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DTI warns of rising renewal costs; district attorney records system identified as critical unmet need
Summary
Bill Nixon, director of technology, told Johnson County commissioners that maintenance and renewal costs are rising—some server/storage prices have increased up to 200%—and that the district attorney case records management system remains a critical unmet need with staff pursuing alternative funding sources.
Bill Nixon, director for technology at Johnson County, presented the Department of Technology and Innovation’s FY2027 budget to the Board of County Commissioners on June 11, emphasizing rising renewal costs, prioritized recurring CIP funding and one critical unfunded need: a district attorney case records management system.
Nixon said DTI’s budget supports countywide enterprise systems and a range of external partners, including several law enforcement agencies and some fire districts, with cost-recovery arrangements for that external support. "We are seeing a lot of that with the AI market these days, along with the addition of critical applications," Nixon said when describing rapidly rising license, server and storage costs that are driving higher maintenance and renewal budgets.
The department appreciated approved RAR funding of $300,000 to address increased renewal costs, Nixon said, and noted that recurring CIP allocations allow strategic bulk purchases that lower unit costs and reduce outage risk. He said some planned server purchases will be delayed rather than paid for at sharply inflated prices.
Nixon identified the district attorney case records management system as DTI’s most critical unmet need and said staff are coordinating with the district attorney’s office and seeking alternative funding, including possible federal support. "Our most critical unmet need really is the district attorney case records management system," he said, adding that staff are working with Aaron Winn, Steve Howe and exploring potential support from Senator Moran.
Commissioners pressed DTI on KPIs and metrics. Commissioner Ashcraft asked why a prior metric called budget utilization was removed; Nixon said the department and budget staff normalized KPI reporting. Ashcraft also questioned cost-avoidance targets (historically 15%), noting DTI often reported substantially higher avoidance; Nixon said industry benchmarks inform targets and agreed to reexamine metrics for next year. Performance and staffing questions included device-support ratios and training goals; Nixon said the targets are based on Gartner benchmarks and comparable peers.
On capital projects, commissioners asked whether fiber maintenance work near New Century had any potential for leveraging airport-related federal funding; Nixon said most fiber improvements do not touch airport property directly and that he would follow up to confirm whether any grant or partnership opportunities exist. The board also discussed DTI’s cost-recovery model for outside entities; Nixon summarized a formula that allocates costs across devices and employees to generate fair chargebacks to partner organizations.
What happens next: Commissioners thanked the DTI team for the presentation and noted if cybersecurity details require confidential discussion they could be handled in executive session; staff will continue to refine KPIs and follow up on federal or partner funding opportunities for critical projects.
