Smart Solutions for Edmonds: How AI Could Help Us Save Time and Money

Exploring AI for Edmonds: Saving Time, Money and Resources

This week, I attended a workshop called “Developing a Strategy and Roadmap for Generative AI Adoption” hosted by the People First Technology group. The session focused on how AI is being used in cities across the country to improve services, reduce manual workload, and save public dollars—especially critical during tight budget times.

As I listened, I kept thinking about Edmonds—our staff, our community needs, and the incredible pressure we're all under to do more with less. The ideas came quickly. What if we could automate meeting summaries? Speed up public records processing? Help inspectors and planners interpret code more consistently? What if AI could assist with drafting grant proposals so we don’t miss out on funding opportunities?

So, I pulled together a working proposal—not as a politician, but as a resident who cares deeply about our city and wants to help. I sent it to City Council, the Mayor, and city directors as a starting point for conversation. Some ideas may be easy to try right away. Others would require more setup or consultation. And I’m sure there are dozens of other potential use cases across departments that I haven’t even thought of yet.

The point is: this is a fast-moving field, and Edmonds has a real opportunity to lead. If we approach it responsibly and transparently, AI can help us reduce low-value staff time, improve service delivery, and stretch our limited resources further.

If you’re curious, I’m happy to share the full proposal or talk more about what I learned. Whether or not I’m elected to serve, I’ll keep working to bring creative, thoughtful ideas to the table—for Edmonds.

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Erika Barnett
Co-owner, Salish Sea Brewing Co.
Endorsed Candidate for Edmonds City Council | Position 3