The board discussed a proposed government AI pilot on Dec. 2 after Stephanie Garrison, director of government relations, described an opportunity introduced by state partners to run a third-party AI analysis on county documents the county already provided to the state.

Garrison said the pilot cost was estimated between $2,000 and $4,000 depending on data volume (staff noted about 51 gigabytes of previously shared data), and that the vendor would be asked to deliver actionable insights within about 90 days. Several commissioners and the chair supported exploring the pilot but asked for an explicit security review and vendor due diligence before any data transfer or contract execution.

Commissioner McCaffrey and Commissioner Bearden both warned about vendor background checks, potential conflicts of interest and the need for robust security protocols; one commissioner noted some private-sector firms produce uneven ROI on AI pilots. Staff said any contract would come back to the board for formal approval and that IT and procurement would follow standard due-diligence procedures.

What happens next: Staff will continue discussions with the state and potential vendors, brief IT on security and, if a contract is negotiated, return to the board for formal approval.