Clerk seeks $700,000 one‑time multiyear licensing renewal to secure e‑filing and data center services

Clerk Joseph Malca and executive director Nancy Rodriguez briefed the Board of Supervisors on Superior Court customer‑service demand and a technology renewal request. Malca said Superior Court filings and customer contacts have risen and that e‑filing, online chat and automated services keep transaction volumes manageable without adding headcount.

The clerk requested a one‑time $700,000 multiyear licensing renewal (three years) to lock in current rates for critical server, database and licensing costs that the office said are rising sharply across vendors. Rodriguez said the clerk's office baseline is just north of $52 million and that approximately 90% of their budget is personnel; technology licensing comprises about 4–5% of the remaining budget. She said the virtual agent resolves roughly 92% of online chats and that multiyear renewals can reduce year‑to‑year escalation.

Supervisors asked whether the county could pursue enterprise licensing or alternate vendors; clerk and budget staff said conversations with the county IT group (ETI) had begun and that some licensing might be consolidated into county enterprise agreements, but that certain SQL/Microsoft licensing falls outside the county enterprise and options are limited. The board asked the county manager and IT to explore alternatives and return with an analysis before approving a multi‑year commitment.