City Council Approves Artificial Intelligence Tracking Program

Editor's note: some of the content in the following article contains opinions of the Sidney Sun-Telegraph.

SIDNEY--There were more citizen attendees than usual at the Sidney City Council meeting on Tuesday, June 11, as the approval of a subscription to the Placer.ai Artificial Intelligence geolocation data collection program was on the agenda. After the approval of the minutes of the May 28 meeting was approved, the Placer.ai issue was the first item on the agenda. The approval of Placer.ai had been tabled twice previously; the first time due to objections over privacy concerns and a lack of public input or "vote" of some type by the citizens of Sidney raised by Sun-Telegraph Editor & Publisher Barbara Perez. After researching Placer.ai and "Geofencing" types of programs, the Sun-Telegraph discovered multiple examples of programs such as Placer.ai being used to violate citizens' privacy, as well as the concern that citizens' data and personal information would be bought and sold to other companies or organizations. Also, the company is based in the Middle East, which could present another series of concerns regarding international laws and compliance with U.S. Laws.

Perez had strongly recommended at both meetings that a public Town Hall meeting be held where residents of Cheyenne County could hear information, both pro and con on the subject and ask questions, since it was ultimately their privacy at risk.

Instead, Placer.ai representative Rodney Fraser attended the meeting via Zoom call and was able to present screenshots of the product on a screen in the council meeting room. Fraser was present to answer questions from the council members and questions from the public who attended the meeting. Councilman Brock Bruckner was the first to ask questions of Fraser. Most of his questions concerned how the company acquired and compiled data, which uses apps on users' smartphones to access data if the app has location sharing turned on. Vice Mayor Paul Strommen also joined in during this time, having Fraser clarify that this information is already being compiled by other companies, some of them who are "partners" of Placer.ai, regardless of whether or not the City of Sidney subscribes to the program.

Sidney resident Cory Keen approached the lectern to also ask questions and help clarify some of the issues that were being discussed. Keen clarified that if a person with a smartphone did not want to be tracked, they would have to turn off data sharing on every app on their phone. He also noted that turning one app's data location sharing would often enable all of the other apps, via the phone's operating system, to turn back on. The result of the conversation was that it is very difficult to disable data location tracking, and this data is already being collected and shared with third-party vendors, regardless of Placer.ai's involvement.

Fraser also showed on the screen the type of data collected, location information, and other functionality of the program. He noted that not all phones or persons would be able to have their data tracked, so their program uses artificial intelligence and algorithms to extrapolate data to "build" data profiles to share with subscribers to the service. He also stated that the company is not in the business of buying or selling data, which seemingly contradicts other statements made by the company.

For example, Sidney resident and County Commissioner candidate Eric Pool came to the lectern to ask questions, one of them being, "If your company was launched in November of 2018, how do you have data going back to January 1, 2017, up to November of 2018?"

Fraser replied that the company purchased the data to help populate the algorithm they use to come up with their profile information, contradicting their own written statement that Placer.ai doesn't buy or sell data. Sidney Public Library director Amanda Eastin commented that this data is already being collected by other companies. Mr. Fraser of Placer.ai then signed off, and the discussions continued. City of Sidney Economic Development Director Brandy Stone said that other areas in Nebraska such as Dawes County have a subscription to the program, and have found it useful. She did not go into any detail about the amount of new business generated or specifically how the information was used. Cory Keen came back up and gave more information about how these types of programs work and helped to answer questions from the council members. Eric Pool addressed the council again, objecting to the government having access to this type of information. Although Placer.ai says the information is "anonymized", it was clear from Fraser's presentation that just about all a person's information is accessible through data collection. However, the information Pacer.ai shares with its subscribers is limited, at least at this time, and will keep individuals' information anonymous. Stone then explained the cost of the subscription, which is $9500, of which $7000 would be paid for by the City of Sidney, and $2500 would be paid by the Cheyenne County Visitor's Committee, which would also receive a login to access the program. The Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce would also be provided a login to access the program.

Questions that were not asked were also an important part of the meeting. For example, Fraser noted how accurate and powerful their data was, and the value it provides their subscribers, however no councilman or member of the public asked Fraser what company or organization audited their data, and could a copy of an audit be supplied? Information brokerage-type companies have been historically notorious for producing fake data, with users and subscribers having no way of knowing the authenticity of the product they were purchasing. Also, no one discussed the possibility of this issue being brought up as a vote by the citizens of Sidney and Cheyenne County. Although, understandably, city government needs the autonomy to act and purchase programs they deem necessary to fulfill objectives, the question of the privacy of citizens seems to have been brushed aside, or at least minimized by claiming these aggregators of data are acting in good faith.

Mayor Brad Sherman said that this information was already being collected and aggregated and that he didn't see any security issues with the program. According to Stone, subscribing to this program has been a project of the Economic Development team starting when Jeff Klare was

Director of Economic Development, and it is now finally time to move forward with the purchase. There was no discussion of precisely how the information would be analyzed and what type of efforts would be implemented to utilize this information effectively, except for general statements such as "finding out what routes people take around Cheyenne County once they get off the exit from I-80." A vote was called, and all the council members voted "yes" to the subscription, except for Councilman Brandon Bondegard who gave an emphatic "No" when asked for his vote. The general feeling of the council is that this information is already being compiled, so for $7000 for the year, they could see if there's any benefit to this subscription, and then revisit the matter when it comes up for renewal next year. The Sun-Telegraph will continue to monitor the situation with this subscription-based data collection service, and report back with any new developments, positive or negative, in the implementation of this service in Cheyenne County. It should be noted no one was present to inform the Council on the dangers of the program, despite the Sun-Telegraph's request to be allowed to produce such.

Next, Stone updated the council on the Rural Community Recover Grant Program. She said that since there was no match for the grant, it was decided to request the full amount of the grant, $2,000,000. Eight hundred thousand dollars of the grant was requested in the last City Council meeting.

City Manager David Scott next presented a Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce contract to the council. Becky Rowan, Chamber Chair, and past Chamber Chair Kendra Mitchell were present at the meeting. Scott detailed that the contract provides services for an annual sum of $25,000, dispersed quarterly. Some adjustments were made to the contract to streamline and make it more efficient. The contract was approved, 5-0.

Scott then went on to speak about the Northside Park Design, and that two bids were submitted. RDG Planning and Design submitted a bid for $49,400 and Brickyard Consulting submitted a bid for $30,000. The council approved the bid from Brickyard Consulting, 5-0.

Sean McNulty then addressed the council concerning a proposed BMX track for youths, however, the location that was previously chosen was not acceptable due to noise concerns from residents near the area. A new location at an empty lot near the swimming pool was chosen next, without a canvas of any nearby neighborhood for noise issues as the location was adjacent to the swimming pool and baseball parks. McNulty provided proposed designs to the council. Mayor Sherman said he would like to see some fundraising efforts on behalf of the BMX track and then revisit the subject. McNulty said he would apply for grants and other financing but would like to get the property location locked in first. Sherman then stated that if the property was a conflict with getting a grant, then McNulty could come back and put the matter up for review as an action item.

Sidney Finance Director Kegan Carwin gave the May 2024 budget report, which was approved 5-0. After claims were approved 5-0, David Scott addressed the council, saying that the Forrest Street project was moving along according to schedule. Work was happening on 17th and 19th Avenue, and would be progressing to 19th and 20th Avenue shortly. The work at the Sidney Aquatic Center and surrounding area was completed, the the trails were connected. He also said the areas of 14th Street and Jackson Avenue were being worked on. He noted the 13th Street underpass would be closed for a few weeks as repairs were made due to the damage of a vehicle accident last August. Mayor Sherman asked for a motion to allow the City Attorney and City Manager to move forward with an addendum to the current contract with Morrill County regarding ambulance services. The motion was approved 5-0.

After the meeting, Mayor Brad Sherman was the "winner" in the Keep Sidney Beautiful Pie-in-the-Face fundraiser. Brandy Stone donated $100 to put him over the top and had the honor of hitting him with a pie in the face first. Councilman Buckner was also "pied", and the event was able to raise over $300 for Keep Sidney Beautiful.