Answering Questions Took Time—and Took Staff Away From Bigger Priorities

Like many small cities, Omro fields a steady stream of resident questions: “When is the city dump open?” “What are the rules about chickens?” “Can I add square footage to my garage?” For years, these questions required City staff to search through physical ordinance binders or outdated digital documents—slowing service and eating into valuable staff time.

“We’d have to go through the code of ordinances, find the particular section, and read through it,” said Hennes. “Often I’d have to tell the citizen, ‘I’ll need to call you back in a couple of hours.’”

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Adopting Technology with Limited Time and Resources

When Hennes took on the City Administrator role in 2023, he saw both a need and an opportunity. “Technology is starting to catch up to us,” she says. “I’m needing to upgrade all team members to laptops... and you can see the filing cabinets behind me—we’ll need to get all those records digital.”

At the Wisconsin City/County Managers Association conference, Hennes saw a presentation by Polimorphic about how the City of Bayside had used an AI search to streamline information access. “It was almost a no-brainer,” he said. “We could have a search function like Polimorphic at a very reasonable price, and it makes a significant impact.”

Search That Serves Staff and Residents Alike

Omro’s implementation of Polimorphic’s search focused first on internal use—helping staff quickly answer ordinance and service-related questions. “I actually just used it today,” says Hennes. “A resident wanted to add 600 square feet to their garage. I typed in the question, and boom—there was the answer. Instead of saying ‘let me get back to you,’ I could respond in seconds.”

Staff use the search multiple times per week, and Hennes sees that increasing. “As we continue to update our website and especially our codes, I can easily see us using it every single day.”

Even when the search can’t answer a question, it adds value. “If the program doesn’t produce a result, then the data is what’s wrong,” Hennes explains. “It’s helped us identify gaps in our website and update sections like our public works and building inspection pages.”

The search is also becoming a key part of onboarding new staff. “We include it in training. I tell new hires: ‘You can type in something as small as when is yard waste pickup, or as complex as a specific code—and you’ll get an answer. Don’t be afraid to use it.’”

[Give Omro's AI search a test drive here.]

A Seamless Implementation Experience

Hennes credits the Polimorphic team for making implementation easy. “The process was seamless. The team is the experts, and I turn to experts when I don’t know something. They took it step by step, defined what success looked like, and were extremely professional and flexible.”

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Results That Matter

• Saved Time: Staff can answer resident questions in seconds rather than hours.
  
  
• Improved Internal Processes: The search revealed missing or outdated content on the website, prompting updates.
  
  
• Informed Onboarding: New team members are trained to use the chatbot as a core tool from day one.
  
  
• Resident Impact: For residents, the search helps ensure more consistent, up-to-date information across departments.
  
  

Looking Ahead: A City with Big Plans

Despite facing financial constraints shared by many small municipalities, Omro is growing—both in population and in digital readiness. The City is implementing a 5-year strategic plan focused on transparency, improved communication, and smarter budgeting.

“We’re working on a new subdivision with 115 homes,” Hennes said. “The challenge is that the cost of services is rising faster than our growth. That’s why tools like Polimorphic matter—they help us do more with the team we have.”

In Omro, the future is about honoring the past while embracing the tools that make government work better. “We have an amazing team, and I love seeing them succeed,” Hennes said. “This search is just one way we’re making that possible.”