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Board reviews $33,000 Placer AI subscription for economic development analytics
Summary
Staff proposed a Placer AI annual subscription — roughly $33,000 — to provide more granular visitor and economic data; staff will provide a written synopsis and can arrange a product demo for the board.
The draft budget includes a proposed annual subscription for Placer AI to provide analytics for economic development and tourism, and staff told the board the subscription would cost about $33,000.
Tourism Director O'Malley and staff said Placer AI offers cell‑phone‑derived visitation analytics similar to services the city has used previously but with more granular temporal and spatial detail. Staff noted the tool can break event data into hourly blocks and analyze where visitors go before and after events, which could inform planning for festivals and business outreach.
Aldermen asked whether the subscription should be charged to tourism or to the building/economic development budget. Staff said the data would support both tourism and economic development and recommended placing the subscription under the building department because economic development work sits there. Staff also said the purchase would likely be an annual subscription and that they would include a written synopsis in the next packet and could arrange a live demo with Placer AI for the board.
Board members asked staff to document the capabilities and any functionality differences compared with the subscription the city previously used (NextSite) so the board can weigh whether Placer AI provides additional value.
