West Palm Beach wins Knight award to bring AI into public records work

West Palm Beach, Florida – West Palm Beach and government technology company Caldera PBC have received a Knight Cities Challenge award to support a year-long effort aimed at making public records requests faster to process and less time-consuming for city employees.

Announced October 22, the award from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will fund the introduction of Mesa, Caldera’s artificial intelligence platform, into the city’s public records operations. The partnership will initially involve the Information Technology and Police Departments.

The project will focus on work that extends beyond tracking requests. Mesa will help employees manage requests from intake through review, redaction and release, including identifying relevant records and preparing information for disclosure. Trained city personnel will retain oversight throughout the process.

“Transparency and accountability are fundamental to earning the public’s trust, and our residents deserve a government that is accessible, responsive, and efficient,” said Mayor Keith A. James. “In West Palm Beach, we are committed to embracing innovative solutions that strengthen how we serve our community. This partnership represents an important step forward in modernizing City operations, reducing administrative burdens, and providing residents with faster access to public information. By embracing emerging technologies responsibly, West Palm Beach is helping set a new standard for how local governments can deliver more efficient, transparent and responsive public services.”

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The city said the platform will assist staff in preparing records for release in accordance with Florida’s public records laws and applicable exemptions. Human oversight will remain part of that work, with city personnel responsible for maintaining accuracy, transparency and accountability as the technology is introduced.

The stated goals are to shorten response times and reduce the administrative workload associated with handling requests. The announcement presents those improvements as objectives of the year-long partnership, with the initial rollout centered on the two participating departments.

Caldera, a public benefit corporation that builds AI infrastructure for government, said the project addresses increasing demands on public records staff.

“Public records are the backbone of open government, but surging request volumes, partly driven by AI, are costing cities thousands of staff hours a year,” said Christine Tsang, Co-Founder and CEO of Caldera PBC. “Mesa takes on the most time-consuming and tedious parts of records work, so staff can spend their time where their expertise matters most. We’re honored to partner with Mayor James and the City’s team to build a model for public records that is fast, reliable, and true to the City’s commitment to open government.”

The approach differs from traditional systems that primarily organize and monitor incoming requests. Under the partnership, AI assistance will also extend to the underlying records work, helping staff locate responsive material and prepare it for release while retaining employee review.

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The announcement pointed to an earlier use of Mesa in San Francisco as an example of the platform’s application to large records projects. The Assessor-Recorder’s Office used the system to review a backlog containing 7.4 million pages of property records, saving an estimated 128,000 staff hours, according to the release.

West Palm Beach will participate alongside Duluth, Minnesota, another partner community in the project. Experiences from both cities are expected to inform further development of a platform intended for use by government agencies nationwide.

The award also follows another AI-related initiative involving West Palm Beach. Earlier this year, the city was selected as one of 10 participants in a Knight-supported national effort focused on responsible generative AI in local government. That initiative is led by Harvard Kennedy School’s Data-Smart City Solutions.

Together, the efforts reflect the city’s stated interest in using emerging technology to modernize municipal operations and improve access to information. For the public records partnership, the immediate focus will be on supporting employees through the request process and working toward more timely responses for residents.

Information about the foundation’s funding program is available on the Knight Cities Challenge webpage.