Title
Authorizing the City to accept a donation from the Responsive Cities Network to reimburse the travel expenses of City employees Dan Niziolek and Derek Engleking to an upcoming event hosted by Responsive Cities Network.
Body
WHEREAS, Saint Paul Administrative Code § 41.03 permits the City to accept donations, subject to the approval of the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the Responsive Cities Network (“RCN”) is a nonprofit three-year initiative led by Data-Smart City Solutions at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard, and supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, intended to help local governments use generative artificial intelligence to improve public operations, support staff, and innovate services; and
WHEREAS, Dan Niziolek (Deputy Director, Department of Safety and Inspections) and Derek Engleking Data and Systems Manager, Office of Technology and Communications), have been invited to attend RCN’s Responsive Cities Network Sprint, a conference related to RCN’s activities, on September 29-30, 2026, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with an estimated travel cost of approximately $1,500 per person; and
WHEREAS, during Responsive Cities Network Sprint e, RCN teams will test their civic AI use cases against real resident needs and learn from mayors and peer cities, then leave with an early prototype and an action plan for making residents' experiences visible inside city government, making the city's response visible to residents, and using AI responsibly to improve services and build trust; and
WHEREAS, the attendance by Mr. Niziolek and Mr. Engleking of Responsive Cities Network Sprint has a clear public benefit to the City; and
WHEREAS, the travel by Mr. Niziolek and Mr. Engleking to RCN’s Responsive Cities Network Sprint serves a public purpose for the City, and it would be appropriate that the City pay for the travel; and
WHEREAS, RCN has indicated its willingness and desire to reimburse the City for the travel expenses of Mr. Niziolek and Mr. Engleking to Responsive Cities Network Sprint, which will be initially paid by the City; and
WHEREAS, the City’s ethics rules would not permit Mr. Niziolek and Mr. Engleking to personally accept the proffered reimbursement of their travel expenses by RCN, were it offered to them personally; and
WHEREAS, the City as a whole is permitted to accept the reimbursement of Mr. Niziolek’s and Mr. Engleking’s travel expenses as a gift to the City; pursuant to Section 14.03 of its Administrative Code; and
WHEREAS, RCN, Mr. Niziolek and Mr. Engleking and their respective Department Directors wish that the City accept reimbursement of Mr. Niziolek’s and Mr. Engleking’s travel expenses as a gift to the City; and
WHEREAS, the acceptance by the City of reimbursement of Mr. Niziolek’s and Mr. Engleking’s travel expenses from RCN serves a public purpose, and benefits the City and its residents as a whole; now therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the City Council hereby accepts the gift of reimbursement of Mr. Niziolek’s and Mr. Engleking’s travel expenses to Responsive Cities Network Sprint on September 29-30, 2026. The Council specifically authorizes personnel from OTC, DSI and the Office of Financial Servies to handle any documentation or accounting necessary to fulfill the City’s acceptance of this gift. The City thanks the Responsive Cities Network for its generous donation for the benefit of the City.