City of San Bernardino
EXEMPT PURCHASE JUSTIFICATION FORM
Finance Department
Purchasing Division
Updated June 2025 Page 1 of 2
SECTION 1: GENERAL INFORMATION
VENDOR NAME: ITEM DESCRIPTION:
SECTION 2: FORMS OF EXEMPT PURCHASES
This form documents purchases exempt from competitive bidding under San Bernardino Municipal Code Section 3.04. All exemptions require written justification, appropriate documentation, and approval at the designated authorization level. A current quote showing scope, pricing, and duration must be attached. Select the applicable exemption type below.
SOLE/SINGLE SOURCE: Only one supplier can reasonably meet the department’s needs due to proprietary technology, required compatibility with existing systems, standardization, or a demonstrated track record of successful performance. Written justification and market research are required. ▪ Must demonstrate proprietary technology, exclusive licensing, or specialized performance requirements. ▪ Price cannot be the sole factor in determining sole source status. ▪ Requires market research documentation to substantiate the claim. ➢ Complete all of Section 3 (Questions 3.1–3.4).
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT/PIGGYBACK: Procurement is being made under a cooperative purchasing agreement, leveraging an existing government contract to secure competitive pricing.
CONTRACT SOURCE: _____________________________ CONTRACT NUMBER: ______________________ ▪ Requires verification from the Purchasing Division before use. ➢ Complete Questions 3.1 and 3.3, if applicable.
EMERGENCY PURCHASE (Defined under San Bernardino Municipal Code 3.04.070): An urgent, unforeseen situation requiring immediate action to prevent or mitigate threats to life, health, property, or essential public services.
▪ Approval Required: Must be reported to the City Manager and City Council. ▪ Justification must include specific details on the emergency and why competition was not feasible. ➢ Complete Questions 3.1 and 3.3, if applicable.
➢ Provide the emergency details in Section 5: Additional Comments.
GRANT-DIRECTED: A procurement mandated by the terms of a grant agreement, such as a required vendor, specific product, or purchasing method identified in the grant award or funding conditions. Requires review by Grants Management and/or Legal.
▪ Must cite specific grant language supporting the exemption. ➢ Attach a copy of the grant agreement or relevant excerpt. ➢ Complete Questions 3.1 and 3.3, if applicable.
CONFIDENTIAL PROCUREMENT (Limited to City Attorney & Human Resources): The procurement involves sensitive or legally protected information that cannot be publicly disclosed. ▪ Must be reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office for legal compliance. ➢ Attach a memo or other supporting documentation as applicable.
SECTION 3: JUSTIFICATION FOR EXEMPT PROCUREMENT
3.1 Why is the acquisition restricted to this good/service/supplier? Axon Enterprise
Contract Bundle
Axon has provided the Department with Body-Worn Cameras (BWC) and its proprietary data storage system, Evidence.com for almost a decade. These systems have been interfaced with City wide software, New World, connected them to the Department's Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Law Enforcement Records Management System (LERMS). Recently the City entered into an agreement with Axon for their Fusus line, providing a Real-Time Intelligence Ecosystem, which is also proprietary and has been interfaced with legacy systems. This agreement will bundle our existing BWC contract with Axon's Drone First Responder (DRF) system and ALPR cameras. Each of these additional services need to directly interface with both legacy systems as well as Axon proprietary systems.
Axon is the sole authorized distributor for these products. ✔
City of San Bernardino
EXEMPT PURCHASE JUSTIFICATION FORM
Finance Department
Purchasing Division
Updated June 2025 Page 2 of 2
3.2 Describe the uniqueness of the purchase (why was the good/service/supplier chosen?)
3.3 What are the consequences of not purchasing the good/service or contracting with the proposed supplier?
3.4 Summarize the market research conducted, including efforts to identify alternatives and determine price reasonableness.
Include supplier contacts, past purchase comparisons, or explain if no search was carried out.
SECTION 4: AUTHORIZING SIGNATURES
By signing below, I certify that I am authorized to submit this request, that it complies with the City’s procurement policies and MC §3.04, and that the selected vendor meets all qualification, pricing, and regulatory requirements. I understand that purchases over $100,000 require City Council approval, regardless of exemption. _________________________________ _______________
Department Head Date
Approved
_______________ _________________________________
Purchasing Manager (Up to $50,000) Date
Not Approved
Approved
_________________________________ _______________
City Manager (Up to $100,000) Date
Not Approved
SECTION 5: ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Axon is the only vendor who can provide seamless integration with both proprietary and legacy systems. This is crucial as each of these products work synergisticly to provide the Department with data and evidence collection/storage for the Department's Real Time Information Center(RTIC). This will provide staff working in the RTIC to access data and evidence collected throughout the Department and community in one place, Evidence.com. Further, integration with legacy systems allows for data, oversight and statistical analysis is all Departmental data and evidence. This enables RTIC staff to be a force multiplier for investigating and preventing crime.
Failing to bundle existing contracts with the enhanced capabilities offered by Axon will prevent the department from obtaining those capabilities. There is no other vendor who has the capability or capacity to fully integrate with both legacy systems and Axon proprietary systems already in use. Axon provides unlimited storage of data ingested directly via other Axon services specifically for this type of deployment - minimizing the need to utilize third-party storage solutions.
The Department conducted an extensive national market search for BWC, DFR, and ALPR. Though there are additional vendors who provide some of these services, none of them have the capabilities to fully integrate with legacy systems and the Axon ecosystem the Department already uses. Vendors like Aurodome, Flock Safety, Flying Lyon, Motorola, Genetec and Paladin were contacted. Many of which provided demonstrations and other agency customer contacts. None of these vendors had the capabilities of Axon nor the ability to integrate with legacy systems. The closest solution required staff to physically remove hardware and upload recordings into Evidence.com. This is not only inefficient, but dramatically increases the chance of user error.