Lee County finance committee members voted in committee to forward a resolution funding the full cost of a Tyler Technologies project after the county failed to secure a grant that would have paid part of the expense.

Finance staff said the county had budgeted $1 million from capital for the project but that the actual cost exceeded the grant‑shortfall expectation. The committee approved a resolution to allocate approximately $1,512,000 additional dollars to cover the total Tyler cost, finance members said. "We did approve the resolution out of finance to, for the additional 1, dollars 512,000 to cover the entire Tyler costs," the finance chair said.

Project timeline and costs: Staff told the committee the work will span about 18 months, with an 18‑month payout schedule. The county will owe first‑year support or software‑as‑a‑service (SaaS) fees of about $164,000, designated to come from capital this fiscal year. Committee members estimated the immediate cash outlay this fiscal year will be roughly $600,000–$700,000 depending on project start dates and invoicing.

Impact on capital reserves: Finance reported roughly $9 million in capital with about $4.3 million tied to a required 90‑day ordinance reserve, leaving approximately $4 million currently available to spend. The additional Tyler allocation and other planned projects (including a courthouse wall) will draw capital toward near zero for the fiscal year, one finance member warned. "When you take $1,500,000 out of that, pretty tight," a finance member said.

Oversight and next steps: The committee asked finance staff to route incoming Tyler invoices through the finance committee rather than pushing them directly to other offices so the committee can track expenditures as the project proceeds. The resolution approved by the finance committee will go to the full county board for final approval; committee members said they expect multi‑year invoicing and will monitor cash flow across fiscal years.

No details on staffing savings or long‑term operating impacts were finalized at committee; members said those questions will be discussed during the budget process.