Longmont Council Creates Tech Watchdog and Reopens Pot Lounge Debate

Longmont leaders just voted to set up a new technology advisory group. The board will have seven regular members plus one youth representative. Their job is to guide the city on artificial intelligence, surveillance tools, and how resident data gets used. They won't manage city staff or pick which products to buy. Instead they'll make policy suggestions and report back each year. Applications should open in the next few weeks.

During public comments a resident asked the council to send an existing police AI contract to the new board for review. The tool helps officers write reports but questions remain about whether early drafts get saved for oversight. A former council candidate warned against filling seats with industry salespeople. She wants members who will challenge vendor claims. One councilmember said the group could help the city get ahead of decisions on license plate readers, cameras, and autonomous vehicles.

In a tighter four to three vote the council also agreed to revisit marijuana consumption lounges. The new plan would only allow businesses that both sell and let people use cannabis on site. Standalone hospitality spots would be excluded. The sponsor pointed to dropping marijuana tax revenue though he admitted this won't fix the budget alone. Some members worried about secondhand smoke and managing customers trying products of different strengths. Another argued designated venues beat public consumption. The proposal could come back after November elections.

City staff also laid out a grim maintenance picture for the 2027 budget. The electric utility needs to replace one hundred thousand feet of aging underground cable each year. So far in 2026 they've only done about five thousand feet. Summer outages got more frequent and lasted longer. Future budget asks will focus heavily on catching up with maintenance.

Roads face a similar shortfall. The city should resurface ten miles a year to keep pace but current funding only covers five. Longmont maintains three hundred sixty five centerline miles of roadway. Delaying work turns simple repairs into full reconstructions that cost far more. The transportation sales tax has stayed at point seven five percent since the nineteen eighties. Costs have outgrown that revenue forcing tough choices between roadwork transit and other improvements. The November tax measure won't change the transportation rate. Staff are hunting for grants and other ways to close the gap.