Request for Qualifications
SB90 State Mandated Cost Reimbursement
Release Date: September 1, 2022
Deadline for Submittal
September 22, 2022, by 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time
City of Richmond
Finance Department
INTRODUCTION
The City of Richmond is interested in receiving proposals for the collection, documentation, preparation, filing, and monitoring of its state mandated claims. Term of Agreement. The initial contract term shall be for three (3) years, with the option to renew for two (2) additional years, not to exceed five (5) years. The contract term for services shall commence after the date of Council award, the execution of an Agreement for Professional Services and the issuance of a City of Richmond purchase order.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
A. Conduct a yearly on-site or telephone m eetings with appropriate City departments and the Finance department explaining the methods employed in preparing SB-90 state mandated claims and eligible reimbursable activities.
B. Annual State of California Mandated Cost Reimbursement Claims:
1. Consultant shall prepare, submit and file annual State of California mandated cost reimbursement claims by the submission deadlines on the City’s behalf.
2. Consultant shall prepare, submit and file all other new or first-time applicable actual and estimated State-mandated cost reimbursement claims for which State Controller Claiming Instructions are issued in accordance with submission deadlines.
3. Consultant shall also file actual cost reimbursement claims for the prior fiscal year where appropriate documentation is available.
C. State-Mandated Cost Test Claim Services:
1. Consultant shall coordinate with the City and lead efforts in filing any and all City’s claims, and manage the process once submitted to the Commission through final consideration.
2. Consultant shall:
a) respond to all filings;
b) attend all prehearing conferences and hearings of the Commission;
c) respond to inquiries by, and discussions with, the State Controller’s office; and
d) prepare and file associated reimbursement claims, if applicable.
D. Consultant Response to all State of California Agencies:
1. Consultant shall respond to all filings by all State of California agencies and other parties and provide City staff copies/reports of these communications.
2. Consultant shall also monitor and assist in providing Legislature information related to the appropriation legislation that will provide funding for the actual cost claims.
E. Maintain Communications with City Staff:
1. Consultant shall provide guidance to the City in determining the data required for claims submission.
2. Consultant shall maintain communication with, and provide regular project status information to the City’s designated mandate cost program coordinator throughout the contracted period. These communications include, but are not limited to:
a) status of all submitted reimbursement claims;
b) issues from the State Controller’s Office associated with submitted claims;
c) necessary information to be provided by the City for submissions; and
d) upcoming legislative statues that may impact the City.
3. Consultant shall hold meetings with City personnel to explain methods employed and provide guidance to City staff.
F. Audit Assistance:
1. Provide requested documents, logs and other records to the City and auditors.
2. Assist the City during audit of claims by the State Controller’s Office, and provide assistance in defending those claims.
3. Assist the City in negotiations with the State pertaining to claims, including the preparation and filing of any applicable incorrect reduction claims.
G. List of Submitted Claims: Consultant shall maintain and provide a list of claims filed for reimbursement after each filing cycle.
H. New Claims:
1. Identify new claims that are expected to become mandated programs.
2. Provide timely descriptions of these claims and data collection requirements to the appropriate department.
I. Amended Claims: Prepare amended claims as needed.
J. On-Going Consultation: During the term of the contract, Consultant shall serve as the City’s resource for questions relating to SB-90 state mandated cost reimbursement claims.
K. Indirect costs: Both direct and indirect costs may be included in mandate reimbursement claims submitted by the Consultant. The Consultant and city will decide upon whether to use the State controller’s ten percent (10%) indirect cost rate, or calculate a higher rate as authorized by the Local Agencies Mandated Cost Manual issued by the State.
L. City Staff Responsibilities: The City will provide the consultant with all relevant information pertaining to the financial operations of programs and areas under reimbursement consideration.
PROPOSAL FORMAT GUIDELINES
The following proposal sections are to be included in your response:
A. Qualifications
The information requested in this section should describe the qualifications of your firm, including key staff, to perform the work described. Information shall include:
1. Names of key staff that participated on named projects and their specific responsibilities with respect to this scope of service. Resumes will be considered responsive.
2. A summary of your firm’s demonstrated capability, including length of time that your firm has provided the services being requested in this Request for Proposal.
3. Provide at least three (3) references that received similar services from your firm. The City of Richmond reserves the right to contact any of the organizations or individuals listed. Information provided shall include:
a) Client Name and contact info
• Telephone number(s)
• E-mail Address
• Address
b) Description of services provided including contract amount c) Project start and end dates
B. Cost Information
Provide the total costs to complete all tasks identified in the scope of services and Proposed Fee Schedule – a statement of hourly rates for all proposed classifications.
PROCESS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS
Submission of Proposals
The proposal and any required certifications shall be signed by an individual or individuals authorized to execute legal documents on behalf of the proposer.
Electronic Proposals shall be submitted via the City’s secure online bidding system. All required sections of the proposal must be submitted via the website. Contractor is solely responsible for “on time” submission of their electronic proposal. The Bid Management System will not accept late proposals and no exceptions shall be made. Contractors will receive an e-bid confirmation number with a time stamp from the Bid Management System indicating that their bid was submitted successfully. The City will only receive those proposals that were transmitted successfully.
The proposal must be received no later than 9:00 a.m., local time, on September 22, 2022.
The City of Richmond reserves the right to waive inconsequential irregularities.
Questions Concerning Request for Qualifications
All questions must be submitted via the electronic BidsOnline system on the Q&A tab by 5:00pm PST, on September 14, 2022. If the City finds it necessary to issue an addendum, prospective Offerors will receive e-mail notification of addendum.
Otherwise, answers to questions received will be provided on the Q&A tab and notification will be sent by September 15, 2022. It is the proposer’s responsibility to periodically check the BidsOnline website www.ci.richmond.ca.us/bids for any possible Addenda to the RFQ that may have been posted.
Any party submitting a proposal shall not contact or lobby any City Council member, City official, employee (except those specified for contact) or agent regarding the RFQ.
Any party attempting to influence or circumvent the RFQ, bid submittal, and review process may have their proposal rejected for violating this provision of the RFQ.
Interested parties may download copies of the above mentioned proposal by
visiting the City's web site, www.ci.richmond.ca.us/bids. To download RFP, new vendors will be required to register. Once the vendor downloads any documents relative to a solicitation, that vendor's name will appear on the Prospective Bidders list for that project and will receive any addenda or notifications relating to the RFP.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
This RFQ does not commit the City of Richmond to award a contract, to defray any costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal pursuant to this RFQ, or to procure or contract for work. The City of Richmond may reject a proposal without providing the reason(s) underlying the declination. A failure to award a contract to the proposer with the lowest cost proposal shall not constitute a valid cause of action against the City of Richmond. The City may investigate the qualifications of any respondent under consideration, require confirmation of information furnished by the respondent, and require additional evidence or qualifications to perform the Services described in this RFQ.
The City reserves the right to:
1. Reject any or all proposals.
2. Issue subsequent Requests for Qualifications.
3. Postpone opening for its own convenience.
4. Remedy technical errors in the Request for Qualification process.
5. Negotiate with any, all, or none of the Respondents.
6. Solicit best and final offers from all or some of the Respondents.
7. Select one or more Respondents.
8. Accept other than the lowest proposed fees.
9. Waive informalities and irregularities in proposals.
Insurance Requirements
The City of Richmond requires consultants doing business with it to obtain insurance, as shown in RFQ Attachment A. The required insurance certificates must comply with all requirements of the standards as shown and must be provided within fifteen (15) days of issuance of the Notice of Intent to Award and prior to the commencement of any work on the Project.
Business Licenses
The successful Contractor and all subcontractors used in the work will be required to hold or to obtain a City of Richmond business license for which the fee will not be waived.
PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
The criteria upon which the evaluation of the proposals will be based include, but are not limited to, the following:
Experience/Past Performance/References – 40%
Consideration will be given based upon the firm’s experience, years in business, past and current client references; technical expertise and professional competence in areas directly related to this RFQ; number of years of experience in performing similar work.
Proposer Qualifications and Experience – 40%
This category will evaluate the respondent’s ability to take upon itself the responsibilities set forth in the Scope of Services and produce the required outcome in a timely manner.
Consideration will be given for the overall quality of the proposal, including a demonstrated understanding of the purpose, scope, and objective of the services to be performed. It is the intention of the City of Richmond to award a contract to the Respondent who furnishes satisfactory evidence that the Respondent has the requisite experience and ability to enable the Respondent to execute the work successfully and properly, and to complete services in a timely manner. To determine the degree of responsibility to be credited to the Respondent, the City of Richmond will weigh the evidence that the Respondent has performed satisfactorily other contracts of like nature, magnitude and comparable difficulty and comparable rates of progress.
Cost Proposal – 20%