Police chief: Tyler RMS contract expires in December; city will evaluate Axon and other options

Police Chief Smith told the Public Safety Committee on July 22 that the city—s Tyler records management system (RMS) contract will expire Dec. 11, 2025, and the department will evaluate replacements, including Axon—s platform with AI-assisted reporting.

—The Tyler, RMS contract, was signed by the mayor 12/11/2020. This was a 5 year contract, so it expired 12/11/2025,— Chief Smith said. He told the committee the department will make a recommendation and that the decision will be collaborative with IT and administration.

Chief Smith and Councilman Talifero both emphasized officers— frustration with current reporting workflows and the potential time savings of AI-enabled transcription and reporting. Talifero said the AI offered by one vendor could reduce report-writing time by "approximately 50 to 60%" for officers, a point Chief Smith agreed merits evaluation.

Smith cautioned that replacing RMS systems is a multi-year effort and not a "flick a switch" change. He said Tyler took nearly five years to become fully functional in the city and warned any migration to Axon or another vendor would require substantial integration work: —You still gotta function, but you can't lose anything that you have and gotta be a smooth transition to something new.— He added the system must connect to more than 400 in-vehicle computers and hundreds of in-house workstations.

Council members asked about decision authority and timing. Chief Smith said the choice would be collaborative among the police department, IT and administration but that his recommendation would carry substantial weight. The committee was told a formal recommendation would be developed in the months before the contract expiration.

No formal vote or contract award took place at the July 22 meeting.