25-001QP_-_RFQ.docx

City of Seattle

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Consultant Contract 25-001QP Accela Development & Quality Assurance Testing Procurement Schedule Table 1: Procurement Schedule

Optional Pre-Submittal Conference Join live event Monday, June 23 @ 11:30AM

The City reserves the right to modify this.

Changes will be posted on the City website or as otherwise stated.

Procurement Contact Information Procurement Contact:

Angella Tillis, Sr. Contracts Specialist angella.tillis@seattle.gov , 206-684-3094

Table 2: Delivery Address It is important to use the correct address for the delivery method you chose.

Procurement Platform

Submit all Consultant Documents through OpenGov:

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/seattle

The City of Seattle in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), commits to nondiscrimination on the basis of disability, in all of its programs and activities. This material can be made available in an alternate format by emailing Tom Hewitt at DOT_ADAProgram@Seattle.gov or by calling 206-615-1974.

Title VI Statement The City of Seattle, in accordance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4) and the Regulations, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full and fair opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award.

EEO Statement All prospective consultants are advised that federally funded projects will be held to federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) requirements.

Unless authorized by the Procurement Contact, no other City official or employee may speak for the City regarding this solicitation until award is complete. Any Proposer contacting other City officials or employees does so at Proposer’s own risk. The City is not bound by such information.

Table of Contents

Purpose and Background.

The City of Seattle, through its Department of Transportation, SDOT, requests Statements of Qualifications to provide staff augmentation of two positions, software developer and quality assurance tester for Accela Automation and related systems.

Accela is a government software and services platform that provides cloud-based solutions for government operations to boost efficiency and improve citizen engagement. Accela is used Citywide, including at SDOT, Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections, Financial Administrative Services, etc. The City uses Accela as a work management tool for permits where the public submits permit requests via the platform, and the platform manages the workflow including automatic and staff review processes, approvals and denials and revenue collection.

Interested consultants are expected to propose two (2) or more dedicated staff resources. Proposed staff must have expert knowledge of Accela, including but not limited to: record type configuration, scripting, Event Manager and Script Engine (EMSE) scripting, Accela Citizen Access (ACA), Accela Mobile, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) reports, and Construct Application Programming Interface (API). Successful staff resources will have at least fundamental knowledge of commonly integrated systems like ESRI ArcGIS, state licensing systems, and Blue Beam.

SDOT uses three (3) Accela modules, including two (2) custom modules for the Street Use and Traffic divisions, respectively, and the out of box Enforcement module.

Performance Schedule.

SDOT anticipates executing this contract in Q3, 2025. Design, development, and testing will be continuous for the duration of the contract, based on shifting business needs. Business needs include but are not limited to:

· Implement and test Sound Transit Phase 3 related business needs;

· Implement and test Amendment (change and extend) processes for the Construction Management Plan Approval Process;

· Implement other new record types and processes, as required by business needs;

· Enhance the implementation of already implemented record types and processes;

· Configure and support all aspects of Accela Automation, Citizen Access, Open Counter and other Accela product offerings;

· Assist with the migration to the new Accela Portal experience;

SDOT anticipates executing an initial contract amount of $3,000,000 - $3,500,000 over five (5) years, which may be increased or decreased at SDOT’s discretion.

Solicitation Objectives.

The City expects to achieve the following outcomes through this consultant solicitation:

1. Enter into a contract with a qualified consultant with deep knowledge of Accela and related systems who can dedicate two (2) staff resources to perform work as part of the SDOT Permitting System Extra Capacity (XC) Team.

2. Acquire expert level staffing resources with strong familiarity of the Accela system and that require no training to begin work in the Accela system.

Minimum Qualifications.

Minimum qualifications are required for a Consultant to be eligible to submit a proposal response. Your submittal response must show compliance to these minimum qualifications. Proposers that are not responsive to these qualifications shall be rejected by the City without further consideration:

1. Staff assigned to project must have at least 5 years experience working with Accela Automation and highly customized Accela Citizen Access environments.

2. Staff assigned to project must have at least 3 years experience working with Accela implementations for a Municipal or State Department of Transportation.

3. Developer assigned to the project must have at least 5 years experience creating medium to high complexity SSRS Reports or database views in an MSSQL environment.

Scope of Work.

The scope of work is to perform software development and quality assurance testing to support the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) Accela Implementation. Accela is a SaaS enterprise business application used by multiple departments, including SDOT, to manage permitting, licensing, inspections, and code compliance. SDOT maintains its modules in the Accela platform in partnership with the Seattle Information Technology Department Enterprise Permitting Inspections and Compliance Team (EPIC Team). The selected consultant must dedicate two, full-time staff resources to the project who will work as part of the SDOT Extra Capacity Team (SDOT XC Team) under direction from the SDOT Product Owner. The resources must attend regularly scheduled team coordination meetings, provide input on solution design that adheres to SDOT and EPIC Team standards, and respond to emergent issues, as needed. The individual consultants will not be required to report to city offices on a regular basis, however, SDOT anticipates ad-hoc in person workshops, training, and other meetings as needed throughout the project’s life that will require the consultants' participation.

Specific staff resources include the following:

Quality Assurance Tester This position is responsible for testing software solutions, both functionally and technically. This work is primarily associated with the Accela application and will also include work with other applications supported by the Accela Enterprise Team.

Developer This position is responsible for developing software solutions on the Accela Civic Platform. An understanding of supporting/integrated applications including but not limited to Bluebeam, ESRI ArcGIS, MSSQL Server, and Hansen 8 is required.

Core Services A core function is any element of a particular scope of work which SDOT is certain will be performed and completed through all phases of this Contract. Consultants shall focus on the core functions when developing meaningful and realistic integration of WMBE roles in proposed Inclusion Plans. SDOT has identified the following core functions in this scope of work:

· Accela Development

· Develop and maintain all aspects of the SDOT Accela implementation, including but not limited to system configuration, scripts, expressions, standard choices, page flows, SQL, payment adapters, integrations, and user administration.

· Develop and maintain integrations with various ancillary systems, including Bluebeam, ESRI ArcGIS.

· Develop reports, database views, stored procedures in an MSSQL environment.

· Package and deploy scheduled and off-cycle SDOT Accela releases.

· Update and maintain specification documents and inline code commentary.

· Ensure adherence to City of Seattle and SDOT design standards.

· Quality Assurance Testing

· Perform testing and regression testing of new and existing solutions.

· Document and track defects.

· Participate in the creation of new functional and technical specification documents with an eye toward precision and testability.

· Perform root cause analysis of defects in preproduction and production environments.

· Create and execute test cases, both manual and automated.

· Contribute to ongoing improvement of team QA processes, templates, and best practices.

· Collaboration

· Consult on best practice approaches to implementation.

· Identify and correct defects.

· Liaison with the EPIC Team and Accela to document and remediate product defects.

· Stay up to date on new platform features and coach and mentor other SDOT XC Team members on how they apply to SDOT’s Accela implementation.

· Provide estimated efforts and contribute to work planning.

Contract Modifications.

The City consultant contract is attached (See Attachments Section).

The City has attached its boilerplate contract terms to allow Proposers to get familiar with the City’s non-negotiable terms and conditions prior to investing time into submitting a proposal. The City may negotiate with the highest ranked apparent successful Proposer. The City reserves the right to require changes that are a result of changes made by laws or regulations including of the Federal, State or City regulations. The City cannot modify contract provisions mandated by Federal, State or City law: to: Equal Benefits, Audit (Review of Vendor Records), WMBE and EEO, Confidentiality, and Debarment or mutual indemnification. Exceptions to those provisions will be summarily disregarded.

Procedures and Requirements.

This section details City instructions and requirements for your submittal. The City reserves the right in its sole discretion to reject any Consultant response that fails to comply with the instructions.

7.1 Registration into the Online Business Directory

If you have not previously done so, register at: http://www.seattle.gov/obd The City expects all firms to register. Women- and minority- owned firms are asked to self-identify (see section 7.25). For assistance, email FAS_PC@Seattle.gov.

7.2 Pre-Submittal Conference

The City offers an optional pre-submittal conference at the time, date and location on page 1. Proposers are highly encouraged to attend but not required to attend to be eligible to submit. The meeting answers questions about the solicitation and clarifies any issues or concerns. Failure to raise concerns over any issues at this opportunity will be a consideration in any protest filed regarding such items known as of this pre-proposal conference.

7.3 Questions.

Consultants may submit questions to the City’s procurement platform OpenGov until the deadline stated on page 1, or as otherwise amended. Failure to request clarification of any inadequacy, omission, or conflict will not relieve the Consultant of responsibilities under any subsequent contract. It is the responsibility of the interested Consultant to ensure they receive responses to questions if any are issued.

7.4 Changes to the RFP/RFQ.

The City may make changes to this RFQ if, in the sole judgment of the City, the change will not compromise the City’s objectives in this solicitation. Any change to this RFQ will be made by formal written addendum issued by the City and shall become part of this RFQ.

7.5 Receiving Addenda and/or Question and Answers.

It is the obligation and responsibility of the consultant to learn of addenda, responses, or notices issued by the City as posted on OpenGov. Some third-party services independently post City of Seattle solicitations on their websites. The City does not guarantee that such services have accurately provided all the information published by the City and encourages potential proposers to go directly to the City’s procurement platform.

All submittals sent to the City may be considered compliant with or without specific confirmation from the consultant that all addenda was received and incorporated into your response. However, the project manager reserves the right to reject any submittal that does not fully incorporate Addenda that is critical to the project.

7.6 Proposal Submittal.

a. Submittals must be received by the City no later than the date and time on page 1 except as revised by Addenda.

b. All pages are to be numbered sequentially, and closely follow the requested formats.

c. The City HAS page limits specified in the Response Format section 8. Any pages that exceed the page limit will be excised from the document for purposes of evaluation.

d. The proposer has full responsibility to ensure the response arrives at the City within the deadline. A response delivered after the deadline may be rejected unless waived as immaterial by the City given specific fact-based circumstances.

7.7 Reserved.

7.8 Electronic Submittal.

Proposers shall upload their electronic submittal to SDOT’s selected procurement platform OpenGov for document submittal (see table 2). Proposers are responsible for uploading a complete and responsible submittal package within the stated procurement schedule (see table 1).

7.9 Proposer Responsibility to Provide Full Response.

It is the proposer’s responsibility to respond in a manner that does not require interpretation or clarification by the City. The Proposer is to provide all requested materials, forms and information. The Proposer is to ensure the materials submitted properly and accurately reflect the proposer’s offering. During scoring and evaluation (prior to interviews if any), the City will rely upon the submitted materials and shall not accept materials from the Proposer after the RFQ deadline; this does not limit the City’s right to consider additional information (such as references that are not provided by the proposer but are known to the City, or past City experience with the consultant), or to seek clarifications as needed.

7.10 Prohibited Contacts.

Proposers shall not interfere in any way to discourage other potential and/or prospective proposers from proposing or considering a proposal process. Prohibited contacts includes but is not limited to any contact, whether direct or indirect (i.e. in writing, by phone, email or other, and by the Proposer or another person acting on behalf of the Proposer) to a firm or individual that is intended, in the opinion of the City, to discourage or limit competition. If such activity is evidenced to the satisfaction and in sole discretion of the City department, the Proposer that initiates such contacts may be rejected from the process.

7.11 License and Business Tax Requirements.

The consultant must meet all applicable licensing requirements immediately after contract award or the City may reject the consultant. Companies must license, report and pay revenue taxes for the Washington State business License (UBI#) and Seattle Business License, if required by law. Carefully consider those costs before submitting an offer, as the City will not separately pay or reimburse such costs.

Seattle Business Licensing and associated taxes.

a. If you have a “physical nexus” in the city, you must obtain a Seattle Business license and pay all taxes due before the Contract can be signed.

b. A “physical nexus” means you have physical presence, such as: a building/facility/employee(s) in Seattle, you make sales trips into Seattle, your own company drives into Seattle for product deliveries, and/or you conduct service work in Seattle (repair, installation, service, maintenance work, on-site consulting, etc).

c. We provide a Consultant Questionnaire Form in our submittal package items later in this RFQ, and it will ask you to specify if you have “physical nexus”.

d. All costs for any licenses, permits and Seattle Business License taxes owed shall be borne by the Consultant and not charged separately to the City.

e. The apparent successful Consultant(s) must immediately obtain the license and ensure all City taxes are current, unless exempted by City Code due to reasons such as no physical nexus. Failure to do so will cause rejection of the submittal.

f. The City of Seattle Application for a Business License can be found here: http://www.seattle.gov/licenses/get-a-business-license

g. You can find Business License Application help here: http:/www.seattle.gov/licenses/get-a-business-license/license-application-help

h. Self-Filing You can pay your license and taxes on-line using a credit card www.seattle.gov/self/

i. For Questions and Assistance, call the Revenue and Consumer Protection (RCP) office which issues business licenses and enforces licensing requirements. The general e-mail is rca@seattle.gov. The main phone is 206-684-8484.

j. The licensing website is http://www.seattle.gov/licenses

k. If a business has extraordinary balances due on their account that would cause undue hardship to the business, the business can contact the License and Tax Administration office at tax@seattle.gov to request additional assistance.

l. Those holding a City of Seattle Business license may be required to report and pay revenue taxes to the City. Such costs should be carefully considered by the Consultant prior to submitting your offer. When allowed by City ordinance, the City will have the right to retain amounts due at the conclusion of a contract by withholding from final invoice payments.

7.12 State Business Licensing. Before the contract is signed, you must have a State of Washington business license (a “Unified Business Identifier” known as a UBI#). If the State of Washington has exempted your business from State licensing (some foreign companies are exempt and sometimes, the State waives licensing because the company has no physical presence in the State), then submit proof of that exemption to the City. All costs for any licenses, permits and associated tax payments due to the State because of licensing shall be borne by the Consultant and not charged separately to the City. Instructions and applications are at http://bls.dor.wa.gov/file.aspx and the State of Washington Department of Revenue is available at 1-800-647-7706.

7.13 Federal Excise Tax. The City is exempt from Federal Excise Tax.

7.14 No Guaranteed Utilization.

The City does not guarantee utilization of any contract(s) awarded through this RFQ process. The solicitation may provide estimates of utilization; such information is for consultant convenience and not a usage guarantee. The City reserves the right to issue multiple or partial awards, and/or to order work based on City needs. The City may turn to other appropriate contract sources or supplemental contracts to obtain these same or similar services. The City may resolicit for new additions to the consultant pool. Use of such supplemental contracts does not limit the right of the City to terminate existing contracts for convenience or cause.

7.15 Expansion Clause.

The contract limits expansion of scope and new work not expressly provided for within the RFQ.

Expansion for new work (work not specified within the original Scope of Work Section of this Agreement, and/or not specified in the original RFQ as intended work for the Agreement) must comply with the following:

(a) New work is not reasonable to solicit separately; (b) is for reasonable purpose; (c) was not reasonably known by the City or consultant at time of solicitation or was mentioned as a possibility in the solicitation (i.e. future phases of work, or a change in law); (d) is not significant enough to be regarded as an independent body of work; (e) would not attract a different field of competition; and (f) does not change the identity or purpose of the Agreement.

The City may make exceptions for immaterial changes, emergency or sole source conditions, or other situations required in the City’s opinion. Certain changes are not subject to these limitations, such as additional phases of work anticipated during solicitation, time extensions, and Work Assignments issued on an On-Call contract. Expansion must be mutually agreed and issued by the City through written Amendment(s). New work performed before a fully executed authorizing Amendment may not be eligible for payment.

The City reserves the right to independently solicit and award any new work to another firm when deemed appropriate or required by City policy.

7.16 Effective Dates of Offer.

Solicitation responses are valid until the City completes award. Should any proposer object to this condition, the proposer must object prior to the Q&A deadline on page 1.

7.17 Cost of Preparing Proposals.

The City is not liable for costs incurred by the proposer to prepare, submit and present proposals, interviews and/or demonstrations.

7.18 Readability.

The City’s ability to evaluate proposals is influenced by the organization, detail, comprehensive material and readable format of the response.

7.19 Changes or Corrections to Proposal Submittal.

Prior to the submittal due date, a consultant may change its proposal, if initialed and dated by the consultant. No changes are allowed after the closing date and time.

7.20 Errors in Proposals.

Proposers are responsible for errors and omissions in their proposals. No error or omission shall diminish the proposer’s obligations to the City.

7.21 Withdrawal of Proposal.

A submittal may be withdrawn by written request of the proposer.

7.22 Rejection of Proposals.

The City may reject any or all proposals with no penalty. The City may waive immaterial defects and minor irregularities in any submitted proposal.

7.23 Incorporation of RFP/RFQ and Proposal in Contract.

This RFQ and proposer’s response, including promises, warranties, commitments, and representations made in the successful proposal once accepted by the City, are binding and incorporated by reference in the City’s contract with the proposer.

7.24 Independent Contractor.

The Consultant works as an independent contractor. The City will provide appropriate contract management, but that does not constitute a supervisory relationship to the consultant. Consultant workers are prohibited from supervising City employees or from direct supervision by a City employee. Prohibited supervision tasks include conducting a City of Seattle Employee Performance Evaluation, preparing and/or approving a City of Seattle timesheet, administering employee discipline, and similar supervisory actions.

Contract workers shall not be given City office space unless expressly provided below, and in no case shall such space be provided for over 36 months without specific authorization from the City.

The City will not provide space in City offices for performance of this work. Consultants will perform most work from their own office space or the field.

7.25 Equal Benefits.

Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 20.45 (SMC 20.45) requires consideration of whether consultants provide health and benefits that are the same or equivalent to the domestic partners of employees as to spouses of employees, and of their dependents and family members. The Consultant Questionnaire requested in the submittal instructions includes materials to designate your equal benefits status. The completed Consultant Questionnaire will become an exhibit to the contract for the selected consultant.

7.26 Women and Minority Subcontracting.

The Mayor’s Executive Order and City ordinance require the maximum practicable opportunity for successful participation of minority and women-owned subcontracts. All proposers must agree to SMC Chapter 20.42, and seek meaningful subconsultant opportunities with WMBE firms. The City requires a plan for including minority- and women-owned firms, which becomes a material part of the contract. The Inclusion Plan must be responsive in the opinion of the City, which means a meaningful and successful search and commitments to include WMBE firms for subcontracting work. They City reserves the right to improve the Plan with the winning consultant before contract execution. Consultants should use selection methods and strategies sufficiently effective for successful WMBE participation. At City request, consultants must furnish evidence such as copies of agreements with WMBE subconsultants either before contract execution or during contract performance. The winning consultant must request written approval for changes to the Inclusion Plan once it is agreed upon. This includes changes to goals, subconsultant awards and efforts.

WMBE firms need not be state certified to meet the City's WMBE definition. The City defines WMBE firms as at least 51% (percent) owned by women and/or minority. To be recognized as a WMBE, register on the City’s Online Business Directory. Federally funded transportation projects require a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) program; for that program, firms must be certified by the Washington State Office of Minority and Women Business Enterprises (OMWBE).

7.27 Insurance Requirements.

Any special insurance requirements are provided as an attachment. If attached, provide proof of insurance and additional insured endorsement policy language to the City before contract execution as outlined in the Insurance Transmittal detailing the specific evidence of insurance required for this contract. The apparent successful consultant must promptly provide proof of insurance to the City upon receipt of the notice of intent to award.

Consultants are encouraged to immediately contact their insurance broker to begin preparation of the required insurance documents if the consultant is selected as a finalist. Alternatively, consultants may elect to provide the requested insurance documents within their Proposal.

7.28 Proprietary Materials.

The State of Washington’s Public Records Act (Release/Disclosure of Public Records) Under Washington State Law (reference RCW Chapter 42.56, the Public Records Act) all materials received or created by the City of Seattle are considered public records. These records include but are not limited to bid or proposal submittals, agreement documents, contract work product, or other bid material.

The State of Washington’s Public Records Act requires that public records must be promptly disclosed by the City upon request unless that RCW or another Washington State statute specifically exempts records from disclosure. Exemptions are narrow and explicit and are listed in Washington State Law (Reference RCW 42.56 and RCW 19.108).

Consultants must be familiar with the Washington State Public Records Act and the limits of record disclosure exemptions. For more information, visit the Washington State Legislature’s website at http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56.

If you have any questions about disclosure of the records you submit with your bid, contact the Procurement Contact named in this document.

Marking Your Records Exempt from Disclosure (Protected, Confidential, or Proprietary) As mentioned above, all City of Seattle offices (“the City”) are required to promptly make public records available upon request. However, under Washington State Law some records or portions of records are considered legally exempt from disclosure and can be withheld. A list and description of records identified as exempt by the Public Records Act can be found in RCW 42.56 and RCW 19.108.

If you believe any of the records you are submitting to the City as part of your bid/proposal or contract work products, are exempt from disclosure you can request that they not be released before you receive notification. To do so you must complete the City Non-Disclosure Request Form (“the Form”) provided by the City (see page 4 on the Consultant Questionnaire) and very clearly and specifically identify each record and the exemption(s) that may apply. (If you are awarded a City contract, the same exemption designation will carry forward to the contract records.)

The City will not withhold materials from disclosure simply because you mark them with a document header or footer, page stamp, or a generic statement that a document is non-disclosable, exempt, confidential, proprietary, or protected. Do not identify an entire page as exempt unless each sentence is within the exemption scope; instead, identify paragraphs or sentences that meet the specific exemption criteria you cite on the Form. Only the specific records or portions of records properly listed on the Form will be protected and withheld for notice. All other records will be considered fully disclosable upon request.

If the City receives a public disclosure request for any records you have properly and specifically listed on the Form, the City will notify you in writing of the request and will postpone disclosure. While it is not a legal obligation, the City, as a courtesy, will allow you up to ten business days to file a court injunction to prevent the City from releasing the records (reference RCW 42.56.540). If you fail to obtain a Court order within the ten days, the City may release the documents.

The City will not assert an exemption from disclosure on your behalf. If you believe a record(s) is exempt from disclosure you are obligated to clearly identify it as such on the Form and submit it with your solicitation. Should a public record request be submitted to City Purchasing for that record(s), you can then seek an injunction under RCW 42.56 to prevent release. By submitting a bid document, the consultant acknowledges this obligation; the proposer also acknowledges that the City will have no obligation or liability to the proposer if the records are disclosed.

Requesting Disclosure of Public Records The City asks consultants and their companies to refrain from requesting public disclosure of bids until an intention to award is announced. This measure is intended to protect the integrity of the solicitation process particularly during the evaluation and selection process or in the event of a cancellation or re-solicitation. With this preference stated, the City will continue to be responsive to all requests for disclosure of public records as required by State Law. If you do wish to make a request for records, visit https://www.seattle.gov/public-records/public-records-request-center.

7.29 Ethics Code and Conflict of Interest.

Familiarize yourself with the City Ethics code: http://www.seattle.gov/ethics/etpub/et_home.htm. For an in depth explanation of the City’s Ethics Code for Contractors, Vendors, Customers and Clients, visit: http://www.seattle.gov/ethics/etpub/faqcontractorexplan.htm. Any questions should be addressed to Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission at 206-684-8500.

No Gifts and Gratuities.

Consultants shall not directly or indirectly offer anything (such as retainers, loans, entertainment, favors, gifts, tickets, trips, bonuses, donations, special discounts, work, or meals) to any City employee, volunteer or official, if it is intended or may appear to a reasonable person to be intended to obtain or give special consideration to the consultant. An example of this is giving sporting event tickets to a City employee who is also on the evaluation team of a solicitation to which you submitted or intend to submit. The definition of what a “benefit” would be is broad and could include not only awarding a contract but also the administration of the contract or evaluating contract performance. The rule works both ways, as it also prohibits City employees from soliciting items from consultants.

Involvement of Current and Former City Employees.

The Consultant Questionnaire within your submittal documents prompts you to disclose any current or former City employees, official or volunteer that is working or assisting on solicitation of City business or on completion of an awarded contract. Update that information during the contract.

Contract Workers with over 1,000 Hours.

The Ethics Code applies to consultant workers that perform over 1,000 cumulative hours on any City contract during any 12-month period. Any such employee must abide by the City Ethics Code. The Consultant is to be aware and familiar with the Ethics Code accordingly.

No Conflict of Interest.

Consultant (including officer, director, trustee, partner or employee) must not have a business interest or a close family or domestic relationship with any City official, officer or employee who was, is, or will be involved in selection, negotiation, drafting, signing, administration or evaluating Consultant performance. The City shall make sole determination as to compliance.

Campaign Contributions (Initiative Measure No. 122) Elected officials and candidates are prohibited from accepting or soliciting campaign contributions from anyone having at least $250,000 in contracts with the City in the last two years or who has paid at least $5,000 in the last 12 months to lobby the City. See Initiative 122, or call the Ethics Director with questions. For questions about this measure, contact: Polly Grow, Seattle Ethics and Elections, 206-615-1248, or polly.grow@seattle.gov.

7.30 Background Checks and Immigrant Status.

The City will require background checks for the Consultant, as well as some or all of their employees and contracted workers who may perform work under this Agreement. The City reserves the right to require such background checks at any time. The City has strict policies regarding the use of background checks, criminal checks, and immigrant status for contract workers. The policies are incorporated into this Agreement and available for viewing on-line at http://www.seattle.gov/purchasing-and-contracting/social-equity/background-checks.

7.31 Reserved

7.32 Preferred Paper and Binding.

To the extent hard copy submittals or work is to be generated, either in submitting your proposal or for work produced during the term of the Agreement, proposers and any resultant Consultant utilize recycled products in the preparation of their proposals and any resultant contract work, to the extent practicable. The City and U.S. DOT has an environmentally preferable procurement commitment. For this solicitation, the competitive preferences that are required by both Federal and City regulations shall be in the form of recognition that all Proposers are compliant and responsive to this request on an equal basis. The City therefore seeks a package format to support the City’s green expectations and initiatives. If an electronic submittal is utilized, that shall be compliance to this preference requirement. If the City prefers hard copy submittals, the Proposer shall use 100% PCF paper or the greatest recycled content product that is practicable for the Proposer. The City prefers simple, stapled paper copies. If a binder or folder is essential due to the size of your hard-copy submission, they should be fully 100% recycled stock or otherwise recycled stock content. Please double-side submittal. See the draft contract for additional requirements in this area.

Response Materials and Submittal.

Prepare your response as follows. Use the following format and provide all attachments. Failure to provide all information below on proper forms and in order requested, may cause the City to reject your response.

Mandatory - Consultant Questionnaire. No page limit.

Submit the Consultant Questionnaire provided as attachment in OpenGov. This Consultant Questionnaire will be used, in part, to determine Proposer responsibility to meet the applicable requirements.

Mandatory - Letter of interest. Page limit: one (1) 8 ½ x 11 Letter of interest must specify primary, physical work location of proposed staff resources.

1. Proof of Legal Business Name. Page limit: one (1) 8 ½ x 11 Provide a certificate or documentation from the Secretary of State in which you incorporated that shows your company legal name. Many companies use a “Doing Business As” name or nickname in daily business; the City requires the legal name for your company. When preparing all forms below, use the proper company legal name. Your company’s legal name can be verified through the State Corporation Commission in the state in which you were established, which is often located within the Secretary of State’s Office for each state. see http://www.secstate.wa.gov/corps/ for corporations and https://www.sos.wa.gov/corporations-charities for non-profits.

Mandatory – Minimum Qualifications: Page limit: two (2) 8 ½ x 11 Provide two pages that list each Minimum Qualification, and exactly how you achieve each minimum qualification. Remember that the determination you have achieved all the minimum qualifications is made from this page. The evaluation committee is not obligated to check references or search other materials to make this decision.

5. Mandatory – Consultant Inclusion Plan. No page limit.

Submit the Consultant Inclusion Plan provided as attachment in OpenGov.

6. Mandatory - Proposal Response. Page limit: ten (10) 8 ½ x 11 This document details the submittal requirements for your proposal response. For RFQ solicitations, this is a qualifications-based solicitation where the City will evaluate submittals using the criteria outlined here. Submittals will be evaluated, scored and ranked.

1. Qualifications/Expertise of Proposed Staff Resources

Points

2. Organizational Capacity

Points

3. Approach to Work

Points

The assigned staff will not be required to report to city offices on a regular basis. However, SDOT anticipates occasional in person workshops, training, and other meetings throughout the project’s life. These may be on short notice. Discuss the proposed staff’s approach to and experience working in a mostly virtual environment, as well as their capacity to be on site on short notice, as needed.

4. Cost & Pricing

Points

Provide your anticipated fixed price based on the scope of work and deliverables provided in the solicitation for the life of this contract. This should include anticipated cost broken out by year, and include the names, titles, and proposed fully loaded hourly rates for your proposed staffing resources.

The anticipated firm fixed price must include all direct (labor), indirect / overhead expenses, and any allowable reimbursable costs that you anticipate incurring while performing the work.

The City may request additional clarification or a breakdown of the hours and costs with the top-ranking proposers.

5. Inclusion Plan

Points

6. Appendix A, Key Staff Resumes

Points

Attach resumes for the proposed staff. Limit resumes to one page per staff. Resumes are not included in the proposal page count.

Information in the resumes will allow better criteria evaluation but will not be scored separately.

The resumes should demonstrate experience that is applicable to the services we seek in this solicitation. For instance: Experience developing Accela implementations, Accela scripts, integrations, and configuration, QA testing for Accela implementations, including scripts, integrations, and configuration items, or the development of test plans for Accela

N/A

7. Appendix B- References

Points

6. Reserved.

7. Use of Hyperlinks and URLs in Submittals Hyperlinks and URLs to web sites or references to attachments may not be used in documents submitted in response to this solicitation, unless specifically requested in the submittal requirements. The City is not obligated to evaluate, review, or score any information submitted in the form of a hyperlink or URL. Information and documentation requested for the evaluation process must be submitted in the format indicated in the solicitation instructions, Section 8.

Submittal Checklist.

Your response should be packaged with each of the following. This list assists with quality control before submittal of your final package. Addenda may change this list; check any final instructions:

STANDARD:

☐ 1. Mandatory - Consultant Questionnaire ☐ 2. Letter of Interest ☐ 3. Proof of Legal Business Name ☐ 4. Mandatory – Minimum Qualifications ☐ 5. Mandatory – Consultant Inclusion Plan ☐ 6. Mandatory – Proposal Response ☐ 7. Mandatory-Pricing Proposal ☐ 7. Mandatory-Resumes ☐ 8. Mandatory-References Selection Process.

9.1 Initial Screening

The City will review responses for responsiveness and responsibility. Those found responsive and responsible based on an initial review shall proceed to Step 2. Equal Benefits, Minimum Qualifications, an Inclusion Plan, or DBE, as applicable, satisfactory financial responsibility and other elements are screened in this Step. A significant failure to perform on past City projects may also be considered in determining the responsibility of a firm.

9.2 Proposal Evaluation

The City will evaluate proposals using the criteria below. Responses will be evaluated, scored and ranked.

8.3 Interviews

The City may interview top ranked firms from the proposal evaluation. If interviews are conducted, rankings of firms shall be determined by the City, using the combined results of interviews and proposal submittals. Consultants invited to interview are to bring the assigned key person(s) named by the Consultant in the Proposal and may bring other key personnel named in the Proposal. The Consultant shall not bring individuals who do not work for the Consultant or are not on the project team without advance authorization by the Procurement Contact. Interviews are anticipated to be conducted virtually. If interviews are conducted, they will be worth 100 additional points.

9.4 References

The City may contact proposer provided references. The City may also use references named or not named by the Proposer. The City may also consider the results of performance evaluations issued by the City on past projects.

9.5 Selection

The City shall select the highest ranked responsible Proposer(s) with a responsive proposal for award including written proposal and the interview (If applicable). The City reserves the right to make a final selection based on the combined results and/or the consensus of the Consultant Evaluation Committee.

9.6 Contract Negotiations

The highest ranked Proposer will be asked to bring forward a fee schedule and pricing proposal for negotiation and discussion with the City. The City may negotiate any aspect of the proposal or the solicitation. The City does not intend to negotiate the terms and conditions of the attached standard consultant contract template, which has been made available on the OpenGov procurement platform. The City cannot modify contract provisions mandated by Federal, State or City law: Equal Benefits, Audit (Review of Vendor records), WMBE and EEO, Confidentiality, Debarment, or mutual indemnification.

9.7 Right to Award to next ranked Consultant.

Per RCW 39.80.050, if the City and Consultant are unable to negotiate a satisfactory contract with the firm selected at a price the agency determines to be fair and reasonable, negotiations with that firm shall be formally terminated. The City may issue an Intent to Award to the next highest ranked responsive Consultant and enter into negotiations.

If a contract is executed resulting from this solicitation and is terminated within 90-days, the City may return to the solicitation process to award to the next highest ranked responsive Consultant by mutual agreement with such Consultant. New awards thereafter are also extended this right.

9.8 Repeat of Evaluation:

If no Consultant is selected at the conclusion of all the steps, the City may return to any step in the process to repeat the evaluation with those proposals active at that step. The City shall then sequentially step through all remaining steps as if conducting a new evaluation process. The City reserves the right to terminate the process if no proposals meet its requirements.

Award and Contract Execution.

The City’s procurement contact will provide timely notice of an intent to award to all consultants responding to the Solicitation.

10.1 Protests.

Interested parties that wish to protest any aspect of this RFQ selection process shall provide written notice within 3 days to the Procurement Contact.

10.2 Protests – City Purchasing and Contracting Services.

The City has rules to govern the rights and obligations of interested parties that desire to submit a complaint or protest to this process. See the City website at https://www.seattle.gov/purchasing-and-contracting/doing-business-with-the-city/solicitation-and-selection-protest-protocols. Interested parties have the obligation to know of and understand these rules, and to seek clarification from the City. Note there are time limits on protests, and proposers have final responsibility to learn of results in sufficient time for such protests to be filed in a timely manner.

10.3 Limited Debriefs.

The City issues results and award decisions to all consultants. The City provides debriefing on a limited basis for the purpose of allowing consultants to understand how they may improve in future bidding opportunities. Any requested debriefs will occur after contract negotiations have concluded.

10.4 Instructions to the Apparently Successful Consultant(s).

The Apparently Successful Consultant(s) will receive an Intent to Award Letter from the Procurement Contact after award decisions are made by the City. The Letter will include instructions for final submittals due prior to execution of the contract.

Once the City has finalized and issued the Intent to Award, the Consultant must execute the contract and provide all requested documents within ten (10) business days. This includes attaining a Seattle Business License, payment of associated taxes due, and providing proof of insurance. If the Consultant fails to execute the contract with all documents within the ten (10) day time frame, the City may cancel the award and proceed to the next ranked Consultant, or cancel or reissue this solicitation. Cancellation of an award for failure to execute the Contract as attached may disqualify the firm from future solicitations for this same work.

10.5 Checklist of Requirements Prior to Award.

The Consultant(s) should anticipate the Letter will require at least the following. Consultants are encouraged to prepare these documents early, when possible, to eliminate risks of late compliance.

· Seattle Business License is current and all taxes due have been paid.

· State of Washington Business License.

· SAM.gov registration (for federal contracts, for prime and all subconsultants)

· Evidence of Insurance (if required)

· Payroll Registers

· Current FAR compliant Indirect Cost Rate documentation

· Special Licenses (if any)

10.6 Taxpayer Identification Number and W-9.

Consultant must execute and submit this form prior to the contract execution date.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/…