County staff outline Workday rollout, CAD/RMS replacement, fiber and Lake Creek Annex needs

County technology and finance officials briefed the Williamson County Commissioners Court on a multi-pronged slate of technology and facilities projects, detailing schedules, funding status and next steps.

Richard Sample of Technology Services summarized several capital projects, opening with the county-wide Workday implementation that will replace finance, procurement, asset and HR systems. "We are going live on December 14 for HR, payroll, a lot of the other modules, and then January 1 for all the financials," Sample said, describing a staggered rollout and ongoing configuration and testing phases.

Sample and County Auditor Julie Kiley also updated the court on an upcoming law-enforcement CAD/RMS replacement (dispatch and records-management) purchased from Hexagon/Octave. Sample said configuration and early testing are underway and that the project will go live next year, but he noted additional funds will be required; commissioners discussed a potential $500,000 CIP allocation to close a gap.

Other projects discussed included:

- Countywide fiber: Sample said about $8,000,000 in ARPA funds and CIP will support a fiber build that should be largely complete by Dec. 1; the project originally estimated about $16,000,000 for broader county needs.

- Public Wi-Fi: The county will roll out public Wi-Fi to the square, the Expo Center in Taylor and ball fields in May, with the Southwest Regional Park expansion planned afterward.

- Radio towers and coverage: Technology Services is planning up to five additional tower sites and study work for specific locations, funded at $3,000,000 in CIP for sites and land; Sample said smaller footprints (100x100 feet) may suffice depending on tower type.

- Lake Creek Annex: The county purchased the Lake Creek Annex to provide space including a 9-1-1 training center; Sample said the building is funded at $10,550,000 with an additional CIP request of $575,000 to finish out training space and optional funding for other occupants.

Sample also described a domain migration from wilco.org to wilcotx.gov and challenges around IT hardware lead times, noting vendors are quoting longer lead times for components.

Why it matters: These projects affect core county services from payroll to emergency dispatch, with multi-million-dollar implications for capital planning and operations. Commissioners asked about budgeting authority, the threshold for court approval on job-order-contracting (JOC) work orders, and coordination with cities and school districts for fiber connections.

What the court decided: No final votes were taken on the major projects in this update; staff said formal solicitations and approvals will be brought back to the court as needed, and commissioners asked for further information on budgets and timelines.

Next steps: Staff will bring the JOC solicitation to the court for approval, provide more detail on CAD/RMS budget needs and Lake Creek final costs, and continue Workday configuration and testing.