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Somers approves pilot with 'voice tag' vendor to deliver location-based municipal info
Summary
The Somers board authorized a contract with a voice‑tag vendor (presented as Hertl/Hurdle) to pilot short, location‑specific audio tags (QR-to-voice) around town. The vendor priced an introductory package at roughly $3,000 per year and said the town controls content via a dashboard; AI features are optional.
The Somers Town Board authorized the supervisor to execute an agreement with a voice-tag vendor after a demonstration and Q&A about a platform that links QR-like "voice tags" to short (about 60-second) audio messages and optionally to an AI-backed interactive layer.
Presenter David Olmette (introduced by the supervisor) described the platform as a town-controlled information system that requires no app and—he said—collects no personal information. "There's also a layer of artificial intelligence, which is optional, and it's fully guardrailed and on brand," Olmette told the board. Questions from members focused on voice sourcing (professional voice actors or cloned voices), legal/IP limits, content control and dashboard access. Olmette said the town would retain control through a dashboard and could lock or suspend tags.
Board members also discussed pricing and scope. The presenter offered an introductory founder-led rate discussed in the meeting of approximately $2,988–$3,000 per year. After members requested a rollout plan, the board moved and voted to authorize executing the agreement with the vendor to pilot the technology in town-managed locations.
