City of Loveland

Like many local governments, the City of Loveland is generally asked to accomplish more with fewer resources. Budgets remain tight, workloads continue to grow and residents rightly expect faster service, clearer communication and better experiences. While technology has always helped improve efficiency, I believe generative AI represents something more significant.

It isn't simply another technology to deploy; it is an opportunity to invest in our people.

When a solution integrated with our office suite became available for government organizations, our primary interest focused on security, governance and risk. Those discussions were essential, but I believed the more important question was, “How do we prepare our workforce for a future where AI becomes a normal part of everyday work?” That question shaped our strategy.

Rather than limiting AI to the IT department or a handful of early adopters, we intentionally encouraged every employee to begin learning how to use generative AI responsibly. Our goal wasn't simply to introduce a new tool. It was to strengthen an organizational culture that embraces innovation, encourages continuous learning and equips employees with a skill that will certainly become increasingly valuable throughout their careers.

We wanted our staff to understand one simple principle: AI was not here to replace them; it could assist them.

Like every local government, we have talented employees carrying significant workloads, and expanding staffing is difficult in today's financial environment. Instead of asking people to continue doing more, we asked a different question: How can we help employees become more efficient, more capable?

That mindset transformed AI from an IT initiative into a workforce strategy.

Of course, broad adoption required that we develop trust. Before encouraging employees to use AI, we established governance that defined how generative AI should be used, what information could be shared, expectations for fact-checking content and the principle that employees, not AI, remain accountable for every final work product. We also standardized on a solution integrated with our office suite because it provided security, compliance and data protection appropriate for government and it aligned with our current technology stack, simplifying deployment.

“Our objective was not to reduce staffing through automation. It was to help employees spend less time on routine tasks and more time applying the expertise that only they can provide."

Governance alone, however, does not create adoption; confidence does.

We invested in practical training that focused on helping employees improve the work they were already doing. Staff learned how to write effective AI prompts, provide context, critically review AI-generated content and think of AI as a collaborative assistant rather than an automated answer machine. Online training, demonstrations and informal learning sessions gave employees permission to experiment in low-risk situations while building confidence in their skills.  The results exceeded our expectations.

Today, AI usage has expanded across nearly every department. Employees use it to draft correspondence, summarize lengthy documents, create presentations, analyze information, rewrite technical language into plain English and improve communication with our residents. Staff routinely report saving 15 to 30 minutes on common writing and content development tasks. More importantly, they can reinvest that time in collaboration, problem solving and delivering better service to our community.

Perhaps the most rewarding outcome has been watching adoption grow organically. Employees regularly share successful prompts, creative use cases and lessons learned. AI has become a tool employees actively seek to improve their own productivity and the quality of their work.

Our objective was not to reduce staffing through automation. Public service depends on people exercising judgment, building relationships and understanding the unique needs of their communities. AI should not attempt to replace those qualities.  However, it can serve as a force multiplier that allows employees to spend less time on routine tasks and more time applying the expertise that only they can provide.

Looking back, the greatest accomplishment was not implementing an AI platform. It was investing in an environment where employees felt empowered to learn, experiment and innovate. Technology alone does not transform an organization, culture does.

For technology leaders considering their own AI journey, my advice is straightforward: begin with your people. Establish governance that builds trust, select platforms that protect organizational data, invest in practical training and encourage responsible experimentation. Most importantly, communicate that AI can be an investment in your workforce, not necessarily a replacement for it.

The future of local government will not be defined by the AI tools we purchase. It will be defined by how effectively we prepare ourselves and our employees to use those tools responsibly, ethically and creatively. When we invest in AI literacy today, we are investing in a stronger, more capable, more efficient, adaptable public workforce for tomorrow.