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County staff present software, AI and communications plans to streamline services and improve accessibility
Summary
Administration staff reviewed enterprise software options (asset management, e-commerce, contract workflow) and an AI/ethics approach; communications reported website accessibility training, Siteimprove remediation, a near-final social-media policy and outreach metrics including a drone-photo program and America250 event page.
Tompkins County administration and communications staff briefed the Government Operations Committee on June 9 about efforts to modernize operations and reach residents.
Bridget (county administration) said the county has reviewed tools including OpenGov asset-management modules (used by highway and proposed for facilities), e-commerce platforms for recycling and waste services, and contract management integrated with DocuSign and OpenGov for e-signatures. She said IT and the county attorney are involved in procurement reviews and emphasized procurement rules and RFP processes.
‘‘It would be great to have a more interactive tool whereby folks could search our administrative policies,’’ Bridget said, noting options that automatically alert to federal or state law updates and embed AI features to surface needed policy language.
Communications Director Monica Salvage reported operations and outreach metrics and accessibility work: 103 department requests completed year-to-date (about half for website/press support), 333 county-related media items year-to-date, 26 press releases distributed, 10 photo projects and three video projects. Monica said web-editing training has been condensed to a 45-minute recorded module and that the county uses Siteimprove to detect and guide fixes for accessibility issues.
She also said staff are finalizing an updated social-media policy and will present it to the committee in July. Monica noted a new America250 events landing page (visitithaca.com/events) for municipal event submissions and said the board-of-elections sticker contest drew a record 169 student submissions.
Committee members urged a concise one-page summary of software by department and annual contract costs so legislators can weigh adoption and budget impacts. Concerns were raised about vendor lock-in, the cost of enterprise contracts, and compatibility with existing vendors; staff agreed to provide a short written summary for legislators and to check existing vendor agreements before new procurements.
What happens next: staff will produce a short summary of software tools and annual expenses, continue accessibility remediation with Siteimprove, finalize social-media policy and offer training, and proceed through standard procurement channels for any new systems.
