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Oakland County proposes new authority, cloud migration and $20 million overhaul for regional law‑enforcement records system
Summary
Oakland County staff recommended forming an independent authority, migrating the county’s Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System to the cloud, and funding a five‑year capital plan (roughly $20M) to stabilize and expand the regional public‑safety data network.
Deputy County Executive Sean Carlson and IT/public‑safety staff briefed the committee about CLEMS (the Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System) operations and a proposal to transition the regional consortium into an independent authority with new governance, a cloud migration and capital investment to stabilize operations.
County staff described CLEMS as a long‑standing public‑safety data‑sharing consortium, valuable for crime solving and cross‑agency information exchange. Presenters said the current CLEMS infrastructure is roughly 15 years old, hosted on county servers, and the county’s cost structure is “upside down,” creating an operating deficit that will grow without change. Staff showed forecast models projecting continued annual deficits and a cumulative shortfall under a “do nothing” path.
The proposed fix is to form an independent authority (governance board appointed from member jurisdictions), migrate CLEMS to modern cloud infrastructure to reduce ongoing operating costs and allow more flexible membership and service options, and invest in marketing and product development to expand membership beyond the current footprint. Staff said an authority structure would take politics out of day‑to‑day operations, provide a mechanism for bonding and revenue generation, and de‑risk the county’s financial exposure. Presenters said they anticipate five‑year capital needs of about $20,000,000 and described a financing plan that could combine $10,000,000 in one‑time county support plus a $10,000,000 repayable loan repaid as the authority expands. The county would still employ existing CLEMS IT staff who continue as county employees if they remain in their roles during a transition.
Commissioners asked about governance, authority appointments, whether millage would be required, and the potential for the authority to bond. Presenters said membership could be by interlocal agreement or user agreement, and the county executive would appoint the authority’s executive committee. They said the authority model would enable expansion of membership and potential revenue generation over time; some agencies (including Detroit and Dearborn) expressed interest in the concept if the cost and service model changed. Staff said they will return to the board within 30 days with formal authority documents and a capital request; they emphasized the committee that doing nothing would increase the county liability and that the authority is designed to make CLEMS sustainable and expandable.
