City Council Agenda Report
September 16, 2025
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: Jesus M. Gomez, City Manager
BY: Levy Sun, Director of Communications and Public Affairs SUBJECT: AGREEMENT - CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS
Background:
As part of the ongoing challenges with the County, State, and community issues, the City opened a Request for Proposals (RFP) for crisis communications services via the PlanetBids portal on July 11, 2025. Questions were accepted through July 15, and staff responses were published publicly on July 21. Proposals were due on July 29.
The City received three qualified proposals. All three firms were invited to interviews on August 8, 2025, and evaluated based on the following criteria:
1.Understanding of the City’s communications environment and project requirements
2.Proposed scope of work and ability to meet urgent communications needs
3.Experience with municipal agencies and high-profile issues
4.Strength of proposed team and ability to work with Norwalk’s internal departments Evaluation scores:
Bidder Average Score
Communications LAB 93
The Merino Group 97
SAE Communications 93
After a competitive proposal review and interview process, the evaluation committee, composed of staff across multiple departments, selected The Merino Group as the preferred firm. TMG demonstrated the strongest readiness to support the City in both anticipated messaging efforts and unplanned, sensitive incidents.
City Council September 16, 2025
Crisis Communications Agreement Page No. 2
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As part of its commitment to transparent and responsive government, the City has partnered with The Merino Group (TMG) since 2020 to provide expert crisis communications support during high-impact events that affect residents and businesses. With the most recent agreement concluding on June 30, 2025, staff determined that the City’s evolving needs required an updated scope of services. One of the primary needs is the ability to activate surge capacity during the City’s off-hours—nights, weekends, and holidays—when in-house staffing is limited. Rather than amend the existing agreement again, the City issued a new RFP to evaluate the market, ensure competitive review, and align the scope with current operational realities. This updated scope allows for after-hours response while complementing the work of the City’s Communications Department, which manages daily outreach during regular business hours.
Key strengths include:
1.Proven municipal experience with other local government agencies
2.An established, effective working relationship with Norwalk staff
3.Deep familiarity with community priorities, public sentiment, and regional issues
4.A demonstrated ability to manage sensitive topics with clarity, cultural competence, and timeliness
While the City’s Communications Department leads daily messaging, outreach, and community engagement, high-stakes incidents require a different level of urgency, expertise, and coordination. The Merino Group’s role is to provide surge capacity and strategic response when internal resources must be supplemented, which ensures the City can communicate quickly and effectively without compromising operational continuity.
This partnership allows Norwalk to preserve its tradition of clear, consistent communication while adopting the capabilities of a modern, crisis-ready city.
Fiscal Impact:
The agreement with The Merino Group is in an amount not to exceed a monthly retainer of $3,000 with a maximum annual sum of $100,000 inclusive of the billable crisis communications activities.
Citizens Advised:
N/A
Strategic Plan 2023 Implementation:
The recommended action will further the City’s Strategic Plan Goal 1: Provide High Quality Customer Service to the Community.
City Council September 16, 2025
Crisis Communications Agreement Page No. 3
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Recommended Action:
Staff recommends City Council approve an agreement with The Merino Group for crisis communications services in an amount not to exceed $100,000 for the term of one year with the option to extend one year; and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement and any amendments provided there is funding in the budget and it is within the City Manager’s signing authority, on behalf of the City, in a form approved by the City Attorney.
Attachments:
The Merino Group Proposal