OpenPublica

Find governments near a location

find_local_governments

Read-only

Discover which governments OpenPublica tracks near a coordinate.

Returns nearby governments with their `account_id`, which you can pass to the
other tools to scope results to a specific city or board. Note OpenPublica
only covers a limited set of US localities; an empty result means none are
tracked near that point yet.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`limit`	No	Max governments to return (1-50).
`latitude`	Yes	Latitude of the location of interest.
`longitude`	Yes	Longitude of the location of interest.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
No arguments

TDQS

A4.3/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Beyond the readOnlyHint and openWorldHint annotations, the description adds concrete behavioral details: results include account_id, OpenPublica only covers limited US localities, and empty results mean no tracked government exists nearby. This meaningfully enriches the annotation-provided context.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Three sentences with no wasted words: the first states the purpose, the second explains result value and downstream use, and the third addresses coverage limitations. The most important information is front-loaded.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a low-complexity lookup with fully documented parameters, a 100% schema coverage, and an output schema, the description covers the key contextual needs: purpose, coordinate targeting, result semantics, and the meaning of an empty response.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3. The description's 'near a coordinate' aligns with latitude/longitude but does not add extra parameter semantics or formatting details beyond what the schema already documents.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description states a specific verb and resource: 'Discover which governments OpenPublica tracks near a coordinate.' It clearly differentiates from sibling tools like find_governments_by_name and find_governments_by_zip by focusing on coordinate proximity.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines3/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

The description gives clear context for the coordinate-based use case and explains how results feed into other tools via account_id, but it does not explicitly name alternatives or state when not to use this tool. The guidance is implied rather than explicit.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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TDQS

A4.4/5.0

Disambiguation5/5

Each tool targets a clear, distinct operation: government discovery, meeting search, transcript search, document listing, and document reading are all cleanly separated. The three find_governments tools overlap in purpose but are differentiated by input type (name, ZIP, coordinates), and the descriptions explicitly call out when to prefer one over another.

Naming Consistency5/5

Tool names follow a consistent and predictable verb_noun pattern: find_governments_by_*, get_*, list_*, search_*, read_*, and discover_*. The qualifiers are descriptive and parallel, making the intended action and resource obvious from the name alone.

Tool Count5/5

At 15 tools, the set is at the upper end of the ideal range but every tool earns its place by covering a distinct capability across two related domains: meetings and government documents. There is no filler or redundancy; the count feels well-scoped for the server's stated purpose.

Completeness5/5

For a read-only public-records service, the surface is remarkably complete: government resolution by name/ZIP/coordinates, coverage, stats, meeting discovery/search/retrieval, transcript-level search, and document listing/search/reading all have dedicated tools. There are no obvious dead ends—every search path leads to a retrieval tool that can produce citable quotes, pages, or full transcripts.

Resources

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