The world of artificial intelligence is coming to Shawano County government operations.
Members of the executive committee agreed Dec. 10 to enroll in a six-month pilot program in 2026 with GovAI.
“We don’t want to delay it anymore,” said Matt Hietpas, technology services director. “We agree there’s some use, very valuable use, for not only our employees but the residents of Shawano County, too.”
Hietpas has been studying the program with Julie Hasser, interim administrative coordinator and human resources director; Nichole Zuehl, finance director; and Larenda Maulson, corporation counsel.
Hietpas said AI can benefit the public through interactions such as calls to government offices and chatboxes on the website, while also benefiting employees through the use of data gathering, data management, analytics, resource planning, real time data-driven insights and drafting documents.
“We’re looking at a trial period for GovAI, another AI platform,” Hietpas said. “GovAI is more designed toward government.”
For example, Hietpas said a sheriff’s deputy can use AI to review body camera and dash camera footage to create incident reports.
“The deputy has to verify some of it, make sure it’s accurate, because you still have to manage the AI part of it,” Hietpas said. “It’s not always perfect.”
Sheriff George Lenzner agreed.
“(Creating reports) could save hours upon hours,” Lenzner said. “People don’t realize officers spend probably a quarter of their time writing reports. This would keep them out on the road and able to get more work done.”
Supervisor Tom Kautza questioned the accuracy of AI-generated reports. Lenzner said deputies would still need to read and verify the final report, and Hietpas pointed out that no AI program, including the commonly used Copilot and ChatGPT, are error-free.
“AI is not always 100% accurate,” Hietpas said. “This is where this trial period helps us decide how far we want to go with this.”
The six-month trial will cost the county $9,500.
“If we don’t like it, we can just cut ties with it,” Hietpas said.
If the county decides to continue, the next six-month period would also be $9,500, and the annual cost would then be added to the technology services budget.
There are other government-focused programs available, but Hietpas believes GovAI is the best fit for Shawano County.
GovAI will cover all training with employees, Hietpas said.
He said Maulson will have an important role if the county sticks with the program, as privacy will need to be protected and policies will need to be written.
“The biggest thing is we haven’t really opened up to AI because we don’t want to take the risk of personal information, county information, getting out to the public website,” Hietpas said.
Supervisor Randy Mallmann said he’s not opposed to using AI, but he is wary of the technology.
“My concern about this whole thing is how accurate is this,” he said. “I know everybody’s on the bandwagon, but it still scares the hell out of me. I’m still kind of old school. And just like anything else, it’s only as accurate as all the information that we put in there.”
Hietpas noted that a typical Google search is no less accurate than AI, and with GovAI, the search is focused on county data, not everything on the internet.
“I’m not opposed, and I’ll make the motion to approve the trial,” Mallmann said. “I think it is a good opportunity where we’re spending a minimal amount to at least give it a try.”
The GovAI program is already being used by Waukesha, Dane, Outagamie, Kenosha, La Crosse and Calumet counties.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
