1 CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
CITY HALL
10300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255
TELEPHONE: (408) 777-3212
CUPERTINO.GOV
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Date: April 7, 2026
Subject
Determine next steps for the agreement with the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce.
Recommended Action
Receive update and provide direction on the agreement with the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce.
1. Authorize Agreement Extension with Revised Scope of Work (Recommended); or
2. Authorize Agreement to Expire without Extension; or
3. Authorize Agreement Extension with Existing Scope and Funding.
Background
On June 6, 2023, the City Council authorized the City Manager to execute an agreement, Attachment A1, between the City of Cupertino and the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce for up to five years, at an annual amount not-to-exceed $52,000.
On April 30, 2024, the agreement between the City of Cupertino and the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce was fully executed for a one-year term, initiating the first year of the agreement.
On April 30, 2025, the term of the agreement entered its second year on another one-year term.
The current agreement is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2026.
The City has had a long-standing partnership with the Chamber; however, prior to 2023, there was no formal agreement in place. In 2023, the agreement was established via Council direction to expand the City’s reach to businesses in Cupertino and to help the City adopt a coordinated and comprehensive approach in supporting businesses amid the post-pandemic economic landscape. Key components of the agreement and an overview of services provided by the Chamber to date are included below. As part of the agreement, the Chamber is required to send quarterly updates to the City outlining services performed by the Chamber during each
1 The executed agreement also includes the scope of work approved by the City Council.
2 reporting period. All quarterly reports submitted to date are included with this staff report as Attachment B.
Key Components of the Agreement:
The agreement with the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce authorizes an amount not to exceed $52,000 annually, at a billable rate of $50 per hour. The scope of work encompasses topics such as technical assistance, marketing and promotions, and event and meeting support. The full scope of work is detailed Attachment A, beginning on Page 10.
Overview of Services Provided by the Chamber Under Agreement:
In the first year of the agreement, $23,150 was expended for services performed. In the second year, only $4,150 has been expended to date for services rendered. Table 1 below summarizes the budget and amount expended for each year of the agreement.
Table 1
Year Budget (Not to Exceed) Amount Expended
Year 1 $52,000 $23,150
Year 2 $52,000 $4,150
During the first two years of the agreement, the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce provided the following services as outlined in their scope of work:
1. Technical Assistance
• Planned and hosted 10 technical assistance seminars/webinars and selected topics with the City that are pertinent to small businesses.
• Supported business programs and initiatives developed by the City such as Cupertino Business Outreach Program, SVEDA Broker Breakfast, Restaurant Week, Dine Out July Fourth, National Small Business Week, Small Business Saturday. • Participated in exercises related to business resiliency and continuity as part of the City’s Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) update.
• Assisted the City with outreach to businesses for stakeholder focus group meetings to gather feedback from the business community.
• Participated in Small Business Technology Platform (i.e. Cupertino Business Resource Hub) as a resource provider and conducted outreach to small businesses. • Coordinated four ribbon cutting events.
2. Marketing & Promotion
• Marketed and promoted 20 business-related City events held in Cupertino such as Women Business Luncheons, Technical Assistance Workshops, Ribbon Cuttings, Retail Theft Webinar, Restaurant Week, Dine Out July Fourth.
• Conducted outreach and education regarding prospective policy changes, and new city rules and regulations such as Cupertino Minimum Wage and Cupertino Tobacco Retailer Permit Ordinance.
3 • Designed and promoted over 15 marketing campaigns related to Technical Assistance Workshops, Women Business Luncheons, Shop Local.
• Supported Small Business Saturday activities such as National Small Business Week and Small Business Saturday promotional video.
• Produced 2 online publications to include information on the City, community, and businesses of Cupertino.
• Promoted, at the City’s request, community events, programs, services, and alerts such as State of the City, CREST Awards, City Commission vacancies relevant to the business community.
3. Events & Meetings
• Provided and promoted opportunities for City representatives to present and connect with businesses at Chamber meetings such as Legislative Action Committee. • Hosted 5 quarterly professional Women’s business luncheons to provide networking opportunities for women in business and hear from a speaker or special presenter. • Assisted city staff in scheduling and participating in 6 Cupertino Business Outreach Program meetings with Cupertino businesses such as Mirapath, KeyPoint Credit Union, Local Kitchens.
4. Other Provisions
• Provided Chamber membership to the City, including registration for two City staff as well as all Councilmembers at events hosted by the Chamber.
Council has requested to revisit the Chamber agreement scope and duties given the formation of the new Economic Development Committee that also supports economic development activities in the city.
Staff has also researched partnerships that the other cities in Santa Clara County currently have in place with their respective Chambers. Out of the 12 cities that staff researched, responses have been received from 11 cities. Of those, 9 reported having a partnership with their Chamber and 2 indicated that no partnership is currently in place. 3 reported partnering for visitor- related services. Details of this research are provided in Attachment C.
Possible Options and Next Steps
With the agreement ending on April 30, 2026, staff is seeking Council direction on the next steps regarding the agreement between the City of Cupertino and the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce. City’s economic development staff has discussed a future partnership structure with Chamber staff to confirm the level of service that the Chamber can deliver. The proposed service level and allocation are included as the staff recommended option below.
Specifically, the Council may choose to:
1. Authorize Agreement Extension with Revised Scope of Work (Recommended) 4 Adopt a staff recommended revised scope of work, Attachment D, updated to reflect current support levels, and revised compensation, Attachment F, and authorize the City Manager to execute the amended agreement.
2. Authorize Agreement to Expire without Extension
Direct City Manager to not extend the agreement for an additional one-year period, allowing the agreement to expire on April 30, 2026.
3. Authorize Agreement Extension with Existing Scope and Funding Direct City Manager to extend the agreement for an additional one-year period, maintaining the current scope of work and funding structure.
Staff will implement the City Council’s direction and take the necessary administrative actions to carry out such direction.
Sustainability Impact
No sustainability impact.
Fiscal Impact
1. Authorize Agreement Extension with Revised Scope of Work The recommended option would reduce the annual allocation from a not-to-exceed amount of $52,000 to a not-to-exceed amount of $5,000 from the Economic Development Division’s budget beginning in FY 2026-27, resulting in a saving and reduction of $47,800 in budget funding. The recommended option supports up to six (6) technical assistance workshops and up to four (4) women’s business luncheons, as well as monthly 30-minute coordination meetings between City and Chamber staff. This recommendation is based on the average hours required for Chamber staff to deliver past technical assistance workshops, which took around seven (7) hours, and women’s business luncheons, which took approximately nine (9) hours. Staff also included a contingency budget of $800 to cover unanticipated expenses related to technical assistance seminars/webinars and professional Women’s business luncheons.
2. Authorize Agreement to Expire without Extension
Allowing the agreement to expire on April 30, 2026, would permanently eliminate the annual allocation of $52,000 from the Economic Development Division’s budget beginning in FY 2026–27.
3. Authorize Agreement Extension with Existing Scope and Funding Continuing the existing agreement would maintain the $52,000 annual appropriation in the Economic Development Division’s budget for FY 2026–27.
City Work Program (CWP) Item/Description
None.
5 Council Goal
Quality of Life
California Environmental Quality Act
No California Environmental Quality Act impact.
_____________________________________
Prepared by: Daniel Degu, Economic Development Manager
Reviewed by: Kirsten Squarcia, Deputy City Manager
Floy Andrews, Interim City Attorney
Approved for Submission by: Tina Kapoor, City Manager
Attachments:
A – Cupertino Chamber of Commerce Fully Executed Agreement & Scope of Work B – Quarterly Reports April 2024 through December 2025
C – Chamber Relationships in Other Cities
D – Revised Scope of Work (redline)
E – Revised Scope of Work (clean)
F – Revised Compensation (redline)
G – Revised Compensation (clean)