Committee backs Motorola contract increase and asks controller to audit the amendment

The Budget & Finance Committee on Nov. 6 recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve an amendment to the 2016 system purchase and installation agreement with Motorola Solutions that would increase spending authority by $33,000,000 to a new not‑to‑exceed total of $81,000,000 and extend the contract term into 2029.

Michelle Guedes, radio replacement project manager in the Department of Emergency Management, told the committee the radio replacement project covers infrastructure and about 10,000 radios used across 26 city departments and outside agencies. The amendment would allow phased replacement of portable radios and equipment, including replacing roughly 7,800 portable radios (described in staff materials as about $19 million of equipment) and capture a negotiated discount the city negotiated with the vendor.

Severn Campbell of the Budget Analyst Office said the requested increase exceeds the spending plan summarized in the BLA report and noted the existing agreement does not explicitly provide for an extended term; the BLA recommended approval provided the controller include the purchase and installation agreement in the regular contract audit program. Chair Sandra Lee Feuer moved to approve the amendment with that audit request; the committee took the measure to the board with a positive recommendation.

Committee members asked whether the contract allows next‑generation radios to be purchased under the same discount formula and how future modernization would be handled; Guedes said the amendment includes a formula to apply the negotiated discount to future Motorola radios that operate on the system and that the department will bring any moves to new technology back to the board for evaluation.