3 Key Takeaways From NACo’s Annual Conference 2025

The 2025 National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference & Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, brought together elected and appointed officials from the nation’s 3,069 counties. Conference content included discussions of federal policies impacting counties, workshops highlighting county best practices, engaging general sessions, mobile tours across the host county, and more.

Information technology was again a core part of the conversation. The full-day Technology Innovation Forum explored how to turn persistent challenges into opportunities for innovation, efficiency, and smarter service delivery. Technology sessions and experts were included throughout the wider program. A “CIO Speed Sharing” event featured small-group discussions on relevant and emerging technology topics, such as modernization and artificial intelligence (AI).

Tyler Technologies, a NACo Corporate Premiere Partner, had speakers on multiple panels and was also on-site as an exhibitor. Here are three key takeaways from this year’s event.

AI Is Driving Workforce Efficiency

Faced with tight budgets, mounting demands, and often outdated infrastructure, counties require technology solutions that streamline operations while improving accuracy and service. AI is already in widespread use within counties and offers tremendous potential to help address those challenges.

Henry Sal, senior director of AI automation at Tyler, participated in the “Revolutionizing the Government Workforce With AI” panel. He emphasized that AI is not replacing agency staff. It empowers them to focus on more complex and valuable tasks as they serve and strengthen their communities. He also noted the importance of utilizing an iterative process on AI projects.

John Warren, county clerk of Dallas County, Texas, shared his agency’s strategy of approaching AI projects as an opportunity to upskill their workforce. They pair younger and older workers to accelerate learning and increase buy-in organizationally. The older member knows the what and the why of current systems, while the younger member is often quicker to identify more efficient approaches and embrace new tools. Each member contributes to the partnership and the change process, supporting one another as they learn.

Counties Are Leading Through Innovation

From AI pilot programs to intelligent content management approaches to breaking down data silos, the impressive work of leading agencies was on display throughout the conference.

Jason Frink, account executive for Priority Based Budgeting at Tyler, participated in the “AI Innovation Showcase,” which presented innovative county use cases focused on efficiencies and the use of advanced agentic AI. He shared how there is often a missing link between line-item budgets and strategic outcomes aligned with community priorities. Priority-based budgeting solutions that incorporate AI are helping counties not only improve efficiency and reassess spending but also predict infrastructure failures and better understand risks.

Partnerships Fuel Success

Just a quick scan of the session titles reveals one of the key takeaways:

• “Collaboration at the Core: Using AI to Connect Agencies, Documents, and Data in County Government”
• “Cross-Functional Collaboration Has Benefits”
• “Tech Changes Are Easy; Real Change Requires Collaboration”

The message is clear — collaboration and partnerships are critical to the success of technology projects.

As NACo CIO Rita Reynolds recently observed during an appearance on the Tyler Tech Podcast, close collaboration is essential to understanding the role of technology in maintaining county infrastructure and striking a balance between budget and priorities. Nationally, there has been an increase in both county-to-county and county-to-state collaboration on technology initiatives. Counties also benefit from strong partnerships with reliable external partners as they implement modern technology and facilitate cloud migration.

Looking Ahead: Strengthening Counties

From AI pilots to collaborations, this year’s NACo Conference & Exposition showcased the progress counties are making. Tyler is proud to support that work and remains committed to helping governments serve their communities with confidence and impact.

Tyler and NACo: Working Together to Assist Counties

Discover more about Tyler’s partnership with NACo and how we work together to advance the conversation on how to modernize county systems and operations.