Resolution Establishing a Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools in Village Governance

DRAFT

VILLAGE OF RED HOOK

RESOLUTION NO. ___−2026

A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A POLICY ON THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS IN VILLAGE GOVERNANCE

WHEREAS , the Village of Red Hook is committed to effective, transparent, and fiscally respon­ sible governance; and

WHEREAS , artificial intelligence tools offer the Village the ability to research topics, find and understand information, draft documents, analyze policy options, and review work product from outside professionals more efficiently and at lower cost; and

WHEREAS , the responsible use of such tools strengthens the Village’s capacity to serve its residents, particularly as a small municipality with limited staff and budget; and

WHEREAS , the Village Board finds that adopting modern tools for government operations is consistent with its obligation to manage public resources prudently; and

WHEREAS , the Village conducts its official electronic communications, document management, and collaboration through its Google Workspace account, which provides enterprise security, access controls, and data governance appropriate for municipal operations; and

WHEREAS , artificial intelligence tools made available within the Village’s Google Workspace environment operate under the same administrative controls and privacy protections as the Village’s existing email, document, and data systems, allowing the Village to use such tools while maintaining appropriate safeguards for sensitive information; and

WHEREAS , this policy was itself drafted with the assistance of AI tools and refined through deliberation by the Village Board, reflecting the process it describes;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Village Board of the Village of Red Hook hereby adopts the following policy on the use of artificial intelligence tools:

Section 1. Purpose

The Village of Red Hook embraces the use of artificial intelligence as a tool for research, infor­ mation retrieval, drafting, and review in the conduct of village business. This policy establishes expectations for its responsible use.

Section 2. Use in Village Operations

AI tools may be used by village officials, board members, and staff for purposes including but not limited to:

(a) Seeking information and explanations on topics relevant to village business, including legal requirements, technical concepts, municipal procedures, and the practices of comparable communities;

(b) Drafting correspondence, memoranda, local laws, and resolutions;

(c) Researching policy options, regulatory requirements, and practices of comparable munici­ palities;

(d) Preparing background materials and analysis for board deliberations;

(e) Reviewing and evaluating work product received from outside professionals, including legal counsel, engineers, and consultants. Officials are encouraged to use AI tools to verify, question, and improve understanding of such work product;

(f) Translating technical or legal language into plain language for public understanding.

Section 3. Source Materials

When using AI tools to draft or analyze documents, or to seek information that will inform village decisions or be presented as fact, officials and staff should verify important claims against relevant source materials — including applicable statutes, existing village code, adopted plans, and actual data — rather than relying solely on the tool’s general knowledge. AI tools can provide useful starting points for understanding a topic, but their responses should be treated with the same healthy skepticism applied to any single source.

Section 4. Accountability

AI­assisted documents should be the product of an iterative process in which the responsible official actively directs the work, makes substantive decisions about content, and engages critically with the tool’s output. Officials presenting work product to the board, and the board in adopting it, shall ensure they understand its content and implications sufficiently to take ownership of it. Work product shall receive professional review commensurate with its content and consequences. These standards apply to all village work product, whether prepared with the assistance of AI tools, outside professionals, staff, or any combination thereof.

Section 5. Deliberation and Decision-Making

AI tools are used to prepare input for the Village’s decision­making process. All deliberation and decisions of the Village Board occur in public session in accordance with the Open Meetings Law and established governance procedures. The use of AI in preparation does not alter the Village’s decision­making process in any way.

Section 6. Sensitive Information

When working with sensitive or non­public information — including but not limited to resident information that is not public record, matters discussed in executive session, pending litigation, contract negotiations, and personnel matters — officials and staff shall use AI tools provided through the Village’s Google Workspace account. Any AI tool may be used for non­sensitive village business.

Section 7. Professional Judgment

AI tools do not replace the need for professional expertise where it is required by law, regulation, or prudent practice. Legal advice, engineering certifications, licensed professional opinions, and similar services remain the province of qualified professionals. AI is a complement to professional services, not a substitute for them.

Section 8. Effective Date

This resolution shall take effect immediately.

Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Red Hook on , 2026.

Village Clerk

A Note on How This Document Was Prepared

This resolution was drafted using the process it describes. An AI tool produced the initial structure, and a village official then directed its development through iterative conversation — questioning assumptions, rejecting generic policy language, introducing real­world examples from village operations, and making substantive decisions about content at each step.

Key decisions made by the human in this process included:

• Rejecting disclosure requirements as impractical and inconsistent with how the village treats other drafting tools

• Framing AI as analogous to outside counsel — a drafting resource, not a decision­maker

• Requiring that AI also be used to review work from outside professionals, not just to draft

• Extending the accountability standard to all work product, not just AI­assisted work

• Requiring sensitive information be handled through the village’s existing Google Workspace account rather than creating abstract data classification rules

• Grounding the policy’s privacy and security provisions in the Village’s existing Google Workspace infrastructure rather than imposing standalone AI­specific controls

• Adding information retrieval and research as a primary use case alongside document drafting, recognizing that responsible use requires the same critical judgment whether generating a document or seeking an answer

• Insisting that AI­assisted work be the product of an iterative human decision­making process, not simply generated output

The document you are reading is itself an example of the method it advocates.