Ellis County OKs $904,775 implementation phase for court records systems; awards landscaping contract and buys pothole patcher

The Ellis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously March 17 to engage Barry Dunn for implementation services to support a new court case management, jury selection and land and vital records system, with a total implementation cost of $904,775.

EJ Harbin, purchasing director, told the court staff recommended engaging Barry Dunn. David Watson of Barry Dunn said the firm had recently completed negotiations with Tyler that produced a price reduction and additional services intended to address prior implementation problems. "We're about ready to sign," Watson said, adding the plan calls for a 16-month project beginning April 1 and that Barry Dunn will assist county clerks with configuration, data validation and migration work.

Several commissioners pressed on data-migration risks. Watson acknowledged migration "is a pain point" but said the contract now includes migration work and that Tyler has performed similar migrations for other Texas clients. Commissioner Grayson expressed concern about prior migration gaps; the vendor and staff said they had incorporated more migration work into Tyler's scope and will cover migration expenses on Barry Dunn's side.

Separately, the court awarded RFB-2026-005 for grounds maintenance and landscape services to Harrison Sons Quality Lawn Care LLC of Midlothian after eight responses, and approved purchase of a 2026 DuraPatcher P3 truck-mounted pothole patcher for Road & Bridge Precinct 4 from Texas Patcher LLC using cooperative contract pricing (total $134,885 after a $14,565 discount). All three items passed on unanimous votes.