City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: City Clerk
Meeting Date: December 8, 2025
Report #:2509-5156
TITLE
Approval of General Services Contract Number C26195709 with Corodata Records Management, Inc in an Amount Not to Exceed $120,000 for Off-Site Records Storage and Management Services for a Period of Five Years, CEQA Status- Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the City Manager or designee to execute Contract No. C26195709 (Attachment A) with Corodata Records Management, Inc. to provide records management services for a term of five years and a total amount not-to-exceed $120,000.
BACKGROUND
The City Clerk’s Office manages a citywide records management contract that multiple departments use for records related services. Each department manages their own records and pays the associated costs for services. The City currently contracts with Corodata Records Management for services relating to records management, including:
Storage of physical records at a secure off-site location Digital inventory tracking system
Certified destruction of records
The City contracted with its previous vendor from 1999 – 2022. In 2022, the City Clerk’s Office opted to explore other options due to poor customer satisfaction and high costs. The Clerk’s office completed an informal solicitation process for a new vendor. The department contacted five firms and received five bids. Corodata was selected because it is more cost effective than other firms and located in closer proximity. The City entered into Contract No. S23186033 with Corodata for a term of three years and an amount not-to-exceed $85,000. Contract No.
S23186033 expires in December of 2025.
ANALYSIS
Staff is seeking a new contract with the same vendor. An exemption to competitive solicitation pursuant to Palo Alto Municipal Code section 2.30.360(b) was approved by the City Manager.
At this time, continued use of Corodata’s services will result in the greatest operational and economic efficiencies as the City would avoid a lengthy and expensive physical move of records.
The City has 4,171 boxes from 11 City departments stored off-site, which would take significant time to transport to a new vendor, during which time records would be inaccessible. The City would also have to pay costs associated with pulling and transporting records. It cost the City a total of $72,284 to close out and transition its accounts from the prior records management vendor to Corodata. The estimated cost of transitioning the City’s records out of Corodata is $37,589.
The City will require offsite record storage for at least the next five years. Certain records must be maintained in hard copy. While the City will continue working towards digitizing other records in a centralized records repository, it is not feasible to digitize the entirety of the City’s records stored off-site at this time. It would take hundreds of hours for City staff to digitize in-house and City staff do not have the capacity or equipment to complete high-volume scanning. Staff previously contacted a professional scanning service, which provided an estimate of $1,088,422 to scan the City’s 4,171 boxes. With the current annual price of approximately $24,000, it would take 45 years for the physical records storage cost to equal the scanning cost.
After the new 5-year contract term, the Clerk’s Office will reassess and compare prices to evaluate if it’s in the City’s best interest to remain with Corodata or transition to a new vendor.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funds for records management are included in departments’ Fiscal Year 2026 budgets.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council action on this item is not a project as defined by CEQA because approval of this contract is a continuing administrative or maintenance activity. CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(2).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Corodata Records Management, Contract C26195709 APPROVED BY:
Mahealani Ah Yun, City Clerk