Report Prepared by: Cosmo Orduñez, Public Works Manager - Internal Services
Title
SUBJECT: Approval of an Amendment to the Existing Software License Agreement with Samsara through Carahsoft to Expand Fleet and Equipment Telematics Coverage from 116 to 469 City Fleet and Equipment
REPORT IN BRIEF
Consider amending the existing five-year Samsara software license agreement - originally approved by City Council on July 21, 2025, at a total value of $112,578 for 116 fleet assets - to expand GPS and telematic coverage from 116 units to 469 units (an addition of 353 vehicles and assets), waiving the competitive bidding requirements pursuant to Merced Municipal Code Section 3.04.210 for a cooperative purchase through Sourcewell, approving a new annual licensing cost of $75,824.12 beginning in FY26/27 (increasing from the current $22,258.08) with subsequent annual costs of $74,366.89 through FY2029/30 for a total contract-life investment of $298,925.79, and authorizing the City Manager to execute all necessary documents including future change orders not to exceed ten percent of the total purchase price, based on a one-year performance review demonstrating 67,258 hours of unproductive fleet idling consuming 48,861 gallons of fuel at a cost of $249,924 annually and a documented savings opportunity of $62,481 to $99,970 per year through platform-enabled idle-reduction policies. The amendment also incorporates permitting future hardware coverage, subject to the same cooperative purchasing authority and change order limits established by this amendment. Additionally, the Samsara platform’s automated reporting capabilities are currently generating approximately $24,000 annually in labor savings through automated California Air Resources Board (CARB) Clean Truck Check emission compliance reporting for heavy equipment, with further savings anticipated as reporting frequency increases from bi-annually to quarterly in 2027 and as fleet-wide expansion enables automated smog reporting for the majority of the City fleet currently completed manually.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council - Adopt a motion:
A. Waiving the City’s competitive bidding requirement as permitted by Merced Municipal Code section 3.04.210 and authorizing the purchase to be made with a cooperative purchase agreement through Carahsoft via Sourcewell National Cooperative Purchasing Pricing; and,
B. Approving an amendment to the City’s existing 5-year Software License Agreement with Samsara via Carahsoft through Sourcewell National Cooperative Purchasing contract #102924-SAM to expand the fleet coverage from 116 units to 469 units, with a new annual licensing cost of $75,824.12 beginning FY 2026/27 and $74,366.89 per year for FY 2027/28 through FY2029/30, for a total investment over the contract life not to exceed $298,925.79; and,
C. Approving future amendments to adjust the number of vehicles and assets with licensed software based on addition and removal of vehicles and equipment in the City’s fleet - including additions resulting from new equipment purchases that exceed the hardware supplied under the current expansion - with change orders not to exceed 10% of the total purchase price; and,
D. Authorizing the City Manager to execute the necessary documents, including any future amendments required to add telematics coverage for newly acquired City fleet vehicles or equipment not covered under the current expansion quote.
Body
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve the amendment to the existing software license agreement with Samsara through Carahsoft via Sourcewell, waiving the competitive bidding requirement pursuant to Merced Municipal Code Section 3.04.210, and authorize the City Manager to execute the necessary documents, as recommended by staff; or,
2. Approve the amendment to the existing software license agreement with Samsara through Carahsoft with modifications as directed by City Council; or,
3. Deny the amendment to the existing software license agreement with Samsara through Carahsoft and direct staff to pursue alternative fleet telematics solutions; or
4. Continue this item to a future City Council meeting for additional information or analysis.
AUTHORITY
Municipal Code Section 3.04.210 - Exemptions from competitive bidding.
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
As provided for in the FY 2026/27 Adopted Budget.
DISCUSSION
Background
On July 21, 2025, the City Council approved a five-year Software License Agreement with Samsara via Carahsoft for GPS and telematics hardware and software serving City fleet vehicles, at a total amount of $112,578. The agreement was procured through Sourcewell National Cooperative Purchasing contract #020221-SAM (now 102924-SAM), and the City’s competitive bidding requirements were waived using Merced Municipal Code Section 3.04.210, which authorizes cooperative purchasing in conjunction with other governmental entities. The Council’s approval included a provision permitting future amendments to adjust the number of vehicles with licensed software based on additions and removals within the City’s fleet. That action was approved unanimously on the Consent Calendar by a vote of 7-0.
Since the initial deployment in late 2025, the Samsara platform has been operational on 116 total assets spanning five (5) City divisions: Police, Refuse, Water, Sewer, and Park/Tree. The current annual licensing cost for these 116 units is $22,258.08.
Staff Analysis
Staff completed a year-to-date performance review of the Samsara telematics platform covering October 2025 through August 2026. The results of the review demonstrate both the operational value of the existing deployment and the basis for the proposed expansion.
During the review period, the system maintained a perfect Hours-of-Service (HOS) compliance record, with zero violations. In the most recent thirty-day measurement period, the platform automatically logged 50,262 miles and 4,724 driving hours, eliminating the need for manual recordkeeping for those activities.
The performance data also shows a significant fleet efficiency opportunity. During the review period, 10 months, the monitored fleet accumulated 67,258 hours of unproductive idling, consuming 48,861 gallons of fuel at a cost of $249,924, based on a measured blend fuel rate of $5.115 per gallon. Monthly idle hours ranged from a low of 5,310 hours in February 2026 to a high of 6,733 hours in January 2026. Samsara allowed staff to identify the top fifteen idling vehicles
Based on industry-standard idle-reduction benchmarks of 25 to 40 percent, the Samsara platform’s alerting and monitoring capabilities present a documented annual fuel savings opportunity ranging from $62,481 at the low end (25% reduction) to $99,970 at the high end (40% reduction). A recommended idle shutdown policy trigger of ten minutes stationary would serve as the enforcement mechanism for achieving these reductions.
Automated Compliance Reporting Savings
The Samsara platform is currently generating measurable labor savings through its automated compliance reporting capabilities. The City’s heavy equipment fleet is subject to CARB Clean Truck Check emission reporting requirements, currently mandated on a bi-annual basis. Samsara’s automated reporting feature has replaced a manual process, producing approximately $24,000 annually in labor cost savings. This figure does not include the additional cost associated with reduced vehicle downtime and loss of service while equipment is taken out of service to manually complete the reporting process.
Beginning in 2027, CARB Clean Truck Check reporting is scheduled to increase from bi-annual to quarterly. The Samsara platform’s automated reporting capability allows the City to absorb this increased reporting requirement without an increase in staff labor or affecting service requirements to the public.
Expanding the Samsara platform to the full City fleet will also enable automated smog compliance reporting for the majority of vehicles currently processed manually. Staff estimates that automated smog reporting for the expanded fleet could generate labor savings of approximately $21,200 annually - comparable to the savings realized through automated CARB Clean Truck Check reporting on heavy equipment. Together with the combined labor savings from automated CARB Clean Truck Check and smog reporting, staff estimates approximately $45,200 in savings annually once full-fleet expansion is complete, exclusive of downtime and loss-of-service costs.
Future Equipment Expansion
The proposed amendment includes language expressly authorizing future expansion of telematics coverage beyond the 469 units covered under the current Carahsoft quote (Quote No. 62403784). As the City acquires new fleet vehicles or equipment through future capital purchases, those assets may be added to the Samsara platform under the same Sourcewell cooperative purchasing contract and vendor relationship without requiring a separate competitive bidding process, provided that any additions are processed as change orders not to exceed 10 percent of the total purchase price or are otherwise brought back to City Council for approval as required by the Merced Municipal Code Section 3.04.210. This provision ensures that the City’s telematics infrastructure can scale continuously with fleet growth and that no newly acquired assets operate outside the framework established by the platform.
Proposed Expansion Scope
The proposed expansion would increase the City’s Samsara-monitored fleet from 116 units to 469 units, adding 353 additional assets. The expansion is structured under a quote from Carahsoft (Quote No. 62403784). All hardware - including 179 Vehicle IoT Gateways (model VG55), 95 unpowered asset trackers (model AG51), 69 powered asset gateways (model AG53), 10 smaller asset trackers (model AT11), and associated cables, mounting brackets, and CARB Executive Order stickers - is provided at no charge.
The annual licensing cost following the expansion will be $75,824.12 in FY 2026/27, decreasing to $74,366.89 per year for FY 2027/28 through FY 2029/30. The total investment over the life of the contract is $298,925.79. The Year 1 license subtotal reflected in the Carahsoct quote is $52,108.81, with identical amounts in Years 2 and 3, and a pro-rated nine-month term of $39,081.71 for the final period.
Procurement Authority
The proposed expansion continues to rely on the cooperative purchasing exemption established in the Merced Municipal Code Section 3.04.210, which permits the City Council to waive competitive bidding requirements for purchases exceeding the $39,000 bidding threshold when made in conjunction with other governmental entities through cooperative purchase programs. The Sourcewell cooperative purchasing contract serves as the procurement vehicle, consistent with the approach used for the original 2025 agreement and other prior City fleet and technology purchases.
Fiscal Considerations
Year 1 costs for the expansion are funded within the FY 2026/27 Adopted Budget under the Public Works Fleet Division. Licensing costs for FY 2027/28 through FY 2029/30 will need to be budgeted in the respective fiscal years. Staff recommends that the City Council authorize change orders not to exceed 10 percent of the total purchase price to accommodate fleet adjustments - including additions from future equipment purchases - over the contract term.
Rationale for Recommendation
The data from the review period provides a compelling operational and financial case for expanding the Samsara platform across the full City fleet. The $249,924 in idle fuel cost during this period represents a substantial and measurable inefficiency. Even at the conservative 25 percent idle-reduction scenario, projected annual fuel savings of $62,481 would approach the annual licensing cost of the expanded system ($75,824.12 in Year 1), suggesting that the expansion could approach cost-neutrality through fuel savings alone. At the higher 40 percent reduction scenario, projected savings of $99,970 per year would exceed annual licensing costs.
When automated compliance reporting savings are added to the fuel savings analysis, the financial case strengthens further. The approximately $24,000 in annual savings currently realized through automated CARB Clean Truck Check reporting, combined with the estimated $21,200 in additional annual labor savings from automated smog reporting enabled by full-fleet expansion, represents $45,200 in total annual labor cost savings. At the conservative fuel savings scenario of $62,481 per year, combined with automated compliance reporting, total annual savings are estimated at approximately $107,681, exceeding the Year 1 annual licensing cost of $75,824.12.
Beyond fuel and compliance savings, Samsara’s real-time GPS tracking, automated mileage and hours logging, predictive maintenance alerting, and HOS compliance monitoring have operational benefits that support fleet accountability, regulatory compliance, and proactive maintenance scheduling across all City departments. Expanding coverage from 116 to 469 units - with the flexibility to add newly acquired assets as they enter the fleet - ensures that these capabilities extend to critical departments of the City’s fleet and asset inventory both now and as the fleet grows.
IMPACT ON CITY RESOURCES
The Year 1 licensing and shipping cost for the Samsara expansion totals $53,566.04, with annual licensing costs of $75,824.12 beginning in FY2026/27 and $74,366.89 per year for FY 2027/28 through FY 2029/30, resulting in a total investment of $289,925.79 over the contract life. Year 1 costs are funded in the FY 2026/27 Adopted budget through the Public Works Fleet Division; future-year costs for FY 2027/28 through FY 2029/30 will be budgeted in the applicable fiscal year budgets as they are adopted. Quantified annual savings from fuel idle reduction ($62,481 to $99,970) and automated compliance reporting (approximately $45,200) are estimated to offset or exceed annual licensing costs, exclusive of additional cost from reduced vehicle downtime and loss of service to the public.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Samsara/Carahsoft price Quote
2. Sourcewell National Cooperative Purchasing Contract
3. Sourcewell Pricing
4. Samsara Performance Report
5. Fleet Work Order - Smog Job Time: 4 hours
6. Fleet Work Order - Smog Job Time: 3 hours
7. Fleet Work Order - Smog Job Time: 2 hours