Johnson County adopts AI policy; commissioners direct governance, training and transparency steps
May 02, 2025 | Johnson County, Kansas
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The Johnson County Board of County Commissioners on May 1 adopted an artificial intelligence policy intended to guide the county’s use of AI tools in government operations.
By a 7-0 roll-call vote, the board adopted resolution 043-25 to make the policy effective immediately. Commissioner Allen Brand moved the measure and Commissioner Myers seconded.
County staff described the policy as built around six principles to ensure safe, secure and efficient use of AI. The approach combines central governance and department-level implementation: staff said the county will retain existing review processes involving technology, legal, finance and procurement and will add AI ambassadors — trained staff embedded in departments — to advise employees on acceptable AI use and to escalate questions to legal or technology teams.
During discussion, staff emphasized the policy is intended to be iterative and resilient to technological change. A county staff member who presented the policy said the commission’s approach is to adopt high-level principles that should not require frequent revision even as tools evolve, while allowing procedures and implementation steps to change as needed. Commissioners asked about ethics standards, public-facing uses and ‘‘agentic’’ or self-learning AI. Staff said they would be cautious about agentic systems that take autonomous actions and that larger procurements or public-facing AI implementations would return to the board for review.
Commissioner Burr said the policy’s intent to keep human oversight and limit AI to aid staff, not replace them, was an important safeguard. Commissioners also discussed training and where employees should go for advice; staff said the governance structure includes the existing technology review plus the new departmental ambassadors and employee training plans.
The resolution and accompanying policy document were entered into the meeting record; staff said next steps include training, appointing AI ambassadors and applying the governance steps described in the policy to future procurements and implementations.
By a 7-0 roll-call vote, the board adopted resolution 043-25 to make the policy effective immediately. Commissioner Allen Brand moved the measure and Commissioner Myers seconded.
County staff described the policy as built around six principles to ensure safe, secure and efficient use of AI. The approach combines central governance and department-level implementation: staff said the county will retain existing review processes involving technology, legal, finance and procurement and will add AI ambassadors — trained staff embedded in departments — to advise employees on acceptable AI use and to escalate questions to legal or technology teams.
During discussion, staff emphasized the policy is intended to be iterative and resilient to technological change. A county staff member who presented the policy said the commission’s approach is to adopt high-level principles that should not require frequent revision even as tools evolve, while allowing procedures and implementation steps to change as needed. Commissioners asked about ethics standards, public-facing uses and ‘‘agentic’’ or self-learning AI. Staff said they would be cautious about agentic systems that take autonomous actions and that larger procurements or public-facing AI implementations would return to the board for review.
Commissioner Burr said the policy’s intent to keep human oversight and limit AI to aid staff, not replace them, was an important safeguard. Commissioners also discussed training and where employees should go for advice; staff said the governance structure includes the existing technology review plus the new departmental ambassadors and employee training plans.
The resolution and accompanying policy document were entered into the meeting record; staff said next steps include training, appointing AI ambassadors and applying the governance steps described in the policy to future procurements and implementations.
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