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County explores Tyler/Odyssey migration and dispatch consolidation; first‑year IT costs cited at roughly $670,000
Summary
Sheriff and staff recommended moving to a combined dispatch/CAD system and migrating to Tyler Odyssey. Initial implementation quoted at roughly $670,000 with ongoing annual licensing of about $80,000; commissioners raised concerns about vendor selection and long‑term costs.
Sheriff and IT staff urged the court to consolidate dispatch and move to a single CAD/records platform to improve information sharing among the sheriff’s office, the city, local fire departments and partner agencies. Sheriff noted past problems with other vendors and urged a stable, long‑term solution rather than repeated vendor swaps.
Staff described a proposed migration to Tyler Technologies’ Odyssey (court records) and a combined dispatch solution that would include CAD; the package presented to the court included a first‑year implementation cost of about $670,000 and an annual license and maintenance payment of roughly $80,000 thereafter. “It’s $670,000 to move over to [the vendor], yes. And then after that, it’s a yearly $80,000 … a year to keep for next 5 years,” a staff presenter said. Staff explained the first‑year figure reflected setup, licensing and training; ongoing annual fees were licensing and support.
Commissioners and staff discussed tradeoffs: consolidation would allow one shared dispatch and better interoperability between courts, jail and patrol, and might eliminate duplicate case entry. Several attendees said they had checked with peer counties that had made similar moves; the court heard mixed reports but several jurisdictions reported improvements after consolidation. Commissioners asked for more vendor references and clarity on data transfer: staff said migrating historical evidence and data could be prohibitively expensive and the first‑year price was primarily the software, configuration and training rather than full data migration.
Why it matters: a combined CAD/Court/Jail system affects how the county’s public‑safety partners share information, schedule responses and process cases. The cost is substantial and recurring licensing will affect future operating budgets; commissioners asked for written references and a clearer breakdown of one‑time conversion work versus ongoing fees.
What’s next: staff will gather additional references from other counties that have migrated, refine the migration scope and confirm which elements must be migrated versus which can remain in legacy systems; a formal proposal with a vendor contract and implementation timeline will be returned to the court for a decision.
