Cost Increase and Contract Continuity Justification
Mobile Forensic Collection and Examination Services for the Oakland Police Department Prepared by Bay Area PL Services
Prepared for Oakland Police Department
Date September 21, 2026
Purpose Support for updated pricing and continued contract authorization Purpose and Requested Action
Bay Area PL Services requests approval of an updated fee schedule, averaging approximately 8 percent above current rates, together with sufficient contract authority to maintain uninterrupted services. The detailed fee schedule is provided below. This adjustment is intended to support continued service availability, qualified staffing, and operational readiness as OPD utilization and service-delivery costs have increased.
Effective Rates - 8/1/2026-7/31/2027
Service Item Rate Measure
Blood Draw Request $290 each
SART/SAFE Request $995 each
Standby Rate $17,496 Monthly
Documented Operational Need
OPD's use of BayPLS services has increased materially since 2022. Average monthly call requests grew from approximately 8 in 2022 to 31 in 2026 year to date. This represents nearly four times the average monthly volume at the beginning of the relationship and a 29 percent increase from the 2025 monthly average.
Calendar year Average Blood Draw requests per month Average SART/SAFE requests per month
2022 8 0.86
2023 18 0.83
2024 18 1.42
2025 24 1.17
2026 YTD 31 2.5
This growth requires BayPLS to sustain sufficient qualified personnel, after-hours availability, mobile-response capacity, supervisory oversight, and quality controls. The requested adjustment supports this infrastructure and reduces the risk of service interruption as demand continues.
Cost and Regulatory Basis for the Adjustment
The proposed adjustment reflects cumulative increases in the cost of maintaining a specialized, on-demand service.
The following operational and external factors support the request:
● Qualified personnel and coverage: Recruitment, retention, training, paid leave, and compensation necessary to maintain reliable availability, including nights, weekends, and holidays.
Bay Area PL Services | Oakland Police Department Contract Support Attachment A
● Mobile operations: Vehicle, fuel, mileage, dispatch, and maintenance expenses associated with responding at locations and times designated by OPD.
● Supplies and quality requirements: Collection materials, personal protective equipment, evidence-handling supplies, documentation, competency assessment, and quality oversight. ● Insurance and general operating costs: Required professional, general liability, and vehicle coverage, along with other expenses necessary to sustain compliant operations.
Published government indicators further document the cost environment:
● State wage floor: California's statewide minimum wage increased from $15.50 per hour in 2023 to $16.90 in 2026, an increase of approximately 9 percent.[1] This is a labor-market benchmark; BayPLS must generally pay above the statutory floor to recruit and retain qualified personnel. ● Paid sick leave: California law, as amended by Senate Bill 616, generally increased minimum paid sick leave from three days or 24 hours to five days or 40 hours beginning January 1, 2024.[2] For continuous-coverage operations, paid absences can create both leave expense and replacement-coverage expense. ● Regional inflation: For the 12 months ending August 2026, the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CPI-U increased
3.4 percent. The services index increased 3.8 percent, energy increased 12.3 percent, and gasoline increased
22.2 percent.[3] These measures affect a labor-intensive mobile-response operation. ● Healthcare labor competition: Senate Bill 525 established higher minimum-wage schedules for workers at covered healthcare facilities, with July 2026 rates ranging by facility category.[4] Coverage of BayPLS personnel depends on the statutory facts; the law is cited here as evidence of regional wage competition for clinical personnel, not as a conclusion that every BayPLS position is covered.
These indicators support the reasonableness of a measured adjustment but do not, by themselves, determine the contract rate. The adjustment remains limited to the amount in the updated quotation and does not change the scope or performance requirements established by the City.
Public Agency Rate Context
The proposed pricing is consistent with rates included in BayPLS's executed agreement with the County of Alameda for comparable services. That agreement provides a relevant public-agency reference point for procurement review.
The City may evaluate that agreement together with its own market analysis, operational requirements, and contracting procedures when determining whether the proposed pricing is reasonable.
Conclusion
BayPLS has continued providing services while OPD demand and the cost of maintaining qualified, responsive coverage have increased. Approval of the updated pricing and adequate contract authority will support continuity of service under the City's required standards. BayPLS will provide invoices, historical utilization summaries, executed public-agency agreements, or other supporting records requested by OPD, Procurement, or the Office of the City Attorney during review.
Data note: 2026 figures are year-to-date averages based on BayPLS service records. Detailed service-level pricing and supporting records are provided separately and remain subject to City review and final contract terms.
Authorities and Data Sources
[1] California Department of Industrial Relations, Minimum Wage Order MW-2026. Official source [2] California Labor Commissioner's Office, California Paid Sick Leave Frequently Asked Questions. Official source [3] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, San Francisco Area, August 2026. Official source [4] California Labor Commissioner's Office, Health Care Worker Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions. Official source Bay Area PL Services | Oakland Police Department Contract Support