Resident Question & Permit Info Desk · Community, Faith & Civic
Answer resident questions from your official answers, every time
AI drafts replies to resident questions using only your published answers and links. Records requests are logged with deadlines; potholes go to the right department.
Free account to start. Buying and running live need a paid plan.
- Starts when your form or app sends it something
- 1 AI step
- A person approves before it acts
- About 30 min to set up
Sound familiar?
The job, before and after this agent.
What it feels like today
- “We answer the same permit and fee questions all day.”
- “A records request got lost in an inbox and the deadline almost passed.”
- “Pothole reports end up with the clerk instead of public works.”
What you get with the agent
- Drafts a reply to each “Ask us” message using only your published-answers page, with the official link.
- Logs public-records requests in Notion with the received date and the deadline your clerk set, and alerts the clerk in Slack.
- Logs service requests like potholes and streetlights and posts them to the department's channel.
- Records requests, specific cases and anything not clearly answered always wait for staff; by default every reply is approved first.
Before
The clerk's inbox mixes fence-permit questions, a records request and a streetlight report. Each one is answered by memory, and the records request is found days later.
After
The permit question has a draft with the official checklist link, the records request is logged with its due date, and public works has the streetlight in their channel.
How it works
The whole workflow, step by step.
When a resident uses your website's “Ask us” form, the agent reads your published-answers page in Notion — FAQ, fees, permit checklists, hours, each with its official link — and drafts a reply using only that text. Public-records requests are logged in Notion with the received date and the response deadline your clerk set, and the clerk is alerted in Slack; service requests such as potholes and streetlights are logged and posted to the department's channel. Records requests, questions about a specific case and anything not clearly answered always go to staff, and by default every reply is approved before it's sent. Public information only: it drafts and organises for a person to approve and makes no legal, permit, eligibility or fine decision, doesn't open case files and isn't a 311 system.
- Trigger“Ask us” form
- App callRead your published answers
- LogicWork out the records deadline
- AI stepAnswer from your published information
- LogicRecords or service request?
- Records request:Log the records request
- Service request:Log the service request
- Nothing to log:Nothing to log
- OutputNothing to log
- App callLog the records request
- App callAlert the clerk
- OutputRecords request logged
- App callLog the service request
- App callAlert the department
- OutputService request logged
- LogicStaff review first?
- Send without review:Email the resident
- Review first:Staff check the reply
- Human approvalStaff check the reply
- Approved:Email the resident
- OutputEmail the resident
- OutputResident answered
This is the workflow that opens in your workspace when you set the agent up. Every step can be edited.
- Step 1“Ask us” formStarts when your website's “Ask us” form posts a question: name, email, phone, address (optional), topic and the question.
- Step 2Read your published answersReads the text of your published-answers page in Notion: FAQ, fees, permit checklists and hours, each with its official link.
- Step 3Work out the records deadlineIn code, not AI: today's date (the received date) and the public-records response deadline — 5 business days from today, as your clerk sets it. Change the 5 here (add.days; remove businessDays for calendar days) and set timezone to your office's zone (UTC otherwise).
- Step 4Answer from your published informationAI classifies the message (question, public-records request, service request or a question about a specific case) and answers only from your published answers, with the official link. Dates come from the date step.
- Step 5Records or service request?Public-records requests are logged for the clerk; service requests are logged for the department. Questions go only to the reply path.
- Step 6Nothing to logA question or case enquiry: handled on the reply path.
- Step 7Log the records requestAdds the request to your Notion records-request log with the received date and the response deadline your clerk set.
- Step 8Alert the clerkPosts the records request with its due date to your clerk's Slack channel.
- Step 9Records request loggedThe run history keeps the log entry.
- Step 10Log the service requestAdds the service request (category, location, department) to your Notion service-request database.
- Step 11Alert the departmentPosts the service request with its location to your department channel.
- Step 12Service request loggedThe run history keeps the log entry.
- Step 13Staff review first?By default every reply waits for staff approval. Switch review off and only records requests, case questions and anything not clearly answered by your published information wait.
- Step 14Staff check the replyA staff member reads the message and the drafted reply in Reviews, edits it (or answers the case question themselves) and approves; nothing is sent before that.
- Step 15Email the residentSends the reply to the resident, with replies going to your office inbox.
- Step 16Resident answeredThe run history keeps the message and the reply.
Example run
What goes in, and what comes out.
Example with fictional data
Comes in
Message (fictional): “Do I need a permit to replace my deck, and what's the fee?”
The agent produces
Draft reply quoting your published deck-permit answer, fee and the official permit page link. Waiting for staff approval before it's emailed.
What you need
Everything it takes to run it.
About 30 minutes from purchase to live. A checklist above the canvas takes you through each step.
Plan
Included in Enterprise; on other paid plans it's $129 once. Agents run live on paid plans, from Basic ($39/mo).
Your AI key
Connect any of 14 AI providers on your own key. Your provider bills usage directly, at cost; we add no markup.
Checklist
- A paid plan (agents run live on paid plans).
- An AI provider key (Settings → AI Providers).
- Notion and Slack, connected in Settings → Integrations: a published-answers page plus records and service-request databases with the listed properties.
- A website form that can post JSON to a webhook, and your clerk's records-request deadline rule.
Setup, about 30 minutes
- Connect your AI provider. The AI steps run on your own key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and more). Add one in Settings → AI Providers.
- Connect Notion. Connect Notion and share your published-answers page and request databases with the Fluxo Flow integration (Settings → Integrations → Notion).
- Connect Slack. Connect the Slack workspace your staff use (Settings → Integrations → Slack).
- Pick your published-answers page. Open “Read your published answers” and pick your account and paste the page link.
- Paste your office details. Open “Answer from your published information” and replace the placeholder with your hours, service categories and sign-off. The records deadline (5 business days from receipt) is set in “Work out the records deadline”.
- Set up records requests. Open “Log the records request” and pick your account and log database, then “Alert the clerk” and pick the account and channel.
- Set up service requests. Open “Log the service request” and pick your account and database, then “Alert the department” and pick the account and channel.
- Add your office inbox. Open “Email the resident” and enter the Reply-to address.
- Test it with Dry Run. Press Dry Run: the agent runs on sample data with no messages sent and nothing written to your apps.
- Switch the trigger on. Open the trigger, switch the webhook on and copy its URL and secret into your “Ask us” form.
Is it a fit?
Who it's for, and what it won't do.
Built for
- Town and city clerks
- Small municipal offices
- County and township front desks
- Special districts answering resident questions
What it doesn't do
- It drafts and organises for a person to approve; it makes no legal, permit, eligibility or fine decision. It shares public information only and gives no legal advice.
- It doesn't open case files or discuss anyone's specific application, permit, violation or account: those go to staff.
- Statutory deadlines are set by your clerk; the agent only applies the period you enter (in code, never by the AI).
- It isn't a 311 system and doesn't dispatch crews; it logs and routes requests.
We list the limits up front so you can decide before you buy.
Price
$129 one-time
Per workspace. It never renews.
- Included at no extra cost on Enterprise.
- Buying and running it live need a paid plan, from Basic ($39/mo).
- Dry Run costs nothing: simulated AI and app calls, nothing sent.
- AI usage is billed by your own provider, at cost. No AI credits to buy from us.
One-time agent purchases aren't covered by the 30-day money-back guarantee. Refund policy
FAQ
Questions about Resident Question & Permit Info Desk.
Will it give residents wrong or legal advice?
It shares only the public information on your answers page and makes no legal, permit, eligibility or fine decision. Anything not clearly answered goes to staff, and replies are approved by default.
Does it handle case files or 311 dispatch?
No. It doesn't open case files or discuss anyone's specific application, and it isn't a 311 system. It logs and routes requests.
How long does setup take?
About 30 minutes: connect Notion and Slack, write your answers page, set up records and service-request databases, and connect your website form.
Is it worth it for a small office?
It's a one-time purchase that never renews, set against answering the same questions by hand. You need a paid plan and your own AI key; Dry Run is free.
What should the form send?
A JSON POST with name, email, phone, address (optional), topic and question. Your form or site posts it with the webhook's signature header.
Where do answers come from?
Only from your published-answers page in Notion: write each answer as normal text with its official link (top-level text is read, up to 50,000 characters; text inside toggles isn't). When the page doesn't answer a question, the resident is told staff will reply.
Does it decide permits or eligibility?
Never. It shares public information you've published, logs requests and routes everything else to staff. Statutory deadlines come from your clerk, not the agent.
What Notion databases do I need?
A records-request log with Name (title), Status (select), Resident (text), Email (email), Received (date), Due (date) and a service-request database with Name (title), Status (select), Category (text), Location (text), Department (text), Resident (text), Email (email), Received (date) (they can be the same database if it has all these properties). Share them and the answers page with the Fluxo Flow integration (••• → Connections).
Is this a subscription?
No. Resident Question & Permit Info Desk is a one-time purchase of $129 per workspace and never renews. The Enterprise plan includes it at no extra cost. Running it live needs a paid plan (from Basic ($39/mo)), and your AI provider bills you directly for usage.
Can I test it before it touches real data?
Yes. Once it's set up in your workspace, Dry Run plays every step on sample data with simulated AI and app calls: nothing is sent and nothing in your apps changes. Switch the trigger on only when you're happy.
Put Resident Question & Permit Info Desk to work.
Free account, no credit card. Your Agents page opens with Resident Question & Permit Info Desk ready to buy and set up, then Dry Run it before it goes live.