The problem
Public information is often public—but hard to use.
A resident may need to search calendars, multi-hour meeting videos, agenda packets, minutes and separate City pages just to answer a basic question about what happened.
Built in Livingston, Montana
Local information should be easier to use.
FOIPub is an independent local civic-information project created in Livingston to make meetings, votes, public records and policy history easier for ordinary residents to follow.
The approach
Short version first. Sources always available.
FOIPub starts with readable meeting briefs and structured civic records, then links back to the underlying government source so readers can verify the information themselves.
The standard
Document what the record supports.
FOIPub does not score political actors, infer motives from contact, or fill missing vote totals and chronology by guesswork. Uncertainty stays visible when the public record is incomplete.
The goal
Make participation less intimidating.
The site is designed not only to explain what already happened, but also to help residents understand what is coming next, how City Hall works, and what to expect if they attend a meeting.
Independent and local
FOIPub is not a City website.
It is an independent civic-information project built locally in Livingston. Official City records remain the authoritative source, and FOIPub links back to them whenever possible.
Created in LivingstonIndependent of City governmentPrimary-source linkedBuilt for ordinary residents
See it in action
Start with the Livingston civic dashboard.
Read a 60-second meeting brief, follow verified votes, explore issue trails, or prepare for an upcoming Commission meeting.
Local feedback
What should FOIPub do next?
Suggest a feature, flag missing information, request coverage, or point to a source FOIPub should review.