Dan Hoffman: 0:10

Hello and welcome to another edition of the Rouse Review. I'm your city manager, Dan Hoffman, and with me is Sarah Fry, the public information officer.

Sarah Frey: 0:18

Hi, everybody.

Dan Hoffman: 0:19

We are still in summer technically,

Sarah Frey: 0:24

or are we now

Dan Hoffman: 0:25

out of it?

Sarah Frey: 0:25

All I can tell you is every morning I wake up and I just want to put on the coziest of cozy sweaters.

Dan Hoffman: 0:31

It is, it's brisk.

Sarah Frey: 0:33

And I can like feel the leaves turning, you can smell it.

Dan Hoffman: 0:37

We are definitely in fake fall. Uh. Because you know we're not gonna get through September. September without one more big, uh, heat surge, but we are now here and I got to say last week spectacular. This week looks to be pretty good, too. I mean, we might get a little rain here or there, but it is, I mean

Sarah Frey: 1:01

Compared to Phoenix, where they've had a hundred days of over a hundred degree weather, we're doing great.

Dan Hoffman: 1:07

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And, you know, every time I look at like a map or there's something in the, you know, in a magazine about, you know, the areas most negatively affected by climate change, uh, our kind of, our latitude, our wind chest, particularly this Northern Virginia kind of valley area. It's going to be, it's going to continue to be quite nice for us because we're in kind of a Goldilocks spot. It seems like, you know, I've definitely jinxed us and I'm sure we'll get a blizzard this, this, this winter, but, um, we're in a good spot. So everybody, um, the valley is a great place. I think you're going to hear that from new resident Orlando Lopez later in the show. Um, he knew a new resident and our chief information officer. So, um, it, it is a good time to be in the city. So, and with that, uh, it is also a good time to attend a city council meeting if you are interested. Um, I mean, there's not a lot going on, but we're back at City Hall, but we are back at City Hall because our elevator is fixed and that is fantastic. It took forever. Um, and I gotta say it doesn't move faster, but at least it moves a little more steady. Um, so anyways, we're very happy to have all our meetings back here in City Hall. Unless otherwise noted, uh, and tomorrow night we will be here for a council meeting. Um, you might notice that we have the rare work session after the regular meeting concludes. I'll get to that in just a minute. On the regular meeting, um, couple odds and ends, you know, if, if those of you were curious about what was going to happen with the board of architectural review appeal, uh, you know, that, We're going to be bouncing just it. We're going to put that off a couple more weeks. We're waiting on some additional information, but we've had great conversations to get that resolved. Obviously that does not affect 99. 99 percent of this population, but you know, BAR reviews and the historic district are often a, a, they can be a hot topic. Uh, and then we get some changes, the enterprise zone, we're borrowing 26 million, but, uh, for those of you who don't know, we actually borrow money pretty much almost every year. We borrow, we pay it off, we have an excellent credit. So

Sarah Frey: 3:27

AAA bond rating,

Dan Hoffman: 3:28

AAA bond rating, which is nice. Uh, and we do everything we can to try to keep that. Um, it's not easy to do, uh, but we're in good financial shape. So we've got a AAA bond rating and we can borrow cheaply, um, which saves us a boatload of money. Um, so, uh, we'll be doing that as part of our annual borrowing and then we will be on to a. A work session, you know, in this very special edition of the city council work session, we're going to be talking about, uh, first amendment rules and public comment processes and making sure that all nine members of city council, first off, are on the same page, uh, regarding what the law says in regards to public comment and also, uh, making sure that we have processes in place to, um, you know, Make sure our meetings function efficiently and, um, allow city council to get their work done. Which, you know, as you, if you've listened to this show for any period of time, you know, a lot of what I talk about on the what's coming up at council segment, you know, I'm talking about the BAR and an issue with someone's windows. We're talking about a bond resolution because we're resurfacing roads and replacing water mains. We're talking about a, a new. townhouse complex that's being developed. We talk about public safety and homelessness issues. You know, those are the kinds of things that we talk about here at the local level. And, um, You know, council wants to make sure that their meetings are as efficient and effective as possible. So, uh, they're going to be having that discussion tomorrow night after the regular meeting concludes. Um, that one could be pretty interesting if you are, if you care about how city council meetings are run. I think it'll be pretty educational for everybody. Uh, so that is tomorrow night. come out and join us, uh, here at City Hall. And with that, we'll take a quick pause and we're going to come back with what's next, uh, what's coming up with Sarah.

Sarah Frey: 5:43

What's coming up in Winchester? September, fall, it's the most beautiful time of the year.

Dan Hoffman: 5:47

Yes.

Sarah Frey: 5:49

It's, the leaves are changing. It's crisp outside. It's beautiful. So, Still feels a little summery though. So neighborhood nights.

Dan Hoffman: 5:58

I've been

Sarah Frey: 5:58

talking about them all summer. We've been having them all summer all over the city

Dan Hoffman: 6:02

It's been hard to have neighborhood nights when it gets dark at like nine o'clock But we've tried We've tried and we've made it happen. It's more like a neighborhood late afternoons But we're out of the heat of the summer.

Sarah Frey: 6:15

Yeah, we are and it's and and it's getting darker earlier It's

Dan Hoffman: 6:19

getting darker earlier. So

Sarah Frey: 6:21

if you haven't been to a neighborhood nights You have one last chance on Thursday, September 12th at 6 30 p. m. at Whittier Park. We are having our very last neighborhood nights. We're going to have a public services out with all of their cool machinery for a touch a truck. We're going to have free food and ice cream thanks to the Winchester Rotary Club and Skyline Harley Davidson. We're going to have games and a movie under the stars that doesn't start at 9pm, um, with Parks and Rec.

Dan Hoffman: 6:51

Yeah, we're not going to start a kid's movie at 9 o'clock.

Sarah Frey: 6:53

And rumor has it Chris Mitchell from Q102 might even be stopping by. Oh, cool. Yeah, so come out Thursday the 12th, Whittier Park, 6. 30pm. It should be a great time. I have some totally gnarly news, Dan. Oh my god,

Dan Hoffman: 7:06

I can't believe you're actually saying the word gnarly.

Sarah Frey: 7:09

I am, because It's here. It's finally time. We're doing a ribbon cutting on the brand new skate park at Jim Burnett Park.

Dan Hoffman: 7:16

I am very excited about the, uh, I want to see people out there using it. I, we get so much demand for this. So many people asking for it. And I know that in the past, the city has attempted to put together a skate park for a variety of reasons that I don't know about because it predates me. I don't know what happened. Um, but I got a general idea. This time, I think we now have a permanent skate park that, uh, will be here as long as people use it and respect it and take care of it and help us, um, make sure that it's a great safe environment for folks to skateboard.

Sarah Frey: 7:53

I will tell you, I've spent a lot of time at the park lately because it's fall and that means sports. And every time I drive past the skate park, people are using it and enjoying it and respecting it. And you love to see it. But, we're going to officially Break cut the ribbon on the new skate park September 19th at 6 p. m. It's Thursday So if you haven't skated it or seen it

Dan Hoffman: 8:14

or

Sarah Frey: 8:15

anything else It's on the Bridgeworth field side of the park off of Court Street

Dan Hoffman: 8:20

right over there by the BMX track

Sarah Frey: 8:21

Yep, it's right in that first parking lot when you come in Near Bridgeworth Field. So hopefully we'll see you on Thursday the 12th.

Dan Hoffman: 8:27

Fun fact. I can't skateboard. Not even close. No, it's an abomination. Same with roller skating or ice skating. I cannot do any of those three things.

Sarah Frey: 8:36

I thought we were going to like see you best not all your moves

Dan Hoffman: 8:39

on

Sarah Frey: 8:39

the park at the ribbon cutting.

Dan Hoffman: 8:41

Oh my goodness. I'll go, I'll get in dunk tanks. I will hang off the back of a trash truck. I will do pretty much anything. I, I don't think I can physically skateboard. I think there's something wrong with me and it prevents me from doing it. But maybe, maybe if someone wants to like tow me behind them or something, that's typically how I, I skate. I just hang on to someone in front of me. So. Uh, yes, everyone please show off your coordination and balance, uh, that I don't have. I will enjoy seeing everyone do that out at September 19th at 6 p. m.

Sarah Frey: 9:18

Alright, last thing I have is Saturday, September 21st. You can join the city and the North End Citizens Association for a police open house. Yes. We're going to have it down at the Douglas School at the WPS Admin Building out on Kent Street. We're going to hear from the Chief of Police. We're going to be able to ask questions. We're going to get to know some of the teams that are out in our community doing the policing, keeping us safe, keeping our community healthy and vibrant. So if any questions you have about public safety, come on out and ask them. This is going to be your chance. Thanks. So that is Saturday, September 21st, 10 a. m. at the Douglas school.

Dan Hoffman: 9:58

Excellent.

Sarah Frey: 9:59

And that's the news I know.

Dan Hoffman: 10:00

Cool. Well, uh, everybody sit tight. We're going to bring in Orlando Lopez, uh, the new relatively new, uh, chief information officer for the city of Winchester. Welcome back, and now with us, new to the show and new to the city, uh, Orlando Lopez, the Chief Information Officer of Winchester, Virginia. Welcome, Orlando.

Orlando Lopez: 10:29

Thank you, Dan. It's a pleasure to be here.

Dan Hoffman: 10:32

So you, um, you have one of the more interesting backgrounds of anyone I have hired. Okay. And it's because we don't often in local government, and especially in a smaller local government like ours, uh, get somebody who has just, um, retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the air force and relocated here from Italy. Yeah. We don't get a lot of that in local government. So, uh, start off by Tell us a little bit about yourself. You know, where, where were you not just before this, but talk a little bit about what you've seen.

Orlando Lopez: 11:09

Sure. And I, I really appreciate the opportunity to be here. So thank you very much. Um, and it is a great conversation started to say, Hey, military Italy. And then all of a sudden, why Winchester? That's usually the question that always comes up at parties, right? It's like, why Winchester? Well, honestly, why not? Um, so. Yeah, 26 years, uh, with a, with a combination of active duty, a little bit of reserve time, um, and also a combination of enlisted time, because that was my first, you know, six and a half years in the military was enlisted. Uh, then I took a little bit of a break, went into the reserves, um, so I could go simultaneously to college, get my commission through, uh, an ROTC program out in West Texas.

Dan Hoffman: 11:51

Okay.

Orlando Lopez: 11:52

and then enter back into the military as a second lieutenant and then climb the ladder on the officer side of, of, of things. Gotcha. Uh, originally I'm, I'm from Texas and so I always envisioned myself going back to Texas, but the older I got, the more I just can't stand the heat. You know in south texas, it's like a constant summer, right? It's it's usually 10 months out of the year and I just I couldn't do it anymore So I was looking for something with four seasons and so that was one of my mandates from the family's like dad You know, we really want you know something that We can feel a little bit of cold. We can feel a little bit of spring, you know in the autumn chill And so when I started to look for opportunities as I was about to exit Off ramp from my military career, you know, I, I knew that I wanted to go back into government because it's what I know. I feel comfortable in that space. I think I've shared this with you before. And so, you know, I started looking, um, and I had, I had some opportunities, you know, I had some opportunities in Ohio. I had some opportunities in North Carolina, as far West as out in Portland, Oregon. But to be honest with you, Winchester was always just a step ahead in terms of the HR process. Really was the ultimate pro. And then once I got to talking to you, you know, virtually, and then once I started to talk to, uh, to Paula, and then once I heard Lindsay Orndorff's voice over the phone, I'm like, man, these guys are really energetic. And it was that high pitch noise. But honestly, I, I just liked the vibe. I liked the energy. Everybody was extremely accommodating and friendly, and then when Paula said, Hey, we'll bring you out, you know, from Italy, I was like, wow, you can do that? They're like, absolutely. And so that really just sealed the deal for me, to be honest with you. And so that's, that's what brought me to Winchester. And now that I'm here, and I can, I can reflect on the, the previous eight months. I can say we made the right choice. Awesome. I really enjoy the team. And, and I'm not just saying that just because, you know, I got a microphone in my head and my boss is sitting next to me over here on my left. No, I really do enjoy the team. I enjoy the senior staff team. And then I really enjoy the, the it department team. Yeah. We are a really cohesive, great group of public servants that all we want to do is good work. You know, on behalf of the citizens, right? And then, Uh, everybody else on the team, you know, public information officer, comms, uh, the HR department is great. I love just going down there and just chit chatting with them and just getting to know them and folks in the planning department, you know, Mike Ruddy's team, you know, even, even the folks in finance, I, I like the team in finance, I find, you know, they're quirky. We all do for

Dan Hoffman: 14:41

the record, Mary, don't freak out. I was going to say everybody loves finance. Everybody loves finance. Can you give me more money?

Orlando Lopez: 14:46

That's what, what the. That's what brought me here. What's really, where was Winchester, you know, compared to everybody else? And, and everybody was very comparable, but there was just certain things, the intangibles that, uh, that just, that just took it over.

Dan Hoffman: 15:01

One of the things I'm happy to hear you say all of that, uh, that we've been very, we've worked very hard on here is bringing in the right folks, uh, building the right culture so that we can attract talent like, Um, you know, or, you know, Sarah also relatively new. I was going to

Sarah Frey: 15:20

say the culture is part of the reason that sold me. Yeah.

Dan Hoffman: 15:24

Yeah. It, we brought you in out of the private sector. Uh, Kit, the communications director, he, he just came out of the state department where he was, you know, working at the embassy in Jamaica. He also ex military. Um, Mike Ruddy, we snagged from, uh, Leesburg and the county. Like, we've, we've been very thoughtful about building a team that has the same kind of values and principles, and that is, you know, but also kindness and empathy and understanding that we're all just doing a job. And, you know, we all could be going out somewhere and making more money. You know, I, I know that with, uh, you know, I think everybody actually sitting at this table, you know, being a public sector CIO does not pay as well as being a private sector CIO. Um, that doesn't mean you can leave, but there are, We could all do better if we were out in the private sector financially, but are you going to have that work life balance? Are you going to be able to explain to your neighbors what you do and that, Hey, I, I, um, make sure that the city, the city's it and your information is secure. I make sure that services that get delivered, I make sure the laptops and police cars work. I make sure that, you know, you have a. You know, our billing systems, where all of these things that a lot of neighbors might not necessarily see on a regular basis, you know, we make that happen and we can explain to it because we're very clear. It's a small town, uh, odds are, you know, your neighbor down the street has benefited from your service. Uh, and that's, that's nice that it's, you don't get that in the private sector really.

Orlando Lopez: 17:14

Correct. Correct.

Dan Hoffman: 17:15

So speaking of the, the types of work you do, explain what, for those, for the uninitiated, uh, what does a chief information officer do?

Orlando Lopez: 17:25

So the chief information officer is really the senior executive of the I. T. Department. Uh, you are the face of the I. T. Department forward facing, you know, engagements with not only the members of the staff, the employees of the city of Winchester, but also, uh, the public, you know, you are the one that you try to articulate the technical stuff that's going on behind the curtain, and you want to articulate it in a very layman's term to, uh, Not only your boss or members of the comms team, but also again, the individual that's right outside, you know, City Hall in such a way that they feel comfortable receiving that information processing it and then saying, Oh, they snapped that finger. Oh, okay. That makes sense. That's, that's really my job, right? Um, but at the same time, I also have an internal responsibility because one of the biggest things that I really want to do and I'm doing it every single day, but I want to develop my team. Right. It is. It is really one of those responsibilities that I have to, to. Grow them professionally that one day they will take my job and then I will off ramp myself into official retirement, but that is one of those responsibilities that's inherent with the chief information officer, regardless of its public sector, private sector, government, whatever. You know, it's to grow your bench. Yep. Right?

Dan Hoffman: 18:52

Absolutely.

Orlando Lopez: 18:53

To grow them in such a way, you know, that, that, uh, they feel confident, they feel empowered, um, and that one day, boom, they can take you.

Dan Hoffman: 19:01

And we've done a good job, uh, basically with a fairly homegrown, uh, IT team. We got, we got one person that just came off of, was working solid waste in the back of a truck. Now he's a

Orlando Lopez: 19:16

wonderful story. Now he's IT help

Dan Hoffman: 19:18

desk. Uh, we've got folks that, um, you know, we've grown the GIS department a little bit, making sure folks are trained with all the latest, um, you know, certifications and whatnot. And it's, it's been great. It's a good group and when they do occasionally leave, uh, you know, we just you and I just last night saw You know an ex IT department employee who was still came back to hang out with us at our fantasy football draft When she left it was sad, but it was a great opportunity for her and we had grown her and developed her for Eventually to do something like that. So there was no, I have no heartburn when folks leave, if they're leaving for a reason that helps them, you know, cause at some point maybe they're going to come back one day. Uh, but what they are always going to be our champions for the city. If we've taken good care of them. And that's

Orlando Lopez: 20:11

one of what, that's actually one of my internal metrics. I don't, I don't put it up on the board, but it's to retain my own, my own team. As long as possible. Right. And I, I tried to do that by. By doing a little bit of shifting around in terms of, okay, you might be working in the it help desk right now, but in the future, maybe you're going to be a great systems administrator working in the network infrastructure side. You know, and so I got to help build your confidence, bill your. You know, your level of expertise, whether it be academics or, you know, hands on.

Dan Hoffman: 20:44

Now, one of the things that I always say about local government is it is not the way you would design a business, right? People always say, Oh, you know, government should more run, run more like a business and dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. Well, first off, um. We, we, we don't have to make a profit, uh, which is a good thing because you don't want to profit off of public safety services. Uh, but most importantly, no one would ever design a business that has 12 completely separate types of functions. We put out fires. We also run parks and rec programs. We have an IT help desk. Oh, by the way, we also have social services. It is. It would be like if Burger King one day said, you know what? When you drive through the drive thru, we will also fix your TV. It doesn't make any sense. Like why no one would put this weird combination of very distinct lines of business, trash pickup. Oh, we also do a planning services like some, a lot of these different things. We hire engineers and solid waste guys, custodians. Chief Information Officers, like these are so, the workforce is so diverse and the equipment they use is so diverse in, for a local government CIO, you're maintaining the laptop and the police car. Oh, and also phones. There's a security software that we run to make sure, you know, buildings are accessed properly. Well, that's, we also have, uh, finance and payroll systems. Like it's every, every type of technology and we have to maintain a lot of it. Parking technology. I mean, We're getting new stuff thrown at us all the time. How much hardware does the team actually manage? And how diverse is all of, you know, as you've kind of entered this local government world, how, uh, yeah, What kind of support do you have to provide for all the specialized

Orlando Lopez: 22:53

equipment? So in terms of portfolio, it's, it's pretty robust. I mean, we like to use the term endpoints, you know, and an endpoint can be, uh, it can be a device, a tablet, a phone, but it can also be your laptop or your tower that's sitting on your desk. And so those, those endpoints, uh, amount to somewhere in the vicinity of about 1100 devices, you know, now granted, we only have 617 employees at the last time I've, I've But we have more devices than we have employees. Um, we have somewhere in the neighborhood of about 200, you know, tablets and phones that are government issued as part of that 1100 portfolio. And so the team has got to be very well, uh, well, they got to be resilient, and they got to be able to manage a lot of, you know, different requirements. Because each one of those devices is on usually a different device. You know, it requires security settings, it requires security updates and patching. And so you have to have a cycle, you have to have a schedule as to when are we going to do patching on this particular server? Or when are we going to patch this particular switch or this particular phone? And so it requires a lot of project management that you don't really realize it's project management. But it's right there in front of you, right?

Dan Hoffman: 24:06

Yep.

Orlando Lopez: 24:06

And, and we're doing that with a team of four. Yep. That's and so, you know, and the four usually those in our network infrastructure team that that's being headed by Davey Baldwin and they do a fantastic job, you know, and we can do it on Prem and we can do it from a hybrid perspective as well. And so that's the one thing I love about technology is now we have. We have different capabilities. We have different options available to us.

Dan Hoffman: 24:31

One of the issues that I know we've been trying to tackle with the 1100 different endpoints that we have is cybersecurity. Uh, cause every one of those endpoints is a potential, you know,

Sarah Frey: 24:43

entry point, entry point. So

Dan Hoffman: 24:45

it is, uh, it is top of everyone's mind. I'm sure not, you know, they might not think about it in terms of their local government. Uh, you know, I'm sure everyone's. You know, they, they hear about a company being hacked, they hear about a, a breach or something, and, or they get the little notification that, you know, the, A company that they gave their data to had a breach and they send you a, basically a, an apology letter and give you a year of free credit monitoring. You know, we, we all get that kind of garbage. Um, but the reality is, you know, we also have information that is sensitive that we have to secure, you know, we have, uh, you know, social services over in, you know, the courts are right across the street. Uh, it's Commonwealth attorney. We've get. The, of course, the police department, the fire department, they all have

Orlando Lopez: 25:37

the finance, the finance, all our payroll,

Dan Hoffman: 25:41

there's so much over there that we also have to secure. Um, and you know, that's obviously a big reason why when you started, we wanted somebody that had, uh, you know, good experience on that front. So talk a little bit about kind of what you're focusing on now and some of the things we're doing to make sure that we keep residents information safe.

Orlando Lopez: 26:00

Yeah. So, so cybersecurity is my number one priority. Uh, not only am I your chief information officer, but I'm also your chief risk officer. And so it's my responsibility to assess the risk when it comes to it stuff, you know, part of the it portfolio. Uh, but one of the things that we're always doing is we're always be very mindful of what's available in. You know, out there in the real world in terms of industry, what can industry provide? Because again, we are a customer, right? We need to, we need to acquire, you know, those commercial products, you know, off the shelf that we can go ahead and implement as part of our overall architecture. And so that's one thing that we're doing is we're always installing. Or updating or maintaining some type of software, whether it be our Barracuda system or whether it be malware bytes That's probably maybe even on your personal computer at the house. Absolutely. We actually have a malware bytes, you know, uh portfolio portfolio, but Software that we actually deploy as part of you know, our network defense You know and what we're trying to do is we're trying to implement something called defense in depth. And so that's different layers of cybersecurity posturing because unfortunately The city of Winchester is not immune to, I would say, attempts, and we are, we are being, you know, attempted, you know, attempted. We get tested. Yeah, we get tested. All the time. The Velociraptor is testing the gates, you know, as they say. He has. On a daily basis. Sometimes, not just once, not twice, but maybe a baker's dozen on a daily basis. Yep. And the fact that we still have not been breached, thankfully, but that's the one thing that really keeps me up at night. It's probably what keeps up, uh, you know, Davey Baldwin and network infrastructure because that's the thing. Once we get breached, it's got cascading effects.

Dan Hoffman: 27:46

So hard to get that genie back in the model.

Orlando Lopez: 27:48

Correct. But, uh, in terms of all of that software, that defense in depth, that's, that's I think the backbone that's that's that's what makes us highly successful In terms of thwarting any type of offensive, uh maneuvering from the bad guys

Dan Hoffman: 28:04

Now, I know one of the things you've been kind of event Evangelizing about and you're talking to you've been talking to residents about is artificial intelligence. Yeah and um You know, it's obviously a hot topic. I've been watching this, you know for for many years Well, especially the last few

Orlando Lopez: 28:23

yeah

Dan Hoffman: 28:23

And for the last decade or so, I've watched different new technologies, you know, not become, you know, they're not flashes in the pan, but they haven't progressed. I mean, we all were waiting for autonomous vehicles to be here at this point. They have not progressed to the point, you know, due to a combination of technical challenges and just really social acceptance. They've not. We're not all driving autonomous vehicles. There was a point at which I thought my younger son might not never drive a vehicle. Yeah, I was way wrong on that. Um, AI in the last two years has accelerated at a pace that has shocked me. I, I, I, the ability of the tools out there, general consumer tools. I mean, if you spend any time on Facebook and use that one, it is, it is incredible what can be done. Uh, I just saw Alien Romulus, which is an amazing movie by the way. And one of the actors in that is entirely AI done. And it, it is the likeness of a, of an actor and they bought, you know, they got the rights from his estate to use him, but it was entirely AI. And I could, you could not tell the difference. It was brutal. Stunning. Right. So it does have real world implications for us even now that I don't think most jurisdictions have thought through. You know, for example, how do we, how do we distinguish between a fake or a deep fake? Right. How do we deal when people are using AI tools to generate public comments and inundate us? know, all of these different things that we couldn't. if we're not ready for, and if we're not proactive about, we will get caught flat footed. So talk a little bit about your perspective on the impact AI is going to have on local government and what are some things we're doing to think about it. I know we've been, you've been working on some policies.

Orlando Lopez: 30:29

Yeah. Well, let's talk, let's talk, uh, or let's start with the policy. So, Recognizing and realizing that AI is a legit thing, right? And it is an, it has exponential growth, like you said, over the past two years. You know, one, one thing that we got to do, first of all, is codify exactly what it is. And, you know, it's, it's for the benefit of all of the employees of the city of Winchester. And so we went ahead and we created at least six to seven new policies regarding AI. And a lot of it is part of, um, It's part and parcel, you know, in, in collaboration with what we call the Gov AI Coalition, which is a, an assembly of a different municipalities and localities from all across the United States, but it's being championed right now out of the city of San Jose, California, Silicon Valley, but they're the ones that are carrying the flag rallying that flag. And so we are in partnership with the city of San Jose and a lot of other localities across the U. S. Basically just trying to share information because a lot of us are actually trying to have a hard time defining what AI is, what is responsible AI, you know, and so we got to put it down on paper to at least give us those left and right guardrails. Now, in terms of AI. Us here in the city of Winchester, we have not gone out and deliberately purchased something that is true AI. You know, whether it be generative AI or nothing like that. We have not. But we do use AI as part of a piece of software that, you know, is embedded inside of Microsoft Suite. Yep. Or maybe even Google. And so you have to be cognizant. Some of our traffic

Dan Hoffman: 32:07

systems are starting to use Some of our, the video as a sensor we have. You have to be cognizant

Orlando Lopez: 32:11

that it's all around us. Right? And so we just got to be very responsible stewards, you know, on behalf of the citizens of Winchester. Um, I see AI, again, being a tool, and I'm reminded, you know, when I was 8th grade, you know, late 80s, you know, 89, 90, and calculators were all the rage inside of math class, right? And my instructors would always say that you can't use your calculator to compute, you know, A squared B squared equals C

Sarah Frey: 32:38

squared. You're not always going to have that calculator in your pocket. Yeah, right, right. Well, look

Orlando Lopez: 32:43

where we are now, Mrs. Duncan. But anyways, you know, it's a tool. Right. And you and we're treating it as such as a tool, um, and it should be embraced me personally. I embrace AI because it, it helps me work smarter and not necessarily harder. Yeah. Um, but it's always very hard to define what it is and how can we best use it. But what I'm trying to do is, I'm trying to leverage other localities like what is locality X in California doing or maybe what is locality Y in Texas doing it and then trying to formulate some type of a, of a plan in terms of this is going to be our direction of travel. I'm not going to be able to think of it on my own. I just don't have that level of expertise because it's so new.

Dan Hoffman: 33:27

Those of you who've watched one too many movies, uh, no, the city is not going to be purchasing humanoid AI driven robots. Uh, don't tease, don't tease in the public comment. We'll just start up already. It's not the, you know, the terminator. It is at this point. Like Orlando's been saying, it is just a tool that we're going to use responsibly for the benefit of our residents. Um, as applicable and as appropriate, but it's not going to be, you know, if you, it's not like minority report, we're trying to predict the future with it. It get a lot of those sci fi boogeyman. Boogeymen out of or boogie persons. I don't know get them get all the boogie people out of your mind because it's not there yet Now I will say does it have the potential to be misused? Absolutely. Who's more likely to use it for ill will? definitely the private sector and companies trying to sell you a product. And if you don't think Facebook and all these other companies, I know no offense to Facebook or whatever, uh, or Instagram, if you don't think they're actively using these tools to try to mine and identify potential customers for their advertisement, like, maybe they're not. Yeah, we're the least of your worries. We're actually doing it probably to keep you safe, uh, and uh.

Orlando Lopez: 34:50

Or to simplify your life, to be more specific. Or simplify your life,

Dan Hoffman: 34:52

or streamline our operation. We are set and it gets all back to that point. Profit. We are not, we don't have to run it as a business. We're not holding it to shareholders. We're not trying to profit off of it. Our mission is to help and serve. So we will use it to help and serve where we can. Um, no, trust me, if you want to rail on the uses of AI, you know, look at your phone, yell at your phone. Cause that's where it's right there. If anyone's picking it, everyone's picking your pocket with AI is definitely the apps in your phone. So, um, with that, we could go on and have an entire discussion just about AI, but, uh, thank you very much for coming in. I appreciate you will not, this will not be the last time that you're on this podcast. So, uh, you know, we'll, I'm sure we will be back. And I think it's important to note that next month, is it October?

Sarah Frey: 35:48

Yes.

Dan Hoffman: 35:49

It's Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

Sarah Frey: 35:50

Yes, it is. So we'll

Dan Hoffman: 35:51

probably be talking more about that.

Orlando Lopez: 35:53

We got some plans. We got some plans for Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Excellent. Be prepared.

Dan Hoffman: 35:58

Excellent. I'm sure it's going to involve me changing my password about five times. It's going to

Orlando Lopez: 36:02

annoy maybe a couple of maybe one or two employees. Are they going to

Sarah Frey: 36:05

be extra special? Like. Fake phishing campaigns that we have to s Oh

Dan Hoffman: 36:08

no. I cannot, um, you know. Just don't make, I don't wanna have like a 16 character password. To be

Orlando Lopez: 36:14

determined.

Dan Hoffman: 36:15

Anyways, thank you very much Orlando. You're welcome. Welcome to the city. Thanks Dan. Uh, and uh, yeah, we'll see you.

Orlando Lopez: 36:21

Thanks Dan. Thanks, sir.

Sarah Frey: 36:22

Thanks, Orlando.

Dan Hoffman: 36:33

That's our show. Thanks for joining us on the Rouse Review and hearing about what's going on in the city. Uh, next time we're going to be talking with the detectives, right? At least a detective, uh, from the police department. We're going to be talking about what kind of stuff.

Sarah Frey: 36:47

Forensics. Forensics.

Dan Hoffman: 36:49

Forensic evidence. Computer

Sarah Frey: 36:50

crimes.

Dan Hoffman: 36:51

So watch some forensic files. Yeah, watch some forensic files, it's always on the Headline News channel, uh, pretty much 24 7. I don't think they actually do news anymore, it's just forensic files. Maybe watch a little cold case files, also not a bad one. Um, yeah, or you know what, if you want to go real old school. A little, uh, Robert Stack, Unsolved Mysteries.

Sarah Frey: 37:13

Ooh, can't go wrong with Unsolved Mysteries. A lot of

Dan Hoffman: 37:15

forensic evidence. Or you can see how far forensic evidence has come since the, uh, the 80s. But, anyways, that's your homework between now and the next time you hear from us. Uh, and until then, we'll see you around City Hall.