Presenter demos Common Sense search to streamline residents' access to city records

A presenter demonstrated a tool called "Common Sense" designed to let residents search city websites, documents, ordinances and meeting video and receive a single, cited answer.

The presenter framed the demonstration around a common problem: “Residents looking for information from the city today run into a data fragmentation problem,” and said the product replaces the typical experience of receiving a list of links and piecing together answers.

The presenter said Common Sense searches across city guidance, zoning and ordinance information and public meeting records to return a consolidated answer with links to the original sources. “Common Sense provides citations that take residents specifically to the sections relevant in their search,” the presenter said, adding that users can choose which source to view for any given search.

The demonstration emphasized accessibility features: the presenter said the search “automatically adapts” to browser language preferences and “supports other languages natively,” so answers appear without requiring users to translate documents themselves.

Beyond search results, the presenter highlighted shareable links and a staff-facing audit trail that records what was asked, which sources were used and how answers were produced. The presenter said the feature set also includes linking residents directly to the point in meeting video where a topic was discussed.

The presenter did not provide details on procurement, implementation timeline or costs during the remarks. No formal vote or decision about adopting the product was recorded in the transcript.