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Q: Mayor Donna Deegan’s administration will test the use of artificial intelligence while drafting this year’s city budget.
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The city recently entered into a three-month contract with the enterprise AI company C3.ai for $9,500. Officials say the effort will analyze three of Jacksonville’s biggest departmental budgets: Public Works, Public Libraries and Parks, Recreation and Community Service.
The goal of the pilot program is to produce more timely revenue forecasting, locate duplications in the city’s vendor contracts more efficiently, isolate overspending and be more nimble in financial decision-making, Deegan officials say.
The AI pilot does not include the largest part of the city budget — the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Jacksonville Today reader Johnathon A. wonders why.
“Considering the significant amount of the budget that JSO receives, why are they not on the AI checklist?”
“Last I had seen, libraries are getting bread crumbs versus the posh plates JSO receives from the city,” Johnathon says.
A: JSO’s budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year was around $630 million, a $33 million increase over the previous year.
Jacksonville Today asked the Deegan administration specifically about Johnathon’s question.
Phil Perry, the city’s chief communications officer, said JSO was not considered for the pilot because the department is a separate constitutional office and manages its own budget.
“Right now, we are in an exploratory phase. It’s simply a pilot project to determine what’s possible and if the (return on investment) is there to utilize AI for budget analysis. That is the question we have to answer before we can think about expanding it to other city departments and initiatives,” Perry said in an email.
“JSO was not considered for this pilot since they are a separate constitutional office and manage their own budget,” he said. “We chose three of the largest departments that report to the mayor and are most ripe for AI opportunities. Again, we’re trying to learn what is possible before we seek out expansion opportunities across city government.”
Jacksonville is one of the first U.S. cities to pilot AI’s use to improve the municipal budget process.
The mayor’s office says it will provide more data to the public and City Council as the pilot moves forward.