LocalMinutes

Local Minutes utilizes large language model (LLM) technology to make it easier for people to stay informed about what's happening in their communities and their local government. In a time when technology often erodes people's connections to their local community, we hope to use this technology for public benefit and to lower the barrier to civic engagement and believe that an informed community is a strong community.

In addition to serving the public at large, Local Minutes intends to be a useful resource to municipal staff and elected and appointed officials. The source information is entirely publicly available documents from Vermont municipalities, including meeting minutes and agendas.

Local Minutes makes all of that information accessible via a conversational interface. Citations direct users to source documents for more detailed information and to verify the information presented. Like other LLM technology, incorrect responses are possible, but they are much less frequent due to the use of Retrieval Augmented Generation.

Information from over 50 Vermont towns and cities (covering roughly 70% of the population) is currently available and all Vermont municipalities are planned to be added.