County IT seeks automation for civil process and a case‑tracking system as BTS absorbs software costs

County technology leaders urged commissioners to weigh investments that automate manual public‑safety and constituent processes while asking for careful scrutiny of efficiencies.

Jeff Roars, chief information officer for Business Technology Services (BTS), and John Androvic presented two decision packages: CivilServ, an automation system for civil‑process management (warrants, subpoenas, evictions and service of process), and CAT (County Application Tracking) to centralize constituent request tracking. OMB noted additional implementation and recurring costs tied to each package and said further discussion is needed prior to final recommendations.

BTS context: Roars said the department is about 80% modernized and has absorbed roughly 6% annual inflation in IT contracts; BTS expects to inherit $1.3M of new, unfunded software in FY27 that will need an appropriation going forward. The department is also continuing enterprise work on justice interfaces (enterprise justice and StackWeb) and expects potential efficiencies in the courts, sheriff and clerk areas if automation is adopted.

Why it matters: BTS leaders told commissioners they will expect tighter evaluation of return on investment and urged that proposed technology projects demonstrate eliminations of redundant positions or measurable efficiency gains before the county commits to recurring costs.

Next steps: OMB and BTS will provide more detailed cost‑benefit analyses and implementation plans for the CivilServ and CAT packages as the budget process continues into August.