Midland council approves fleet cameras, GPS and new data-center servers after IT staff outlines savings

City of Midland officials on July 22 approved two information-technology purchases intended to reduce recurring costs and expand city services: a three-year contract with Motive Technologies Inc. for fleet cameras and GPS tracking and a purchase of Nutanix servers, hardware and five years of licensing and support from CDW Government LLC.

IT officials said the contracts are part of a broader procurement overhaul that has already produced recurring savings and will increase transparency and operational capabilities for multiple departments.

Georgi Syskander, the city’s chief information officer, told council the Motive solution would enable cameras on multiple departments’ vehicles and add GPS to powered and nonpowered equipment; he said the city currently pays Verizon about $117,000 a year for GPS tracking and that bringing more departments together produced a far lower combined price. “This is a prime example of doing more with less,” Syskander said. He described improved claim documentation, driver feedback and safety monitoring as direct benefits.

Syskander also presented the Nutanix purchase as part of a larger “digital brain” upgrade that will replace five-year-old hardware, reduce annual support costs and include five years of licensing. He said IT’s broader consolidation and contract work this year has generated more than $1,000,000 in recurring annual savings citywide through software cancellations, contract renegotiations and competitive bidding.

Council members praised the cost-savings approach and the transparency gains they said the camera/GPS package would bring. No members objected; council approved the Motive Technologies contract and the Nutanix purchase unanimously.

What the contracts cover: the fleet-camera and GPS contract was described on the agenda as a three-year agreement through Sourcewell for $666,205.90; the Nutanix purchase was listed on the agenda as $614,146.88 through the interlocal purchasing system.

The city said the Motive package will include front, driver and side cameras for solid-waste trucks and GPS for multiple departments; IT officials and council members discussed potential future uses, including automated pavement-condition analysis using video and AI. The Nutanix system will replace aging infrastructure running VMware and — staff said — will provide what they called “faster, safer and better performance” alongside five years of included support.

Council action and next steps: Council voted to approve both items during the meeting. Staff said both purchases are intended to be part of an overall plan to redirect procurement savings into services such as online permitting, inspection platforms and constituent-facing tools. IT staff said they will continue contract reviews for other major systems later in the year.

The agenda packet and staff presentations listed the specific contract amounts and vendors. City staff said they will return to council if any contract scope or budget changes are needed.