Johnson County presses Soma Global for working dispatch after failed May go-live as October deadline looms

Johnson County Commissioners Court on June 23 pressed Soma Global and county IT staff for concrete timelines after a May attempt to switch the county and its partner agencies to a new cloud-based computer-aided dispatch and records management system failed.

The county judge said the project — contracted in 2023 to replace an older, locally hosted system and to share dispatch and records among roughly two dozen police agencies and nearly as many fire/EMS agencies — went live briefly in May and was turned off when several performance and functionality problems made the system unusable. County staff and the sheriff’s office told the court they are pursuing both a plan to give Soma one more opportunity to deliver a working product and a parallel “plan B” with other vendors so 9-1-1 and dispatch services will not be interrupted.

The matter matters because the county is scheduled to stop using Burleson’s hosted servers on Oct. 1; if Soma cannot deliver a working system, the county could face substantial new hosting and support costs or a rushed procurement to keep emergency dispatch operating.

Sheriff’s office representatives framed the timeline as urgent. The sheriff told the court that he had calculated the time available and warned of “big dollar signs on the horizon coming if Soma didn't work,” saying the county could face new costs if it must assume Burleson’s server and support expenditures after Oct. 1. County IT said the vendor-supplied system experienced “lag” and other usability failures during the two-day live test in May that made it unusable for dispatchers.

Soma Global founder Nick Stohlman and Soma CEO Paul Sanssoussi flew in to brief the court. Stohlman said the company was committed to finishing the project: “We're committed to this project. We're committed to it till we have success, and we will have success,” he told the court. Soma leaders said they have reallocated engineering resources, engaged Amazon Web Services to address backend performance, and planned additional internal stress testing before another production attempt. Soma told the court it was aiming to be ready to attempt a controlled go‑live in mid‑July, a date the county said would allow a further check before the next regular commissioners court in late July.

County IT and the sheriff emphasized that, even if Soma meets the vendor’s timeline, the court must be prepared to switch to a different vendor if the system remains unstable. County staff said they are actively gathering written quotes from alternative providers so that a transition could occur quickly if needed. The county’s legal advisor noted the contract was structured with milestone payments; the final milestone payment tied to successful delivery has not been released and roughly 25% of the contract value was being retained pending performance.

Commissioners repeatedly stressed that the single priority is uninterrupted 9-1-1 and dispatch service for citizens and law enforcement. Several commissioners reported that dispatch personnel and other users had expressed loss of confidence in the product after the failed go-live. The court directed staff to continue parallel workstreams: (1) monitor Soma’s engineering progress and readiness for a mid‑July go‑live window, and (2) continue negotiations and written price estimates with other vendors so the county can act quickly if Soma cannot deliver a stable production system.

No formal vote was required or taken on the vendor’s future at the June 23 session; court members said they would call a special meeting if developments required immediate action before the July 28 regular meeting. The county judge and sheriff asked Soma to remain in active daily communication with county staff and the sheriff’s office while work proceeds.

Looking ahead, the court said it expects a detailed status report on Soma’s fixes and any plan‑B quotes before any additional licensing or milestone payments are approved.