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City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Police
Meeting Date: March 16, 2026
Report #:2510-5320
TITLE
Adoption of a Resolution Making Necessary Findings and Approving a Lease-Purchase Agreement with Motorola Solutions, Inc for Multi-Band Portable and Mobile Radios and Accessories for all City Departments in an amount not to exceed $5,848,220 for a Term of 8.4 Years; CEQA Status – exempt under Regulation section 15601(b)(3).
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council adopt the attached Resolution Making Necessary Findings and Approving the City Manager or their designee to execute the Motorola Equipment Lease- Purchase Agreement to lease-purchase multi-band portable and mobile radios and accessories for city operations for a total amount not-to-exceed $5,848,220 for 100 months (8.4 years).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Palo Alto relies on fixed, mobile, and handheld radios to support day-to-day operations across all departments and to maintain interoperable communications on the Silicon Valley Regional Communications System (SVRCS). A system of nearly 600 radio units and supporting infrastructure across eight departments supports public safety and infrastructure operations. While the City’s current radio fleet remains operational, the mobile and handheld units are out of warranty and can no longer be repaired through an authorized service source, increasing the risk of service disruptions. This contract will replace the City’s fleet of mobile and handheld radios to restore maintainable, reliable communications. Replacement of fixed/console radios will be addressed in a future action and is not included in this contract.
BACKGROUND
The Silicon Valley Regional Interoperability Authority (SVRIA) serves the Santa Clara Operational Area, encompassing the County of Santa Clara, its 15 cities and towns, and all special districts.
In 2010, the Palo Alto City Council approved an agreement to establish SVRIA as a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) in partnership with other Santa Clara County jurisdictions. The goal was to enhance and coordinate regional public safety radio and data communications systems.
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In June 2015, the City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 1 to participate in a multi-year regional effort to fund and construct the Silicon Valley Regional Communications System (SVRCS) — a county-wide radio communications system under SVRIA governance. This new system would upgrade the City’s radio system from analog that doesn’t connect to other systems, to a digital network with interconnectivity to other agencies on the network.
System infrastructure — including radio sites and dispatch centers — is interconnected via SVRIA’s EComm digital microwave network, which provides secure, private connectivity between Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs/9-1-1 centers), key public safety facilities, and remote radio sites. EComm supports mission-critical voice and data communications for public safety and cooperating agencies. The City’s radios (fixed, mobile, and hand-held) connect to this network.
In February 2016, Council approved the initial purchase of multi-band portable radios and accessories from Motorola2, which have been officially approved for use on the SVRCS system.
ANALYSIS
Communications investments represent some of the most critical, substantial, and enduring capital expenditures made by public safety agencies. These procurement decisions demand comprehensive assessments to identify operational requirements, system components, and cost-effective features. Regardless of agency size or discipline — whether Law Enforcement, Fire Services, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Public Works/Utilities, or Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs)/Dispatch Centers — all agencies depend on communications systems that deliver essential operability, interoperability, and reliability with other responders. A system of nearly 600 radio units and supporting infrastructure across eight departments supports the City’s public safety and infrastructure operations.
Beyond basic functionality, these systems must also support security features and accessories tailored to each agency’s role and mission requirements. Infrastructure equipment, user devices, and deployment methods must be rugged and resilient, enabling prolonged performance in demanding environments. Systems must also ensure high levels of user familiarity, consistent availability, and easy accessibility to support rapid, coordinated response during critical incidents.
A one-time financial investment is not sufficient to effectively procure, operate, maintain, sustain, upgrade, and eventually replace public safety communications systems and equipment. 1 City Council, June 19, 2017; Agenda Item #7, SR#8157, https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=77720&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto 2 City Council, February 1, 2016; Agenda Item #6, SR#6306, https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=78496&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto 4 8
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Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems, in particular, require a substantial initial capital investment, followed by continuous funding to support upgrades, repairs, replacements, and day-to-day operations.
LMR systems consist of numerous interconnected components, each with its own expected service life. While some components may require minimal maintenance, others demand frequent servicing, reprogramming, or replacement to ensure continued communications functionality. Operating equipment beyond its intended warrantied lifespan can pose significant challenges — including dwindling availability of replacement parts, a shrinking pool of trained personnel, and the discontinuation of vendor technical support — all of which can jeopardize system reliability during critical incidents.
Based on staff’s experience with the vendor and their products, the lifespan of handheld and mobile radios is expected to be 10 years. Given the expected radio lifespan, and a 5-year standard warranty, the City can, at a later date, either purchase an extended warranty for the radios or assume some risk and repair the radios as needed at time and materials.
The below provides descriptions and the expected lifespan of common communications system components and equipment.
Components Examples Expected Lifespan
Infrastructure Towers, shelters, commercial and backup power equipment, antenna transmission lines and control
wiring, backhaul connection terminals (e.g., fiber,
microwave, wired)
20-25 years
Fixed Station
Equipment
Antennas, repeaters, towers on wheels, consoles,
mobile stations, servers, computers, physical and
electronic security elements (e.g., fencing, cameras,
monitors, environmental conditions)
3-15 years
Devices Handheld portable radios, cellular phones, satellite phones, mobile data devices
7-10 years
Accessories Holsters, chargers, speakers, lapel microphone extensions, Bluetooth, vehicle kits, air cards, intercoms 5-10 years
Features Encryption to protect against security risks,
ruggedization to ensure reliant services, Over-the-Air- Programming, automatic roaming
Included in
equipment
purchase
Portable and mobile radios provide the primary means of communication for public safety personnel and must be compatible with standards-based communications systems. These devices typically have an optimal service lifespan of seven to 10 years, depending on factors such as usage intensity, the need to transition to new technologies, system interoperability requirements, availability of replacement parts, and whether maintenance or upgrade costs exceed the cost of replacement.
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Currently, Police and Fire Motorola mobile (vehicle) radios have been in service since 2012. Fire portable (handheld) radios have also been in use since 2012, while Police (handheld) portable radios have been in use since 2018. The warranties for all existing portable and mobile radios have expired and are no longer supported by the manufacturers.
Radio accessories — such as batteries, lapel microphones, and holsters — support public safety personnel in maintaining reliable access to communications during operations. These accessories also have a typical lifespan of 5 to 10 years and require periodic replacement to ensure functionality and safety.
As part of the agreement among participating SVRCS entities, each municipality or agency is responsible for purchasing its own radios and dispatch consoles.
Procurement Process
The Silicon Valley Regional Interoperability Authority (SVRIA) operates under a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) framework that adopts the City of Cupertino’s ordinances as the controlling ordinances for purchasing and related functions. In June 2020, SVRIA reviewed the HGAC solicitation approach and formally found it consistent with the competitive bidding procedures permitted under the City of Cupertino purchasing ordinances. Based on this finding, SVRIA entered into a Communications Equipment and Services Agreement with Motorola.
The radio purchases made through the SVRIA agreement are exempt from the City’s competitive solicitation requirements under PAMC section 2.30.360(k).
Lease Purchase Agreement
The City will acquire Motorola radio equipment and related items identified in Schedule A through a municipal lease-purchase financing for approximately 8. years. The proposed financing is structured as an Equipment Lease-Purchase Agreement between the City of Palo Alto, CA (Lessee) and Motorola Solutions, Inc. (Lessor) for the lease-purchase of equipment, software, upgrades, extended warranties, and other support described in Schedule A.
Under the agreement, the lease term commences on April 1, 2026, and continues for 100 months unless earlier terminated in accordance with the agreement or purchased early pursuant to the purchase option provisions. Lease payments consist of $321,050 due May 15, 2026, followed by $614,130 due August 15, 2026, and annually thereafter through August 15, 2034. The payment schedule reflects grand total payments of $5,848,220, including an interest component of $322,105, based on a annual rate of 1.393%.
The agreement includes standard municipal lease protections, including a non-appropriation provision that permits the City to terminate the lease at the end of a fiscal period if funds are not appropriated or otherwise available, without penalty or expense (other than amounts already appropriated/available). In the event of non-appropriation termination, the City must 4 8
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discontinue use, remove/delete software that is part of the equipment, and surrender the equipment as specified; non-appropriation is expressly not an event of default.
The lease provides an early purchase option allowing the City, with 30 days’ prior written notice, to purchase the equipment on scheduled payment dates by paying the lease payment then due plus the applicable balance payment shown in Schedule B. The lease also allows a partial payment option if funded by a federal grant up to once per calendar year of $175,000.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The FY 2026 Adopted Capital Budget projected $2,710,000 for Capital Improvement Project (CIP) PD-25000 for five (5) years or approximately $542,000 each year. With this purchase order, the fund will require $2,777,750 over five years, or $321,050 for year one and $614,130 for years two through five to service this contract. The CIP has the funding for this fiscal year but the additional funding of $72,130 each year will be requested in the FY 2027 budget cycle.
Government Code section 5852.1 requires the following good faith estimates as provided by Motorola to be disclosed as part of this staff report:
True Interest Cost (rate necessary to discount amount payable on the principal and interest to date or purchase price): 4.497%
Financing Charge (costs of issuance and fees paid to third parties): $0 Amount of Proceeds Received (less finance charge and any reserves or capitalized interest paid/funded with the proceeds): $5,526,114.94
Total Payment Amount: $5,848,220.00
The departments will be charged for the radios allocated to them as per the lease-purchase agreement. Below is the breakdown of cost by department. In the preparation of this recommendation, all departments reviewed the necessity of these units to support operations.
Department Total Radio
Count
Total Cost
Development Center 2 $10,328
Fire 133 $1,718,027
Information Technology 4 $19,349
Office of Emergency Services 29 $324,097
Police 228 $2,500,949
Public Works 56 $293,240
Rangers 16 $185,638
Utilities 125 $796,592
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STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
This contract was reviewed and coordinated with internal departments including legal, procurement, and financial functions to ensure alignment with City policies and procedures.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
These services are exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act under CEQA regulation 15601(b)(3).
ATTACHMENT
Attachment A – Resolution Making Required Findings and Approving Motorola Lease Agreement (including the Lease Agreement itself)
APPROVED BY:
Andrew Binder, Police Chief