June 24, 2025
Finance Department
DATE: June 24, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Andrea Miller, Director of Finance
Mubeen Qader, Deputy Director of Finance
Jerry Gurule, Accounting Manager
SUBJECT:
Contract with Nicolay Consulting Group to Provide
Actuarial Services.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The contracted amount of $56,800 will be included in the annual budget for the Finance Department (Account
String: 01175715 – 400201)
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The City of Richmond is required to complete annual
reports that follow standards set forth by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) for Defined Benefit
Plans and Other Retirement Benefit Plans. City staff
requests approval of a contract with Nicolay Consulting Group for actuarial services relating to Pension and
Other Post Employment Benefits management.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: APPROVE a contract with Nicolay Consulting Group for actuarial services required for the Closed Pension Plans and the Other Post Employment Benefit Plans, in an
amount not to exceed $56,800 over a three-year term,
beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2028, with
two one-year extension options – Finance Department
(Andrea Miller 510-620-6740/Mubeen Qader 510-412-
2077/ Jerry Gurule 510-620-6591).
AGENDA
REPORT
June 24, 2025
DISCUSSION:
The City of Richmond is required to complete annual reports that follow standards set forth by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) for Defined Benefit Plans and Other Retirement Benefit Plans. The City administers two closed pension plans:
Police and Firemen’s Pension Plan and the General Pension Plan, and two Other Post Employment Benefit Plans (OPEB): the City-OPEB and the RPOA OPEB.
In the spring of 2025, City staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit actuarial services to complete the annual reports for the City’s Closed Pension Plans and Other Post-Employment Benefit Plans. 514 vendors were notified via the PlanetBids system (Attachment 1). Three (3) proposals were received from Nicolay Consulting, The Nyhart Company, and VIA Actuarial Solutions (Attachment 2). The proposals were reviewed by a committee of five City staff from the Finance Department. After reviewing the proposals and comparing them to the requirements listed in the RFP, the committee selected Nicolay Consulting Group as the most qualified response (Attachment 3).
The committee selected Nicolay Consulting Group due to their extensive history in working with California public entities, as well as their direct experience with pension and OPEB administration. Their timeliness and in-house, cost-effective services were a highlight among the panel.
Considering the above reasons, City staff recommends executing a contract with Nicolay Consulting Group in an amount not to exceed $56,800 from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028 (Attachment 4). City staff recommend that the contract includes two (2) one-year extensions to be granted by the City’s Finance Director upon satisfactory performance during the initial three-year contract term.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Request for Proposals
Attachment 2 – Nicolay Consulting Proposal
Attachment 3 – Rating Matrix
Attachment 4 – Proposed Nicolay Consulting Group contract