# Council Agenda Keyword Monitor (`shawnbarnes.consulting/council-agenda-keyword-monitor`) Actor

Scan city and county council agendas for keywords like RFP, software or grant. Get matching agenda items with meeting date, body, file number and agenda link. Public Legistar API, no login.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/shawnbarnes.consulting/council-agenda-keyword-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Shawn Barnes](https://apify.com/shawnbarnes.consulting) (community)
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 matching agenda items

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Council Agenda Keyword Monitor

Find out when a city council or county board is about to vote on something you care about: a new contract,
a software purchase, a grant, a body-worn camera program or an RFP. Give it a list of governments and keywords,
and it scans their upcoming and recent meeting agendas, then returns every matching agenda item with the meeting
date, the body, the file number and a link to the agenda PDF.

### Who uses it

- **Vendors and sales teams** selling to local government: see purchases on the agenda before the vote.
- **Grant writers and nonprofits**: catch grant acceptances, funding items and new programs.
- **Government relations, advocacy and journalists**: track topics across many cities in one feed.
- **Consultants**: monitor clients' and prospects' councils on a schedule.

### How it works

1. Reads meetings in your date window from each government's public Legistar Web API (no login, no scraping
   of web pages, no proxies).
2. Reads each meeting's agenda items and matches your keywords as whole words or phrases (case-insensitive).
3. Returns one row per matching item. With **Only new matches** on, scheduled runs return only items you
   haven't seen before, so you can wire it to email, Slack or Google Sheets with an Apify integration.

Personal matters (appointments, claims, settlements, lawsuits, personnel) are skipped by default.

### Input

| Field | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Governments | `austintexas`, `seattle` | The Legistar client name, usually the subdomain of the city's `legistar.com` site (for `austintexas.legistar.com` it is `austintexas`). |
| Keywords | `RFP`, `software`, `grant` | Phrases work: `body-worn camera`. |
| Days back / ahead | 7 / 30 | Meeting date window. |
| Only new matches | on for schedules | Remembers reported items between runs. |
| Exclude personal matters | on | Skips items that can name private individuals. |
| Legistar API token | optional | Only for the few governments that require one. |

### Output example

```json
{
  "client": "austintexas",
  "body": "City Council",
  "meetingDate": "2026-11-05",
  "matchedKeywords": ["software", "contract"],
  "itemTitle": "Authorize a contract for Infor Public Sector software maintenance and support ...",
  "matterFile": "26-1234",
  "agendaPdfUrl": "https://austintexas.legistar1.com/...Agenda.pdf",
  "meetingUrl": "https://austintexas.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?..."
}
```

### Pricing

Pay per event: a small charge per meeting scanned and per matching agenda item returned. You pay only for
what the run actually finds. Typical run: 2 cities, 30 days, a few cents.

### Tips

- Schedule it daily or weekly with **Only new matches** on, and add an email or Slack integration.
- Start broad (`contract`), then narrow (`software maintenance`) once you see the volume.
- If a government returns "Unknown Legistar client name", check the subdomain of its Legistar site.
  Not every government uses Legistar.

### Data and fair use

Uses the public Legistar Web API at about one request per second. Returns public government agenda text and
links only. Not affiliated with Granicus or any government. Agenda content can change until a meeting is held;
always confirm against the official agenda.

### Support

Open an issue on this Actor's Issues tab. Replies within 24 hours.

# Actor input Schema

## `clients` (type: `array`):

Legistar client names, as in webapi.legistar.com/v1/{client}/events. Examples: austintexas, seattle, sanantonio. The name is usually the subdomain of the city's legistar.com site.

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

Case-insensitive whole-word or phrase matches against agenda item titles and notes.

## `daysBack` (type: `integer`):

Include meetings up to this many days in the past.

## `daysAhead` (type: `integer`):

Include meetings up to this many days in the future.

## `onlyNew` (type: `boolean`):

Remember items already reported and return only new ones. Best for scheduled runs.

## `excludePersonalMatters` (type: `boolean`):

Skip appointments, claims, settlements, lawsuits and personnel items, which can name private individuals.

## `maxMeetingsPerClient` (type: `integer`):

Upper limit on meetings scanned per government per run.

## `legistarToken` (type: `string`):

Only for governments whose Legistar API requires a token (for example New York City). Request one from that government.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "clients": [
    "austintexas",
    "seattle"
  ],
  "keywords": [
    "request for proposals",
    "RFP",
    "software",
    "body-worn camera",
    "grant"
  ],
  "daysBack": 7,
  "daysAhead": 30,
  "onlyNew": false,
  "excludePersonalMatters": true,
  "maxMeetingsPerClient": 40
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "clients": [
        "austintexas",
        "seattle"
    ],
    "keywords": [
        "request for proposals",
        "RFP",
        "software",
        "body-worn camera",
        "grant"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("shawnbarnes.consulting/council-agenda-keyword-monitor").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "clients": [
        "austintexas",
        "seattle",
    ],
    "keywords": [
        "request for proposals",
        "RFP",
        "software",
        "body-worn camera",
        "grant",
    ],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("shawnbarnes.consulting/council-agenda-keyword-monitor").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "clients": [
    "austintexas",
    "seattle"
  ],
  "keywords": [
    "request for proposals",
    "RFP",
    "software",
    "body-worn camera",
    "grant"
  ]
}' |
apify call shawnbarnes.consulting/council-agenda-keyword-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,shawnbarnes.consulting/council-agenda-keyword-monitor"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/93c3BvQUW3XW9fbPX/builds/3hAEYWZfMaMv5aFAG/openapi.json