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...
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