AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO
AGREEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
This Amendment No. 1 ("Amendment"), is entered into as of September 5, 2026, and is to that certain Agreement for Professional Services between the City of Norwalk, a California municipal corporation ("City") and The Merino Group, a California corporation ("Consultant"), dated September 5, 2025 ("Agreement").
RECITALS
A. On September 5, 2025, the City and Consultant entered into the Agreement to utilize the services of Consultant as an independent contractor to provide professional crisis communications services, for an initial term of one year with an option for City to e xtend the Term for one additional year, at a monthly retainer of Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00) and a maximum annual sum not -to-exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), inclusive of billable crisis communications activities, as set forth in Section
3.1 of the Agreement.
B. City and Consultant desire to exercise the option to extend the Term of the Agreement provided in Section 2 of the Agreement, and to reduce the compensation payable to Consultant during the extended term as set forth below, while the scope of Services described in Exhibit A to the Agreement remains unchanged.
Now, therefore, the parties agree as follows:
Section 1. Term. Pursuant to Section 2 of the Agreement, City and Consultant hereby exercise the option to extend the Term of the Agreement for one additional year, from September 5, 2026 through September 4, 2027 (the "Extended Term").
Section 2. Compensation. Section 3.1 of the Agreement is hereby supplemented to include the following language at the end of Section 3.1:
"Notwithstanding the foregoing, during the Extended Term, City shall not pay Consultant a monthly retainer. All Services performed by Consultant during the Extended Term, including those services identified in Exhibit A as covered by the monthly retainer, shall be billed at the hourly rates set forth in the fee schedule attached as Exhibit B, which hourly rates remain unchanged and continue to apply during the Extended Term. In no event shall City pay Consultant more than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) in the aggregate for Services rendered during the Extended Term, which amount includes all expenses and additional services, if any."
Section 3. Scope of Services. The scope of Services described in Exhibit A to the Agreement is unchanged and remains in full force and effect during the Extended Term.
Section 4. Except as amended by this Amendment, all other provisions of the Agreement shall remain unaltered and in full force and effect. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Amendment and the provisions of the Agreement, the provisions of this Amendment shall control.
[SIGNATURES ON FOLLOWING PAGE]
The parties are executing this Amendment on the date stated in the introductory clause.
CITY OF NORWALK
a California municipal corporation
By: _________________________________
Jesus M. Gomez
City Manager
Date: _______________________________
ATTEST:
By: _________________________________
Theresa Devoy, CMC
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
By: _________________________________
Arnold M. Alvarez-Glasman
City Attorney
THE MERINO GROUP
a California corporation
By: _________________________________
Name: Moises Merino
Title: President/CEO
Date: _______________________________
By: _________________________________
Name: _______________________________
Title: _______________________________
(Please note: Two signatures required for corporations
pursuant to California Corporations Code Section 313,
unless corporate documents authorize only one person to sign this Agreement on behalf of the corporation.)