City IT agency details Copilot rollout, training and data-classification work; budget and staffing gaps cited

Collin Hill, chief information officer for the city and county, told the Artificial Intelligence Commission on June 2 that the Information Services Agency (ISA) is preparing Copilot for M365 pilots, expanding enterprise AI training and launching a SharePoint-based natural-language chatbot for staff, while warning that budget and staffing limits will constrain rollout.

Hill said ISA completed a SharePoint and OneDrive permission review and is developing a GenAI policy tailored to municipal needs; the agency upgraded its Microsoft enterprise agreement from E3 to E5 and is configuring Microsoft Purview information-protection and data-loss-prevention controls before wider Copilot deployment. He said ISA's near-term target is a Copilot pilot rollout in late June or early July, subject to resolving technical issues and Microsoft availability in the government cloud.

The CIO reported training and outreach progress: ISA hosted two internal AI open-house events with about 60 attendees per session and reported a measurable increase in self-reported familiarity among participants. Hill said 19 staff had completed a newly launched data-classification training and that several dozen employees were enrolled in longer InnovateUs AI courses; he described the cultural change required to scale AI safely across departments and urged focusing early training on supervisors and staff who will review AI outputs.

Hill outlined a low-risk, high-impact pilot path: standardize internal SharePoint pages for central services (HR, purchasing, property and land management) and then surface those documents through a natural-language chatbot so staff and residents can find procedures, policy citations and contact points without calling multiple offices.

He also flagged a gap the commission discussed: the city lacks a dedicated chief data or chief data-privacy officer to drive cross-department data standardization and governance. Hill said hiring authority for that position is constrained by current budget limits and that the role should be considered in the 2026 budget process.

Commissioners raised legal and operational limits that will affect implementation. Vice Chair Michael Paul Hart and other members discussed a pending federal budget provision noted earlier in the meeting that could preempt local AI regulation; one member also said "we're not allowed to use video for traffic management by state law," a constraint that council members said may require state-level action to change if the city is to rely on video analytics for funding or enforcement models.

Hill said ISA is coordinating with Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on technology priorities and CJIS compliance needs and is pursuing partnerships with universities and other cities for shared learning and procurement leverage. He emphasized that the rollout is both a technical and cultural effort and said ISA will continue phased pilots rather than buying specialized, high-cost tools prematurely.

Procedural note: commissioners also adopted minutes from the February 25 meeting by voice vote during the same session.

Hill told the commission ISA will share policy drafts, training calendars and pilot designs in coming weeks for the commission—s review and recommended that members help prioritize high-impact pilot areas for the remainder of 2025.