The Hays County Commissioners Court voted to reallocate funding away from a potential contract with Axon, an artificial intelligence public safety company, during a Sept. 15 meeting. The court will no longer consider a future 10-year, $4.5 million contract with the company.
What happened
During a Sept. 1 meeting, the court directed staff to include funding for a potential 10-year, $4.5 million contract with Axon in budget and tax rate calculations for fiscal year 2026-27. The court did not vote to approve a contract, Precinct 3 Commissioner Morgan Hammer said.
“We have not voted on a contract,” Hammer said. “We have not been presented at court with a contract. We have not paid Axon for an AI package contract that we are discussing right now. This is just a placeholder for funds to potentially look into a contract and potentially agree to these terms and conditions.”
In a 3-2 vote on Sept. 15, the court approved a motion to reallocate the determined funding for a future Axon contract, requesting the funds be used to pay for two additional corrections officers in the Hays County Sheriff’s Office.
“There is no world where I will support a 10-year contract for anything, let alone an unproven technology centered on artificial intelligence,” said Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra in a statement. “AI is growing by leaps and bounds, which we cannot measure or properly regulate at the local level right now.”
The details
The proposed services Axon would have provided included AI-driven translation services, assistance with report writing, and other tools, Precinct 2 Commissioner Michelle Cohen said in a statement.
The Hays County Sheriff's Office, Hays County District attorney’s Office and Axon representatives had detailed discussions regarding the legalities, practicalities and limitations of the AI software, said Gregg Cox, first assistant district attorney. The county departments felt assured the services would be effective when used in court.
“This is not the kind of AI that's going out onto the internet and grabbing things off of just random websites,” Cox said. “It is simply machine learning to take things like audio, transcribe it and produce a transcript for someone to review before it's used.”
The Sheriff’s Office currently uses Axon body cameras and fleet cameras. No other companies were considered for the AI contract because the Axon software would be most compatible with the equipment the department already uses, Cox said.
The discussion
Cohen voiced concern about implementing AI technology before adopting policies and procedures for the tool.
“I'm feeling very uncomfortable with the whole AI conversation,” Cohen said. “I'm fearful for our county that we don't have [a policy] in place. I would feel more comfortable exploring these if we had a policy that would help us vet the technology in some way.”
The reallocation of funds was approved in a 3-2 vote. Becerra, Cohen and Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe voted for the motion. Hammer and Precinct 4 Commissioner Walt Smith voted against the motion.
“I am incredibly grateful to the members of our community who showed up to voice their strong opposition to this contract, helping us build the pressure needed to ultimately defund this effort,” said Becerra in his statement.
