Addendum_1_RFP2025-002_Non-ad_Valorem_Assessment_Funding_Advice_and_Services.pdf

January 9, 2025

Addendum No. 1

Project: Non-ad Valorem Assessment Funding Bid No: RFP2025-002

TO ALL PROPOSERS:

The following items are clarifications, corrections, additions, deletions and / or revisions, which shall take precedence over the original documents.

Question: This communication is made pursuant to 2.3 CLARIFICATION OF

REQUIREMENTS of the RFP.

Issue/Concern: Part 1.17 CFPC of the RFP seems to indicate some subsequent procurement process, arrangement or opportunity that might further benefit the City or other local governments in Florida. Such a process is sometimes generally referred to as a cooperative purchasing opportunity. Making available such an opportunity can also greatly benefit the City of Kissimmee and is material to a thoughtful and more fully informed response in this RFP. See below, Materiality: Second.

Research does not reveal any entity named “Central Florida Purchasing Cooperative” by Google search, except by reference to a limited liability corporation (LLC) in the online records of the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, listing the entity as ‘active’ under Document L08000082322. A check of the City’s website using “CFPC” and “Central Florida Purchasing Cooperative” as search terms result in “No Results Found.” A double-check inquiry was made to procurement officials in both St. Cloud and Osceola County (on the off-chance they may also use this CFPC entity or regime), and neither expressed any knowledge of or appear to participate with any entity called “a Central Florida Purchasing Cooperative” or “CFPC.” A pleasant telephone interview was then conducted with the Managing Member of the entity above listed on the Division of Corporations site, who appears to be a nephrology (kidney disease) specialist in Marion County. It was learned the participants involved with that entity focus upon treating kidney diseases and in the past collaborated with manufacturers or the like to facilitate the purchase of expensive dialysis or similar equipment associated with nephrology, but with changes in technology and passage of time the entity is hardly active and does not appear to be involved in purchasing goods or services likely of interest to the City of Kissimmee (or any other local government). There was no recognition by that Managing Member of any involvement with the City of Kissimmee and this entity. No evidence of the cooperative or information concerning its scope and reach in Florida, as it is described in the RFP, that might exist for the purposes supporting and enhancing the results of the RFP were found. The forgoing limited research establishes a material concern and question of whether the provisions in 1.17 CFPC of the RFP have any effect.

Cooperative purchasing does have a significant role in this particular circumstance and RFP.

Accordingly, you are asked to modify the RFP to include additional and supplemental language. The language in the request below does not implicate any responsibility to the City of Kissimmee, beyond making the same results from the RFP announced by the City independently available to other interested local governments and the selected proposer or proposers who respond to the RFP.

Materiality:

First, based upon the foregoing, the opportunity for cooperative purchasing seems illusory and of little or no effect. Second, the lack of certainty that cooperative purchasing will be available impacts both vendors and potential future independent use by other local governments. Vendors responding to the RFP cannot effectively ‘price in’ the opportunity, or will be disappointed it does not really exist if they foolishly assume cooperative purchasing exists when it does not, or that the breadth throughout the State is not robust. Accordingly, the City may not benefit from better pricing or vendors accepting risk in a manner favorable to the City (which could be based upon a fuller understanding of a potential volume of work). Third, Florida is a large and dynamic State, and the Florida Department of Revenue annually tabulates all non-ad valorem revenue, now in excess of $6 billion collected annually statewide using the uniform method of collection. Right now, it is estimated there are well in excess of 200 fire service related non-ad valorem special assessments imposed annually in Florida by various local governments. One of the predominant methods of determining fire assessments in a special assessment regime used for years is now under legal challenge -- as arbitrary. That challenge is fundamental. There appear to be 4 such challenges being made by law firms which understand or successfully participated in recently causing the ‘City of Ocala to refund $80 million dollars for imposing a fire fee’ [Google ‘foregoing text bracketed by apostrophes’ for more info]. A sea change in how non-ad valorem assessments are implemented may well be just over the horizon, and not only the City of Kissimmee, but many of those 200+ local governments who might be affected may be well served by a robust cooperative purchasing alternative. Fourth, the forgoing observations inform of and meet the materiality threshold to consider a clarification in the City’s RFP.

Such consideration serves the City’s interest by advancing the prospect of cooperative purchasing while disclaiming any involvement in use by any other local government, certainly could serve the many local governments with existing assessment programs, as well as efficiently assisting service providers and consultants who are preparing to (or may have to) deal with change.

Request:

Accordingly, in the interest of preparing the most responsive proposal, the City is respectfully requested to simply add an inclusive pronouncement to the provisions in 1.17 CFPC of the RFP that it will facilitate a separate and independent, but broad opportunity to employ cooperative purchasing. The suggested addition clearly confirms and makes the public purpose fruits of the City’s RFP available to those who might choose to (or need to) consider such an alternative. The language expresses at the outset the uncomplicated limits of City liability and involvement, and separates the City from all those (future local governments) who might choose to employ a selected RFP response separately under the auspices of cooperative purchasing. As important, the requested provision below allows those who respond to the RFP a more fulsome means to intelligently evaluate the potential of the cooperative purchasing opportunity, affords respondents the informed business decision-making to accept more risk to be more competitive in structuring both pricing and performance, and may encourage the extraordinary effort to make the response to the RFP more comprehensive and beneficial to the City. It is submitted that the following will allow the most efficient means to accomplish the foregoing under the circumstances above by Friday, January 10:

General Requirements: Part 1.17 entitled “CFPC” of Request for Proposal Number RPF2025- 002 Non-ad Valorem Assessments Funding Advice and Services is modified, supplemented and amended by adding the following:

CLARIFICATION AND INCLUSION OF COOPERATIVE PURCHASING

OPPORTUNITY CONCERNING OTHER INTERESTED LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

Any other local government, or any local government member, current or future, of any other cooperative purchasing entity or association either created by local agreement(s), registered or in good standing with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (or successor in function), or otherwise legally formed, shall be allowed to participate in any resulting agreement or work order during the life of the contract resulting from this Request for Proposal Number RFP2025-002 Non-ad Valorem Assessment Funding Advise and Services, even if it is not listed as a solicitation participant. While this clause in no way commits any other local government to purchase from the City’s awarded proposer or proposers, nor does it guarantee any additional orders will result, it is intended to allow other local governments, at their discretion, to make use of the City’s competitive process (provided said process satisfies the other local government’s own procurement guidelines) and purchase similarly and directly from the awarded proposer or proposers. Any and all purchases or work orders made by any other local government shall be understood to be separate transactions absolutely and solely between that other local government and the awarded proposer or proposers under this Request for Proposal RFP2025-002 Non-ad Valorem Funding Advise and Services; the City of Kissimmee shall absolutely not be responsible for any such purchases in any way or manner.

Answer: Please exclude General Requirement 1.17 from this Request for Proposal as the cooperative is no longer active.

A. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF ADDENDA:

1. The proposer shall acknowledge receipt of this addendum by completing the applicable section in the RFP. The Proposer shall submit said Form with the proposal.

2. All other terms and conditions of the RFP remain unchanged.

Brandon Durango Procurement Manager

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF ADDENDA NO.(S) _________ (IF APPLICABLE)

(Signature)

COMPANY NAME _______________________________________

COMPANY ADDRESS _______________________________________

BY: _________________________ DATE:________________________

(signature)

_____________________________ EMAIL:_______________________

(typed name/title of signer)