Johnson County commissioners were told on Oct. 14 that the county's new cloud-based dispatch and records system, known as Soma, has produced repeated reliability and safety problems since it went live Aug. 12.

IT staff and sheriff's office representatives described a string of operational failures — units disappearing from maps or assignment lists, calls closing unexpectedly, unreliable TLX (driver/vehicle) lookups, GPS inaccuracies and incident narratives or supplements that intermittently disappear from reports. The issues, county officials said, raise public-safety risks and have prompted weekly escalation meetings with Soma support.

The county's IT representative, Cameron George, told the court that the county began an internal escalation on Sept. 23 after deputies and dispatchers reported problems, and that Soma support has issued some fixes but other critical items remain unresolved. Captain Areola of the Johnson County Sheriff's Office echoed concerns about officer safety and evidence integrity: “If something doesn't get fixed at some point, we're gonna have to just say, we made a mistake,” he said, noting missing reports and broken case records.

A sheriff's lieutenant reported that the sheriff's office has obtained a vendor quote for a replacement system that could be implemented more quickly; the lieutenant said the first-year cost for that alternative would be “a little over $600,000” and that ongoing annual costs thereafter would be comparable or slightly lower than Soma. No formal procurement or contract was approved at the meeting.

Commissioners and staff said they would pursue three parallel actions: continue the weekly technical escalation with Soma and require measurable remedies; request additional briefings from consultants and vendors (including the consultant who assisted the county evaluation and the county's ARPA/grant advisor); and hold an executive-session update at a future meeting to review legal, procurement and grant-related implications. The court did not vote to cancel or replace Soma at the Oct. 14 meeting.

Why it matters: dispatch/CAD and records systems are integral to 9-1-1 operations, patrol response and the preservation of incident records. Commissioners described the problems as potential public-safety and evidentiary risks that need either timely technical remediation or a viable, funded replacement path.

What comes next: staff will continue weekly escalation calls with Soma, county legal and purchasing staff will explore alternatives and procurement paths, and the court asked staff to return with additional information (including consultant findings and grant-administration options) at a subsequent meeting so the court can consider contract-level steps or litigation options.