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1 RiversideCA.gov
1 RiversideCA.gov
DELINQUENT DEBT COLLECTION
AGENCY SERVICES
City Council
February 28, 2023
Public Utilities Department
RiversideCA.gov
2 1. RPU’s Customer Service division collects payments for Electric, Water, Wastewater, and Refuse charges from
customers for services provided.
2. In the event that RPU staff members are unsuccessful with collecting the full amount due from inactive accounts,
an external collection agency is used to collect the past due amounts.
3. The collection efforts involve specific scopes of work unique to the collection of unpaid utility amounts
BACKGROUND
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3 CONTRACT HISTORY
Agency Name Location Contract
Start Date
Term Compensation (%
of Debt Collected)
Board
Approval
Progressive Asset
Management
Simi Valley,
CA
1/18/2007 Up to 5 years or
1/8/2012
25% 1/5/2007
Sequoia Financial
Services
Glendale,
CA
4/19/2009 Up to 5 years or
4/19/2013
23% or
27% if a suit is
authorized
Not
required
Sequoia Financial
Services
Glendale,
CA
7/31/2013 Up to 12/31/2017 23% or
27% if a suit is
authorized
Not
required
Sequoia Concepts
dba Sequoia
Financial Services
Agoura Hills,
CA
10/1/2014 Up to 5 years or
10/1/2019
23% or
27% if a suit is
authorized
Not
required
Sequoia Concepts
dba Sequoia
Financial Services
Agoura Hills,
CA
3/5/2018 To 12/31/2022 23% or
27% if a suit is
authorized
Not
required
RiversideCA.gov
4 On August 18, 2022, Request for Proposal (RFP) No. 2230 was posted for full- service collection agencies to provide RPU revenue collection services. On September 21, 2022, proposals were received from 11 agencies.
The City’s Purchasing Division perso nnel provided oversight to the proposal review team of RPU Customer Service, Credit and Collections, Finance and Public Works staff who reviewed, evaluated and scored the proposals received based on the following criteria:
1. Approach and Methodology 30%
2. Experience 25%
3. Qualifications 20%
4. Cost Evaluation 15%
5. Professional References 10%
DISCUSSION
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5 1. The three highest rated consultants participated in an interview to demonstrate their model and how it would meet the
objectives of the work.
2. The panel was seeking a complete and flexible model that was user friendly for customers with robust reporting for RPU.
3. Cedars received the highest score and was chosen as the most qualified firm for the in-depth analysis and expertise needed for the project. The scores included a combination of pricing, experience in the tasks, professional references, demonstration of the system model, responses to questions from the review committee, and overall project approach.
RFP NO 2230 SELECTION
RiversideCA.gov
6 RFP NO. 2230 PROPOSALS
Company City, State
Compensati
on (% of
Debt
Collected)
Compensation
if Suit
authorized
Proposal
Rank
Cedars Business Services, LLC Calabasas, CA 16% 30% 1
Financial Credit Network, Inc. Visalia, CA 21% 31% 2
Sequoia Financial Services Agoura Hills, CA 19% 33% 3
I.C. System, Inc. St. Paul, MN 18.5% 40% 4
RSI Enterprises, Inc. Glendale, AZ 17% 30% 5
Ray Klein, Inc. Springfield, OR 18% 25% 6
Collection Bureau of America, Ltd. Hayward, CA 25% 35% 7 States Recovery Systems, Inc. Rancho Cordova, CA 17% 24% 8 FEDChex Recovery, LLC Orange, CA 16% 35% 9
Online Information Services, Inc. Winterville, NC 21% 21% 10 Collection Service of Nevada Reno, NV 22% 50% 11
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7 Strategic Priority 5 - High Performing Government
Goal 5.4 – Achieve and maintain financial health by addressing gaps between revenues and expenditures and aligning resources with strategic priorities to yield the greatest impact.
Cross-Cutting Threads
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
RiversideCA.gov
8 That the City Council:
1. Approve a Professional Consultant Services Agreement from Request for Proposal No. 2230 for Delinquent Debt Collection Agency Services with Cedars Business Services, LLC. of Calabasas, California, in the amount of $300,000, for a term through December 31, 2025, with the option for two additional one-year terms, in the annual amount of $100,000; and
2. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute the Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Cedars Business Services, LLC, included making minor and non-substantives changes and the contract extensions.
RECOMMENDATIONS
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