City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: IT Department
Meeting Date: June 1, 2026
Report #:2511-5458
TITLE
Approval of Amendment No. 1 to 14 Professional Services Contracts for GIS On-Call Services:
C26193271A with Lynx Technologies Inc, C26193271B with Seven Tablets Inc, C26193271C with iSpatial Techno Solutions Inc, C26193271D with Geodesy, C26193271E with UDC, C26193271F with NV5 Geospatial Inc, C26193271G with SSP Innovations, C26193271H with Timmons Group, C26193271I with Infojini Inc, C26193271J with Sybyte Technologies Inc, C26193271K with 360S2G, C26193271L with Enterprise Maps, C26193271M with Farallon Geographics, C26193271N with Arini Geographics, to increase the Not-to-Exceed Compensation by $2,000,000 and Extend the Term for One Year; CEQA Status – Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Amendment No. 1 to 14 GIS on-call professional services contracts with each of the vendors listed above, to increase the not-to-exceed compensation by $2,000,000 annually and extend the term for one year. This amendment results in a revised total contract Not-to-Exceed amount of $4,000,000.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager or their designee to approve Year 2 for 14 existing on-call professional services contracts for GIS support, supplemental staffing, and programming services. The total spending across all 14 contracts combined will not exceed $2,000,000 per year. No vendor is guaranteed work; services will be used only as needed and issued through task orders with defined scope, schedule, and price.
These on-call contracts provide specialized GIS expertise to support the City’s ongoing transition to an enterprise ArcGIS platform and several multi-year initiatives, including utility network migrations (electric, water, gas, wastewater), electric grid modernization, public works asset management, and key integrations with systems such as SAP, Accela, Laserfiche, and outage management tools. This work enables more reliable operations, better data for
decision-making, and improved public-facing and internal applications without adding permanent staff.
BACKGROUND
On June 17, 2025, the City Council approved 14 on-call GIS professional services contracts for a one-year term from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, in a total amount not-to-exceed $2,000,000, with four optional one-year extensions1. Year 1 is nearing completion, and the City continues to require GIS on-call support. Staff is now requesting approval for Year 2, from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, and an additional $2,000,000 for a new not-to-exceed amount of $4,000,000.
In total, $1.5 million has been authorized via task orders in year 1; the table below represents some of the major accomplishments from FY26 utilizing these on-call contracts.
Table 1. FY26 GIS On-Call Projects by Funding Source (see further details below table) Funding Source /
Department Amount Task Orders
Utilities
Department
$253,000 Electric Service Order System
Electric Utility – Utility Network Model (UNM)
Migration & Integration
Modernizing Legacy Utility Applications
Electric Grid Modernization Support
New Utility GIS Tools in Development
Information
Technology
Department (ITD)
$957,500 Citywide IT operations and technology improvements Upgrades and maintenance of City’s GIS platform
Automation of routine GIS workflows across
Utilities, Planning, Public Works, and other City
departments to improve efficiency and reduce
errors
Integration of GIS with enterprise systems such as
ERP, Permitting System, customer service, utility
management, and permitting tools
Planning $85,000 Replacement of a cloud-based civic technology platform
Public Works $180,00 ArcGIS Integrations
1 June 17, 2025 City Council Staff Report:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=17567 Table 1. FY26 GIS On-Call Projects by Funding Source (see further details below table) Funding Source /
Department Amount Task Orders
Transition to an in-house ArcGIS-based tree
maintenance system
To support the City’s transition to a modern, enterprise-level GIS architecture centered on ArcGIS Enterprise, the Information Technology Department (ITD) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in early 20253. The intent was to establish a pool of qualified vendors capable of providing GIS on-call services from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2030. Each on-call contract is based on hourly rates that vary by role and expertise, reflecting vendor specialization across the scope of work. The on-call structure allows departments to access GIS expertise as needed, without adding full-time staff positions, while maintaining flexibility as project priorities evolve.
ANALYSIS
These on-call contracts are recommended to continue in Year 2 because multiple complex, multi-year GIS initiatives are already underway or scheduled to begin in FY27. The contracts provide the staffing flexibility and specialized expertise needed to keep these projects on schedule and support technology and utility modernization goals.
Major GIS initiatives expected to be supported by these on-call contracts in FY 2027:
1. Electric Service Order System (ESOS – New Project)
oReplace manual workflows and multiple SharePoint sites with a centralized, GIS- integrated portal to manage electric service orders from planning through construction.
oESOS is expected to reduce delays, improve coordination, and automate currently fragmented processes.
2. Electric Utility – Utility Network Model (UNM) Migration & Integration oMigration from legacy CAD-based mapping to Esri’s Utility Network Model has begun.
oRemaining work includes multi-year integrations with ERP, Permitting System, the Outage Management System (OMS), and Automated Utility Design (AUD).
3.Future UNM Migrations – Water, Gas, and Wastewater: Similar migrations and integrations are planned for water, gas, and wastewater utilities, mirroring the electric utility roadmap.
4.Modernizing Legacy Utility Applications: Replace outdated, custom tools with modern ArcGIS-based systems across utilities to improve maintainability, integration, and functionality.
3 2025 RFP: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/palo-alto-ca/projects/140924
5.Electric Grid Modernization Support: Provide GIS support for smart grid initiatives such as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Distribution Management System (DMS), FLISR (Fault Location, Isolation, and Service Restoration), EV load forecasting, and related analytics.
6.New Utility GIS Tools in Development: Continue development of tools for water sampling, hydrant maintenance, backflow prevention, and main replacement tracking.
7.ArcGIS Integrations: Documentation Management System: Department-specific integrations began in FY 2026. Replacement of a cloud-based civic technology platform that manages zoning, construction and planning information, projected to save approximately $60,000 per year in license costs.
8.Public Works Asset Management: Transition from a commercial tree maintenance system to an in-house ArcGIS-based system, improving integration with SAP and Accela and reducing external licensing costs.
9.Rapid GIS Infrastructure Growth: The City’s ArcGIS platform has quadrupled in size in two years due to increased demand for internal and public-facing applications, requiring scalable support, performance tuning, and ongoing maintenance.
Under these on-call contracts, consultants may provide:
Upgrades and maintenance of the City’s GIS platform, data migration from legacy systems to modern GIS platforms
Development and enhancement of web maps, dashboards, and mobile apps for staff and public use
Support for asset and infrastructure management (e.g., electric lines, water pipes, street trees)
Automation of routine GIS workflows to improve efficiency and reduce errors Integration of GIS with enterprise systems such as ERP, Permitting System, customer service, utility management, and permitting tools
Maintenance of foundational spatial datasets (e.g., parcels, utilities, maintenance records)
Technical support to ensure systems are secure, highly available, and high-performing Real-time mapping and data solutions for operations such as outage tracking and field inspections
Utility GIS consultants to support Water, Gas, and Wastewater UNM migrations and system integration experts to connect UNM with SAP, Accela, OMS, AUD, and other systems
Electric utility consultants with smart grid and GIS alignment expertise GIS integration specialists for AMI, DMS, OMS, and FLISR Data scientists and machine learning engineers to develop forecasting and optimization tools (e.g., load prediction, EV planning)
Specialists to integrate CAD drawings into GIS for utilities and public works projects Services under these on-call contracts will be assigned via task orders. Before issuing a task order, staff will assess whether work can be performed internally or requires specialized consultant support. Task orders will include documentation and knowledge transfer requirements to ensure the City retains institutional knowledge.
Contractors will be selected based on availability, relevant expertise, and alignment with project requirements. Staff will evaluate each task order’s scope, contractor qualifications, and billing rates to ensure appropriateness and cost-effectiveness. Department directors or their designees will approve all task orders, including contractor selection and budget adherence.
City Manager or designee will approve any task order over $100,000. Project managers will oversee deliverables and budgets and will approve invoices only after confirming that billed hours match work performed and that deliverables meet City standards.
These on-call contracts use the City’s standard professional services template, which allows the City to: Terminate for convenience with written notice, terminate due to non-appropriation of funds, temporarily suspend work by written notice, and elect not to issue additional task orders.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for these on-call contracts in FY 2027 ($450,000) is within proposed budgeted levels within the Information Technology Fund. The Not-to-exceed amount is higher than the budgeted amount to allow for other departments to be able to utilize these on-call contracts with their contract services or capital budgets.
Funding for subsequent years of the contract will be subject to approval through the annual budget development process. ITD is funded by an internal service fund. Approximately 49% of the department is General Fund funded with the remaining 51% funded by enterprise and special revenue funds.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
ITD collaborated with other departments to identify GIS needs, prioritize projects, and confirm that the proposed on-call contracts and Year 2 extension will support key operational, regulatory, and modernization objectives.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The approval of this contract is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines section 15061(c)(3) because it can be seen that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Amendment No. 1 to 14 GIS On-Call Project Support Services Contracts:
Lynx Technologies Inc, Contact Number C26193271A5
Seven Tablets Inc, Contract Number C26193271B6
iSpatial Techno Solutions Inc, Contract Number C26193271C7 Geodesy, Contract Number C26193271D8
Utility Data Contractors, LLC, Contract Number C26193271E9 NV5 Geospatial Inc, Contract Number C26193271F10
SSP Innovations, Contract Number C2619327G11
Timmons Group, Contract Number C26193271H12
Infojini Inc, Contract Number C26193271I13
Sybyte Technologies Inc, Contract Number C26193271J14 360S2G, Contract Number C26193271K
Enterprise Maps, Contract Number C26193271L
Farallon Geographics Contract Number C26193271M
Arini Geographics, Contract Number C26193271N
APPROVED BY:
Darren Numoto, Chief Information Officer; Lisa Bolger, Assistant Director Information Technology/CTO
5 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/it-department/cmr-attachments/gis-on- call/2026/c26193271a.pdf
6 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/it-department/cmr-attachments/gis-on- call/2026/c26193271b.pdf
7 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/it-department/cmr-attachments/gis-on- call/2026/c26193271c.pdf
8 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/it-department/cmr-attachments/gis-on- call/2026/c26193271d.pdf
9 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/it-department/cmr-attachments/gis-on- call/2026/c26193271e.pdf
10 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/it-department/cmr-attachments/gis-on- call/2026/c26193271f.pdf
11 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/it-department/cmr-attachments/gis-on- call/2026/c26193271g.pdf
12 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/it-department/cmr-attachments/gis-on- call/2026/c26193271h.pdf
13 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/it-department/cmr-attachments/gis-on- call/2026/c26193271i.pdf
14 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/it-department/cmr-attachments/gis-on- call/2026/c26193271j.pdf