Washoe County leaders map technology priorities, emphasize responsible AI and data governance

Washoe County officials on June 2 outlined a coordinated technology strategy that pairs investments in cybersecurity and disaster recovery with a new countywide data-management program and a formal data-and-AI governance policy.

Assistant County Manager Dave Solero opened the strategic-planning workshop by saying the county faces growing resident expectations for faster, digital-first services and that “the information we have is an asset that belongs to our community.” County Chief Information Officer Bzad Zammanian said staff identified 15 high-priority initiatives and 55 major projects — from infrastructure modernization to a three-year data-management effort — intended to close a “technology gap” created by population growth alongside relatively flat staffing levels.

Why it matters: Presenters said better data governance and cybersecurity are prerequisites to safe AI adoption. James Wood, the county’s operations manager for IT, described recent security steps — multifactor authentication, endpoint protection and more than 100 upgraded firewalls — and stressed that disaster-recovery plans must be exercised and kept current to preserve county operations during disruptions.

County staff said the data-management program will create stewardship roles in each department, improve data hygiene and enable evidence-based decisions. Quinn Corbulick, regional services manager, said the county is finalizing a data-and-AI governance policy that will require a human employee to review AI outputs before they affect the public.

Assessor’s office examples: Assessor Chris Sarman described office-specific automations and AI-assisted workflows — tools the office calls SLAP AI and others that read incoming declarations and summarize cases. “It’s saving us about 20% of the time,” Sarman said, citing that efficiency for discrete appraisal tasks while noting the tradeoffs of training and role changes.

Board questions and follow-up: Commissioners pressed staff on workforce capacity and funding. Commissioner Clark noted presenters’ slides showing a loss of about 25% of full-time staff since the 2008 baseline while parcels, population and appraisal workloads rose; he asked when automation alone will not be sufficient and whether any taxable activity is being missed. The assessor said some gains are clear but urged caution, saying automation often requires retraining existing staff and in some cases new hires. The board requested a future cost/benefit and return-on-investment analysis on staffing versus automation.

Procurement and security tradeoffs: Commissioners asked about open-source versus commercial software. CIO Zammanian said the county leans to off-the-shelf products for regulated systems (PCI, HIPAA) because vendors typically provide timely security patches, adding that in-house or open-source choices shift update and security burdens onto county staff.

What’s next: Staff will continue work with the county’s strategic-planning committee and department heads to fold these technology priorities into an FY27–29 strategic plan, with a draft expected back to the board in August. The county also plans to bring forward a data-and-AI governance policy for future review and approval.

Ending: Commissioners and staff said they will continue semi-regular updates on cybersecurity, data governance and AI adoption as the county moves from exploratory projects to formal policy and prioritized investments.