Atlanta information management highlights AI commission, kiosks and seeks one-year IT services extension

Jason Sankey, chief information officer and commissioner for the Department of Atlanta Information Management, told the Finance Executive Committee that AIM is forecasting to end the year at budget and that the department’s headcount was 104 as of April 30. “As of April 30, the current headcount within the department is at 1 0 4,” Sankey said.

Sankey said AIM has reduced its unfunded headcount to nine, executed multiple procurement actions and is managing 110 active projects—103 controlled, six in caution and one in critical status. “We have a total of 110 projects in flight, of which a 103 are controlled, 6 are in caution, and 1 is in critical status,” he said.

The presentation emphasized the department’s work on AI governance and civic technology. "Our goal is to protect, educate, and deploy responsible AI across the organization," Sankey said, adding the city’s AI commission has held two meetings and the department is building the agenda for the rest of the year. He also said the city launched Microsoft Copilot to a select group of users to “enhance productivity.”

AIM also reported on the city’s interactive kiosk program. "We currently have 95 interactive kiosks throughout the city. 31% of those are currently in traditionally underserved communities," Sankey said, and added that the program has generated “approximately $3,000,000 since we kicked off this project and approximately 2,000,000 in the calendar year 2024 alone.” He noted the contract was provided at no net cost to the city.

Committee members pressed AIM on kiosk usage patterns and on the department's forecasting assumptions. Councilmember Juan asked whether reported consumption and the financial forecast matched the committee’s expectations; Sankey agreed to review the financial dashboard. Juan also questioned application usage on the kiosks and noted that many kiosks are used as “photo booths” rather than wayfinding tools. Sankey said usage varies by month and location and that AIM can provide district-level breakdowns and national comparisons from the vendor to increase “more valued usage.”

During the meeting AIM requested and the committee considered a one-year extension to an on-call IT services agreement. The ordinance captioned 25-O-1317 would waive competitive sourcing requirements and authorize the mayor to amend the existing agreement with Covendis Technologies, Inc. to extend the term for one year and add funding “in an amount not to exceed $9,460,726.40.” Sankey described these agreements as time-and-materials contracts used to manage capacity and demand across departments, and said the increase in the amendment is driven by higher demand for specialized IT support citywide. “These are time and material contractors across the city, and what we're seeing is a need for additional support in the IT space,” he said.

Committee members asked that anticipated scope growth be factored into future procurements to reduce mid-term amendments. The committee proceeded with motions on the item; the record shows the committee opened and closed votes on the item during the meeting.

The AIM presentation also listed other operational items: 19 contracts executed, 19 micro and small purchases, 34 hardware and software buys, 22 vendor days hosted, three tech innovation labs launched and a new time-tracking tool to measure resource utilization and forecasting. Sankey also noted AIM’s collaboration with the Atlanta Police Department, Atlanta Fire Rescue Department and internal partners to equip the new public safety training center.

Looking ahead, Sankey said AIM is building the AI commission agenda and continuing work on cyber security, access control and regulatory compliance. He offered to schedule briefings for members who want deeper orientation on the AI commission.