Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the It Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Riley County IT director warns AI-driven costs will push 2027 budget higher
Summary
IT/GIS director Corey Meyer told the commission that AI-related hardware and software changes require a roughly $297,000 (15%) increase in the 2027 IT budget, citing rapid vendor price changes, server and licensing upgrades, and security needs.
Riley County's IT/GIS director told commissioners May 7 that artificial intelligence is reshaping vendor pricing and will drive a substantial increase in the county's 2027 technology budget.
"If you don't know the two letters AI, well, get to know them. They are affecting everything," Corey Meyer said while presenting a $297,000 budget increase request (about 15% over last year). Meyer said $49,000 of that would cover personnel and the roughly $250,000 balance would fund contractual items, capital outlay and hardware to keep software supported and secure.
Meyer highlighted two one-time contractual purchases: server operating-system upgrades and SQL-server licensing to be purchased now to avoid higher future costs. He warned vendors are changing prices quickly; items that quoted at $100,000 earlier this year have jumped dramatically within weeks. "Dell is currently canceling 10% of their orders that come in because their costs are changing so fast," Meyer said.
He described wide-ranging effects: higher desktop and laptop prices to support AI features, a separate AI server requirement for the county's GIS application, and upward pressure on recurring software contracts. Meyer said the capital outlay request includes $100,000 for two servers and another $20,000 to cover expected laptop/desktop cost increases.
Meyer recommended the county prioritize security and planned upgrades rather than delay purchases and risk loss of vendor support. Commissioners asked for additional briefings and suggested an AI-focused presentation to connect the IT request to broader data-center and economic-development conversations.
Next steps: IT will provide more detailed line-item bids and timing so the commission can weigh one-time purchases against possible timing risk from vendor price volatility.
