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Oakland County funds AI "resource link" with Oakland University to inventory public business and community supports
Summary
The committee approved a roughly $114,000 county project with Oakland University to build an internal AI-based inventory of public resources for businesses and communities; the item passed 5-0 and staff said the tool will be internal and retain county IP.
The Oakland County Economic Development & Infrastructure Committee approved funding to partner with Oakland University to develop a "resource link" tool that uses natural language processing to inventory publicly available resources for businesses, residents and communities in Oakland County. The committee voted 5-0 to recommend the project to finance.
Dom Holtz, director of economic development, told the committee the tool will index grants, loan programs and other publicly available support so county staff can rapidly match resources to a business or community need. He said the county will not house proprietary or private personal information in the tool and that the county will retain intellectual property rights.
"The goal of this project is to leverage the power of AI to help us, inventory available resources, for our internal teams," Dom Holtz said during his presentation.
Staff described the budget as about $114,000 in total: roughly $99,000 to Oakland University (including two PhD students and faculty time) and roughly $15,000 for county IT server support and initial maintenance. Staff said the tool is intended for internal use by county teams (economic development, planning, veteran services and others) and is not designed as a public-facing product at this time.
Commissioners asked about overlap with existing services such as Thrive; staff said the resource link is broader and intended as a shared catalog that multiple county teams can query. Commissioners also raised the county—s developing AI policy and the need to coordinate with IT; presenters said county IT and Oakland University have already begun early coordination.
After discussion, the committee moved and approved the appropriation and recommendation to finance. The motion was moved by Commissioner Johnson and seconded by Commissioner Weyford (also referred to as Whitford during the motion); the roll call vote was 5 yays, 0 nays.
Votes at a glance: - Approval of minutes dated 04/23/2025 — voice vote carried (recorded as carried). - Agenda approval — carried (voice/roll call noted as carried). - Communications receiving file (7a MEDC grant amendment, 7b local road improvement program, 7c Thrive monthly report) — moved by Commissioner Taylor, seconded by Commissioner Johnson; vote: 5 yays, 0 nays (receiving file approved). - Consent agenda (items 8a-e, local tri-party road improvement appropriations) — moved by Commissioner Weyford, seconded by Commissioner Markham; vote: 5 yays, 0 nays (approved). - Local Road Improvement Program FY2025 appropriation (item 10a) and public hearing set for 05/22/2025 at 6:00 PM — vote: 5 yays, 0 nays (motion carries). - Closed session to consider purchase or lease of property — committee voted to enter closed session by roll call (5 yays, 0 nays); post-closed-session motion to authorize department to proceed in accordance with closed-session directives: 5 yays, 0 nays.
Ending: Staff said the project could begin in June with an anticipated nine-month development timeline and that the county may pursue cost recovery/licensing opportunities in the future because the county will retain IP.
