I started Templeton Budget Explorer because I was confused and frustrated by inaccurate claims during the town’s override debate. I wanted to bring the scattered budget information together, explain it clearly, and give residents official sources they could check. That project grew into Templeton MA Independent, and I now use Muse and Codex to help keep it current.
Several times a day, Muse checks Templeton’s official town websites for new information. It compares what it finds with what’s published on Templeton MA Independent and creates a to-do list when something needs updating.
I take those tasks, turn them into prompts for Codex, and work through the changes. Before I publish, I open the website locally, review the results, and verify the information and sources myself.
Why I started
Templeton was trying to pass an override of more than $2 million, which would increase residents' property taxes. I kept seeing people share inaccurate information, argue with each other, and repeat claims without doing the research. I wanted to understand the budget for myself.
The information was available through official town resources. It wasn’t especially difficult to find, but it was scattered across different documents and places. Getting a clear picture meant bringing it together.
Since I already knew how to build websites and applications, I put up the Templeton Budget Explorer without an official domain. I just deployed it to my existing Vercel account and made it public.
After the override failed, the town raised the possibility of substantial layoffs affecting emergency workers, including police. There was even more reason to understand the numbers and follow what was happening.
People started responding positively to what I was presenting. They appreciated the factual information and the links behind it. I decided to expand into town meetings, meeting notes, general town news, and elections. That was when the Budget Explorer grew into Templeton MA Independent, and I officially bought the domain name templetonmaindependent.com.
Using AI to follow the updates
Keeping up with a town means checking a lot of places repeatedly. There are meeting agendas to follow, meeting notes to read, town notifications, and public events to keep track of. Elections bring their own information, including voting schedules and ballot questions that residents need to understand before they vote. These updates can appear across different official town resources, so keeping the site current takes regular checking.
That’s where Muse fits into my process. Multiple times a day, it checks the official town websites for new agendas, published meeting notes, notices, public events, election details, and ballot question information. It compares what it finds with what’s already on Templeton MA Independent and adds items to a to-do list when information needs to be added or updated. Muse also notifies me when there are new tasks, so I know when new information needs my attention. That helps me follow more of what’s happening around town and gives me a list of work to review.
Having that list gives me a starting point when I sit down to work on the site. I can see what needs attention and turn each task into a specific request for Codex.
I use Codex for quick website updates and design work. I describe what needs to change, work through the result, and review it locally. AI was already part of my daily routine for personal projects, work, and business, so using it here felt natural.
In the project’s root folder, I keep skills and design templates that cover page layouts, cards, buttons, colors, themes, and the other pieces of the website. When I ask Codex to update a page, add a new one, add content, or change a section, it follows those skills and templates automatically.
The structure is already there, so I spend less time repeating design decisions and more time getting useful content onto the site quickly.
The useful part is how these tools fit together. Muse helps me keep track of new information. Codex helps me make the corresponding changes to the website. I direct the work and decide what gets published.
Checking the work before it goes live
Fact-checking starts before an update even reaches my to-do list. Muse verifies the information against official town sources before it adds a task. That gives me the supporting information to review before any changes are made to the site. If something is questionable, I use Muse and Codex to help investigate it against the source material.
Once the changes are ready, I open the site locally and verify them again. I read the content, check the links, and make sure the official sources support what the page says. I also review how the information is presented because I want the site to remain unbiased in any direction.
So far, I haven’t found false information through that review process. Most of the material comes directly from official town sources, and the checking happens before publication. I still go through it myself every time.
I’m comfortable using AI throughout the process, but I need to understand and stand behind what ends up on the site.
Expanding based on what visitors ask for
Some visitors asked for help understanding government and the processes behind the news. In response, I added a learning section.
It covers the Constitution, branches of government, town meetings, elections, political parties, and political ideologies. Someone reading about an upcoming town meeting can also learn how that meeting works.
That section came directly from people using the site and asking for something more. I plan to keep adding to it and maintaining the site as long as strong traffic from Templeton shows that residents are finding it useful.
The part I didn’t expect
Building the website was familiar work. Using AI was familiar, too.
What surprised me was how much I learned about local politics and town policies. Keeping the site current means following meetings, reading documents, and paying attention to decisions I might previously have missed. It’s also keeping me better informed about current political events.
AI helps me handle the recurring work involved in maintaining the site. My own understanding of the town has grown through doing that work and checking the results.
I started because I wanted better information about a budget proposal. Now I have an ongoing project that puts my technical skills to use, gives residents a place to find sourced town information, and keeps me learning about Templeton.
