city of harvard strategic plan 2026-101.pdf

CITY OF HARVARD

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

STRATEGIC PLAN

Proposal Number 2026-101

ADVERTISEMENT DATE 7/24/2026

PROPOSAL DUE DATE 9/07/2026

CITY COUNCIL AWARD DATE 9/22/2026

ANTICIPATED START DATE October, 2026

Please submit all questions regarding this proposal to Debi Bejot at bejot@cityofharvard.org

Please submit final proposals by the due date either by email to Jannette Nunez at nunez@cityofharvard.org

Or by mail to:

Deputy Clerk Jannette Nunez

City of Harvard PO Box 310

Harvard, IL. 60033

The City of Harvard reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any and all technicalities, or to accept the proposal deemed most advantageous to the city operations.

BID NOTICE 2026-101

The City of Harvard will be accepting proposals for a new Strategic Plan until September 7, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. The awarded proposal will be sent to the Harvard City Council on September 22, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. for final approval.

Proposals may be submitted electronically or by U.S. Mail by the proposal due date.

Advertisement Date: July 24, 2026

Proposal Due Date: September 7, 2026

City Council Award Date: September 22, 2026

Project Start Date: October, 2026

PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

I. Proposal Content A. Cover Letter/Statement of Proposal introducing the firm, qualifications, and the proposal overview.

B. Executive summary of the project approach including a description of techniques, technology, and other applicable tasks intended for use for the project.

C. Company overview and organizational chart detailing the total number of professional staff, history of the company, and key personnel performing the project. Key personnel resumes should be included.

D. Experience and references including a minimum of three similar projects completed in the last five years, and three references with contact information.

E. Cost sheet and timeline identifying the total project cost and timeline from start to completion of the project.

F. Signed submittal agreement for professional services.

II. Submittal Guidelines A. The proposer declares careful examination of the Proposal Package in its entirety has been made, with familiarity and understanding of all project conditions and requirements of the work to be performed.

B. The proposer further understands and agrees that if accepted, all necessary materials, tools, apparatus, and other means to perform the work shall be provided so as to perform the work in accordance with the requirements set forth herein.

C. The proposer further agrees that the City may at any time during the progress of the work covered by this contract order other work or materials incidental thereto and that all such work and materials, if they do not appear in the initial proposal covered by the contract price, shall be performed as extra work and compensated accordingly.

D. No proposal shall be considered unless the party offering the proposal furnishes evidence satisfactory to the City that necessary facilities, ability, and resources are available to fulfill the conditions of the contract. A Certificate of Insurance, naming the City as an additional insured will be required upon award of the contract.

III. Conditions A. The City is exempt from all State and Federal tax.

B. All proposals are good for sixty (60) days from the date of the proposal’s due date.

C. Proposers shall be required to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, including those relating to the employment of labor without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, handicap, sex, national origin, or religion. Prevailing wage laws apply.

IV. Evaluation A. The City will evaluate all submittals that are deemed responsive using the following criteria:

1. Project Approach - 45%

2. Experience, Qualifications, and Key Personnel - 45%

3. Cost - 10%

B. Proposals will be reviewed by a team of officials including:

1. Mayor

2. City Administrator

3. Community Engagement Director

C. The City may select up to three firms to interview based upon the initial evaluations of proposals, to be conducted virtually.

V. Award

A. The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any and all technicalities, or to accept the proposal deemed most advantageous to the city operations.

B. The City may consider the following:

1. The experience and past performance of the proposer, its agents, employees, and subcontractors in completing projects of similar type, size, and complexity.

2. The proposer’s timely and accurate completion of similar projects within budget.

3. The proposer’s understanding of the work to be completed based upon the proposal.

4. The quality of the proposal response.

5. Proposed costs. The City may not necessarily select the lowest proposal.

VI. Rejection A. The City reserves the right to cancel requests for proposals without penalty if in the best interest of the City. Notice of cancellation shall be sent to all individuals or entities solicited.

B. The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any minor informality or irregularity in any proposal, to negotiate changes and/or modifications with the lowest responsible bidder, and to make an award to the response deemed to be the most advantageous to the City.

C. Any proposal not conforming to the specifications or requirements set forth by the City, or proposals from any bidder deemed unresponsible due to the lack of qualifications, capacity, skill, experience, reliability, of financial stability may also be rejected.

ABOUT THE CITY

The City of Harvard is a diverse and growing community located in McHenry County, Illinois, approximately seven miles south of the Illinois/Wisconsin border, 63 miles from the Chicago Loop, and 20 miles northeast of Rockford, Illinois. The transportation network supporting the City provides residents easy access to Chicago and Wisconsin by way of U.S. Route 14, U.S. Route 20, and Interstate 90, with other arteries for interstate and intrastate travel provided by Illinois Route 23, Route 47, and Route 173. With boarding facilities located in the City, the Chicago and Northwestern railroad provides commuter train service to and from Chicago for area residents and visitors alike. Major air transportation services are provided by Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the Chicago Rockford International Airport in Rockford Illinois, and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population of the City was 9,469, and the corporate city limits currently cover approximately eight square miles.

In 1855 the Chicago & North Western Railway expanded from Cary, Illinois toward Janesville, Wisconsin. Calculating where trains from Chicago would stop for wood fuel servicing, Elbridge Gerry Ayer and two North Western stockholders plated a community in southeastern Chemung Township on their purchased land. In April 1856, the railroad accepted Ayer's town plat as a station with the name “Harvard.”

When Northwestern’s Kenosha-Rockford rail line entered Harvard in 1859, the railroad began to build engine-handling facilities, and as railroad employment expanded, Harvard's population ballooned. In 1868 voters incorporated the community and elected E.G. Ayer as president.

Bounded on the north by fertile corn-growing land and on the south by wet prairies Known as “The Islands”, masses of wild, fodder-quality hay grew well. Harvard quickly became the center of a thriving dairy industry, and the railroad cheaply transported fresh milk products to Chicago. In 1942, the City instituted the annual Harvard Milk Day celebration. A lavish parade down whitewashed streets presided over by a large plastic Holstein cow known as “Harmilda” attracted thousands of spectators.

Over time dairy farming declined as farmers found it less labor intensive but still profitable to supply metropolitan Chicago’s supermarkets with produce. As urban expansion moved east into McHenry County in the late 1960s, Harvard’s rural setting became a model to many who opposed growth. County government adopted land-use plans to preserve agricultural areas, and Harvard’s rural setting became a model to that plan. Many Latinos who came to work as farmers settled in Harvard.

Today Harvard is home to 3rd and 4th generations of Latino families, who are an integral part of our community.

https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/102881/Harvard.pdf

The City operates under the Mayor/Council form of government. The City Council is comprised of the Mayor and eight Council Members, two from each of the City’s four wards. As the elective legislative body, the City Council is responsible for enacting the codes and ordinances of the municipality, representing the community, and planning a long-range vision for the future of Harvard. The Mayor and City Council appoint a City Administrator to carry out policies and directives, combing political leadership with professional administration. The City operates six departments including Administration, Community and Economic Development, Police, Public Works, Public Utilities, and Parks. Each department is led by Department Directors who report to the City Administrator.

https://www.cityofharvard.org/directory

SCOPE OF SERVICES

The City is seeking proposals from qualified firms to complete a new strategic plan.

The City adopted our first 2040 Strategic Plan in 2018, with updates and revisions completed in 2024. This newest amended plan expires in 2026. The City has seen recent residential and commercial growth, as well as changes in our governing body and administrative staff. The selected firm is expected to work closely with these officials and staff and will play an essential role in further developing a clearly defined vision for the future of the City.

https://www.cityofharvard.org/media/19296

The final plan should include benchmarks and milestones that measure the City’s progress, and the document should provide a future plan, expanding upon the current Strategic Vision, and provide the following:

Clearly articulate the City’s mission, vision, and values relative to key audiences;

Include clear and prioritized four-year goals and objectives, including both organization and program goals;

Articulate a detailed set of strategies that the City should pursue to achieve the goals and objectives;

Identify priority outcomes and other metrics that algins closely with the City’s limited resources;

Include an action plan for implementation, with a timetable and benchmarks;

Include a framework for monitoring and re-evaluation under the plan;

Be written in a way that it can be shared with employees, community members, and other stakeholders.

The process for developing the plan will include:

Design and execution consistent with this RFP;

Project management;

A thorough evaluation of the status of the current Strategic Plan;

A thorough evaluation of the City’s current operating environment;

Facilitation of conference calls, meetings, focus groups, surveys, and interviews with all relative groups;

Developing and implementing processes for engaging in the strategic planning process, including in-person sessions with officials and staff.

INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

All proposers to the City must show proof of insurance. A certificate of insurance and endorsement will be required indicating compliance with the following minimum insurance requirements and the contractor shall maintain such insurance in effect during the entire term of the contracted work with the City.

Commercial General Liability, personal injury and property damage liability, contractual liability, independent contractor’s liability and automobile liability.

Commercial:

1. Bodily Injury and property damage combined: $1,000,000

Single limit per occurrence

2. Personal Injury: $1,000,000 per occurrence

3. Including Contractual Liability – Broad Form and Products and

Completed operations: $2,000,000 General Aggregate

4. Coverage shall be on an occurrence basis. Claims made coverage is not acceptable.

5. The City of Harvard shall be included as Additional Insured on a primary and non-contributory basis.

6. An Excess or Umbrella Liability policy may be used in conjunction with primary coverage limits to meet the minimum limits requirement.

Automobile:

1. Bodily Injury and property damage: $1,000,000

2. General Aggregate: $2,000,000.

3. Any Auto including owned, non-owned, hired, and rented.

4. The City shall be named Additional Insured on a primary and non-contributory basis.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance to cover the contractor’s employees as required by Illinois Labor Code. If the Contractor has no employees, it will be required to file a certification to that fact. The City and its officers, employees and agents will not be responsible for any claims in the law or equity occasioned by failure of contractor to comply with applicable workers’ compensation laws.

Employer’s Liability

1. $1,000,000 each accident

2. $1,000,000 disease, per employee

3. $1,000,000 disease, policy limit

The insurer shall agree to waive all rights of subrogation against the City, its officers, employees, agents, and volunteers, for losses arising from work performed by the firm for the City.

Professional Liability shall be maintained by the firm against all sums that firm may be obligated to pay on account of any liability arising out of the contract including indemnification and defense for injury or damage arising out of the acts, error, or omissions in providing professional services.

1. $2,000,000 per Wrongful Act or Occurrence

2. $4,000,000 Annual Aggregate

If the policy is written on a claims-made form, the retroactive date must be equal to or preceding the effective date of the contract. In the event the policy is cancelled, non-renewed or switched to an occurrence form, the Firm shall be required to purchase supplement extended reporting period coverage for a period of not less than years.

Proof of Insurance coverage required upon award of the contract.

SUBMITTAL AGREEMENT

FOR CITY OF HARVARD, ILLINOIS

BID NOTICE 2026-101: STRATEGIC PLAN

This Proposal Submittal Agreement Must Be Completed

The undersigned, having examined the scope of services for the City of Harvard Strategic Plan, offer to furnish all services, support, labor and incidentals specified for the price below.

It is understood that the City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive any irregularities, and that the prices contained herein will remain valid for a period of not less than sixty (60) days from the date the proposal is required to be submitted to the City.

The undersigned proposes to provide Strategic Planning services, as more fully described in the

Request for Proposal Scope of Work, for the amount as delineated below:

Use additional sheet if necessary

The undersigned hereby swears and affirms that:

1. The Proposer is not barred by law from submitting a proposal to the City for the project contemplated herein due to any violation of either Illinois Compiled Statutes, 720 ILCS 5/33E-3 (Bid Rigging) or 702 ILCS 55/33-E4 (Bid Rotating); and that

2. The Proposer is not delinquent in payment of any taxes to the Illinois Department of Revenue in accordance with 65 ILCS 5/11-42.1; and that

3. The Proposer provides a drug free workplace pursuant to 30 ILCS 580/1, et seq.; and that

If it is the Proposer’s intention to use a subcontractor(s) to fulfill the requirements of this contract, the City must be advised of the subcontractor company name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and a contact person’s name at the time of proposal submittal.

Will you be using a subcontractor? Yes______ No ______

4. The Proposer is in compliance with the Illinois Human Rights Act 775 ILCS 5/1.101, at seq. including establishment and maintenance of sexual harassment policies program; and

5. The Proposer is in compliance with the Prevailing Wage Act 820 ILCS 130/0.02 et seq., obligated to pay (and require any subcontractor to pay) prevailing wages as established by the Illinois Department of Labor for each craft or type of work needed to execute the Contract in accordance with the Act. The established prevailing wage rates are available at https://labor.illinois.gov/laws-rules/conmed/current-prevailing-rates.html

6. None of the following City Officials is either an officer or director of the Proposer or owns five percent (5%) or more of the Proposer: the Mayor, the Members of the City Council, the City Clerk, the Deputy City Clerk, the City Treasurer, the members of the Zoning Board, the City Administrator, or the heads of the various departments within the City.

Contracting Firm Name:

Street Address, City, State and Zip Code:

Phone Number: Email:

Printed Name & Title: Signature:

Federal Employee Identification Number:

Fax Number: Date: