What Williamson County owes on software subscriptions and leases (DRAFT – not published)

In short

• The county owed about $3.6 million on software it rents for more than a year.¹
• It also owed about $244,000 on office machine leases.²
• Most of the software money is due in the next two years.¹

How it works

• Some deals count as debt. When the county signs a software deal for more than a year, the audit lists what it still has to pay as money owed. It also lists the right to use the software as something the county owns.³
• Leases work the same way. The county leases office machines for 3 to 7 years.²

What the numbers show

Year ending Sept. 30	Software payments due
2026	$1,812,445
2027	$1,447,287
2028	$302,850
2029	$155,320
Total	$3,717,902

Source: the county’s fiscal 2025 annual report, Note 12.¹

• Most of the total is the amount owed. It is $3,640,405. The other $77,497 is interest. Rates run from 0% to 3.15%.¹
• New deals in the year: the General Fund took on $1,825,174 in new software subscriptions and $112,150 in new leases. The budget had $0 for each.⁴
• Office machine leases: the county owed $244,233 at year end. It paid down $8,862 of them during the year.²

The other side

• These are small next to the county’s other debts. Its long-term debts for its main services totaled about $1.75 billion.⁵

What we still don’t know

• Which software products the subscriptions cover. The report says only “operational software.”

Questions to ask

• Which software products do the county’s subscriptions cover?
• How does the commissioners court approve multi-year software deals?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: Added questions to ask.
• Nov. 2, 2026: New page.

Footnotes

1. Williamson County, Texas, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal 2025, Note 12, “Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements (SBITAs),” p.57: operational software, interest rate 0 - 3.15%, term 1-4 years, balance at year end $3,640,405; future payments 2026 $1,812,445, 2027 $1,447,287, 2028 $302,850, 2029 $155,320; total principal $3,640,405, interest $77,497, total $3,717,902. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Same report, Note 11, “Lease Payable,” p.56: office equipment leases, terms 3-7 years, rates 0.2% - 3.18%; payables reduced by $8,862; ending balance at Sept. 30, 2025 $244,233. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Same report, Note 1, “Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements (SBITAs)”: the county “recognizes a subscription liability, reported with long-term debt, and a right-of-use subscription asset.” ↩

4. Same report, General Fund budget-to-actual schedule, p.28: “Issuance of subscription liabilities” original and final budget $0, actual $1,825,174; “Issuance lease liabilities” budget $0, actual $112,150. ↩

5. Same report, Note 13, “Long-term Liabilities,” p.57: total governmental activities long-term liabilities $1,747,481,635. ↩