CITY OF GARDNER

PURCHASING DEPARTMENT

95 Pleasant Street, Room 217 Gardner, MA 01440 978-632-0426

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

(Supplies, Services, Materials, Equipment) MGL Chapter 30B

Required Submission Date: Thursday, September 24, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. local time

Deliver Submission To: Purchasing Department, 95 Pleasant Street, Room 217, Gardner, MA

Sealed Envelope Marked QUINQUENNIAL REVALUATION (PRICE & NON-PRICE PROPOSALS

SEPARATED IN TWO SEALED ENVELOPES)

Pre-bid Conference: N/A

Charges for Bid Documents: None

Bid Bond: None

Performance Bond: None

Payment Bond: None

Bid Documents (found on website) Include:

Invitation Request for Proposals

Information for Bidders/Terms and Conditions

Specifications

Minimum and Comparative Criteria

Required Forms Must be completed and returned with bid

Form for Bid Must be completed and returned with bid

Sample Contract Document

Note to Bidders - For any procurement document and any addenda that are received electronically, it is the responsibility of the vendor/contractor receiving the procurement documents and all associated documents to check this website for any addenda. The City of Gardner accepts no liability to provide accommodation to those who submit a response based upon information obtained from its website.

Bidders may not alter (manually or electronically) the bid language or any bid documents. Unauthorized

PROCUREMENT # 2027-009

ISSUE DATE: September 9, 2026

Joshua Cormier, CPO, MCPPO

Director of Purchasing jcormier@gardner-ma.gov modifications to the body of the bid, specifications, terms or conditions, which change the intent of any procurement document are prohibited and any associated responses will be rejected.

PURCHASING DEPARTMENT

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

INFORMATION FOR BIDDERS

The City of Gardner, Massachusetts is undertaking a program to update all real property for fiscal year 2028 pursuant to the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Acting through its Purchasing Agent, the City of Gardner is seeking proposals from qualified firms to perform the services described herein.

The City has a license to use the current version of Vision Appraisal CAMA software. The contractor shall submitting information pertaining to other projects for which the contractor has used the appraisal system. The contractor shall guarantee certification by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) for valuation date of January 1, 2027, Contractors shall submit separate price and non-price (or technical) proposals. The price proposal must be completely filled out, signed by authorized person, and placed in a sealed envelope appropriately

FY28 -price proposal must, at the very least, address and comply with all minimum requirements set forth in the Request for Proposals to be considered responsible. The non-price proposal shall also be signed and placed in a separate sealed envelope so

28 Revaluation Non-

Both envelopes containing the price and non-due date of proposal, identification of proposal and either PRICE PROPOSAL or NON-PRICE PROPOSAL.

A Proposer may correct, modify, or withdraw a proposal by sealed written, signed notice, clearly marked as a correction, modification, or withdrawal received in the office of the Purchasing Agent prior to the time and date set forth for the proposal submission.

In addition to addressing each item in the specifications, the Proposer must submit as part of its proposal the following information:

1. A letter of transmittal signed by the individual authorized to negotiate for and contractually bind the contractor, stating that the offer is effective for at least 45 calendar days from the deadline for submission of proposals.

2. A list of comparable municipalities for which the contractor has provided professional services, fiscal years, and client contacts.

3. A list of municipalities for which the contractor is currently committed to provide professional services using Vision version 8 CAMA Software.

4. Written assurances that the contractor has a complete knowledge and understanding of

Department of Revenue certification requirements and that all work performed shall reflect those requirements.

project, as well as the proposed cost, timetable and staffing plan, shall be presented in the proposal.

The proposal must address, at a minimum, each of the issues set forth in the Request for Proposals in order to be considered responsive. Any proposal which does not respond to each issue in the Request for Proposals shall be rejected as non-responsive. The award of this contract will be made with a recommendation by the Assessor and Board of Assessors.

The City of Gardner reserves the right to amend this proposal for an Update Program at any time prior to the deadline for submission of proposals and to reject any or all proposals received if it is determined to be in the best interest of the City.

SPECIFICATIONS

STATEMENT OF SERVICES FOR A VALUATION UPDATE PROGRAM

OF REAL PROPERTY

1. PROFILE OF GARDNER

The City of Gardner is a municipality located in Worcester County Massachusetts and contains

1,287 27 indicated that there are 7,163 parcels of real property. Gardner contains approximately the following number of properties as of January 1, 2026:

State Property Code Description Parcel Count 012-044 Mixed Use 62 101 Single Family 4047 102 Condominium 559 103 & 109 Mobile Home & Multiple Houses on One Parcel 79 104 Two Family 551 105 Three Family 261 111-125 Multi-Family & Congregate Care 179 130-132 & 106 Vacant & Accessory Land 462 200 Open Space 0 Total Residential 6200

300 Commercial 290 400 Industrial 135 600,700 &800 Chapter Land (61,61A,61B) 19 Total Commercial/Industrial 444

900 Exempt 519

Fiscal Year 2023 was the last time that assessed values were certified by the DOR. The assessors have undertaken an interim year value adjustment for the last four years.

At this time, the office includes one full-time assessor, one full-time clerical staff and two appointed board members.

anges to the improvements of real estate as a result of receiving copies of building permits from the building department.

three workstations, and an HP Printer. There are no plans to replace this system at the present time. Recommendations for upgrades to equipment and software should be listed as a separate item in the proposal.

2. SCOPE OF PROJECT

2.1 Subject to the terms and conditions of this statement of services, contractor will value all real property, taxable and exempt as well as inspected, in the City of Gardner.

2.2 Contractor will determine the full and fair cash value of all property so described and its usage classification of all real property so described, in accordance with Chapter 59 of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

2.3 The valuation and use of all property so described shall be determined as of January 1, 2027.

Contractor shall value all newly constructed improvements or those incomplete as of this valuation date.

3. RESPONSIBLITIES OF THE PARTIES

3.1 Throughout the project, the Board of Assessors will receive periodic reports from Contractor that will review and evaluate the progress of the project, and the Board will promptly notify Contractor as to whether the work performed is satisfactory and timely.

3.2 The City shall provide the below named data on or before April 1, 2027, unless otherwise specified.

3.2.1 arcel, which shall consist of the classification, lot dimensions and land area in acres or square feet, correct and current to the most recent tax billing date.

3.2.2 The City shall provide the zoning classification for each parcel, correct and current to the most recent tax year. The City shall also provide one set of zoning maps and a copy of the zoning ordinances covering all parcels, correct and current as of the most recent tax year.

3.2.3 The City shall provide one set of tax maps covering all parcels, correct and current as of the most recent tax year. Contractor may rely upon the accuracy of the maps and is not responsible for any errors in the maps or any errors resulting from the use of the maps. Each map will be drawn to scale, be identified by map and parcel numbers and have dimensions and areas of each parcel drawn on the map.

3.2.4 The City shall continuously and currently update the information referred to in this section to January 1, 2027.

3.2.5 The City shall continuously and currently provide copies of all sales information available to it with respect to the transfer of parcels. Sales provided must be on forms approved by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue for reporting sales and must contain proper and correct non- coding and all other data called for on such Department of Revenue form, including correct map and lot numbers.

3.2.6: The City shall make available to contractor existing property records or copies thereof.

Contractor shall be responsible for the safekeeping of the records while in its possession. If the City is in need of any such record while it is in the possession of contractor, Contractor shall provide it to the City upon request as soon as possible without causing undue disruption to the work schedule of contractor.

3.2.7 The City shall further assist contractor by providing or making available such other information, which it possesses or which is conveniently available to it, including, but not limited to, general assessment records and magnetic tapes and tape format/layouts containing pertinent information and data.

The City shall be required to provide such materials and data in original or duplicated form at ide such which is not reasonably available to it. Contractor presents that it is aware of the resources of the city and its limitations and, therefore, will require only additional material and data which is currently available to the City, or which may come into its possession from time-to-time through the normal course of events.

3.2.8 The City shall provide all property inventory data. Said data shall be current and will include all parcels that have been improved, as evidenced by building permits properly applied for and approved prior to January 1, 2027.

All data collected by the City shall be reported on forms supplied by contractor and completed in accordance with its instructions.

3.3 Contractor will be responsible for fulfilling all requirements stated in this statement of services in a timely fashion and in a professional and satisfactory manner.

4. PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

4.1 Proposed Project Timetable and Work Plan:

Description From To Project Commencement 02/15/27 03/01/27 File Maintenance ongoing Public Relations Plan ongoing Local Staff Training ongoing Valuation Testing 03/01/27 06/14/27

Valuation 06/14/27 09/13/27 Valuation Field Review 06/14/27 09/13/27 Assessors Review 09/20/27 09/27/27 Department of Revenue Preliminary Review for Certification 09/27/27 10/08/27 Final work Products Delivered for Review 10/11/27 10/22/27 Project Completion 10/29/27

4.2 Public Relations: The Assessors and Contractor will cooperate in maintaining good public relations throughout the period of this project. Contractor will coordinate all activities necessary to promote public understanding, awareness, and cooperation in conjunction with the entire project.

4.3 Local Staff Training: Training for the Assessors and staff will consist of formal and on-the-job training.

4.3.1 Formal and on-the-job training will include, but not be limited to, the Assessors and office staff

4.4 Data Collection: The Contractor will identify each parcel in accordance with the applicable

Type Classification C

4.5 Sales Verification: Contractor will verify, in accordance with this statement of services, the property inventory data for those properties located throughout the City which have sold in the complete calendar year prior to the valuation date for this program.

The purpose of this verification is to enable Contractor to produce a machine-readable file for valid arms-length sales, describing inventory status as of the date of sale. Contractor will verify this data for all sales occurring until the valuation date of this program. Contractor will develop and provide the Assessors with appropriate written documentation for the sales verification effort.

4.6 Valuation Testing: Manual or computer assisted valuation testing for all types of property will take place subsequent to sales verification. All valuation testing must be reviewed and approved by the Assessors before commencement of the valuation production.

4.7 Valuation

4.7.1 Contractor will compute, to the nearest One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), the value of all properties within the scope of this statement of services. A minimum of two (2) approaches to value from the following three (3): market, cost, or income, will be employed for all income-producing properties.

Income-producing properties include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following types:

primarily commercial/multiple-use properties; apartments over 4 units; hotels and motels;

storage warehouse and distribution facilities; discount and department stores; shopping centers and malls; supermarkets; small retail properties; office buildings; medical office buildings, research, and development facilities; and properties within industrial parks.

4.7.2 The minimum requirements for each of the three major approaches to value, as well as land valuation, are outlined in the following sections. Contractor will describe the approach to value, which will be applied to each type of property within the scope of this statement of services.

4.8 Sales Comparison Approach (Market Value): Contractor will employ a market adjusted cost approach which it has utilized in communities throughout New England. The system used should be very easy to explain to the taxpayer, as well as a system that is very familiar to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue Certification Team. This approach is to be used on residential properties with its starting point based upon replacement cost approach values. It should then be fine-tuned by adjusting these replacements cost values based upon market sales activity, segmented, and segregated by the most pertinent property characteristics.

Land valuation will be accomplished through a sales ratio analysis of vacant sales, as well as an overall property ration analysis, deducting improvement values and extracting land values from the improved sales. Each neighborhood, street-by-street, will be rated for desirability using a site index, which provides a factor that may be applied to a base square foot schedule to account for differences in location. In addition, condition factors will be applied to account for negative or positive influences on value, such as topography, view, irregular lot shape and other factors.

Overall property values, including improvement value, will be verified by the sales ratio analysis, segregated by the pertinent value related factors of each property. This analysis will be done within various categories, including style of home, segmented by size and age group in ten-year increments, by log size and location factors. This analysis enables the Senior Appraisers to fine-tune the replacement cost approach for each property to create a mirror image of market sales activity within the City.

Regarding commercial/industrial properties, the market value approach will be employed on properties not utilizing a combination of the replacement cost approach and the income approach. For commercial/industrial properties that are basically non-income-producing, the secondary approach will be the market approach, utilizing the square foot values derived from the sales analysis for the particular use type of the property. Square foot values will be segregated by type, including industrial, warehouse, retail, etc. and will provide reasonable ranges for per square foot sale prices of building areas. Land value, once determined, will be added to building value for an estimate of total value.

4.9 Cost Approach: The cost approach to value will be employed for both residential and commercial/industrial properties as follows:

Information derived from cost analysis will provide the basis for determining the unit-in-place and replacement cost pricing schedules used in the valuation of residential and commercial/industrial properties.

Subsequent to the determination of replacement cost pricing schedules and the establishment of land values, Contractor will analyze the sales of improved properties to derive an estimate of physical and functional depreciation and economic obsolescence. A report of this study of sales of improved properties will be made to the Assessors, listing the comparison subjects, and detailing the schedules of adjustments to be made prior to valuation production.

Physical and functional depreciation and economic obsolescence will be computed to be the difference between the selling price of the total property and the sum of the estimated replacement cost new of the improvement plus the estimated land value.

Provided that a sufficient number of sales are available, guidelines in the form of tables based upon the condition, desirability, and usefulness of a building relative to its actual age will be developed. After approval by the Assessors, these tables will be used to estimate the depreciation of comparable subject properties.

4.10 Income Approach

4.10.1 Contractor will review and screen income and expense reports furnished by the parcel owner or prepared as a result of interviews with the property owner; will determine the validity of the ledge of income and expense data of comparable properties. The City shall be responsible for the postage and the mailing of income and expense forms. A report containing documentation and derivation of rent schedules, expense rations and capitalization rates shall be submitted to the Assessors for review prior to the commencement of the valuation field review.

4.10.2 A value determined by the income approach to valuation will be made for each income-producing property. The income and expense statements will become the property of the City.

4.11 Land Valuation

4.11.1 Basic square foot values for all parcels shall be established for land throughout the City after an evaluation by Contractor of all factors affecting the market value of lots and parcels. Factors to be considered shall include the quality of the neighborhoods, zoning restrictions, size, frontage, depth, shape and topography of the parcels, and all other factors considered relevant in the establishment of land values for each of the various classes of property.

4.11.2 These land unit values will be determined as a result of an analysis of recent sales of comparable properties, either within the City or within an agreed upon area of the state, or by using a land residual approach. Any land classified by the Assessors under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 61A, as in agricultural or horticultural use will be valued after consideration of the current guidelines issued by the Farmland Valuation Advisory Commission.

4.12 Preliminary Certification Review: The Commissioner of Revenue must conduct a certification review to determine whether the new values resulting from this project represent full and fair all certification requirements of the Commissioner.

4.13 Valuation Field Review

4.13.1 Contractor will be responsible for any necessary field review of value estimates. The personnel conducting this phase of the program will have two (2) years mass appraisal and field review experience and knowledge of the valuation techniques employed in the City, as well as complete familiarity with the valuation project.

4.13.2 It is understood that Contractor will have the ability to exercise judgment in making final value estimates. Contractor, to ensure valuation accuracy and consistency, will be required to document such judgment. Documentation for changing any computer-generated value estimates will also be required. All such documentation shall be the property of the Assessors.

4.13.3 If valuation changes are made due to data error, Contractor will correct the data on the computer and/or manual file.

4.13.4 All values produced by Contractor will be given to the Assessors for final review and for a purpose of requesting a certification review by the Commissioner of Revenue. Contractor will provide the Assessors with all valuation models and schedules, property record cards, sales analyses, and field documents necessary to conduct this review. These documents will become the property of the Assessors.

4.14 Certification of Values

product will meet all certification requirements of the Commissioner.

4.15 Defense of Values: Contractor will provide expert witnesses to represent the City at all appeals to any court, the appellate tax board or otherwise, of valuations and/or classifications resulting from this project. The expert witnesses will have performed a visual review of the property.

The contractor will furnish these services, including comprehensive written appraisal reports if required, for a per diem rate of $__________. This rate is in effect after __________ which are included in the contract fee.

5. CONTRACTOR PROJECT STAFFING

5.1 Contractor will be responsible for the supervision of all phases of work in this project.

Contractor will employ the following organizational structure to manage this project.

5.2 Organizational Structure

Name Title Responsibilities Project Director

Field Review Appraiser

Commercial/Industrial Appraiser

5.3 Contractor shall perform the valuation update in the project time frame listed, utilizing the above staffing to achieve satisfactory results.

5.4 Resumes of each individual set forth in the organization chart are provided to the Assessors as an exhibit hereto, which include prior work experience: dates, positions, responsibilities for each employer; education and professional affiliations or each individual. All personnel must meet the qualifications required by the Commissioner of Revenue in 830 C.M.R.59.1A.1(3).

5.5 Any proposed changes in the project staffing plan submitted as part of the proposal will be submitted to the Assessors in writing for review and approval. The Assessors shall notify Contractor of the acceptance or rejection of any staff substitutions within fifteen (15) business days of the receipt of the proposed changes. The Assessors shall reserve the right to make the final determination regarding the acceptability of proposed personnel changes.

6. DELIVERABLE PRODUCTS

All documents, reports, records, data, or other material in whatever form, manual or mechanized, obtained, or produced during the performance of this project shall be the sole property of the City and shall be delivered during an appropriated phase of, or at the conclusion of the project, as required by the Assessors. The documents, reports, records, data, and other materials shall include, without limitation, the following deliverable products:

6.1 Documentation of procedures used throughout the project.

6.2 All training materials and manuals used in any phase of the project.

6.3 The data collection and valuation manual, which will enable the CITY to maintain and update its values.

6.4 The depreciation schedule and source of information used for its development.

6.5 Income and expense statements for parcels utilizing the income approach.

6.6 A property inventory record for each parcel.

6.7 All manual and computerized reports that support values and valuation formulas.

6.8 All materials and documentation used on the land valuation effort.

6.9 Any sales ratio studies used in this project.

6.10 Field review documents which reflect original proposed values, adjusted proposed value and any notices relative to action taken from informal hearings.

6.11 Appropriate mechanized file of all properties, their identification, inventory of improvements, all computer-generated valuation and technical documentation describing the organization of data files and record format. This is necessary for user understanding.

At the conclusion of this project, Contractor shall provide the City with a computerized list of all owners of record and new values to be utilized by the City for public disclosure.

7. PAYMENT SCHEDULE AND PENALTY

7.1 Payments shall be made to Contractor monthly, based upon the portion of work completed and delivered to the Assessors during the preceding month. No payments will be made until the Assessors approve the work. The Assessors will review each monthly invoice and within twenty

(20) business days of its receipt, either approve it for payment as follows, or return it to Contractor with a written statement of reasons for its rejection. All monthly progress reports and work-completed forms are subject to the review of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue for certification purposes.

7.2 Upon t

satisfactorily completed according to the work plan and time schedules, a percentage payment representing ninety percent (90%) of the amount billed for that month shall be paid to the Contractor.

7.3 written notice as stated above, specifying exactly what is unsatisfactory by item and the Contractor shall make every reasonable attempt to correct the inaccuracy. The Assessor shall retain the right to delay payment, only for the specified item; until said item is resolved to the satisfaction of both the Assessor and the Contractor. Upon satisfactory resolution, the Assessor shall pay the Contractor said amount due, less ten percent (10%).

7.4 The remaining ten percent (10%) will be paid to the Contractor within sixty (60) calendar days following the satisfactory completion of all terms of the agreement, with the exception of Defense of Values.

7.5 Additional Retainage: If the Assessor determines that, due to the fault of the Contractor, the project is not progressing satisfactorily, an additional forty percent (40%) of the specified item, as defined above, can be retained. If the problem is rectified within thirty (30) calendar days to the satisfaction of the Assessor, the forty percent (40%) will be paid at that time.

If the problem is not rectified within the stated thirty (30) day period, the Assessor will determine whether the forty percent (40%) will be retained until the satisfactory completion of all terms of this agreement.

7.6 Penalty Clause: The Contractor shall pay a penalty of Two-Hundred Dollars ($200) per day, five

Office after the agreed upon date, Section 4.1 Project Timetable and Work Plan.

8. PROJECT COST ESTIMATION

The following schedule will be used to itemize project cost (to be included in PRICE PROPOSAL ONLY).

Additional entries may be made where appropriate. Also, the intended use of a subcontractor for any or all work to be performed within the scope of this project must be stated separately.

8.1 Planning/organization: project setup, public relations, staff training;

8.2 Conversion of CAMA (optional if using another system);

8.3 Residential analysis and valuation;

8.4 Commercial/industrial analysis and valuation;

8.5 Field review;

8.6 Software upgrade;

8.7 Certification;

8.8 Project finalization and documentation;

8.9 Total project cost for Fiscal Year 2028.

Per parcel cost for the Appraisal Update and in excess of those listed (to be included in PRICE

PROPOSAL ONLY).

Improved residential;

Improved commercial/industrial/exempt Vacant land;

9. PERFORMANCE BOND

Contractor will furnish a bond in the sum of the full amount of this agreement with a surety requirements to begin the project as defined. This bond shall remain in effect until the City accepts, in writing, those terms detailed herein, or the expiration of 60 calendar days from the delivery of such items without written notice of obligation being sent by the City to the contractor.

10. MANDATORY CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENTS

T

10.1 General Laws: Contractor affirms that it will conduct this project in compliance with the General

Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts relating to property assessment administration.

Therefore, Contractor will have a complete understanding of these laws and be cognizant of the role of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue in administering and enforcing these laws.

10.2 General Laws Compliance: Contractor will comply with all federal, state, and municipal laws, ordinances, rules and/or regulations, including labor laws, those against discrimination, and existing or adopted in the future which are applicab to this project.

Contractor and any of its subcontractors, agents, and/or employees shall obtain all required permits, franchises, approvals, licenses and/or certificates necessary to perform its obligations under this statement of services.

10.3 Identification: All Contractor field personnel shall carry suitable I.D. Cards which include an up-to-date photograph supplied by Contractor and signed by the Assessor. This card will be surrendered to the Assessor upon termination of the employee or completion of the project.

10.4 Prime Contractor Responsibility: The Assessor has single point responsibility for the entire project. Subcontractors may be used, but Contractor will accept full responsibility for the without prior written approval of the Assessor.

10.5 Assignment: Contractor will not assign or in any way transfer any interest in this agreement without the prior written consent of the Assessor; provided, however, that claims for money due to Contractor from the CITY hereunder may be assigned to a bank, trust company or other financial institution without such consent.

10.6 Inspection, Monitoring and Evaluation: To ensure compliance with this agreement, the inspect, monitor or otherwise evaluate the work performed or being performed therein.

10.7 Ownership and Confidentiality of Information:

10.7.1 All information acquired by Contractor from the City or from others at the expense of the City, in the performance of this agreement shall be and remain the property of the City. This includes all records, data files, computer records, worksheets, deliverable products (complete and incomplete) and all other types of information prepared or acquired by Contractor in the performance of this agreement.

10.7.2 Contractor recognizes that, in the performance of this agreement, it may obtain or have access to confidential information, including information subject to restrictions on its disclosure pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 59, Section 52B, and agrees to comply with all laws and any regulations, rules and guidelines promulgated thereunder regarding access to, and disclosure of, such information. Contractor further agrees that it will inform each of its employees having any involvement with confidential information of the laws, regulations, rules, and guidelines relating to confidentiality and will, at the request of the Assessor, have each employee with access to such information sign a statement that they are aware of and will abide by all such laws, regulations, rules, and guidelines.

10.7.3 Contractor agrees that it will use this information only as required in the performance of this agreement and will not, before or after the completion of this agreement, otherwise use said information, nor copy nor reproduce the same in any form, except pursuant to the sole written instructions of the Assessors. Contractor further agrees to return said information to the CITY promptly at its request in whatever form maintained by Contractor.

10.7.4 Contractor agrees to take reasonable steps to ensure the confidentiality and security of this information in its possession or under its control.

10.7.5 terminate this agreement upon thirty (30) days written notice, unless within such thirty (30) day period, the failure to conform is cured.

10.8 Indemnification: Contractor agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the City against claims for performance of this project with respect to which the Municipality is free from negligence on the part of itself, its employees and agents.

10.9 Insurance Requirements: Contractor will, at its own expense, maintain and keep in force all insurance required by Unemployment and Public Liability Insurance, at least as hereinafter set forth, so as to protect it and the Municipality from claims for personal injury and property damage for the entire duration of the project.

10.9.1 Comprehensive General and Public Liability Insurance Policy with limits of: Bodily Injury and

Property Damage: One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence per claim; Personal Injury:

One Million Dollars ($1,000,000); and Umbrella, including Automobile Insurance: 3 Million Dollars ($3,000,000) per occurrence per claim.

10.9.2 All the insurance coverage must be issued by an insurer licensed and authorized to do business in the state of Massachusetts. Contractor shall maintain insurance satisfactory to the CITY covering any and all property damage or bodily harm which may be suffered by reason of negligence of Contractor, its employees or agents during the execution of the project. The said certificate of insurance shall be submitted to the Purchasing Department within fourteen (14) days of the signing of the agreement, in accordance with the requirements of the City of Gardner.

10.10 Termination:

their obligations in a timely and satisfactory manner under this agreement, or shall violate any of the covenants, conditions or stipulations of this agreement, which failure or violation shall continue for twenty-one (21) days after written notice of said failure or violation is received by the offending party, then the opposing party shall thereupon have the right to terminate this agreement by giving written notice to the offending party of such termination and specify the effective date thereof, at least seven (7) days before the effective date of such termination.

10.10.2 In the event of termination, all finished work and documentation, complete and incomplete, shall, at the option of the Assessor, be delivered to them. Contractor shall be entitled to receive just and equitable compensation for any work performed under this agreement completed prior to the date of termination that is determined by the Assessors to be satisfactory.

10.10.3 Notwithstanding the above, in the event of termination, neither party shall be relieved of liability by virtue of its breach of this agreement.

10.11 Force Majeure: Neither party will be liable to the other or be deemed to be in breach under this agreement for any failure to perform, including, without limitation, a delay in rendering performance due to causes beyond its reasonable control, such as an order, injunction, judgment or determination of any Court of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, an Act of God, war, civil disobedience, extraordinary weather conditions, labor disputes or shortages or fluctuation in electric power, heat, light or air conditioning. Dates or time of performance will be extended automatically to the extent of such delays, provided that the party whose performance is affected promptly notified the other of the existence and nature of such delay.

It is agreed, however, that, since the performance dates of this agreement are important, continued failure to perform for periods aggregating sixty (60) days or more, even for causes beyond the control of the Contractor, shall be deemed to render performance impossible and the Assessor shall thereafter have the right to terminate this agreement in accordance with the provisions of t

10.12 Conflict of Interest:

10.12.1 Contractor agrees that to the extent that such law is applicable to the duties it is to perform hereunder, it will comply with the provisions of Chapter 268A of the General Laws concerning conflict of interest. Contractor covenants that it presently has no interest and shall not acquire any interest, direct or indirect, which would conflict in any manner or degree with the performance of service required to be performed under this agreement.

10.12.2 Contractor shall not employ as a director, officer, employee, agent, Contractor or subcontractor, directly or indirectly, any elected or appointed official of the City or any member of the immediate family of such official for the duration of the project.

10.13 Effectiveness of Agreement: The effective date of this agreement shall be the date upon which the agreement is signed and executed by Contractor and the CITY and is approved by the Commissioner of Revenue as to form and content in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 58, Section 1A and 830 Code of Massachusetts Regulations 58.1A.1(5).

MINIMUM EVALUATION CRITERIA

1. EXPERIENCE OF CONTRACTOR

A. The Contractor shall have successfully completed a minimum of five cyclical revaluation projects within the Commonwealth using the Vision Software or approved equal compatible with the program the City is presently using.

B. The Contractor must provide evidence of qualified staff to measure and list real property and develop a schedule of values for all real property.

C. The Contractor shall have been in the revaluation business at least 10 years.

D. Vendor must submit a project timetable that is sufficient to complete the project and will allow the City to produce tax bills in a timely manner. Any proposal which cannot meet completion date will be rejected.

To fairly evaluate the above criteria, the proposers must submit lists, dates and descriptions of applicable projects and names of relevant contacts to substantiate any information provided in conjunction with the above requirements. A history of poor references will disqualify the proposer with such a history.

2. DATA ENTRY

A. The Contractor must be able to perform data entry functions. All conversion costs will be the responsibility of the Contractor.

3. PROJECT TIMETABLE

A. The Contractor must provide a timetable for completion. The timetable should address, at a minimum, those areas listed in the Scope of Project above. The project shall be deemed completed when all data has been collected, all data entry is completed, final data is transferred to the Vision Appraisal Technology CAMA system, and upon receipt by the City of Gardner of all required materials and documentation.

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION CRITERIA

Contractor shall be deemed non-responsive if the minimum evaluation criteria are not met.

The City of Gardner has designated the following comparative criteria. Proposals will be ranked based or will be used to evaluate the following features of each proposal.

1.

schedule; responsiveness to inquiries from the municipality; accuracy of data collection; quality of personnel; willingness to hire the Contractor again.

all municipalities contacted for references.

Advantageous: Contractor receives a general most municipalities contacted for references.

municipalities contacted for references.

2. size, and scope:

Highly Advantageous: Contractor has successfully completed a minimum of 30 revaluation projects within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts during the prior 5 years involving communities with more than 3,000 parcels of real property, including 600 or more commercial and/or industrial type properties.

Advantageous: Contractor has successfully completed a minimum of 20 to 30 revaluation projects within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts during the prior 5 years involving communities with more than 3,000 parcels of real property, including 600 or more commercial and/or industrial type properties.

Not Advantageous: Contractor has successfully completed less than 20 revaluation projects within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts during the prior 5 years involving communities with more than 3,000 parcels of real property, including 600 or more commercial and/or industrial type properties.

3. Contractor experience with revaluation programs in Massachusetts in converting from or working with the latest version of Appraisal Vision software:

Highly Advantageous: Ten or more successful conversions in Massachusetts.

Advantageous: Four to nine successful conversions in Massachusetts.

Not Advantageous: Less than four successful conversions in Massachusetts.

4. Contractor Financial Stability:

Highly Advantageous: Proposer appears to have long-term financial stability.

Advantageous: Proposer appears to be financially stable.

Not Advantageous: Proposer appears to be less than stable financially.

5. Training:

Highly Advantageous: Proposal includes formal and flexible training for the Assessors and staff, which includes data collection and analysis with a commensurate reduction in total cost of the revaluation.

Advantageous: Proposal includes some training for the Assessors and staff; and includes some data entry which reduces the total cost of the revaluation.

Not Advantageous: Proposal includes minimal or no training for the Assessors and staff.

Additional favorable factors: A proposal will be more highly rated if it includes time for the preparation and defense of values at the Appellate Tax Board at little or no cost to the City of Gardner. Proposal should specify the number of days for defense of values included in the proposal and per diem charges for additional days and the per diem charge.

Method for determination of best price: The best price shall be the lowest price from a contractor who meets the minimum criteria of the specifications and provides the highest level of performance under the Comparative Evaluation Criteria. The City of Gardner reserves the right to use an interview process to further determine level of performance and to apply findings to the Comparative Evaluation Criteria to determine highest ranking contractor.

Form for Pricing Pricing Form (RFP) To Be Submitted in Separate Sealed Envelope Page 1 of 2 Quinquennial Revaluation

Bid Documents

PRICING FORM

TO BE SUBMITTED IN SEPARATE, SEALED ENVELOPE

BID OF Bidder

In compliance with your request for proposals for Quinquennial Revaluation, having examined the specifications with related documents, hereby proposes to furnish all labor, materials, in accordance with the contract documents, within the time set forth therein, and at the prices stated. These prices are to cover all expenses incurred in performing the work required under the contract documents, of which this bid is a part.

This form will be used by the Contractor as their Price Proposal, for the purposes of compliance with Chapter 30B of the Massachusetts General Laws. Contractor must fill out this form for each year of the

The undersigned agrees that the following notices and/or addenda which have been issued during the bidding period have been received and have been considered both before and in the preparation or this bid and further understand that failure to acknowledge any addenda shall be sufficient basis for rejection of the bid:

Addendum Number Dated

Bidder agrees to perform all the work described in the specifications and shown on the plans for the proposed contract prices listed in the detailed correspondence attached. (Please attach your price proposal to this form, in a separate sealed envelope from the technical proposal)

The undersigned agrees to furnish the City of Gardner with the entire project as detailed in the Request for Proposals at the price as evidenced above:

The Offeror understands that all bids are subject to the applicable laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Municipal Ordinances including General Laws.

The Bidder agrees that this bid shall be good and may not be withdrawn for a period of thirty (30) days, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal Holidays excluded, after the opening of proposals.

Signature of Bidder

Form for Pricing Pricing Form (RFP) To Be Submitted in Separate Sealed Envelope Page 2 of 2 Quinquennial Revaluation

Bid Documents

PRICE PROPOSAL

8. PROJECT COST ESTIMATION

The following schedule will be used to itemize project cost (to be included in PRICE PROPOSAL ONLY).

Additional entries may be made where appropriate. Also, the intended use of a subcontractor for any or all work to be performed within the scope of this project must be stated separately.

8.1 Planning / organization: project setup, public relations, staff training: _______________________

8.2 Conversion of CAMA (optional if using another system): ___________________________

8.3 Residential analysis and valuation: ______________________________

8.4 Commercial / industrial analysis and valuation: ___________________________________

8.5 Field review: ___________________________________

8.6 Software upgrade: ___________________________________

8.7 Certification: _______________________________________

8.8 Project finalization and documentation: ______________________________

8.9 Total project cost for Fiscal Year 2028: ________________________________

Per parcel cost for the Appraisal Update and in excess of those listed.

Improved residential: _________________________

Improved commercial / industrial / exempt: ______________________

Vacant land: ___________________________

Defense of Values (per diem rate): __________________________

Required Forms, MGL 30B, Goods & Services Bid Documents, Page 1 of 3

BIDDER INFORMATION

required to submit the following information and any other information deemed necessary by the bidder.

Give full names and residences of all the persons and parties interested in the foregoing proposal. Give first and last names in full; in case of corporations, give names of President, Treasurer, and Manager; and in case of firms, give names of the individual members.

Kindly furnish the following information regarding the Bidder:

(1) If a Proprietorship:

Name of Owner

Business Address Telephone

Home Address Telephone

(2) If a Partnership:

Full names and addresses of all partners

Name Address Telephone Number

Business Address Telephone

(3) If a Corporation:

Full Legal Name Telephone

Full Names and adresses of President, Treasurer and Manager:

Name Address Telephone Number

State of Incorporation

Principal Place of Business

Qualified inMassachusetts Place of Business in Massachusetts

(4) Give the following information regarding surety company:

Full Legal Name of Surety Company

State of Incorporation Admitted in Massachusetts? YES or NO?

Principal Place of Business

Place of Business in Masachusetts Telephone

Required Forms, MGL 30B, Goods & Services Bid Documents, Page 2 of 3

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY

At a duly authorized meeting of the Board of Directors of the (Name of Corporation) held on at which all the Directors were present or waived notice, it was voted (Date) that (Name) (Officer/Title) of this company be and he hereby is authorized to execute contracts and bonds in the name and behalf of said company, and affix its under seal of the company, shall be valid and binding upon this company.

(Officer)

A TRUE COPY,

ATTEST: ____________________________________

(Signature/Title) Place of Business: _____________________________________

I hereby certify that I am the of the (Title) (Name of Corporation) that is duly elected (Officer, Name) (Title) of said company, and the above vote has not been amended or rescinded and remains in full force and effect as of the date of this contract.

Full Legal Name of Business Telephone Number

State of Incorporation* Principal Place of Business

Qualified in Massachusetts Place of Business in Massachusetts

Signature

*If state of incorporation is Massachusetts, insert MASSACHUSETTS on State of Incorporation line and disregard other parts of the form.

Subscribed and sworn to before me (Corporate Seal) If applicable (i.e., not necessary for sole proprietorships or partnerships) this ____day of ______________, 20__

________________________________(Notary Seal) Notary Public

My Commission Expires______________________

Required Forms, MGL 30B, Goods & Services Bid Documents, Page 3 of 3

CERTIFICATIONS

Statements below shall be duly dated and signed with an original signature or the Bid or Proposal will be rejected.

TAXES PAID: Pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 62C, Section 49A, the undersigned certifies under the penalties of perjury that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, all Massachusetts State Tax Returns and all Massachusetts State Taxes required under law have been paid, and I have complied with the reporting of employees and contractors, and withholding and remitting of child support.

INDEMNIFICATION: The undersigned agrees to indemnify, pay on behalf of, defend, and hold harmless the City of Gardner and its officers, attorneys, employees and agents from any and all claims, demands, suits, actions, costs, liabilities, penalties, judgments, son of

(a) any failure on the part of the Contractor to comply with any provision or term required to be performed or complied with by the Contractor under this Contract, or (b) for the death, injury or property damage suffered by any person on account of or based upon the act, omission, fault, negligence or misconduct or any person whomsoever other than the City of Gardner. The foregoing indemnity and hold harmless agreement shall include indemnity against all costs, expenses and liabilities incurred in or in connection with any such claim or proceeding brought hereon, and the defense thereof with counsel acceptable to the City or counsel selected by an insurance company which has accepted liability for any such claim.

COMPLIANCE: The undersigned is in compliance with all of the provisions, and shall remain in full compliance with the provisions for the life of any Contract resulting from this solicitation. Bidder is qualified to perform any such Contract and possesses, or shall professional and personal liability insurance policies sufficient to cover its performance under any such Contract; and shall comply with relevant prevailing wage rates and employment laws. To the best of its knowledge and belief has paid all local taxes, tax titles, utilities, motor vehicle excise taxes, water and wastewater bills in Massachusetts as required by Law.

Authorized Signature

CERTIFICATE OF NON-COLLUSION

MGL Chapter 40, Section 4B ½, Chapter 30, Section 39M and/or Chapter 30B, Section 10: Undersigned certifies under penalties of perjury that this bid or proposal is in all respects bona fide and fair and has been made and submitted in good faith without collusion or fraud with any business, partnership, corporation, union, committee, club, organization,…