RES NO 02-08-2026 CITY OF VAN BUREN,ARKANSAS
RESOLUTION NOa; -�3-2026
BE IT ENACTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, FOR THE CITY OF VAN BUREN,
ARKANSAS,A RESOLUTION TO BE ENTITLED:
A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE REVISED PERSONNEL
HANDBOOK GOVERNING CITY EMPLOYEES FOR THE CITY
OF VAN BUREN, ARKANSAS, AND REPEALING THE
EXISTING PERSONNEL HANDBOOK; AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES.
WHEREAS, it is necessary to update and revise the existing Personnel Handbook for the City of Van
Buren to conform to changes in law and policy;and
WHEREAS, a copy of the revised change to Chapter 7 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION, adding
a new section 7.7 City of Van Buren Al Policy in the Personnel Handbook is attached
hereto as "Exhibit A" and all employees shall receive a copy of the revised personnel
handbook page.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
VAN BUREN,ARKANSAS,THAT:
SECTION 1: Section 7.7 City of Van Buren Al Policy under Chapter 7 MISCELLANOUS
INFORMATION of the existing Personnel Handbook will be revised to describe the
expectations of each city employee and the use of Artificial Intelligence.
SECTION 2: The revised Personnel Handbook for the City of Van Buren,Arkansas, section 7.7 City of
Van Buren Al Policy is attached hereto as "Exhibit A" and is hereby adopted and the
existing Personnel Handbook dated October 27,2025,is hereby repealed.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the City of Van Buren, Arkansas, by its City Council, did pass,
approve, and adopt, by a vote of 5 for and Air against,the foregoing Resolution at its regular meeting
held on the 23rd day of February 2026.
G\erk 7-re,,,,,
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City of Van Buren
ATTESTED: '�i a<\ APPROVED AST .
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Shawnna Reynold Jacob Howell
City Clerk/Treasurer City Attorney
Cityof Van Buren AI Policy
PURPOSE:
The purpose of the City of Van Buren Al Policy is to establish standards for the responsible use of
artificial intelligence(AI)systems and generative Al tools by city employees to ensure compliance with
Arkansas law,promote transparency,mitigate risk, and maintain public trust.
This policy applies to all City of Van Buren employees, elected officials and contractors,consultants,
volunteers,and vendors working on behalf of the City of Van Buren.
The City of Van Buren Al Policy requires that all consequential decisions involving Al tools must be
reviewed and finalized by a human employee or authorized designee. Whether generated by Al or a human,
you are ultimately responsible for any content you use or share.
All City of Van Buren employees shall complete training on the AI policy,as provided by the Arkansas
Municipal League or other approved sources prior to using Al on city business or city equipment. Any
questions or concerns can be directed to the office of the City Clerk-Treasurer or Mayor.
DEFINITIONS:
a. Artificial Intelligence(Al)means a system or machine capable of performing tasks that typically
require human intelligence,including pattern recognition, data interpretation,and decision-
making.
b. Generative AI means Al systems capable of producing original content such as text, images,
audio,or other materials based on data patterns.
c. Automated Decision Tool is a system or service that uses Al and has been specifically developed
and marketed to make or to be a controlling factor in making consequential decisions.
d. City Employee includes all elected officials,appointed officials,staff, consultants,contractors,
volunteers or vendors performing work on behalf of the City of Van Buren
GENERAL POLICY:
Al tools shall be treated as instruments to assist,not replace,human judgment. City employees remain
fully responsible for the accuracy,ethics,and appropriateness of all work products derived from or
assisted by AI tools.
Employees shall exercise professional judgement to verify and validate any Al generated output before
use or dissemination.
Al use shall comply with all applicable laws,including but not limited to Arkansas Code 25-1-128,data
privacy laws,copyright,HIPAA, and City policies.
AUTHORIZED Al TOOLS:
Only Al tools authorized by the City of Van Buren may be used for city business. The approved Al tools,
as confirmed by K&S Computing, at the date of this policy are Chat GPT,Google Al,Microsoft 365 and
any possible line of business tools that are incorporated into the software being used. This is subject to
change and any AI tool outside of what is listed should be approved by your Department Head.
DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY:
Never put private or personal information into an Al tool. Doing so breaks this policy and could lead to
discipline.
a. Employees shall not input or disclose any confidential,proprietary, or personal identifiable
information into any Al system.
b. Employees shall presume that any data entered into an Al system could become public and
attributable to the City of Van Buren.
c. All Al use shall be conducted within secure,City of Van Buren approved networks and subject to
data retention and cybersecurity policies.
FAIRNESS,BIAS,AND TRANSPARENCY:
a. Employees shall take reasonable steps to avoid discriminatory,biased,or unfair outcomes
produced by AI tools.
b. All significant uses of AI affecting public decision making, employment,or service delivery shall
be documented and subject to human review.
c. Department shall maintain records describing the nature and purpose of Al use for audit and
compliance review.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND LEGAL COMPLIANCE:
Al generated content shall not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others. When appropriate,
employees should rely upon Microsoft's indemnification assurances under its enterprise Al products for
copyright safety, as noted in the Arkansas Municipal League policy guidance.
KEY RULES—WHAT YOU CAN DO:
I. AI is a tool,not a finished product. Al can help with writing,research and ideas,but people—not
machines-must make all final decisions.
2. Human responsibility means human review. A person must always make the final decision,even
when AI is used to assist. You must check all AI generated content for accuracy. You cannot use
Al to replace your own judgement or creativity.
3. You can use Al to help find sources or to brainstorm but final work must be based on real,
verified sources,not just Al summaries.
4. You can use Al to edit or summarize your own writing,but you must review it. You cannot send
out Al written documents without checking them first.
5. Tools like spell check or grammar fixers are allowed.
6. If AI writes something from scratch(like a memo or letter),you must have a notation similar to
this example in your document.
EXAMPLE: "This document was drafted in part using an Al tool and may contain
errors. Please review for accuracy."
If Al just helps edit or summarize your own writing,no disclosure is needed,but you still have to
review it.
7. You can use Al to help with research,writing drafts or editing. Search engines like Google or
Edge now show AI summaries at the top of a search but you must always check the original
sources and not rely on the summary.
PROHIBITED—WHAT YOU CAN NOT DO:
This policy includes a prohibition on the use of Al and automated decision tools for the following purpose,
as required by Section(d)of ACT 848 of 2025:
1. You can not use Al to make final decisions for the City of Van Buren
2. You can not use Al to write or send official documents without human review
3. You can not use Al to issue citations,permits,or enforcement actions
4. You can not use Al to make policy decisions or analyze data without checking it yourself
5. You can not use AI to handle hiring,firing,or private personal information
6. You can not use Al to create anything related to race,gender, or protected traits
7. You can not use AI generated content as wholly original personal work
8. You can not use unapproved Al applications for city business
9. You can not express a personal political opinion to an elected official unless the opinion is within
the scope of the employee's regular job duties;or requested by an elected official or public entity
10. You can not engage in lobbying an elected official on a personal opinion if the employee is not a
registered lobbyist for the city
11. You can not engage in illegal activities or activities otherwise prohibited by federal law or state
law
12. You can not intentionally override or avoid the cybersecurity or system integrity procedures of
the City of Van Buren
TRAINING ENFORCEMENT,VIOLATION AND DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS:
The Department Head, in coordination with the offices of the City Clerk-Treasurer and Mayor along with
all IT related resources, shall provide annual training to employees on Al compliance and cybersecurity.
Violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination,as well as
potential legal liability. Each infraction shall be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Any suspected misuse shall be reported immediately to the employee's department head or to the office of
the City Clerk-Treasurer or Mayor.
You must complete AI training before usin;-ant,AI tools for ei6, work and annually thereafter.
Cityof Van Buren AI Policy
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
I acknowledge that I have read and understood the City of Van Buren Al Policy. I agree to follow all
rules,responsibilities and guidelines outlined in this policy, including the appropriate and ethical use of
artificial intelligence tools. I understand that violations of this policy and/or failure to comply with this
policy may result in disciplinary action,up to and including termination and any possible legal action.
Employee Signature and Employee Number Date
I