status determinations are a thorough, department-wide review and that while they will maintain the data internally, a full public update would require dedicated resources.

Board members and multiple public speakers also urged renewed discussion of winery audits and of how pre-application meetings and fee structures affect timelines. Several supervisors asked staff to return with the code-compliance program wrap-up and a recommendation on how to proceed with audits; staff said they are targeting September for a compliance-program item to return to the board.

After extended discussion and public comment, Supervisor Alessio moved and Supervisor Ramos seconded a motion to bring the county's final grand jury response back to the board as an administrative item for further review and to refer staff follow-ups including a review of the compliance program and options for winery audits. The motion carried unanimously.","The board pulled the grand jury report response on winery data, pre-application reviews, fees and audits, heard extensive public comment urging retention of the winery database, and referred multiple follow-ups including a September return on the compliance program and a staff redraft of the response.",{"_33":99,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":100,"_41":101,"_43":102,"_45":103,"_47":104,"_49":105,"_51":106,"_53":107,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":108,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":109,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6586455,"Napa County raises departmental donation threshold to $10,000, mandates quarterly reports",883,4551000,5434000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5499999-5a3a5a2b81b1d4622b00ba7b69759806&start=4551&end=5434","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5499999-5a3a5a2b81b1d4622b00ba7b69759806/thumbnail_4551000.jpg","/articles/6586455/Napa-County/California/Napa-County-raises-departmental-donation-threshold-to-10000-mandates-quarterly-reports","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6586455-ed9d36a32069521da9ab36d5431643ab/orig.mp4?Expires=1770767309&Signature=Rp2m3Eze8tu-B~NfxA9OlVDG2HzrOVE4u4umvMz199Jxvu2VSuZs2oUrQBUy14drwvzZ8OdEbKzYu48Ng44ZDBLxEqboUp7t9TkSXDQ1MvVpJ1QpQO70D6YIXZSAWzj0kbQc0OyYEENI0beVgtBTd4JVeZnNHvtQIhp3s-dL9ZvbD-UuMBNh4MDxifn32Q6lQz5ulOz2hGWd2alWPfH6oyIiWc4AW4H2fp-1tmjPk26HnH2o~DHT2ryYm~eL1k9QH~fySXE3c-sLzNhn6AOpgenRETqCxUEie6Pz90EMbdQHAND6gE3H4mxL5bymHoNJl7H3O4L5~2CXPUAtY~yUwg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Napa County Board of Supervisors on July 29 adopted a resolution consolidating past delegations of authority for accepting donations and increasing the internal threshold for department acceptance to $10,000 per donor per quarter.

The change rolls legacy carve-outs into a single county-wide framework that staff said will reduce administrative burden and increase transparency. \"Philanthropy has, for decades, been a community priority in Napa County,\" Legislative and Policy Analyst Andrew Mize told the board as he introduced the item. Christine Hernandez, deputy audit controller, said the revision was aimed at three objectives: a single consistent framework, greater autonomy for department managers and strengthened quarterly reporting.

Under the updated internal procedures, department managers may accept up to $1,000 per donor per quarter; department heads may accept up to $10,000 per donor per quarter; donations exceeding $10,000 must go to the Board of Supervisors for approval. The policy applies the same thresholds to noncash donations. Hernandez also explained changes to acknowledgements and recording: donations under $100 generally do not require a thank-you letter unless requested; donations $100 and over must be recorded and acknowledged with a thank-you letter within three business days. Departments must report all donations to the audit controller within five business days after the end of each quarter; the audit controller will continue quarterly reporting to the board.

Supervisors asked operational questions about safeguards for small-cash donations and whether the policy properly addresses private contributions toward road or infrastructure projects. Audit Controller Tracy Schultzy said the county relies on departmental internal controls and ledger reporting to track cash donations. Supervisor John Ramos asked that staff return with a follow-up policy addressing private contributions for infrastructure and how such contributions would be prioritized and integrated into the county's capital program; Republic Works Director Steve Letter clarified that cooperative agreements for private-funded roadway or guardrail work come to the board as contracts.

Motion by Supervisor Alessio, second by Supervisor Manfrie, carried unanimously.

The resolution amends prior administrative delegations and will be published in the county's policy materials; staff said the animal shelter will be the department most affected because of its high donation volume and low prior thresholds.","The Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution consolidating prior delegations of authority to accept donations, raising the internal acceptance threshold and tightening reporting and acknowledgement rules for county departments.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Staff proposes county AI policy; Board asks for tighter package and additional privacy and IT updates

Assessor reports $57.5 billion roll; flags hotel-driven declines and a sharp Yountville impact

After public pushback, supervisors send grand jury winery-database response back for further work and referrals

Napa County raises departmental donation threshold to $10,000, mandates quarterly reports