18-Specifications.pdf

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RFP - Delinquent Toll Account Recovery and Management Services for the Harris County Toll Road Authority
Solicitation number
26/0048
Issued by
Harris County, Texas

About this file

This is a Specifications document for a Request for Proposal issued by Harris County for delinquent toll account recovery and management services to be provided to the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA). HCTRA seeks qualified firms to manage the collection of unpaid tolls, fees, fines, and costs across its 132-mile toll road system, which processes over 1.2 billion transactions annually and issues over 10 million Toll Violations Invoices each year. The scope of work is divided into Early-Stage collections (accounts aged 60-120 days) involving proactive contact cadences, dispute resolution, and collection letter mailings, and Late-Stage collections (accounts exceeding 180 days past due) involving administrative hearings, litigation, and post-judgment enforcement across multiple Texas counties. The contract term begins August 1, 2026, and continues for two years, with three optional one-year renewals subject to Commissioners Court approval. A pre-proposal conference is scheduled for February 18, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. CST via Microsoft Teams, with RSVP required two days prior to margaret.obot@pur.hctx.net. Written questions must be submitted through Bonfire by the deadline specified in the Event schedule. All vendors are encouraged but not required to attend the conference.

The compensation model uses a hybrid structure combining flat fees for early-stage outreach and contingency-based fees for both early-stage and late-stage recovery, with payment made upon HCTRA's receipt of funds. Compensation is subject to fee caps established by Harris County Commissioners Court per the Toll Setting Policy. The selected firm(s) must maintain SOC 2 Type II and PCI-DSS Level 1 compliance, implement secure data exchange via SFTP and RESTful APIs, and achieve performance metrics including 90% contact rates within 30 days, 99.5% system availability, five-day dispute resolution times, and recovery rates of 20% in Year 1 and 30% in Years 2 and beyond. Failure to meet performance metrics for three consecutive months triggers a Corrective Action Plan Notice, with potential liquidated damages not exceeding 50% of unpaid transaction values from the last non-conforming month. The firm must also comply with all Texas Transportation Code requirements, maintain detailed records, assign a dedicated account manager, and coordinate closely with HCTRA's Back Office System for transaction management and customer communication oversight.

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SPECIFICATIONS

Delinquent Toll Account Recovery and Management Services for the Harris County Toll Road Authority

SCOPE

Harris County is seeking proposals from qualified firms to provide delinquent toll account recovery and management services for the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA), as described herein. The term shall begin on or about August 1, 2026 and ending two (2) years thereafter or until all services ordered prior to the expiration date have been satisfactorily delivered and accepted or performed satisfactorily for the using department.

PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE

A pre-proposal conference is scheduled for Wednesday, February 18, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. CST Via Microsoft Teams.

Attendance is not mandatory, but all vendors are strongly encouraged to attend in order to have a better understanding of the requirements of this RFP. Should you wish to attend, you must RSVP to Margaret Obot at margaret.obot@pur.hctx.net two (2) days prior to the conference. By RSVP request, you will be provided with the conference line number and access code to dial in to attend the meeting. Persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations should contact the Office of the Purchasing Agent at 713-274-4400 at least two (2) days prior to the conference.

It is the responsibility of each vendor to examine the entire RFP package, seek clarification in writing, and review their RFP response for accuracy before submitting. Questions relating to this RFP must be submitted in writing though Bonfire. The deadline for submission of questions relating to this RFP is listed on the Event schedule within Bonfire of this project. All questions submitted in writing prior to the deadline will be compiled and answered in writing. A copy of all questions and answers will be released as a Public Notice within Bonfire to all firms. The County will not be bound be any information conveyed verbally.

RENEWAL OPTIONS

HCTRA may consider three (3) one-year renewal options, renewable one (1) year at a time, based upon the same terms and conditions as the original year. Renewals are subject to approval by Harris County Commissioners Court. Once renewal options are exhausted, the contract must be rebid. HCTRA reserves the right to rebid at any time as is in its best interest and is not automatically bound to renew.

BACKGROUND

HCTRA is an Enterprise Fund of Harris County and operates a toll road mobility system for its users. HCTRA relies on charges from users of the toll road mobility system to fund operations, debt service, and future projects. HCTRA is led by its Executive Director, Roberto Treviño, P.E., and operates through multiple divisions, which include Administration, Capital Planning, Capital Projects & Infrastructure, Communications, Finance & Strategic Operations, Public Safety & Operations, and Tolling Operations. HCTRA strives to meet the diverse connectivity needs of all its users through partnerships with other agencies and excellent operation of a safe, reliable, sustainable, and evolving toll road mobility system, while upholding a commitment to leadership, public service, and quality of life.

HCTRA’s customer base continues to expand as partnerships with other transportation agencies in the region (TxDOT, METRO, Fort Bend County, Montgomery County, Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority and Brazoria County), state (Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, North Texas Tollway Authority), and beyond (Kansas Turnpike Authority, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority) allow users greater flexibility when traveling. The HCTRA toll road mobility system currently consists of approximately 132 miles of roadway to include the Hardy Toll Road, Sam Houston Tollway, Westpark Tollway, Fort Bend Parkway, Tomball Tollway, and Katy Managed Lanes.

HCTRA processes over 1.2 billion transactions and issues over 10 million Toll Violations Invoices (EZ invoices) each year.

While most customers pay their tolls on time, a small but significant percentage of accounts become delinquent. Effective recovery of these debts is critical to maintaining the liquidity of the toll road mobility system and preserving public trust in HCTRA’s operations, thereby necessitating this Request for Proposal (RFP). This RFP outlines HCTRA’s expectations, objectives, and the detailed scope of work necessary to implement and optimize delinquent toll account recovery and management services.

OBJECTIVES & GUIDING PRINCIPLES

HCTRA is a project entity under Chapter 284 of the Texas Transportation Code and the County’s fee and fine structure for the collection and enforcement of tolls is set forth in Chapter 284.

HCTRA currently works with the Harris County Attorney’s Office (HCAO) for delinquent toll account recovery, but HCTRA has identified a need for collection and legal support for expanded operations and increased volume. HCTRA is seeking one or more Firm(s) to provide delinquent toll account recovery and management services for the collection of all unpaid tolls, fees, fines, and costs for HCTRA as authorized by the Texas Transportation Code, HCTRA cordially invites responses to this RFP from experienced, well-qualified third-party Firm(s). The selected Firms(s) will be expected to implement an integrated strategy that supports HCTRA’s revenue recovery goals while upholding its commitment to fairness, operational transparency, and compliance with applicable laws, specifically to:

1. Ensure Non-Predatory and Equitable Collections

2. Maximize Toll Recovery Across All Delinquency States

3. Ensure Seamless Integration with HCTRA systems

4. Maintain Legal and regulatory Compliance

5. Deliver a Superior Customer Experience

6. Promote Accountability, Performance, and Transparency

The selected Firm(s) must avoid aggressive, misleading, or punitive tactics and should treat all toll users with dignity and respect. Communications must be clear, compliant, and free from coercion. Collections should reflect the spirit of public service, not private-sector profit maximization. HCTRA reserves approval authority of all communications with toll violators, including but not limited to the content of collection notifications such as form letters, emails, telephone protocols, website content, and other related materials used in the performance of collection services. HCTRA reserves the right to monitor performance at each stage of the collections process.

CURRENT PROCESS

HCTRA currently operates a structured policy driven collections process divided into three stages, Early, Mid, and Late stages and outlined below. Early-Stage begins with invoicing, through dispute resolution, and ends with Collection Letter Notice (CLN) mailings (letters 1, 2, and 3). Mid-Stage begins with Administrative Hearings and ends with CLN mailings (letters 4 and 5). Late-Stage collections is litigation. This multi-stage process is designed to give customers fair and ample opportunity to resolve outstanding toll debts while protecting the financial integrity of the tolling system and maintaining compliance with all applicable sections of the Texas Transportation code.

Early-Stage

1. Invoicing: HCTRA issues EZ Invoices in line with the Commissioners Court approved HCTRA Toll Setting Policy and future adoptions by the Texas Transportation Commission. See Exhibit A. EZ Invoices notify vehicle owners of unpaid tolls either thirty (30)days after a violation, after multiple violations within a 365-day period, or depending on the amount owed. Each invoice includes a cumulative summary of unpaid tolls, a $10 administrative fee (capped at $750.00 per license plate/account), and a due date at least 30 days after mailing. Invoices are mailed to the vehicle owner’s address in accordance with the Texas Transportation Code. Failure to pay an invoice may lead to additional fees, legal consequences, and being prohibited from operating on the toll road. When an invoice goes unpaid, a second EZ Invoice may be sent to a more accurate address without extra fees, again allowing at least thirty (30)days for payment. Details of invoice processing and HCTRA’s Back Office System (BOS) requirements to update toll violator payment information are defined in the HCTRA Interface Control Document for Collections and Hearings. See Exhibit B.

2. Dispute Resolution & Fee Waivers: To support fairness and customer goodwill, HCTRA provides formal dispute process and fee waivers. When HCTRA receives a properly submitted dispute, HCTRA will suspend the applicable due date and conduct a timely investigation. HCTRA offers administrative fee waivers under specific, defined circumstances including but not limited to errors by HCTRA or external tolling agencies, vehicle ownership transfers, theft, or documented financial hardship. The customer will be notified of the results, and if any tolls or fees are revised, a corrected EZ Invoice will be reissued with a new due date.

3. CLN Mailing (Letters 1, 2, and 3): If an EZ Invoice remains unpaid after sixty (60) days after mailing, the account is referred to the HCAO, where a $10 collection fee per invoice is assessed, capped at $500 per license plate/account, per Exhibit A. HCTRA may also begin the Administrative Adjudication Process for repeat toll violators, involving a formal hearing by appointed Administrative Hearing Officers. CLN1 is sent after day sixty (60), and if unpaid CLN2 may follow without extra fees. Repeat offenders within a twelve(12)-month period will receive CLN3.

Mid-Stage

4. Administrative Hearing and CLN Mailing (Letters 4 and 5): If the hearing eligibility criteria are met, a Citation Letter is issued, and a hearing date is scheduled giving the violator at least thirty(30) days of advance notice before the hearing. The individual may appear in person or remotely to contest the charges and may request subpoenas or representation. If the hearing officer determines liability, fines and fees are assessed per Toll Setting Policy. See Exhibit A. HCTRA then sends CLN4, outlining the Administrative Adjudication Hearing Order finding liability and giving the customer thirty (30) days to remit payment. If payment is still not received, a vehicle registration block is placed. CLN5 is mailed to inform the violator of the vehicle registration block.

Late-Stage

5. Litigation: If a vehicle owner’s account is unpaid exceeding 180 days after the EZ Invoice is mailed and/or the vehicle owner has received an Administrative Adjudication Hearing Order, then the delinquent account is eligible for litigation. The HCAO then files a lawsuit to recover the delinquent toll account.

SCOPE OF WORK

Harris County requires the Firm(s) to perform all delinquent toll account recovery and managed services, the scope is divided into two stages and listed below. The Firm(s) must perform in accordance with generally accepted professional standards and all applicable Federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, and regulations relevant to this contract and its performance. The Firm(s) shall be responsible for onboarding and managing a continuous stream of delinquent accounts in close coordination with HCTRA. HCTRA will transmit a file containing a list of delinquent accounts. Upon onboarding, the Firm(s) will ingest HCTRA’s legacy transaction history covering no fewer than thirty-six(36) months to facilitate reconciliation, pattern analysis, and risk segmentation.

Early-Stage

For delinquent accounts aged between sixty (60) and 120 days, HCTRA requires a proactive, retention-based collection approach designed to preserve goodwill and maximize voluntary compliance the firm shall execute a structured contact cadence that includes:

1. Day 60: CLN1 mailed to the customer and assessed a $10 collection fee

2. Day 65: Single email reminder with invoice summary and payment options

3. Day 75: One (1)(but no more than two (2)) outbound live-agent call using bilingual scripts and TTY-enables telephony

4. Day 90: CLN2 or CLN3 mailed to the customer

5. Day 95: Email/SMS alert sent with a secure link to HCTRA’s PCI-DSS compliance payment portal

6. Day 100: Single escalated follow-up call attempt by a senior agent or supervisor

7. Day 120: Final warning letter sent indicating pending escalation to enforcement or litigation

Throughout this phase, the firms must maintain digital self-service options, including an online dispute form, customer friendly payment plan options (term of 12-18 months), no cost ACH transactions, and transparent disclosures regarding any surcharges for credit or debit card usage. The Firm(s) may not provide interest- bearing repayment options.

Once accounts age beyond 120 days, HCTRA will, based on a strategic prioritization framework, send accounts to the Firm(s). These accounts include transactions occurring inside and/or outside of Harris County. Collections at this stage require sending Administrative Hearing Citation notices and the Firm(s) shall implement advanced skip-tracing research to facilitate finding the most effective address for the Citation notice recipient.

8. Day 121 - 200: Firm(s) will:

a. Schedule an Administrative Hearing docket from the list of accounts sent by HCTRA to the Firm(s)

b. Negotiate and collect payment from Citation notice recipient who call in response to a received notice

c. Negotiate and collect payment from Citation notice recipient who, on the day of the Administrative Hearing, choose to settle prior to appearing before the Administrative Hearing officer

d. CLN4 mailed to the Citation notice recipient no later than ten (10) days after an Administrative Hearing

e. CLN5 mailed to the Citation notice recipient no later than forty( 40) days after an Administrative Hearing

Late-Stage

For all delinquent accounts exceeding 180 days past due, the Firm(s) must engage in full-scale legal enforcement. All litigation must adhere to HCTRA’s oversight and governance procedures and require pre-approval from HCTRA. Hearings and Litigation will take place in various counties across the state of Texas in accordance with venue rules and state law.

Responsibilities include:

1. Prosecute Administrative Hearings when customers choose to appear before an Administrative Hearing Officer (Hearings are virtual but may, upon customer request be in person)

2. Send demand letters

3. File of lawsuits and securing service of process

4. Maintain secure storage of all legal filings, judgments, communications, and evidence in accordance with the Data

Security & Compliance Standards of this RFP

5. Negotiate and collect payment from Defendants (in both Administrative Hearings and during litigation)

6. Post-judgment: including abstracting liens, coordinating payment delivery with HCTRA, and calculating and providing post-judgment payoff amounts.

All Stages

To ensure timely resolution and fair treatment, the Firm(s) must manage all inbound disputes, and hardship claims in accordance with the following standards:

1. Log all incoming customer issues, whether submitted via portal, email, or phone, into the Firm(s) ticketing system within HCTRA business hours.

2. Resolve straightforward disputes (e.g., data errors, duplicate charges) within five (5) business days

3. Escalate complex or policy-sensitive issues to HCTRA for determination within two (2) business days.

4. Maintain a structured hardship-program protocol that offers income-based payment plan eligibility, including features such as automated reminders, flexible scheduling, and defined program exit criteria.

5. The Firm(s) must ensure all agents handling disputes or hardship claims are trained in empathetic communication and familiar with applicable legal obligations under Federal laws, state laws, and HCTRA Policy.

TECHNOLOGY & SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

The selected Firm(s) must implement and maintain a secure, scalable, and high-availability infrastructure that supports reliable data exchange, system integrity, and regulatory compliance throughout the collections lifecycle. Integration must align with HCTRA’s operational and security standards. Use of HCTRA systems for transaction management requires SOC 2 Type II and PCI-DSS Level 1 compliance. Firm(s) must demonstrate adherence to current IT security policies, which are available upon request.

Firm(s) must also comply with criminal history requirements. Individuals with disqualifying convictions or who refuse background checks may not be assigned. HCTRA reserves the right to conduct its own background checks at its expense.

Firms must obtain employee consent for such checks; non-consenting individuals may not perform services.

Systems Integration & Data Exchange

The Firm(s) must support both batch and real time integration with HCTRA's BOS Specifically:

1. Daily File Transfers: nightly batch data files will be exchanged via secure FTP (SFTP) checksum validation and PGP encryption

2. Real-Time APIs: RESTful APIs will be used for live updates on payment activity, dispute resolutions, and customer communications

3. Schema enforcement: all inbound and outbound data must adhere to HCTRA’s defined schema structure, including validation for required fields (e.g., account ID, plate number, invoice totals, event timestamps). The Firm(s) must perform referential integrity checks against vehicle registration databases and utilize duplicate-detection algorithms with a minimum confidence threshold of 95%

4. Reconciliation Protocols: The system must support automated reconciliation routines to verify that transactions, balances, and adjustments remain in sync between systems with no more than 0.01% variance

Data Security & Compliance Standards

The Firm(s) technology environment must adhere to industry-standard information security practices, including but not limited to:

1. Encryption: All data at rest must be encrypted using AES-256 or higher

2. Authentication & Access Controls: All systems must support role-based access control (RBAC), two-factor authentication (2FA) and detailed user audit trails

3. Network Security: Firm(s) must maintain a hardened firewall, intrusion detection/prevention system (IDS/IPS), and malware protection across all infrastructure

4. Monitoring & Log-in: All Firm access logs and system events shall be retained and available for audit by HCTRA.

Certifications & Audits

To demonstrate credibility and security maturity, the Firm(s) must maintain the following certifications:

1. SOC 2 Type II (or equivalent third-party attestation of internal controls over data security and privacy)

2. PCI-DSS Level 1 compliance for any system processing or transmitting cardholder data

The Firm(s) shall be subject to:

1. Quarterly Security Audits: Internal or Third-party vulnerability assessments and remediation plans

2. Annual Penetration Testing: Including full scope application and infrastructure assessments

3. Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Test: Demonstrate a tested recovery time objective (RTO) of four (4) hours and recovery point objective (RPO) of one (1) hour. Off-site encrypted backups must be retained for at least ninety (90) days

REPORTING & ANALYTICS

Daily Operational Reports

Each business day, the Firm(s) shall deliver a Daily Operational Report. This report must be provided in a format that supports both dashboard visualization and CSV/XML download. The report must detail:

1. Number of new accounts received (by aging tier)

2. Contact attempts (by channel: phone, email, SMS, letter)

3. Payment activity (total dollars recovered, number of transactions)

4. Payment Plans and account holder initiated self-service Payment Plans

5. Dispute submissions and resolutions initiated

Weekly KPI Dashboards

Each week by Tuesday morning, the Firm(s) shall produce a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Dashboard. KPI Dashboards must support trend analysis, threshold alters, and filterable views based on account segmentation and geography and summarize the following:

1. Total dollars recovered by age band (0-90, 91-180, 180+ days)

2. Contact penetration rate (live agent and automated channels)

3. Dispute resolution rate and average resolution time

4. Cure rate (percentage of accounts brought current)

5. Cost per dollar collected

Monthly Executive Summary

The Firm(s) shall prepare a monthly Executive Summary Report. This report should be suitable for a presentation to executive leadership and must be delivered no later than the 10th business day of the following month. The Report must include:

1. Comparative recovery performance vs. previous periods

2. Root cause analysis of any KPI shortfalls

3. System availability and data integrity performance

4. Call quality monitoring results and compliance exceptions

5. Recommendations for improvement or policy refinements

Ad Hoc Reporting & Data Access

In addition to recurring reports, the Firm(s) must provide on demand access to data through a secure web-based portal with search, filter and export functionality. Firm staff must be able to generate custom reports (e.g. By plate, jurisdiction, violation type) within three (3) business days of the request. All reporting must include timestamped logs, audit history and must be maintained as per the HCTRA and Harris County applicable Records & Data Policy to meet records retention and audit compliance obligations. See Exhibit C.

PERFORMANCE METRICS

The Firm(s) must meet the following minimum Performance Metrics. HCTRA reserves the right to conduct quarterly performance reviews. Failure to meet one or more Performance Metrics may result in service credits, application of penalties to be negotiated, or liquidated damages, for repeated underperformance, or termination.

Collection Stage Performance Metrics

Suggested Minimum Measurement Frequency (measurement performed by the Firm(s))

Early-Stage

1. Contact rate Firm(s) will contact (e.g., SMS, email, phone, and/or mailing) 90% of assigned accounts within the first 30 days.

Monthly

Collection Stage Performance Metrics

Suggested Minimum Measurement Frequency (measurement performed by the Firm(s))

Early-Stage 2. Customer dispute processing-resolution

Disputes shall be resolved within 5 days once all provided information is provided to the Firm(s).

Maintain a call center QA score of 90% or higher.

Monthly

Late-Stage 3. Contact rate Firm(s) will contact customers (e.g., SMS, email, phone, and/or mailing) within the first 30 days from the date the cases /accounts are allocated by HCTRA to the Firm(s).

Monthly

All Stages 4. Maximum wait time

No call should be answered in excess of 10 minutes.

Daily

All Stages 5. Wait time 90% of calls will be answered within one minute.

Daily

All Stages 6. Staff call monitoring

95% of all customer phone-call representatives shall have at least two calls monitored and rated per month. HCTRA may require evidence (e.g., call logs, recordings) to validate this metric.

Monthly

All Stages 7. System availability

Maintain a minimum system availability of 99.5% monthly.

Monthly

All Stages 8. Reconciliation report

This shall be submitted by five business days following month closing.

Monthly

All Stages 9. Annual certification compliance

Compliance reports shall be delivered annually on the anniversary of the effective date of the agreement between the Firm and HCTRA .

Annually

All Stages 10. Data Errors Data sent by the Firm(s) to either HCTRA, HCTRA systems, customers, and/or any third parties shall be free of errors. Data includes but is not limited to toll rates, fee and fine amounts, dates, geographic data, calculations, addresses, names, correspondence, filings, exhibits, and disclosures.

Monthly

All Stages 11. Recovery Rate

Year 1: 20% Recovery of allocated accounts Year 2: 30% Recovery of allocated accounts Year 3+: 30%+ Recovery of allocated accounts

Quarterly

Liquidated Damages

If HCTRA determines the Firm(s) have failed to achieve Performance Metrics for three (3) consecutive months, HCTRA may provide the Firms(s) with a Corrective Action Plan Notice (“CAP Notice”). The Firm(s) shall have ten (10) business days to perform a root cause analysis to identify the reasons each applicable Performance Metric was not met, report to HCTRA the issue(s) identified, and deliver to HCTRA a CAP response that includes a timeline for completing corrective actions not to exceed three (3) months. If applicable, the Firm(s) shall describe any additional resources the Firm(s) reasonably consider necessary to identify and resolve the unmet Performance Metrics at the cost of the Firm(s). If the Firm(s) fail to remedy the deficiencies identified in the CAP Notice, by three months after the date upon which HCTRA provided the CAP Notice to the Firms then HCTRA will implement Liquidated Damages.

The value of the Liquidated Damages will be negotiated during contract negotiations but will not exceed 50% of the value of the unpaid transactions transmitted to the Firms(s) during the last month in which the Firm(s) failed to meet the Performance Metrics.

Failure to remedy the deficiencies may result in HCTRA terminating the contract and quantifying the outstanding Liquidated Damages due for the previous non-conforming months.

FIRM(S)’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The Firm(s) must:

1. Maintain easily accessible records of all requests from Harris County and HCTRA and related invoices/accounts for review by authorized HCTRA personnel.

2. Assign a dedicated account manager and escalation team to manage all matters related to delinquent toll account recovery and communication with HCTRA. Notify HCTRA in writing of any personnel changes. The assigned account manager must understand County requirements and maintain professionalism and courtesy when interacting with HCTRA customers.

3. Be reliable and abide by all statutorily imposed deadlines, court deadlines, and maintain work habits that meet the needs and requirements of HCTRA.

4. Prepare and submit monthly invoices to HCTRA by the last calendar day, detailing service dates and descriptions, in a format approved by the Harris County Auditor. All payments require Commissioners Court approval.

5. Provide HCTRA with a “Compliant” Attestation of Compliance for Report on Compliance-Service Providers, completed by a Qualified Security Assessor on an annual basis.

6. Comply with all Harris County and/or HCTRA security access clearance requirements.

7. Cooperate with County’s Cybersecurity team in any incident related to a security breach or failure as well as comply with all Texas state laws related to such event.

8. Comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) in all: systems owned or operated by the Firm(s), networks, systems developed and/or that access, store, or transmit HCTRA-owned data, cardholder information, or data created to support delinquent toll account recovery. All processes used by the Firm(s) must be PCI DSS compliant. The Firm(s) must promptly notify HCTRA of any security breach or failure of a Firm-owned system that affects confidential information belonging to HCTRA or cardholders.

9. Comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) across all systems, networks, and processes that access, store, or transmit HCTRA data or cardholder information used or owned by the Firm(s). Any security breach or system failure affecting HCTRA or cardholder data must be reported by the Firm(s) to HCTRA immediately.

10. The Firm must acknowledge that any confidential information (including customer credit card information) is the sole property of HCTRA and Harris County, and the Firm(s) must agree to protect and secure the information from unauthorized access, whether by the Firm(s)’ employees or other parties.

HCTRA’S RESPONSIBILITIES

HCTRA will:

1. At its own discretion, refer delinquent toll accounts to the Firm(s);

2. Provide copies of, or access to, the information necessary to collect the unpaid tolls, fines, fees, and costs;

3. Provide a liaison between the Firm(s) and HCTRA to assist in information transfer and connection to the HCTRA

BOS; and

4. Compensate the Firm(s) according to the mutually agreed price structure.

COMPENSATION MODEL & SERVICE LEVELS

HCTRA will compensate the Firm(s) based on a pre-negotiated percentage/rate of recovered fees, and fines using a hybrid payment model that aligns incentives with the age and complexity of delinquent accounts. See Exhibit D. The Firm(s) proposal must clearly define the following pricing tiers:

1. Early-Stage: A flat fee per account for early outreach and voluntary account recovery event; and a contingency based fee structure where the Firm(s) earn a percentage of administrative and collection fees recovered and payable to the Firm(s) upon HCTRA’s receipt of payment of the delinquent toll and related fees and fines.

2. Late-Stage: A contingency based fee structure with tiered incentives for successful litigation, DMV hold resolution, and post judgment collections. Compensation is payable to the Firm(s) upon HCTRA’s receipt of payment of the delinquent toll and related fees and fines.

a. Attorney’s fees: HCTRA must approve all attorney’s fees before the Firm(s) pleads them in any filed case.

b. Case expenses: are reimbursable (up to a cap) to the Firm(s) for litigation support (e.g., private process servers, skip-tracing, certified mail, and litigation filing fees). The Firm(s) and HCTRA will have a standing agreement regarding the incurring and reimbursement of these expenses. The standing agreement can be changed at any time by HCTRA.

c. FEE ACCRUAL IS SUBJECT TO THE FEE CAPS ESTABLISHED BY HARRIS COUNTY

COMMISSIONERS COURT, IN THE TOLL SETTING POLICY. SEE EXHIBIT A.

EXHIBITS LIST

1. Exhibit A - HCTRA Toll Setting Policy

2. Exhibit B - HCTRA Interface Control Document for Collections and Hearings

3. Exhibit C - HCTRA Data & Records Policy

4. Exhibit D - Compensation Model

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