REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (“RFP”) – PART I

RFP Template Revised 02/10/25 Page 1 of 5

RFP #: 262813RM

RFP TITLE: UTILITY BILL PRINTING AND MAILING SERVICES

1.0 PURPOSE

Sarasota County (“County”), a political subdivision of the State of Florida, will receive proposals on the date indicated in OpenGov Procurement (OpenGov), the County’s electronic procurement portal, for the purpose of selecting a qualified Proposer to provide utility bill printing and mailing services. Proposers are required to comply with Part II, Scope of Services.

OpenGov is located at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/scgov

2.0 PROPOSER

2.1 For the purpose of this RFP, the term “Proposer” is defined as the legal entity submitting a proposal.

2.2 Proposers intending to submit a bid as a joint venture with another company must provide documentation attesting to the formation of that joint venture with their submittal. For purposes of this solicitation, all vendors who make up the joint venture will be considered together as the Proposer.

3.0 QUALIFICATIONS

3.1 Proposer must demonstrate experience providing revenue billing services for governmental entities comparable in size, complexity, and operational requirements to Sarasota County.

3.2 Preferred Qualifications

3.2.1. Proposer offers multiple redundant sites that can redirect and resume all services.

3.2.2. Proposer has experience integrating with UMAX, the County's Customer Information System (CIS).

4.0 MEETINGS & SCHEDULE

An anticipated schedule is provided in the Timeline posted in OpenGov. All meetings will take place at the time, date, and location specified in the solicitation Timeline.

Short-listed Proposers should be prepared to attend presentations and/or interviews either in Sarasota, Florida or virtually, at the County’s discretion.

5.0 SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS

Refer to Submittal Instructions section in OpenGov for instructions on how to submit a proposal. Proposers are advised to review the General Terms and Conditions of Solicitations which are available in OpenGov.

6.0 VENDOR QUESTIONNAIRE

6.1 All Proposers must complete the required forms and information included in the Vendor Questionnaire section of OpenGov. Completed forms and other requested documents must be uploaded with Proposer’s submittal in OpenGov. Proposers who fail to complete and upload required forms and https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/scgov

RFP Template Revised 02/10/25 Page 2 of 5 documents or fail to provide responses to questions in the Vendor Questionnaire section of OpenGov may be found non-responsive.

7.0 WRITTEN PROPOSALS

The information requested in each section below will be used by the evaluation committee to evaluate and score written proposals. All proposal documents must be submitted in the Vendor Questionnaire section in OpenGov in the format requested.

7.1 Qualifications

7.1.1. Single page Letter of Interest summarizing Proposer’s

qualifications.

7.1.2. Resumes of key personnel, including subcontractors, demonstrating individual qualifications and experience.

7.2 Experience

7.2.1. Narrative – Provide a narrative that describes the Proposer’s experience, including, but not limited to the number of years in business, pertinent capabilities, and evidence of experience and resources necessary to successfully provide the requested services.

7.2.2. Customer List - Provide a list of customers who have been provided with services similar to the services described in this RFP in the last 5 years. Customer list should include contact information for a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 10 customers. At a minimum, include customer name, a brief description of services provided, contract start and end dates, and the name, email, and telephone number of a contact person who can verify information. When possible, include the dollar value of the contract. If unable to provide detailed information regarding private sector customers due to confidentiality concerns, provide as much information as possible for those customers.

7.3 Approach

7.3.1. Project Approach - Provide a detailed project approach, including the proposed strategy for providing the requested services.

Anticipated resources, including, but not limited to, staffing levels, technology and equipment should be provided.

7.3.2. Schedule/Timeline – Provide a graphical representation of the proposed schedule/timeline indicating major milestones and deliverables.

7.3.3. Organization – Provide an organizational chart identifying all key personnel and their role in the providing the requested services.

RFP Template Revised 02/10/25 Page 3 of 5

7.4 Compensation

Provide a description of the total costs associated with this scope of work.

Compensation methods shall include hourly rates and detail all direct expense costs for all anticipated services.

8.0 SELECTION PROCESS

8.1 Written Proposals

8.1.1. All timely responses meeting the criteria set forth in this RFP shall be considered by the County.

8.1.2. Written proposals will be evaluated and scored using the evaluation criteria in the Evaluation Criteria section of OpenGov.

8.1.3. Only Proposers who submit required documentation will be eligible to receive Local and American Preference points.

8.1.4. When evaluating written proposals, the evaluation committee will use the scale below to score each criterion. Only whole numbers are to be used when scoring. Scores will be given weight as indicated in the evaluation criteria in OpenGov.

Score Description

5 Excellent

4 Very Good

3 Good

2 Satisfactory

1 Unsatisfactory

0 N/A

8.2 Presentations

8.2.1. If any member of the evaluation committee requests presentations, presentations shall be scheduled.

8.2.2. If presentations are requested or required, the evaluation committee shall determine the number of Proposers to be short-listed for presentations prior to scoring. The format of presentation will be determined by the County and may consist of presentations, interviews, or a combination of presentations and interviews.

Presentations will be required from no fewer than the three highest scoring Proposers (or all responsive and responsible Proposers if there are 3 or fewer) under the following circumstances.

1. The estimated costs of services are in excess of $350,000 (either annually or for the total project); or

RFP Template Revised 02/10/25 Page 4 of 5

2. Scoring results in 5 points or less between the highest scoring Proposer and the 2nd highest scoring Proposer; or

3. The solicitation documents specify that presentations or interviews will be required.

4. The Procurement Official has determined that presentations are required for this solicitation.

If this box is checked, the Procurement Official has determined that presentations are required for this solicitation

8.3 Ranking

Following presentations, the evaluation committee will rank the short-listed Proposers. The ranking shall be based on the written proposals, clarifications (if any), and information presented during presentations.

8.4 Evaluation Committee Recommendation of Award

8.4.1. If presentations are not requested or required, the evaluation committee will recommend the highest scoring Proposer for award.

8.4.2. If presentations are requested or required, following presentations the evaluation committee will rank the short-listed Proposers, and recommend the first ranked Proposer for award.

9.0 AWARD

9.1 It is the intent of the County to award a contract to the Proposer(s) who, in the sole opinion of the evaluation committee, is most qualified to provide the scope of services required and will provide the best value to the County.

9.2 The County reserves the right to contract for a term less than or greater than the duration indicated in OpenGov.

9.3 The successful Proposer shall be required to submit proof of licenses or certifications as required by the County.

9.4 In the event of a tie, the RFP tie-breaking procedures identified in the Sarasota County Procurement Manual will apply. To be considered, tied Proposers will be required to provide documentation certifying they have implemented a drug-free workplace program meeting the requirements stipulated in Section 287.087, Florida Statutes. Documentation must be provided within the time specified by the County at the time of request.

9.5 Preferences

Proposers wishing to be considered for Local Business Preference or American Business Preference must complete and submit a Local & American Business Certification Form with their submittal. The Local & American Business Certification Form can be found in the Vendor Questionnaire section of OpenGov.

RFP Template Revised 02/10/25 Page 5 of 5

In awarding this RFP, preference shall be given to local businesses and American businesses in accordance with Section 2-215 of the Sarasota County Procurement Code.

Local and American business preferences do not apply to the award of this RFP, due to Grant funding requirements

9.6 Contract

A draft of the contract that the successful Proposer(s) will be expected to sign (a Term Contract) is posted on the Procurement website, shown below.

The County may, in its sole discretion, select a different contract type or make revisions to the one referenced above following the recommended award of this solicitation.

https://www.scgov.net/government/procurement/contract-templates

10.0 CHANGES IN KEY PERSONNEL

10.1 A change in the key personnel of a short-listed firm after the submission of the response to this RFP could result in reconsideration of the scoring of applicable evaluation criteria, at the sole discretion of the County.

10.2 Any changes in the key personnel of a short-listed firm should be brought to the attention of the County as soon as possible after the change is made.

The changes, the reasons for the changes, and resumes for the individuals being substituted for an individual identified in the response, must be submitted, prior to oral presentations, to the Procurement Analyst identified on the Solicitation Summary.

10.3 Decreases in scoring may result from the reconsideration of changes in the key personnel of a short-listed firm. No increases in scoring will result from the reconsideration of changes in the key personnel of a short-listed firm.

10.4 After award of a contract, the successful Proposer shall not be allowed to substitute key personnel named in this response, including subcontractors, without the prior written permission of the County. Substitution may, in the sole opinion of the County, be grounds for cancellation of selection, or termination of contract.

https://www.scgov.net/government/procurement/contract-templates

PART II

SCOPE OF SERVICES

Part II - Page 1 of 7 Prepared by Public Utilities Department

1. OVERVIEW

Contractor shall design, process, electronically transmit, print, insert, and mail County provided utility customer account statements and information.

Additionally, Contractor shall provide related transition, web, technical support, and quality assurance/quality control services, as well as reports and statistics to the County as needed.

2. SCOPE OF SERVICES

A. SET UP SERVICES (estimated 12 weeks):

i. Kickoff meeting with the County, develop and obtain approval for the project schedule and scope, review documents and input requirements, identify team roles, and provide weekly documented progress updates.

ii. Installation and setup of file transmission and implementation of method(s) for file delivery.

iii. Application software development, testing, acceptance, and production, including an approved plan for file transmission.

iv. Design and formatting of billing statements, notices, and letter templates in coordination with, and written approval from the County. Templates shall be provided in both electronic and hardcopy formats.

v. Go Live with support

vi. Project management

vii. Training of County staff

B. WEB SERVICE DETAILS

i. Contractor shall provide a web services request site based on billing date, account number, and authentication credentials. NOTE: .pdf retrieval via an interface will be required to perform this task.

ii. Contractor shall provide the County with a role-based, customer web portal including the following tools and features:

a. Customer Web Portal: twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week access of data files for downloading, Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) and NCOA, variable messaging on individually selected documents and inserts, document proofing prior to printing, ability to make last minute changes before

Part II - Page 2 of 7 printing, real time job tracking that can be monitored throughout the entire process, detailed reporting, address updates and corrections of reports from CASS and NCOA, including postage costs by job upon job completion, weekly and monthly summary reports, and mail tracking of project from departure to delivery.

Ability to search by account number, customer name, billing date.

b. Search: Fully hosted web application that electronically stores exact replicas of statements in PDF format. Provides the ability to search, view or print a document exactly as it appears to County customers, on line twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week.

c. View and Approve: Online tool providing the ability to view and approve proofs or hold entire jobs for reviewing individual documents. Allows for ability to set specific jobs on hold and perform business validation at the document level.

d. Message Manager: Online tool providing the ability to add or change messaging on customer bill before production begins, search existing messages, or create new messages by state, zip code, or County defined data fields.

e. Job Tracking: Online feature providing the ability to track job throughout the production process.

f. Mail Tracking: Online tool providing the ability to track inbound/outbound mail throughout the United States Postal Service (USPS) postal system up to the point of delivery.

g. Emailed Bills (E-Bill): Service providing personalized html based graphic email delivery, twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week viewing and access, directs bill-payer to County's Electronic Bill Presentment and Payments (EBPP) Website, click-through & bounce-back reporting twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week access to back-end reporting on any user-defined fields.

iii. Storage: The period for bill search and viewing will be twenty-four

(24) months from the date of bill creation. Contractor shall provide access to output repository of processed correspondence. All output files should be accessible and downloadable for a minimum of thirty

(30) calendar days from creation.

Part II - Page 3 of 7

C. PRINTING SERVICES

i. Contractor shall confirm in writing receipt of data files sent by County to process data files and print correspondence daily. County may transmit one or more data files by ftp or sftp each business day.

ii. Upon receipt and verification of the data files, Contractor shall process data files as follows:

a. Print letters for delinquent accounts on 8.5” x 11” pink 20-pound bond paper.

b. Print utility bill statements on double sided 8.5" x 11" 20-pound white bond paper with perforations approximately 7-1/4" from the top of the page or 3-3/4" from the bottom of the page. Utility bill statement text shall be printed in color front and back.

c. Print insert templates to include with utility bill statements as provided by the County.

d. Print inserts, letters and or notices outside of utility bill statement cycles as needed. Size and paper weight may vary.

e. Print general information on the back of the utility bill statements shall include, but not be limited to the following:

1 Change of mailing address form.

2 County location addresses and hours of operation.

3 County contact phone numbers.

4 Billing rate chart.

5 Credit card payment information.

6 Other general information as needed.

f. Print letters and notices for compliance and enforcement of utility rules and regulations on 8.5” x 11” 20-pound white bond paper.

Letters may be single or double sided, and either printed in color or black and white.

Part II - Page 4 of 7

D. MAILING SERVICES

i. Contractor shall group correspondence to ensure the best possible postage rates.

ii. Contractor shall provide County with Address Change Service (ACS) for automatic mailing address validation with the USPS database.

iii. Contractor shall process mail using bulk mail according to the USPS rules, regulations, and requirements, including routing all addresses through CASS certification system and Intelligent Mail (IM) barcode.

iv. Contractor shall mail correspondence within a twenty-four (24) hour period after receipt of the data file sent by County, but in no case, be mailed later than seventy-two (72) hours after receipt.

v. Contractor shall email letters for delinquent accounts using the account holder's email address from the data file within a twenty-four (24) hour period after receipt of the data file, but in no case shall letters be emailed later than seventy-two (72) hours after receipt of the data file.

vi. Contractor shall provide a report on the volume of work processed at the end of each business day.

vii. Contractor shall mail all letters and notices by First Class Mail unless instructed to send using eCertify with proof of delivery.

viii. Contractor shall register on the eCertify web-based interface at https://connect-suite.com/e-certify/ for the ability to send letters and notices by a streamlined electronic system when signatures are required, unless otherwise notified by the County’s Administrative Agent or designee.

a. Contractor shall provide a digital copy of the recipient’s signature as a legal proof of delivery, when signatures are required.

E. INSERTS

i. Contractor shall provide a mailing address in order to receive pre-printed inserts from the County. Upon receipt of the pre-printed inserts, Contractor shall provide the County with a timeline for manual receipt of inserts with the utility bill statements as directed.

ii. Contractor shall trifold and stuff correspondence into #10 envelopes and seal each #10 envelope with postage and bar coding applied.

Include any inserts and return#9 envelopes as appropriate with the customer address visible through the envelope's window.

iii. Contractor shall hand stuff billing statements to group specific https://connect-suite.com/e-certify/

Part II - Page 5 of 7 accounts as deemed necessary by the County.

iv. Contractor shall trifold and stuff letters and notices into #10 envelopes and seal each #10 envelope with postage and bar coding applied. Include any inserts and/or return #9 envelopes when requested with the customer address visible through the envelope's window.

F. REPORTING

i. Contractor shall provide the following reports as needed to the County:

a. Progress reports

b. Move Update (MU) output summary reports

c. MU output report

d. MU Summary

e. Client reports

f. Digital Precorrection Predistortion System (DPSYS) reports

ii. Reports provided by the Contractor shall include, but not be limited to the following:

a. E-Bills

b. Letters

c. Postage costs

d. Certified letter costs

e. Inserts

G. QUALITY ASSURANCE / QUALITY CONTROL

i. Contractor shall provide quarterly account reviews outlining the Contractor's service performance.

ii. Contractor shall match resources at the operational level for daily activity, as well as at the executive level for primary decision-making, strategy and key development tasks.

iii. Contractor shall incorporate ADF (Automated Document Factory) or any new technology that utilizes a Problem Fault Management system called ITSM (IR "Incident Report" System) assuring each

Part II - Page 6 of 7 problem, or IR, is tracked as a ticket using an internal computer program. Tickets shall be entered, updated and closed within this system, allowing County team members to trace the IR from the reporting of the problem to its closure.

iv. Contractor shall provide the County with twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week database access and after-hours support and escalation.

H. BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN / REDUNDANCY SITE

i. Contractor shall have a redundancy site that can redirect and resume all services provided including, but not limited to, file processing, correspondence printing, correspondence distribution, file repository, and web portal.

ii. Contractor shall transfer all statements from the impacted facility and process through one of the alternate processing facilities where printing, inserting and mailing functions will take place.

I. TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Contractor shall assist with interface development for customer bill statement presentation provided in pdf format. Contractor may be requested to assist with manipulation of data in bill print file, calculating amounts based on specified criteria, formatting adjustments, or redesigning of the bill statement.

3. CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS

A. Contractor shall provide County with qualified team members, including but not limited to:

i. Account Manager

ii. Developer

iii. Project Manager

B. Contractor shall have the capability to print the remittance stub with the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scan line with each correspondence.

C. Contractor shall provide secure electronic data transmission and confirm receipt of data with the County in writing.

D. Contractor shall furnish all equipment, labor, materials, supplies, licensing for software, postage, permits, and transportation, and all other resources necessary to provide the services described in this Scope of Services. (Addendum 3)

Part II - Page 7 of 7 Prepared by Public Utilities Department

E. Contractor's software and other such service delivery methods must be fully functional and compatible with the County's utility billing software and other computer systems related to this Scope of Services.

F. All employees of the Contractor shall be considered to be, at all times, the sole employees of the Contractor, under the Contractor's sole direction, unless the use of sub-contractors has been approved by the County.

G. Contractor shall provide virtual or live as needed training to County staff.

H. All information contained in any transferred files ("Confidential Information") shall be considered strictly confidential, must be secured/encrypted at all times, and shall not be communicated or disclosed to any third party. Contractor shall not make copies of, disclose, publish or disseminate confidential information to any third party or entity. Contractor shall not use Confidential Information for any purpose other than performing work under this contract. Contractor shall take reasonable precautions to prevent any unauthorized use, disclosure, publication, or dissemination of Confidential Information. Contractor acknowledges and agrees that nothing contained in this contract will be construed as granting it any rights, by license or otherwise, to any Confidential Information. This obligation shall survive termination or expiration of the contract. Contractor acknowledges that all of the Confidential Information is owned solely by County and that the unauthorized disclosure or use of such Confidential Information would cause irreparable harm and significant injury, the degree of which may be difficult to ascertain. Accordingly, Contractor agrees that County will have the right to obtain an immediate injunction enjoining any breach of this contract, as well as the right to pursue any and all other rights and remedies available at law or in equity for such a breach.

Changes to this Exhibit are indicated using underlined text to show additions and strikethrough text to show deletions.

Changes made pursuant to this Addendum 3 are in bold.

PART III – INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

Insurance Template 1 Revised 05/13/16 Page 1 of 3

CONTRACTOR’S INSURANCE

Contractor shall, on a primary basis and at its sole expense, maintain in full force and effect, at all times during the life of this Contract, insurance coverage (including endorsements) and limits as described herein. These requirements, as well as the County’s review or acceptance of insurance maintained by Contractor, are not intended to and shall not in any manner limit or qualify the liabilities or obligations assumed by Contractor under this Contract.

Insurance requirements itemized in this Contract and required of the Contractor shall extend to all subcontractors to cover their operations performed under this Contract.

The Contractor shall be responsible for any modifications, deviations, or omissions in these insurance requirements as they apply to subcontractors.

Insurance carriers providing coverage required herein must be licensed to conduct business in the State of Florida and must possess a current A.M. Best’s Financial Strength Rating of A- Class VII or better.

Each insurance policy required by this Contract shall apply separately to each insured against whom claim is made and suit is brought, except with respect to limits of the insurer’s liability.

The Contractor shall be solely responsible for payment of all premiums for insurance contributing to the satisfaction of this Contract and shall be solely responsible for the payment of all deductibles and retentions to which such policies are subject.

Contractor shall furnish Certificates of Insurance to the County Administrative Agent evidencing the types and amounts of coverage, including endorsements, required by this Contract prior to commencement of work and prior to expiration of the insurance contract, when applicable. Such Certificate(s) of Insurance shall, to the extent allowable by the insurer, include a minimum thirty (30) day notice of cancellation (10 days for non-payment of premium) or non-renewal of coverage. Notwithstanding these notification requirements, the Contractor will be required to provide County with 5-day prior written notice of any policy cancellation or non-renewal.

The County reserves the right to review, modify, reject, or accept any required policies of insurance, including limits, coverage, or endorsements, herein from time to time throughout the term of this Contract. County reserves the right, but not the obligation, to review and reject any insurer providing coverage due to its poor financial condition or failure to operate legally.

A. WORKERS’ COMPENSATION: Contractor agrees to maintain Workers’ Compensation insurance in accordance with Florida Statutes, Chapter 440.

Employers Liability to be included with a minimum limit of $500,000.00 per accident/per disease/per employee. If work is to be performed over or adjacent

Insurance Template 1 Revised 05/13/16 Page 2 of 3 to navigable water and involves maritime exposure, applicable LHWCA, Jones Act, or other maritime law coverage shall be included.

In the event the Contractor has “leased” employees, the Contractor or the employee leasing company must provide evidence of a Workers’ Compensation policy for all personnel on the worksite.

Contractors who are exempt from Florida’s Workers’ Compensation law must provide proof of such exemption issued by the Florida Department of Financial Services, Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

B. COMMERCIAL GENERAL LIABILITY: Contractor agrees to maintain Commercial General Liability per ISO form CG0001 or its equivalent, including but not limited to coverage for premises and operations, personal injury, products & completed operations, liability assumed under an insured contract, and independent contractors with limits of not less than $1,000,000.00 each occurrence, $2,000,000.00 aggregate covering all work performed under this Contract. Contractor agrees to endorse Sarasota County Government as an additional insured on the Commercial General Liability coverage.

C. BUSINESS AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY: Contractor agrees to maintain Business Automobile Liability with limits not less than $1,000,000.00 combined single limit for each accident covering all Owned, Non-Owned & Hired automobiles used in the performance of this Contract. In the event Contractor does not own automobiles, Contractor agrees to maintain coverage for Hired & Non-Owned Auto Liability, which may be satisfied by way of endorsement to the Commercial General Liability policy or separate Business Auto Liability policy.

If the Contractor is shipping a product via common carrier, the contractor shall be responsible for any loss or damage sustained in delivery/transit.

D. CYBER LIABILITY (TECHNOLOGY ERRORS & OMISSIONS AND NETWORK

SECURITY/PRIVACY LIABILITY): Consultant agrees to maintain Technology Errors & Omissions and Network Security & Privacy Liability insurance, or equivalent coverage, with limits not less than $1,000,000 per claim/occurrence and in the aggregate for professional services rendered under this contract.

Coverage shall include, but not be limited to, technology errors and omissions to cover both liability and property loss exposures including technology services, technology products, media content, network security breaches, extortion threats, crisis management expense, and business interruption and negligent acts, errors, mistakes, and omissions arising out of the work or services

Insurance Template 1 Revised 05/13/16 Page 3 of 3 performed by Consultant, or any person employed or contracted by Consultant.

Coverage shall also include, but not be limited to, coverage for unauthorized access, denial of service attacks, computer viruses, transmission of malicious code, and failure of security; breach of privacy and the failure to protect and disclosure of personally identifiable information, payment card information, and health information; violation of any federal, state or local law or regulation in connection with the protection of information including fines and penalties to the extent allowed by applicable law; notification and crisis management costs, identity theft monitoring and regulatory defense; disclosure of any third party’s proprietary information including, without limitation, trade secrets, and liability for interruption of County or any third party’s business including, without limitation, claims for loss of use and loss of profits. If coverage is written on a claims-made basis: a. Any retroactive date shall precede the effective date of this contract; b. Consultant shall provide certificates of insurance evidencing the required coverage for a period of two years after final payment under this contract is made, or provide evidence showing Consultant has obtained a two-year extended reporting period endorsement.