Primary Department: Universal Services
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Sindhu Menon, Executive Director and CIO
Managing Department: Universal Services
Managing Department Head/Elected Official: Sindhu Menon, Executive Director and CIO
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Investment Memo
Investment Memo Type: Final Investment Memo
Project Name: Networking Repair & Replace
Project ID (if applicable): NI009
Vendor Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Achievement (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Incremental Authorization Requested: $3,565,000
Total Estimated Project Cost: $3,565,000 (FY27)
Request Summary:
title
Request by Universal Services for approval of the Final Investment Memo for the Networking Repair & Replace project for an incremental authorization of $2,165,000 for a total authorization of $3,565,000 for FY2027 and request for commercial paper funding in the amount of $2,120,000.
end
Project Description:
This project replaces end-of-life network equipment including routers, switches, firewalls, load-balancers, remote-access VPN, wireless access points, IP Television, Video Conferencing and related solutions within the data centers and across 200+ locations. Network equipment is replaced on an approximate 7-year cycle, requiring approximately 400 switches and 500 wireless access points to be replaced per year. Data center network systems would need to be continuously expanded in capacity due to the constant increase in the County’s needs.
Anticipated Project Expenditures and Timeline:
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Project Scope Breakdown |
Estimated Cost |
Estimated Completion |
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Replace Branch office Wireless Access Points (Approx. 1400) these multiple locations throughout the county to replace older access points that are no longer supported by HPE |
$1,500,000 |
9/30/2027 |
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Fisk Services for UPS and Wireless replacement work |
$250,000 |
9/30/2027 |
|
F5 appliance replacements |
$600,000 |
4/30/2027 |
|
Replace branch office Uninterruptible Power supplies (approx. 75) |
$200,000 |
9/30/2027 |
|
Arista Switched to replace old Cisco ASR's |
$250,000 |
5/30/2027 |
|
Arista Switch replacements for Segmentation and Modernization project (approx. 150) |
$300,000 |
9/30/2027 |
|
Contingency @15% |
$465,000 |
9/30/2027 |
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FY2027 Total Authorization |
$3,565,000 |
|
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Unencumbered existing project balance to carry into FY27 |
$1,400,000 |
|
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FY27 Incremental Authorization |
$2,165,000 |
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Justification & Alternatives:
Harris County has a significant amount of network equipment, including but not limited to switches, wireless access points, and microwave infrastructure. These items need to be refreshed periodically to minimize equipment no longer supported by the vendor. Most of this equipment is located in sites outside the data center, and some is already unsupported. Some refresh and capacity increases are required in the data centers to support the branch office refresh described.
Having a lifecycle-based repair and replace strategy will keep us from having unsupported equipment as well as ensure security and software updates continue to be provided as technology evolves. This in turn helps ensure scalability, reliability, and network security that supports access to all internal and external Harris County applications, the Internet, and connectivity to non-County agencies sharing data with the County.
Maintaining vendor supportability of the network equipment is essential for cybersecurity best practices, and Texas DPS compliance for law enforcement.
Failure to refresh the network equipment and services will lead to loss of compliance, increased mean time to recover from failures, degraded performance, and decreased availability of Information Technology systems including JWeb, CAD/RMS, STARs, etc.
Anticipated Impact on Other Funds (If Applicable):
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Description |
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County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): R3: Strengthen the County’s emergency response function.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Previous Court Action:
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Date |
Agenda <javascript:__doPostBack('ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$gridMain$ctl00$ctl02$ctl01$ctl00','')> ItemAction <javascript:__doPostBack('ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$gridMain$ctl00$ctl02$ctl01$ctl16','')> Taken |
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5/14/2026 |
26-3252 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=8011631&GUID=7DA933F1-468E-4E6F-96F0-357A1F54A476&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request by the Office of Management and Budget for approval of commercial paper funding for Universal Services for the Networking - Repair Replace project in the additional amount of $2,200,000 for a total CP funding of $23,625,000. |
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8/26/2025 |
25-5185 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7522041&GUID=DA3C1E14-A58D-4E47-83E2-B1E98CE4D25D&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of the Final Investment Memo for the Networking Repair and Replace project for an incremental authorization of $2,253,000 for a total authorization of $5,233,000 for FY 2026. |
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8/26/2025 |
25-5080 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7521903&GUID=69783997-F3AE-4F67-BB1D-31E323BF95D1&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of commercial paper funding for Universal Services for the Networking - Repair Replace project in the additional amount of $2,105,000 for a total CP funding of $21,425,000. |
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5/22/2025 |
25-3015 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7400850&GUID=6564CD87-AB07-4C5A-ADF6-D40C8765004B&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of commercial paper funding for Universal Services for the Networking - Repair Replace project in the additional amount of $1,860,000 for a total CP funding of $19,320,000. |
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10/8/2024 |
24-6284 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6883603&GUID=A5376AE3-D709-46B7-98B4-69B12950C038&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of a Final Investment Memo for the Network Repair-Replace project for an FY2025 authorization of $4,912,000. |
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8/27/2024 |
24-5128 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6838836&GUID=45F52AFA-7121-41B3-8023-EF3E87BBC583&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of commercial paper funding for Universal Services for the Networking - Repair Replace project in the additional amount of $1,500,000 for a total CP funding of $17,460,000. |
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2/27/2024 |
24-0862 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6550957&GUID=725AF40B-E7C7-4DB0-A305-690F37DB3E9A&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of commercial paper funding for Universal Services for the Networking - Repair Replace project in the additional amount of $1,400,000 for a total CP funding of $15,960,000. |
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10/10/2023 |
23-5836 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6375299&GUID=C7FFEBE7-6ECC-468F-B2A2-5983613E854F&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of commercial paper funding for Universal Services for the Networking - Repair Replace project in the additional amount of $500,000 for a total CP funding of $14,560,000. |
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10/11/2022 |
22-6320 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5867749&GUID=C911D627-5669-4F77-969C-10753586312C&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of commercial paper funding for Universal Services for the Networking - Repair Replace project in the additional amount of $1,950,000 for a total CP funding of $14,060,000. |
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8/23/2022 |
22-4957 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5764225&GUID=C754C1DF-A76D-4F11-B00C-B1F25925E4A7&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of a Final Investment Memo for the Network Repair-Replace project for an additional incremental authorization of $3,900,000 for an FY 2023 authorization of $6,918,419. |
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6/14/2022 |
22-3513 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5689830&GUID=DA9E7D08-0B6A-4159-94DF-44EC7C047F29&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of commercial paper funding for Universal Services for the Networking - Repair Replace project in the additional amount of $1,920,000 for a total CP funding of $12,110,000. |
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3/8/2022 |
22-1759 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5477827&GUID=289F4DF1-3337-4616-8A02-D4DC04DDDDE0&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of commercial paper funding for Universal Services for the Networking - Repair Replace project in the additional amount of $800,000 for a total CP funding of $10,190,000. |
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2/22/2022 |
22-1280 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5460614&GUID=0929F6AC-5643-4F07-9020-512BE287E1B6&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of a Final Investment Memo for the Networking Repair-Replace project for an additional incremental authorization of $2,720,000 for a SFY 2022 authorization of $3,700,000. |
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11/9/2021 |
21-6074 <https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5207075&GUID=0909ABB1-4003-4D7F-9FBD-FCC22E90309C&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Ni009>Request for approval of commercial paper funding for Universal Services for the Networking - Repair Replace project in the additional amount of $1,905,000 for a total CP funding of $9,390,000. |
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Address: N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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Choose an item. |
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$ |
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Total Current Budget |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request |
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Commercial Paper |
$ |
$2,120,000 |
$2,120,000 |
$ |
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$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$2,120,000 |
$2,120,000 |
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Total Funding Request |
$ |
$2,120,000 |
$2,120,000 |
$ |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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Anticipated Court Date: 10/15/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Legal funding compliance confirmed by: Paige Abernathy, First Assistant County Attorney-Legal Operations, 7/22/2025
Department Approval by: Heather Merkel, Director of Budget, Universal Services 7/31/2026
OMB CIP Team Approval by: William McGuinness, Director-Capital Projects & Infrastructure, 9/30/2026
Commercial Paper Request (For OMB use only):
Receiving Department: Universal Services
Project PeopleSoft ID: NI009
CP Series Description: Commercial Paper Series D can be used for (1) construction of public works, (2) the purchase of automobiles, equipment and machinery, including computers, materials and supplies for the operation of the County’s precincts and departments (3) Professional services, including services provided by engineers, architects, attorneys, auditors, financial advisors, and fiscal agents, in connection with the contractual obligations described in (1) and (2).
Commercial Paper is being requested for the Networking Repair Replace project and is expected to be repaid within the next three fiscal years either through bonds, budgetary means or pay-as-you-go sources.
OMB Financial Management contact: Fahad Gulzar, Deputy Executive Director, Office of Management and Budget