City of Anaheim
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
200 S. Anaheim Blvd., Ste 356
Anaheim, California 92805
Telephone: (714) 765-5169
Facsimile: (714) 765-5123
CITY OF ANAHEIM
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS:
Legal firm to conduct an independent outside investigation in connection with former Mayor Harry Sidhu and existing Council Members to determine if they improperly directed or influenced city business and activities based on campaign contributions stemming from the federal investigations recently made public.
In addition, the investigation is expected to evaluate to what extent, if any , staff was involved in, participated in, or party to, the alleged illegal and unethical behavior s so far revealed in the federal investigation, and whether any serial communications/meetings in violation of the Brown Act occurred in the context of the facts alleged in the federal investigation.
Proposals will be accepted via PlanetBids, and
must be received on or before 5:00 PM PST, July 29, 2022.
CITY OF ANAHEIM
Request for Qualifications: Independent Investigation
SUBMISSION PROCEDURES
The RFQ may be obtained from the City of Anaheim, City Attorney’s Office, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd., 3rd Floor, Anaheim, CA 92805. Questions concerning the RFQ should be emailed to, Indhira Gagnon, City Attorney's Office, [email protected], no later than 5:00 p.m., July 22, 2022. Responses to questions will be posted at
https://pbsystem.planetbids.com/portal/14424/portal-home
The City Attorney reserves the right to change the specifications in this RFQ. Any potential proposer wishing to be notified of answers to questions received or written addenda to this RFQ must email Indhira Gagnon, Law Office Administrator, the name, email address, and telephone number of the person to be contacted. Only written addenda issued by the City Attorney will be incorporated into this RFQ.
The proposal should be submitted via the PlanetBids platform, emailed or submitted in a sealed envelope to:
Indhira Gagnon
Law Office Administrator
City Attorney's Office
City of Anaheim
200 S. Anaheim Blvd., 3rd Floor, Suite 356
Anaheim, CA 92805
[email protected]
If submitted by mail, to prevent opening by unauthorized individuals, your proposal should be identified on the envelope or wrapper as follows:
Proposal Submitted in Response to:
City of Anaheim City Attorney's Office
Request for Qualifications to provide Independent Investigation
The deadline for submission of proposals is 5:00 p.m., July 29, 2022. No proposals will be accepted after the stated deadline.
No modifications or addenda will be accepted after the closing dates stated above unless, in the sole discretion of the City Attorney, it is in the best interest of the City of Anaheim to do so.
Proposals received will become a part of the City Attorney's official files and a public record. An unsuccessful proposer may request the return of its proposal upon the completion of the City's review and contract award.
CITY OF ANAHEIM
Request for Qualifications: Independent Investigation
1. INTENT
The OWNER is soliciting proposals from an attorney or a law firm for an independent investigation for the City of Anaheim.
2. DEFINITIONS
OWNER: City of Anaheim
PROPOSER: Any law firm or attorney that submits a proposal
3. SCOPE OF WORK
The City of Anaheim is seeking proposals from law firms or attorneys to conduct an independent outside investigation, including the use of a forensic accountant or similar professional as necessary, in connection with former Mayor Harry Sidhu and existing Council Members to determine if they improperly directed or influenced city business and activities based on campaign contributions stemming from the federal investigations recently made public. In addition, the investigation is expected to evaluate to what extent, if any, staff was involved in, participated in, or party to, the illegal and unethical behaviors in context of the federal investigation, and whether any serial communications/meetings in violation of the Brown Act occurred in the context of the facts alleged in the federal investigation.
The review may include the following steps and more:
1. Identifying entities or individuals who made campaign contributions for all candidate/office- holder accounts for sitting Council Members and former Mayor Harry Sidhu throughout their political career in Anaheim, and other political offices, as it relates to a financial interest with the City.
2. Correlation between campaign contributions and city business and activities.
3. Identifying consultants, including lobbyists, who were selected to work for the City and made campaign contributions to Council Members.
4. Identifying payments made in connection with those engagements, and what the money was used for.
5. Investigating any serial communications/meetings in violation of the Brown Act that included financial interests and influence on voting in the context of the facts alleged in the recent federal investigation.
6. Identifying developments and/or projects under review or approved/entitled by the City where campaign contributions were made and/or improprieties that may have arisen in connections with such developments and/or projects.
7. Review the applicability of local ordinances, policies or procedures, and make recommendations as needed.
8. Evaluating to what extent, if any, staff was involved in, participated in, or party to, the illegal and unethical behaviors in the context of the federal investigation.
CITY OF ANAHEIM
Request for Qualifications: Independent Investigation
The City may also hire law firms and other entities outside this procurement when a legal matter requires specialized knowledge, experience, or capacity that the firms selected do not possess, as determined by the City in its sole discretion. Being selected through this RFQ does not entitle any selected firm to obtain actual instructions or assignments from the City. Whether or not a selected firm is instructed depends on the nature of the matter, the qualifications of the selected firms, and the needs of the City.
The City is seeking services from attorneys with experience within the areas of knowledge addressed in the scope of services and in the RFQ EXHIBIT 1 entitled “Areas of Knowledge”. For each area, a list of qualified firms will be compiled through the evaluation and selection process set forth herein. An attorney/firm may propose for more than one area.
Firms MUST complete EXHIBIT 1: AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE WORKSHEET identifying areas in which they are proposing.
4. METHOD OF EVALUATION AND AWARD
The OWNER reserves the right to select any PROPOSER at its sole discretion based on objective and/or subjective evaluation criteria. The OWNER reserves the right to modify this document at any time. The selected PROPOSER will be chosen based on the proposal the OWNER deems best suited to fulfill the requirements of this document. However, the OWNER also reserves the right not to make an award if it is deemed that no single proposal satisfies the requirements of this document, or for any other reason. Also, the OWNER reserves the right to reject all proposals received and award some or all work specified herein to others who have not submitted a proposal.
5. REQUIRED INFORMATION
Responses should contain the following information:
A. Experience
Include a brief resume of all similar engagements that the PROPOSER has performed in the past five (5) years. For each engagement listed, please include total cost of engagement and the name and phone number of a contact person for the engagement. This section shall include documentation of the PROPOSER'S history of adherence to budget and schedule constraints. All PROPOSERS are encouraged to indicate their experience performing similar work within the State of California and/or with other government agencies.
B. Staff Qualifications and Availability
Provide information concerning the educational background, experience and professional resumes of those persons who would actually assist with the Scope of Work. Identify if those persons presently maintain their practice in California or elsewhere. Indicate the present workload of each listed person to demonstrate his or her ability to devote sufficient time to fulfill the Scope of Work.
C. Anticipated Duties
1. To provide investigatory and forensic accounting services and, where appropriate, legal representation and counsel to the City of Anaheim with regard to the Scope of Work. Please
CITY OF ANAHEIM
Request for Qualifications: Independent Investigation
describe the PROPOSER'S ability to provide such services.
2. The anticipated duties will be as proposed by the PROPOSER, but OWNER anticipates that the PROPOSER will work closely with a neutral administrator to diligently investigate the facts as outlined above, culminating in a written and/or verbal report to be presented to the City Council and/or the public.
D. References
Provide references from clients of the PROPOSER for which it performed work that was similar to the requirements of this request.
E. Fees
Indicate the hourly rates (including support and administrative hourly rates), or alternative methods of compensation, to perform the Scope of Work described in this document. Prior to or during negotiations the OWNER may request additional hourly rate information for each relevant subject matter. The fees for services, or alternative methods of compensation, will be negotiated with the selected PROPOSER.
F. Affiliations
If the Scope of Work is to be accomplished through an affiliation or joint venture of several firms, the names and addresses of those firms, shall be furnished for each.
G. Conflicts of Interest
PROPOSERS shall advise OWNER of any client representations, which may result in potential conflicts of interest in accordance with California Rules of Professional Conduct, Rules 1.7 and 3-310.
PROPOSERS shall identify any known conflicts and any particular areas of practice which might create a conflict.
H. Local Familiarity
A statement as to local resources that would be utilized and the degree of the PROPOSER'S knowledge and familiarity with the local community's needs and goals.
I. Insurance
The PROPOSER'S ability to provide the appropriate certificates of insurance, as required by the OWNER.
J. Other
Other factors the PROPOSER determines appropriate to indicate that the PROPOSER has the necessary capability, competence, and performance record to accomplish the Scope of Work in a timely and cost- effective manner.
CITY OF ANAHEIM
Request for Qualifications: Independent Investigation
K. Timeline
To the best of your ability and based on your prior experience is similar matters, indicate the anticipated timeline to complete the investigation based on the Scope of work and approach, keeping in mind that the City would place value on a combination of thoroughness and timeliness.
6. SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS
The proposal submitted should not exceed 10 pages. Other attachments may be included with no guarantee of review. All proposals must be submitted via PlanetBids form, emailed or submitted in a sealed envelope to:
Indhira Gagnon
Law Office Administrator
City Attorney's Office
City of Anaheim
200 S. Anaheim Blvd., 3rd Floor, Suite 356
Anaheim, CA 92805
[email protected]
The submittal should contain an opening statement, confirmation or transmittal letter indicating the signatory is authorized to negotiate and contract on behalf of the PROPOSER. The submittal should also contain the contact details (including name, phone number, email address, physical address and mailing address) of the person responsible for and authorized to negotiate on behalf of the PROPOSER.
PROPOSER shall be wholly responsible for the timely delivery of emailed proposals. Proposals must be received on or before 5:00 PM PST on July 29, 2022.
7. PROPOSAL COSTS
There shall be no obligation for the OWNER to compensate PROPOSERS for any costs of responding to this document.
# # # END OF DOCUMENT # # #
CITY OF ANAHEIM
Request for Qualifications: Independent Investigation
EXHIBIT 1
AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE
Please check all areas that are to be considered in this proposal.
Area of Knowledge Select if
Proposing Comments
Forensic Audit-Campaign Contributions
Administrative Investigations:
Organization/Personnel/Elected Officials
Brown Act/Serial Meeting Investigation