Request for Proposals
User Fee and Traffic Impact Fee Studies
Release Date: July 22, 2025
Deadline for Submittal
3:00 pm August 12, 2025
Contact: Antonio Banuelos, Accounting Manager
Email: [email protected]
Phone Number: 510-620-6741
City of Richmond
Finance Department
INTRODUCTION
The City of Richmond is requesting proposals from qualified firms to update the City’s User Fee and Traffic Impact Fees. This request for proposal (RFP) describes the project, the required scope of services, the consultant selection process, and the minimum information that must be included in the proposal. Failure to submit information in accordance with the RFP requirements and procedures may be cause for disqualification. The anticipated term of this contract will be for a period of three (3) years with an option to renew for an additional two years by means of a mutual agreement of both parties.
Vendors are required to read and understand all information contained within this entire Proposal package. By responding to this RFP, the vendor agrees to read and understand these documents.
ABOUT THE CITY
The City of Richmond was chartered as a city in 1909, and is located 16 miles northeast of San Francisco, directly across the San Francisco Bay. Richmond’s population is 103,828. The mission of the City of Richmond is as follows:
The City of Richmond provides services that enhance economic vitality, the environment and the quality of life of our community.
The City of Richmond provides a full range of municipal services including police and fire protection; construction and maintenance of highways, streets and infrastructure; library services; storm water and municipal sewer systems; operation of a wastewater treatment facility; and the administration of recreational activities and cultural events.
The City also operates the Richmond Memorial Convention Center and the Port of Richmond.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The Scope of Services shall include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following project tasks described below. If the Consultant feels that additional tasks are warranted, they must be clearly identified in the proposal. Consultants responding to this RFP shall be prepared to deliver services and perform the work necessary to provide the services upon executing the Consultant Agreement. The project consists of furnishing all labor, materials, supervision, and travel necessary to complete the tasks outlined below. The City’s standard consulting agreement for services is attached as Attachment B to this RFP.
User Fee and Traffic Impact Fee Studies
Prepare the User Fee and Traffic Impact Fee Studies, which may include the following elements. The User Fee Study component may include regulatory fees as well as your standard use fees. If the consultant feels that additional tasks are warranted, they must be clearly identified in the consultant’s proposal.
1) Work and meet with selected City staff to refine the project scope, purpose, uses and goals of the City’s User Fee Study to ensure that the study will be both accurate and appropriate to Richmond’s needs. Review the project schedule and answer any questions pertaining to the successful development of the study. 2) Meet with staff and conduct interviews as needed to gain an understanding of the City’s processes and operations. Conduct a review of the City’s existing fees, rates and charges to be evaluated (Attachment A).
3) Identify the total cost of providing each City service at the appropriate level and in a manner that is consistent with all applicable laws, statutes, rules and regulations governing the collection of fees, rates, and charges by public agencies including, but not limited to, Proposition 26 and Proposition 218. 4) Compare service costs with existing recovery levels. This includes service areas where the City is currently charging, as well as recommended areas where the City should charge, in light of the City’s practices, or the practices of similar or neighboring cities.
5) Develop a list of development traffic impact fees charged by surrounding and similar cities in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. This comparison should highlight what is included in these fees and, to the extent practicable, make comparisons of similar types of fees. This survey includes descriptions of different cities’ processes for calculating traffic impact fee credits earned for a project or being able to be transferred from one project to another. 6) Convene two strategy sessions with the City Team to determine the project’s direction, including fee categories (new, existing, and/or whether to include other fees or other items of strategic importance identified by the City and/or consultant.
7) Recommend potential new fees and charges for services that the City currently provides but does not have fees and/or charges established. Recommendations should be based on practices by surrounding cities that may charge for similar services, industry best practices, or the consultant’s professional opinion. 8) Recommend appropriate fees and charges based on the analysis together with the appropriate subsidy percentage for those fees where full cost recovery may be unrealistic.
9) Prepare a report that identifies each fee service, its full cost, recommended and current cost recovery levels. The report should also identify the direct cost, the indirect cost, and the overhead cost for each service.
10) Prepare a report that identified the present fees, recommended fees, percentage change, cost recovery percentage, revenue impact and fee comparison with other California cities that are comparable to the City of Richmond. A survey comparison of rates and fees with similar cities is required. 11) Report on other matters that come to the Consultant’s attention in the course of the analysis that, in the Consultant’s professional opinion, the City should consider.
12) Provide a computer-based model in Microsoft Excel for adjusting these fees and charges for the City’s current and future needs and provide the City with an electronic copy of the final study, including related scheduled and cost documentation in a format that can be edited and updated by City staff to accommodate changes in the organization or changes in costs. The requirements of the model should allow for:
a. Additions, revisions, or removal of direct and overhead costs so that the full cost allocation plan can be easily adapted to a range of activities, both simple and complex.
b. The ability of the City to continuously update the model and full cost allocation plan from year to year as the organization changes. c. The addition of hypothetical service area information is for future service enhancements, and the ability to calculate the estimated costs of providing the service under consideration (i.e. ad-hoc analysis). 13) If requested, prepare and/or deliver presentations to the City Council to facilitate their understanding of the plan and its implications, and make necessary adjustments as requested.
14) Provide on-site training to enable staff to update fees on an annual basis. 15) While the City of Richmond seeks a contract covering both the User Fee Study and the Traffic Impact Fee Study, please note that the Traffic Impact Fee component may begin at a later date. City staff is currently conducting a Long Range Transportation Study, the results of which will inform the update to the Traffic Impact Fees.
16) Prepare a final fee study report and provide five bound copies, one unbound copy, and a single Microsoft Excel and PDF file of the User Fee Study that can be made available to City staff. Models, tables and graphs shall be provided in Microsoft Excel. Any Master Fee Schedule revisions developed shall also be made available to the City in Microsoft Excel and PDF formats, providing the ability to add, delete and/or update information as needed. 17) Consult with City staff, should the need arise, to defend the cost allocation plan as a result of audits or other challenges.
General Information
The Consultant may recommend other tasks that it deems appropriate to achieve the objectives set forth in this RFP. The City based on various factors, including budget constraints, may piecemeal the project by focusing on certain fees or departments or spreading out the project over several fiscal years.
PROPOSAL FORMAT GUIDELINES
The proposal should be concise, well organized, and demonstrate the proposer’s qualifications and experience applicable to the Project. The proposal shall be limited to 20 single-sided pages (8.5 inches x 11 inches), inclusive of graphics, forms, pictures, photographs, dividers, etcetera, but not of cost proposal, resumes, required forms, certifications, front and back covers, or letters of commitment from sub- consultants. The required font size is 12 point, with minimum left and right margins of one- inch, and top and bottom margins of 0.7 inches.
Each proposal will adhere to the following order and content of sections. Proposal should be straightforward, concise and provide “layman” explanations of technical terms
that are used. Emphasis should be concentrated on conforming to the RFP instructions, responding to the RFP requirements, and on providing a complete and clear description of the offer. Proposals, which appear unrealistic in the terms of technical commitments, lack of technical competence or are indicative of failure to comprehend the complexity and risk of this contract, may be rejected. The following proposal sections are to be included in the Vendor’s response:
A. Vendor Cover Letter
A cover letter, not to exceed three pages in length, should summarize key elements of the proposal and shall:
• Confirm that all elements of this RFP have been reviewed and understood;
• Include a statement of intent to perform the services as outlined; • Express company’s willingness to enter into an agreement under the terms and conditions prescribed by this RFP, insurance requirements (Attachment C) and in the sample Service Agreement (Attachment B); • Submit a written description and brief history of the company’s experiences, qualifications and successes in providing Impact Fee and User Fee Study services described herein. Please indicate the number of employees, client base and location of offices.
• Indicate the address and telephone number of the vendor’s office located nearest to Richmond, California and the office from which the project will be managed.
• Confirm that vendor has a minimum of three (3) years verifiable Impact Fee and User Fee Study experience
• Stipulate that the proposal price will be valid for a period of at least 180 days.
• Identify a single person for contact during the RFP review process; and • Cover letter shall be signed by an authorized official of the company.
B. Background and Project Summary Section
The Background and Project Summary Section should describe your understanding of the City, the work to be done, and the objectives to be accomplished. Refer to description of services for this RFP.
C. Methodology Section
Provide a detailed description of the approach and methodology to be used to accomplish the Scope of Services of this RFP. The Methodology Section should include:
1) An implementation plan that describes in detail (i) the methods, including controls by which your firm manages projects of the type sought by this RFP; (ii) methodology for soliciting and documenting views of internal and external stakeholders; (iii) and any other project management or implementation strategies or techniques that the respondent intends to
employ in carrying out the work.
2) Detailed description of efforts your firm will undertake to achieve client satisfaction and to satisfy the requirements of the "Scope of Services" section.
3) Detailed project schedule, identifying all tasks and deliverables to be performed, durations for each task, and overall time of completion. 4) Detailed description of specific tasks you will require from City staff.
Explain what the respective roles of City staff and your staff would be to complete the tasks specified in the Scope of Services.
D. Staffing
Describe proposed Project team organization, including identification and responsibilities of key personnel. Indicate role and responsibility of prime consultants and all sub-consultants. If applicable, indicate how local firms are being utilized to ensure a strong understanding of state and local laws, ordinances, regulations, policies, requirements, and permitting. Indicate the extent of the commitment of key personnel for the duration of the Project and furnish resumes of key personnel. Provide an indication of the staffing level for the Project. The City of Richmond’s evaluation of the proposal will consider the proposer’s entire team; therefore, no changes in the team composition will be allowed without prior written approval of the City of Richmond. Sub-consultant letters of commitment are required and must be submitted with the proposal.
Describe the experience of the proposer’s Project team in detail, including the team’s Project Manager, and other key staff members, on projects of similar size, capacity, and dollar value. For each similar project, include the client’s name and correct telephone number. It is the City of Richmond’s policy to interview proposers’ references as well as references identified by the City of Richmond.
E. Qualifications
The information requested in this section should describe the qualifications of the firm, key staff and sub‐contractors performing projects within the past five years that are similar in size and scope to demonstrate competence to perform these services. Information shall include:
1) Names of key staff that participated on named projects and their specific responsibilities with respect to this scope of service.
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 & e-mail address
• Address
b) Description of services provided including contract amount c) Project start and end dates
F. Cost Information
Provide your fees for the proposed services. Fee quotes should be detailed by service. The fee should include preparation of the Traffic Impact Fee and User Fee Study. Outline billing and payment expectations, including timing and method of payment. Describe any remaining fees not already detailed above. Present a specific “not to exceed” fixed fee including associated fees (i.e. printing costs, attendance at meetings, travel).
G. Reporting
Please provide a brief description and examples of each standard report.
H. Value Added Services
Please provide any additional services of benefit not specifically required herein, which the Offeror offers to provide.
I. Contractor Assignment of Sub-Contract
The resulting contract shall not be assigned, transferred, or sublet, in whole or in part, without the prior written approval of the City of Richmond. If Offerors intend to subcontract any portion of the resulting contract, they must describe their process for selecting such subcontractor(s) and the quality control measures that the Offeror will employ to ensure that any subcontractor complies with the provisions of Offeror’s contract with the City.
J. Exceptions to this Request for Proposals
The proposer shall state whether or not it takes exception(s) to this RFP, including but not limited to the City of Richmond’s Standard Services Agreement – RFP (Attachment B). If the proposer does take exception(s) to any portion of the RFP or contract, the specific portion to which exception(s) is taken must be identified by section number and explained. Requests for changes or additions to sections of City of Richmond’s Standard Services Agreement must be shown by requesting deletion of specific words and/or by providing new requested contract language. Requests for complete replacement of the City of Richmond’s Standard Services Agreement for another contract will not be granted. Failure to make exceptions to the RFP or Standard Services Agreement within the proposal will be deemed a waiver of any objection. Exceptions will be considered during the proposal evaluation process.
K. Statement of Impartiality and Disclosure
The nature of this Project requires an impartial unbiased approach on the part of the proposer’s team. This proposal shall include a statement declaring that the proposer’s and sub-consultants are not currently, and will not, during the performance of these services, participate in any other similar work involving a third-party with interests currently in conflict or likely to be in conflict with City of Richmond’s interests. Additionally, proposer is required to disclose any pending or active investigations or litigation that may affect the reputation or ability of the proposer to carry out the Project.
PROCESS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS
Questions Concerning Request for Proposals
All questions must be submitted via the electronic BidsOnline system on the Q&A tab by 5:00pm PST, on August 5, 2025. 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 August 6, 2025. It is the proposer’s responsibility to periodically check the BidsOnline website www.ci.richmond.ca.us/bids for any possible Addenda to the RFP 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 RFP.
Any party attempting to influence or circumvent the RFP, bid submittal, and review process may have their proposal rejected for violating this provision of the RFP.
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.
Submission of Proposals
The proposal and any required certification
ns 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 3:00 p.m., local time, on August 12, 2025.
The City of Richmond shall have the authority to waive minor irregularities and mistakes in this RFP.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
This RFP 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 RFP, 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 shall not be responsible for work done, even in good faith, prior to final approval of the proposed contract. 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 RFP.
The City reserves the right to:
1. Reject any or all proposals.
2. Issue subsequent Requests for Proposal.
3. Postpone opening for its own convenience.
4. Remedy technical errors in the Request for Proposal 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.
Public Records
All proposals submitted in response to this RFP become the property of the City of Richmond and public records and, as such, may be subject to public review. Documents protected by law from public disclosure will not be disclosed by the City of Richmond if clearly marked with the word "confidential" on each applicable page. Trade secrets may be marked as confidential only to the extent they meet the requirements of California Government Code section 6254.7. Only information claimed to be a trade secret at the time of submittal to the City of Richmond and marked as "confidential" will be treated as a trade secret.
Insurance Requirements
The City of Richmond requires consultants doing business with it to obtain insurance, as shown in RFP (Attachment C). 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.
Compliance with City Ordinances
The contractor and all subcontractors shall comply with the City of Richmond Nondiscrimination Clauses in City Contracts Ordinance (Richmond Municipal Code (RMC) Chapter 2.28), Business Opportunity Ordinance (RMC Chapter 2.50), Local Employment Program Ordinance (RMC Chapter 2.56), Living Wage Ordinance (RMC Chapter 2.60) and Ordinance Banning the Requirement to Provide Information of Prior Criminal Convictions on all Employment Applications (“Ban the Box”) (RMC Chapter
2.65), which are incorporated into the Contract Documents by this reference.
Sanctuary City Contracting Ordinance (SCCO)
The Richmond Sanctuary City Contracting Ordinance No. 12-18 (Attachment E) prohibits the City from granting and or retaining contracts with any person or entity that provides Data Broker or Extreme Vetting services to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division of the United States Department of Homeland Security (“ICE”).
Proposers must submit the attached Sanctuary City Compliance Statement with their Proposal. (Attachment D)
Limited Liability Company Disclosure Statement (LLCS)
Resolution No. 86-21 (Attachment F), approved by City Council on July 6, 2021, requires disclosure of the identities of beneficial & responsible owners of Limited Liability Corporations (LLC). Proposers must submit the attached Disclosure Statement of Limited Liability Companies Form with their Proposal (Attachment G).
Collusion
By submitting a proposal, each respondent represents and warrants that its proposal is genuine and not false or collusive or made in the interest of, or on behalf of any person not named therein; that the respondent has not directly or indirectly induced or solicited any other person to submit a false proposal, or any other person to refrain from submitting a proposal; and that the respondent has not, in any manner, sought collusion to secure any improper advantage over any other person submitting a proposal.
Withdrawal of Proposals
A respondent may withdraw their proposal before the expiration of the time for submission of proposals by delivering to the Finance Department a written request for withdrawal signed by, or on behalf of, the respondent.
Ownership of Documents
All reports, studies, information, data, statistics, forms, designs, plans, procedures, systems and any other materials produced for the Project shall be the sole and exclusive property of the City. No such materials or properties produced in whole or in part for the Project shall be subject to private use, copyrights or patent rights by Respondent in the United States or in any other country without the express written consent of the City. The City shall have unrestricted authority to publish, disclose (except as may be limited by the provisions of the Public Records Act), distribute, and otherwise use, copyright or patent, in whole or in part, any such reports, studies, data, statistics, forms or other materials or properties produced for this project.
PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
All proposals shall be reviewed to verify that the Respondent has met the minimum requirements. Proposals that have not complied with requirements, do not meet minimum content and quality standards, or take unacceptable exceptions to the General Terms and Conditions of the Service Agreement, will be eliminated from further consideration.
Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by an evaluation committee comprised of City of Richmond personnel.
The top Proposals may then be invited to make a presentation to the evaluation panel in a City Office in Richmond, California, at no cost to the City. The selected proposal shall provide the most cost effective approach that meets the City’s requirements. The lowest price proposal will not necessarily be selected.
The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, or to make no award. The City also reserves the right to require modifications follow‐up with requests for additional information, including, but not limited to, follow‐up interviews. The City may request Best and Final offers based upon improved understanding of the offers or changed scope of service. The City will negotiate with that vendor to determine final pricing, and contract form. Because this proposal is negotiable, all pricing data will remain confidential until after award is made, and there will be no public opening and reading of Proposals.
Overall responsiveness to the RFP is an important factor in the evaluation process. The criteria upon which the evaluation of the proposals will be based include, but are not limited to, the following:
Qualifications and Proposed Work Plan – 40%
• Capability to perform the work within the designated time frame; • Description of proposed work plan for performing required services;
• Overall quality of statement of qualifications;
• Length of time in business.
Experience and Past Performance – 25%
• Past experience developing impact fee and user fee studies; • Qualifications and experience of key personnel dedicated to performing the scope of work.
References – 10%
• References from other agencies for which this type of work was done.
Fee Schedule – 25%
• Total cost for completing this project;
• Breakdown of cost categorized by staff positions;
• Inclusion of additional charges for sub-consultants services and reimbursable expenses.
Pre-Award Negotiations
After the proposals are opened, but prior to award, the City may elect to conduct negotiations with the highest ranked respondent for purposes of:
• Resolving minor differences and information
• Clarifying necessary details and responsibilities
• Emphasizing important issues and points
• Receiving assurances from respondents
• Cost/budget clarifications
If the City cannot successfully negotiate a contract with the highest ranked respondent , the City may begin negotiations with the second highest ranked respondent.
Selection may be made without further discussion, negotiations or Offeror’s presentations; therefore, Offeror shall offer the most favorable terms in response to this RFP. Offeror must demonstrate an understanding of the scope of service to be provided and the ability to accomplish the tasks set forth. Offeror shall include information that will enable the City to determine the Offeror’s overall qualifications. The City reserves the right to request additional information or clarification on any matter included in the proposal response, to enable the City to arrive at the final award decision.
Award - When the Review Panel has completed its work, City staff will then recommend a firm to the City Manager and City Council for approval. The services provided by the successful bidder shall be governed by a Standard Services Agreement.
Attachments
A. Existing Rates
B. Standard Contract
C. Insurance Requirements
D. Sanctuary City Compliance Statement
E. Sanctuary City Contracting Ordinance No. 12-18
F. Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) Resolution No. 86-21 G. Limited Liability Corporation Form