Fractional CTO, Full Time AI Enablement
Imagine the following… In early 2025, a mid-sized city found itself at a crossroads. The city manager was under increasing pressure from residents and council members to modernize municipal services-faster permit approvals, smarter infrastructure management, and more responsive communication with constituents. Yet, like many local governments, the city faced persistent staffing shortages and a limited budget. The search for a full-time Chief Technology Officer (CTO) with the right blend of technical expertise and public sector experience had come up empty, and the clock was ticking.
That’s when the city manager turned to Fractional Source for help. Rather than committing to a costly, permanent hire, the city engaged a Fractional CTO through Fractional Source for a six-month project. The mission was clear: deploy practical, impactful AI solutions that would streamline operations and improve the resident experience-all within a fixed timeframe and budget.
The Fractional CTO began by conducting a rapid assessment of the city’s digital readiness. In just two weeks, they met with department heads, reviewed existing systems, and mapped out where AI could deliver the greatest benefit with the least disruption. Three priorities quickly emerged: implementing an AI-powered chatbot to handle routine resident inquiries, deploying predictive maintenance tools for public infrastructure, and automating the permit processing workflow.
With a clear roadmap in place, the Fractional CTO leveraged Fractional Source’s extensive network to identify and vet AI vendors, adopting creative contracting and strategic sourcing to satisfy requirements within compliance quickly and efficiently. Within weeks, the city had a no-code chatbot platform up and running, trained on city databases and FAQs. Residents could now get answers to common questions 24/7, which immediately reduced call center volume by 40%.
Next, the CTO introduced a predictive maintenance system for roads and public assets. By installing sensors and applying machine learning models, the city could now anticipate and prioritize repairs before problems became emergencies, leading to a 25% reduction in costly, last-minute fixes. Meanwhile, the permit office saw a transformation as AI tools automated document review and form completion, slashing processing times from two weeks to just 48 hours.
Throughout the engagement, the Fractional CTO didn’t just implement technology-they built capacity. City staff received hands-on training in AI governance and prompt engineering, and the CTO helped establish an internal AI Council to oversee future projects and ensure ethical standards. By the end of the six months, the city wasn’t just running smarter; it was ready to sustain and expand its digital transformation independently.
The results spoke for themselves. The city achieved all its goals within the fixed timeline, at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time executive. The flexibility of the fractional model even allowed the CTO to pivot resources during an unexpected flood emergency, adapting AI tools to support disaster response.
Fractional Source empowers local governments to meet today’s workforce and technology challenges head on. By providing specialized leadership on demand, Fractional Source enables cities to leapfrog legacy systems, embrace innovation, and deliver better outcomes for their communities without overextending their budgets or getting bogged down in red tape. If your agency is ready to accelerate change and achieve more with less, it might be time to consider what a fractional expert from Fractional Source can do for you.