From the Local Government edition of October 4, 2026
Key West adopts IT-115 AI policy: approved tools only, prompts as public records, meaningful human review, $25,000 for Ordinal Connect
City of Key West, Florida (City Commission, Information Technology Department) · Municipal AI policy, records management and procurement · Key West, Florida, United States
- Publisher
- City of Key West (Granicus agenda portal)
- Original publication
- October 1, 2026 (City Commission agenda item and attachments)
- Source retrieved
- 2026-10-05
- Event date
- 2026-10-01
What happened
Key West's Oct. 1 commission agenda carried IT-115, a citywide AI policy: only IT-approved tools may be used; employees remain responsible for output and must verify it; sensitive data may not be entered without authorization; AI prompts, inputs and outputs may be public records and personal or unapproved accounts may not be used to evade records or procurement rules; substantial AI-created public material should be disclosed; consequential decisions require meaningful human review; purchases or expansions need IT approval; training is mandatory; review within six months. The cover memo budgets $25,000 for Ordinal Connect. Citizen Portal reports unanimous approval.
Why it matters
A concise, adoptable small-city policy template tying AI use to Florida public-records and procurement rules, with a named local-government AI platform budget line.
Evidence and measured results
Primary policy PDF and cover memo linked from the agenda item; public comment on the item; vote outcome from Citizen Portal's meeting summary.
Limitations and uncertainty
Policy adoption, not outcomes; approval reported by a third-party summary; signature block blank in the posted PDF; implementation guidance not yet issued.
Put this evidence to work
Lighthouse Advisory interpretation, grounded in this source. Enriched 2026-10-04; this does not change the original publication date. Each role follows the same checklist so takeaways compare across sources.
Sales
Role takeaway
- Customer problem
- The city needs to enable staff AI use while meeting Florida public-records, retention, cybersecurity and procurement obligations.
- Stakeholders
- IT director
- City manager
- City clerk / records custodian
- City attorney
- City commission
- Residents raising transparency questions
- Discovery questions
- How will prompts and outputs be retained and produced for records requests?
- What counts as meaningful human review for consequential decisions?
- What vendor protections are in the Ordinal Connect agreement?
- What will the six-month review measure?
- Value hypothesis
- A clear policy plus a governed platform can let staff use AI with records and data protections in place; results are not yet measured.
- Potential engagement
- Implementation-guidance sprint: approved-tool list, human-review definition, disclosure examples and records procedure, ahead of the six-month review.
- Unsupported claims
- The policy has already improved efficiency
- The funded platform is compliant with records law without configuration
- Human review requirements eliminate AI errors
Pre-sales engineering
Role takeaway
- Fit
- Good fit for a city-controlled AI workspace with retention, export and access controls.
- Architecture and integration
- City identity → approved AI platform accounts → retention of prompts/outputs per schedule → export to records-request workflow → IT approval register for new tools.
- Prerequisites
- Approved-tool register
- Retention schedule mapping for AI records
- Identity integration
- Training before access
- Constraints
- Florida public-records law
- Disclosure thresholds not yet defined
- Vendor terms for funded platform not public
- Small IT team
- Security
- Block unapproved AI services where feasible, restrict sensitive data entry, require incident reporting and review vendor data protections before expansion.
- Proof of value
- Run a mock records request for one user's AI history
- Audit a sample of public-facing documents for disclosure compliance
- Check training completion against account provisioning
Delivery
Role takeaway
- Work
- Issue administrative guidelines, configure the approved platform, deliver training and run the six-month review.
- Dependencies
- IT guidance drafting
- City clerk records procedures
- Vendor configuration
- Department director cooperation
- Ownership
- IT Director for tools and guidance; City Clerk for records; City Manager for enforcement.
- Skills and adoption
- Mandatory training on verification, data protection, disclosure and records; supervisors reinforce in departments.
- Governance checkpoints
- Written responses to public-comment questions
- Approved-tool list publication
- Six-month policy review
- Annual review thereafter
- Acceptance criteria
- All AI users trained before access
- Records request for AI history fulfilled within normal timelines in a test
- Six-month review report presented to the commission
- Risks
- Ambiguous human-review standard
- Shadow use on personal accounts
- Records-retention gaps in vendor platform
- Policy drift via guidance changes without oversight
Implementation considerations
Lighthouse Advisory interpretation across the operating dimensions a public-sector buyer must settle before this evidence becomes a design. Each note answers the question under its heading for this specific source.
Architecture and integration
What must connect, and where does the AI sit in the workflow?
Approved-tool list maintained by IT; city-controlled accounts so prompts and outputs can be retained and produced in records requests.
Governance
Who approves, reviews and stays accountable for outcomes?
The policy is strong on principles but leaves 'meaningful human review' and disclosure thresholds to later IT guidance—exactly the questions a resident raised in public comment.
Security and privacy
What data, permissions and controls need testing?
Prohibits entering sensitive or protected information without approval and requires incident reporting for data exposure.
Accessibility and workforce
Who is affected, and what skills or accommodations follow?
Mandatory training before use; IT review criteria include accessibility.
Procurement
What should contracts, pricing and exit terms secure?
No department may buy, subscribe to or expand AI without IT review covering data, security, records, vendor terms and accessibility; Ordinal Connect funded at $25,000.
Operating model
Which teams own the service once it runs?
IT Department maintains approved tools and guidance; City Clerk is the records contact; six-month review built in.
Publication history
- 2026-10-04Local Government · Issue 295 resources
Stable resource ID: key-west-it-115-ai-policy-20261001