Digitization_of_Historical_Land_Records_(Addendum_#1_Revision).pdf

County of San Mateo

Request for Proposals (RFP) for Digitization of Historical

Land Records

Office of Assessor-County Clerk- Recorder & Chief

Elections Officer

RFP No. 2026-RFP-00252

RFP Contact: Bo Hammil bhammil@smcacre.gov

1. Introduction and Schedule

The County of San Mateo (the “County” or “SMC”) covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula. The region covers 744 mi and is home to nearly 800,000 residents and 20 incorporated cities. The County provides for the health and welfare of all people within its borders and serves as the local government for the unincorporated areas. Innovation thrives here in industries including bioscience, computer software, green technology, hospitality, financial management, health care, education and transportation. The

County prides itself on how that prosperity fosters its commitment to protecting and enhancing the health, safety, welfare and natural resources of the community.

1.1. Summary

The Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections (ACRE) is a Department within the County of San

Mateo. ACRE’s Mission Statement is to ensure equitable service and treatment of County property owners by accurate and fair valuation of land, improvements and businesses; register County citizens to vote and efficiently conduct transparent elections; to preserve and protect our historical and cultural records and create an accurate public record of recorded transactions relating to people and property within San Mateo County.

As the custodian of land records dating back to 1856, the department plays a critical role in maintaining the integrity of property ownership, supporting real property transactions, protecting the historical record, and ensuring the transparency and continuity of land-related information for current and future generations.

1.2. Background

ACRE seeks proposals from qualified firms to provide onsite digitization of historical land records dating from 1856–1979, including handwritten books, typed mechanical books, simplex books, and 750 microfilm rolls (1976-1979). These materials represent irreplaceable public records that exist in fragile physical and analog formats.

The Historical Land Records Digitization Project aims to ensure long-term preservation of historical documents, enhance operational efficiency, and provide rapid retrieval for staff and the public.

Digitization will also establish a unified digital repository that supports accurate research, regulatory compliance such as AB1466, and continuity of operations, while laying the foundation for future automation, improved search capabilities, and expanded public access.

ACRE is soliciting proposals from qualified vendors to:

• Digitize historical land records on-site in a secure County facility

• Capture high-quality digital images following best practices

• Perform multi-level image quality review

• Perform document grouping and indexing

• Provide deliverables suitable for import into the County Land Records system

• Ensure secure data handling and delivery of digital files

1.3. Contact Information

Project Contact:

Nelly Mikhael

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IS Project Manager Email: nmikhael@smcacre.gov Phone: (650) 400-8687

Procurement Contact:

Bo Hammil Information Technology Manager Email: bhammil@smcacre.gov Phone: (650) 599-7405

Department:

Office of Assessor-County Clerk- Recorder & Chief Elections Officer

Department Head:

Director Mark Church

1.4. Timeline

RFP Released December 16, 2025

Deadline for Questions, Comments and

Contract Exceptions

January 2, 2026, 5:00pm

Proposal Due Date and Time January 21, 2026, 5:00pm

Interviews (tentative) February 5, 2026

Anticipated Contract Award Date February 18, 2026

2. Scope of Work

2.1. Introduction

ACRE currently maintains its historical land records on-site within its secured facilities. These records, which span many decades (1856-1976), are stored in paper volumes placed on special shelves in a secured county facility. Records from 1976-1979 are stored on microfilms. Although microfilm copies of historical records are available for COOP and disaster-recovery, they were produced with aging camera technologies from previous decades. As a result, image quality is inconsistent and some images may be missing, hence ACRE is seeking to digitize the original books spanning 1856-1976 along with the microfilm only for records between 1976 and 1979.

The project includes digitization of:

- 297 unbound books Trust Deed Books (1856–1921) mailto:nmikhael@smcacre.gov tel:(650)400-8687 mailto:bhammil@smcacre.gov tel:(650)599-7405

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- 7,173 typed mechanical and simplex books (1921–1976)

- 750 microfilm rolls (1976–1979)

The Scope of Work outlined below describes the services required to digitize these historical records while preserving their condition, maintaining proper logging and tracking of all books, and ensuring that the original historical records remain within ACRE’s custody throughout the project.

2.2. Objectives of the Solution

• Preservation and extension of the life of all land records by digitally storing them.

• Readiness for AB 1466 compliance as the digitized documents can be run through automated text identification and searches

• Producing digital images and verified indexing that can be imported into the Land Records system, enabling rapid, reliable search and retrieval of historical documents.

• Eliminating the reliance on microfilm equipment

• Reducing physical handling of books

• Faster response to public and staff research requests

2.3. Procurement Overview

The County is interested in a fair and competitive procurement through this RFP in order to secure products and services at best value to the County.

The County invites proposals from all interested, qualified firms in this fair and open competition.

Proposers shall submit a Firm-Fixed Price proposal based on the estimated volumes provided in this RFP.

The County recognizes that actual page and image counts may vary. Therefore, Proposers must also provide unit pricing (e.g., cost per page, per image, or per book/roll) that will be used to adjust the final contract amount up or down based on verified actual quantities identified during the Contractor’s on-site inventory. This contract will remain Firm-Fixed Price on a per-unit basis and will not be time-and-materials.

2.4. Detailed Scope of Work

The SOW is to be used as a general guide and is not intended to be a complete list of all work necessary to complete the project.

The following are work tasks assumed necessary to deliver digitized documents ready for upload in the

County Land Records System. Proposers may suggest a modified scope as part of their proposal, but shall include at minimum:

On-Site Project Setup and Inventory

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Contractor shall:

• Conduct an on-site inventory of all media types.

• Provide all necessary equipment, software, staff, and materials for on-site operations.

• Develop a full tracking method for books/rolls removed and returned to shelving.

• Provide daily or weekly status reports on progress.

Document Preparation and Handling

Contractor shall:

• Handle all books and microfilm using archival-safe, non-destructive methods.

• Use scanning equipment that supports bound books without dismantling.

• Carefully remove and reinsert pages from unbound binders where required.

• Notify the County of any fragile, damaged, or deteriorated materials.

Digital Capture

Contractor shall digitize all materials on-site following archival imaging standards:

Books (Unbound, Mechanical, Simplex)

• Minimum 300 dpi resolution

• Color capture for original color pages

• Non-destructive cradled book scanning

• Single pages captured individually when removed from binders

Microfilm

• Minimum 300 dpi grayscale

• Full roll capture with sequential file naming

• Capture free of scratches, streaks, or artifacts to the greatest extent possible

Image Processing

Image Processing and subsequent steps may be conducted off-site at the Contractor facility. Contractor shall provide:

• Cropping and de-skewing

• Denoising

• Elimination of black borders and artifacts

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• Automated polarity correction where applicable

• Conversion of all images to single-page TIFF (Group IV) format

• Creation of external storage sets for original images and TIFF files.

Quality Control Requirements

Contractor must perform multi-step, high-accuracy quality control, and provide quality reports as follows.

Additionally, Contractor shall provide the County with means to review and sign off on the final images

A. Image Quality Review

Review 100% of images for clarity, completeness, and errors such as:

o Double feeds o Missing pages o Skewed or cut-off images o Light/dark images o Blurry or unreadable text o Etc.

B. Quality Reports o Missing pages o Poor-quality images o Duplicate pages o Missing documents

Document Grouping and Indexing

Contractor shall:

• Group images into documents as per the historical record

• Index documents at minimum using:

o Book-Page number o Recording Date o Document Number (when present or created during grouping) o Page count

• Verify grouping and indexing to achieve 100% index accuracy

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• Provide the County with means to review and approve the grouping and indexing of the digitized documents

Phased Approach

After completing the onsite image capture phase, the contractor shall be delivering the final enhanced images together with the associated metadata in a phased manner. The county will be performing QC/QA of the deliverables and providing sign-off accordingly.

Warranty

The Contractor shall warrant all work delivered under this project for six (6) months from the County’s written acceptance of each phase. During the Warranty Period, the Contractor shall correct, replace, or enhance—at no additional cost—any images, indexes, or files that do not meet the project specifications.

The warranty shall cover image correction, document grouping adjustments, indexing fixes and file naming or formatting issues. Any corrected or replaced deliverables shall be returned to the County within thirty (30) calendar days of notification, unless otherwise approved by the County in writing.

Proposed Approach to Security and Data Privacy

The Contractor will implement information security and data privacy policies and capabilities that will comply with state, federal, and local confidentiality and information disclosure laws, rules and regulations applicable to work associated with this RFP.

2.5. Deliverables

Contractor shall deliver the following for all 1856-1979 historical records:

A. Raw Digital Images – A Hard Drive containing:

o 300 dpi color JPEG images o 300 dpi TIFF black and white images with Group IV compression o Files organized by book/page number or roll number/image number

B. Final Hard Drive Deliverable - per phase - containing:

o Enhanced Images grouped into multi-page TIFF files representing the original documents o Metadata files:

▪ Flat ASCII or comma-delimited format

▪ Fields: Book-Page, Document Number, Recording Date, Page Count.

C. Project Documentation & Training o Documentation of delivered file structures, naming conventions, index fields, counts, ranges, etc.

Page 8 of 22 Release date of December 16, 2025 o Training for County staff on reviewing images and indexes

3. Submission Requirements

3.1. Submission Deadline

Proposals must be electronically received by 5:00 pm, on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 via eProcurement system.

Allow sufficient time for the upload to complete by the Due Date and Time. Partial uploads will automatically terminate, and proposals will be rejected. The eProcurement system submission time will be the official submission time. The County will not be responsible for and may not accept proposals that are late due to slow internet connections or for any other failure of the eProcurement system.

NOTE: The County does not maintain the eProcurement system and is not liable for site failures or technical problems. To resolve technical issues, contact OpenGov Technical Support by using the real time chat located in the lower right hand corner of the screen, or via email at procurement-support@opengov.com https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/smcgov

3.2. Pre-submission Registration

Organizations or individuals interested in responding to this solicitation must register online with the

County of San Mateo at:

• https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/smcgov

It is recommended that organizations complete this registration as soon as possible. The County will not be responsible for and may not accept proposals that are late due to a failure to register in the eProcurement system.

3.3. Submission via eProcurement Portal

Required Documents

Please refer to the Technical Proposal section for submittal documents and requirements.

Electronic Submissions

Include the proposer name and the RFP title and number in each filename. Submit proposals via the eProcurement website, allowing sufficient time for the upload to complete by the Due Date and Time. As noted above, the eProcurement portal submission time will be the official submission time, and partial uploads will automatically terminate, and proposals will be rejected. Contact eProcurement Portal with technical questions regarding this site.

Conflicts between Certain Requirements

Prior to the submission deadlines and solely relating to a determination of the timeliness of questions, comments, and proposal submissions, information displayed on the eProcurement portal site will take precedence in the event of a discrepancy between that information and the information within the mailto:procurement-support@opengov.com mailto:procurement-support@opengov.com https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/smcgov https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/smcgov https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/smcgov/projects/220400/document?section=2072485

Page 9 of 22 Release date of December 16, 2025 solicitation documents. For all other discrepancies, the information in the solicitation documents will take precedence.

Format

Documents should be created in the following format:

• Text should be Times New Roman (12-point minimum font size) and unjustified (i.e., with a ragged-right margin)

• Pages should have margins of at least one inch on all sides (excluding headers and footers)

• If the proposal is lengthy, a Table of Contents should be included.

• PDF format is preferred.

Errors in Proposals

The County will not be liable for any errors in proposals. Proposals may be rejected as unresponsive if they are late, incomplete, missing pages or information, or cannot be opened for any reason. The County may waive minor irregularities, but such waiver will not modify any remaining RFP requirements.

3.4. Procurement Preference for Local Businesses and Local Non-Profits

The County of San Mateo has adopted a Procurement Preference for Local Businesses Ordinance (County

Ord. Code Ch. 2.89.) The purpose of this Ordinance is to promote a strong local economy by giving preference to local businesses, local non-profits, local small and micro businesses, and local small and micro non-profits in County procurements, to the extent consistent with the law and interests of the public. The County’s process for applying local preferences to competitive procurements is set forth in

County Ordinance Code Section 2.89.030. The Ordinance and exemptions (e.g. the ordinance will be exempt when all bids or proposals received are from Non-Profit Organizations) can be reviewed here:

Chapter 2.89 - PROCUREMENT PREFERENCE FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES | Code of Ordinances |

San Mateo County, CA | Municode Library

The requirements for bidders to establish eligibility for a local preference for this solicitation are detailed below in Section III (Submission Requirements) The Ordinance does not apply if a procurement is determined to be exempt (County Ord. Code sec. 2.89.050), and the County reserves the right to waive application of the Ordinance to this procurement if determined to be in the best interests of the County

(County Ord. Code sec. 2.89.060).

4. Minimum Qualifications, Local Preference Ordinance, and Technical Proposal

4.1. Minimum Qualifications

4.1.1. Has Proposer has been performing large-scale digitization of historical land records for a minimum of Eight (8) years within the last ten (10) years?*

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required https://library.municode.com/ca/san_mateo_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT2AD_ART2.8INFIPRCOCO_CH2.89PRPRLOBU https://library.municode.com/ca/san_mateo_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT2AD_ART2.8INFIPRCOCO_CH2.89PRPRLOBU

Page 10 of 22 Release date of December 16, 2025

4.1.2. Has Proposer successfully completed at least three (3) onsite digitization projects?*

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

4.1.3. Has Proposer completed at least three (3) similar projects of comparable size and complexity within a public sector organization of similar or larger size than the

County?*

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

4.1.4. Project manager has a minimum of three (3) years of experience within the last five (5) years in managing similar projects?*

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

4.1.5. Please confirm your firm is registered with System for Award Management (SAM)*

SAM.gov

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

4.1.6. What is the registered Business Name and Unique Entity ID (UEI) No.?*

• UEI number can be obtained by registering your business through SAM.GOV

• Should you be in the process of obtaining your UEI number, please enter the digits ‘123’ temporarily for your response below in order to proceed with proposal. This temporary number should be replaced with the correct registration number for submission of the proposal.

*Response required

4.2. Procurement Preference for Local Businesses and Local Non-Profits

4.2.1. Is the Proposer a "Local Business"?

As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code, a “Local Business” means any for-profit business which has its principal place of business, or is headquartered, in San Mateo

County. If this designation applies to the proposer, a self-attestation form must be completed and provided with this response.

Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.

• SMC_LocalBusiness_self-atte...

4.2.2. Is the Proposer a Non-Profit?*

https://sam.gov/content/home https://government-project.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/153456/a16ffdc0-a0ee-44ca-b6de-1fddd010042f_SMC_LocalBusiness_self-attestation_form_120424.pdf

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A Non-Profit is defined as a tax-exempt public charity organization (within the meaning of section

501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) that is formed for purposes other than making a profit, is exempt from paying federal income taxes on the income generated for their exempt purposes.

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

When equals "Yes"

4.2.3. Is the Proposer a "Local Non-Profit"

As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code, a “Local Non-Profit" means a tax-exempt public charity organization (within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the

Internal Revenue Code) that is formed for purposes other than making a profit, is exempt from paying federal income taxes on the income generated for their exempt purposes, and has its principal place of business, or is headquartered, in San Mateo County. If this designation applies to the proposer, a self-attestation form must be completed and provided with this response.

Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.

• SMC_LocalBusiness_self-atte...

4.2.4. Is the Proposer a Local "Small" or "Micro" Business?

As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code:

“Small Business” means any business which holds a Small Business Certification awarded by the

California Office of Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services (OSDS).

“Micro Business” means any Small Business certified by the OSDS which is automatically designated by the OSDS as a Micro Business due to gross annual receipts falling below the OSDS-designated dollar amount.

If the above designations apply, please provide the OSDS provided Certification ID.

If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.

4.2.5. Is the Proposer a Local "Small" or "Micro" Non-Profit?

As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code:

“Small Non-Profit" means a Local Non-Profit with an annual revenue of $1,000,000 to $2,500,000 according to its most recently filed IRS Form 990.

“Micro Non-Profit" means a Local Non-Profit with an annual revenue of less than $1,000,000, according to its most recently filed IRS Form 990.

If the above designations apply, please provide your latest filed IRS form 990. A filing from the last two calendar years is acceptable.

If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.

https://government-project.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/153456/80d29c2f-acda-4b87-837e-cb4ead1fb303_SMC_LocalBusiness_self-attestation_form_120424.pdf

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4.3. Technical Proposal

4.3.1. Introduction and Executive Summary *

Submit a letter of introduction and executive summary of the proposal. The letter must contain:

• Name, title and contact information (email, phone, and address) for representative of proposer that is responsible for communication related to this RFP.

• Name, title, contact information, and signature of person authorized to obligate firm to perform the commitment contained in the proposal.

Submission of the letter will constitute a representation by proposer that it is willing and able to perform the commitments contained in the proposal and has not violated the terms of this RFP.

*Response required

4.3.2. Statement of Minimum Qualifications *

Describe how the proposer meets the minimum qualifications as set forth in Minimum Qualifications of this RFP.

Responding to the Minumum Qualifications Questions is not a substitute for providing a detailed written response.

*Response required

4.3.3. Project Approach*

This section should correlate to the Scope of Work . Proposer should give a summary describing how it will perform the relevant work

*Response required

4.3.4. Scope of Work Tasks/Milestones*

Describe your proposed approach to tasks/milestones

*Response required

4.3.5. Proposed Schedule*

Attach proposed schedule reference ability to complete the project within the County's required time frame

*Response required

4.3.6. Innovations*

Refence any notable innovations or improvements that you expect to provide (with respect to, for example, efficiency, technology, sustainability)

*Response required

4.3.7. Performance Measures*

Describe the performance measures you will put in place to ensure the completion of the project is on time while adhering to quality and accuracy of requirements defined in the RFP.

*Response required

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4.3.8. Describe the proposed approach to security and privacy of the data*

*Response required

4.3.9. Firm Qualifications*

Attach a brief description of the firm background, current or past relevant projects, customers served in state and local government spaces for similar projects, Proposer’s work locations, details of the

Proposer’s current and/or past business relationships with the County or other California Counties.

*Response required

4.3.10. Team Qualifications and Experience*

Provide a chart identifying:

▪ Project team and reporting structure

▪ Lead project manager

▪ Role of each person that will be part of the project

Provide a brief description of the experience and qualifications of the project team members, including the project manager resume.

Written assurance that the key individuals listed and identified will be performing the work and will not be substituted or reassigned without the County’s prior approval

*Response required

4.3.11. References*

The proposers must submit at least three (3) references that verify that the Proposer has successfully completed similar projects. References should include public sector and onsite projects. For each reference, the Proposer shall include a description of the project, its size (duration, budget), providing sufficient details to show that the Proposer has experience in similar services as those requested in this

RFP.

*Response required

4.3.12. Fee Proposal*

The Fee Proposal should be submitted as a separate Excel file from the Technical Proposals detailed in

Required Documents.

Proposers shall base their cost estimates on the document volumes listed below and provide a detailed breakdown of pricing by unit and by task/step for each milestone. Unit pricing must clearly identify the cost per page or per image for each component of the digitization workflow for each media type (e.g.

scanning, image processing, quality enhancement, grouping, indexing, verification, media delivery, project management, etc.). The County will use these unit rates to adjust the final contract amount up or down based on actual verified quantities. Time-and-materials pricing will not be accepted.

Estimated Volumes for Pricing Purposes:

• Microfilm: 2.2 million images

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• Simplex Books: 2 million pages

• Mechanical Books: 3 million pages

• Unbound Books: 125,000 Handwritten pages and 75,000 typed pages

The County reserves the right to accept other than the lowest priced offer and to reject any proposals that are not responsive to this request.

*Response required

5. Evaluation and Selection Criteria

The proposals will be evaluated by a selection committee with relevant expertise. The County intends to evaluate the proposals generally in accordance with the criteria itemized below. Proposers with the highest scoring proposals may be interviewed by the committee to make the final selection.

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Proposed Solution and Work Plan

• Demonstration of an in-depth understanding of the project scope of work detailed in this

RFP and the tasks to be performed

• Demonstration of technical knowledge and understanding of the digitization, image processing, quality assurance and indexing processes.

• Strength of proposed approach and methodology to complete the project

• Applying innovative approaches and solutions

• Reasonableness of the project timeline

• Overall organization, quality, and coherence of the proposal

Points Based 30 (27.3% of Total)

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2. Proposer Experience and References

• Expertise of the firm in the fields necessary to complete the project

• Relevance and quality of recently completed similar projects

• Strategy for successful engagement with the County

• Innovation or value-added tools that give Proposer a competitive edge

• Reference checks

Points Based 30 (27.3% of Total)

3. Team Qualifications and Experience

• Reasonableness of proposed staffing level and allocation plan.

• Expertise of the project manager and team

• Proposer staff availability and accessibility

Points Based 15 (13.6% of Total)

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4. Fee Proposal

Qualitative Scoring

• Feasibility of Fee Proposal to meet the service requirements effectively and efficiently

• Fee proposal provides a clear breakdown of the cost calculation.

Quantitative Scoring

The lowest cost proposal will receive the maximum number of points assigned to the quantitative fee proposal evaluation criteria. All other proposals will be assigned points by dividing the amount of the lowest total fee proposed by the amount of their respective total fee proposed and then multiplying the resulting number of the maximum number of points available to calculate each Proposer’s Fee Proposal score.

Points Based 25 (22.7% of Total)

5. Preferential Points

Where price is not the sole evaluation factor for a solicitation (e.g., in the case of a "best-value" solicitation), five percent (5%) of the total evaluation points awardable will be added to the proposal score for each Local Business or

Local Non-Profit score for evaluation purposes.

In the event of a tie between a Local Business or Local Non-Profit and another bidder, the

Local Business or Non-Profit shall be awarded the Contract, assuming agreement on other contract terms.

An additional three percent (3%) preference shall be given to a Local Business or Local

Non-profit (for a total of eight percent (8%) of total points awardable) if the proposer is a

Small Business or Small Non-Profit, or an additional 5 percent preference (for a total of ten percent (10%) of total points awardable) if the proposer is a Micro Business or Micro Non-

Profit.

Points Based 10 (9.1% of Total)

6. Instructions to Proposers

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6.1. Instructions

There will be no pre-proposal conference or site visit for this project.

6.2. Communications

A. As of the issuance date of this RFP and continuing until it is canceled or an award is made, no proposer or person acting on behalf of a prospective proposer may discuss any matter relating to the RFP with any officer, agent, or employee of the County, other than through eProcurement portal, to the Authorized Contact Person, or as outlined in the evaluation or protest procedures.

B. Proposers (including any agent, owner, employee, board members, or other such affiliates) shall not offer any gift, favor, or other personal benefit to any County officer or employee during the procurement process for this agreement, including during the solicitation period and contract negotiations.

Violation of the foregoing prohibitions may result in a proposer being found non-responsible and barred from participating in this or future procurements.

6.3. Contract Award

A. Award Procedure

Contract negotiations are neither an offer nor guarantee that a contract will be executed. A contract award, if any is made, will be to the responsive, responsible proposer offering the overall best value to the County for the services and goods described in this solicitation, or as applicable, for a specific portion of the services and goods described. Any agreement reached will be memorialized in a formal agreement using the attached template, executed by the appropriate authority.

B. Notice of Intent to Award

If a decision is made to take steps to enter into an agreement with one or more proposers, the

County will post a Notice of Intent to Award or otherwise notify proposers the remaining proposers of their non-selection. Notice may instead be provided by including approval of the agreement as an item on an agenda for a meeting of the Board of Supervisors.

C. Commencement of Performance

After all parties have signed the agreement, the County will notify the contractor and performance may proceed. Prior to execution of the agreement by the County, no County employee may authorize work under the agreement. Any work performed prior to the full execution of the Agreement may not be compensated.

D. Levine Act DisclosureThe Levine Act (California Government Code Section 84308) imposes certain requirements on parties contracting with the County of San Mateo related to campaign contributions to County “officers,” including elected County officers and candidates seeking elective office, who may participate in making a decision on certain County contracts. Elected

County officers in San Mateo County include: the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, Page 18 of 22 Release date of December 16, 2025

Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder, County Controller, Coroner, District Attorney, Sheriff, and Tax

Collector-Treasurer.Generally, under current County policy, approval by the Board of

Supervisors is required for any agreement for services above $200,000, and agreements for services below that threshold may be approved by Department heads.If your proposal is selected, you will be required to certify compliance with the Levine Act.As part of this process, you will need to certify and warrant that you have fully complied, and will remain in full compliance, with all applicable requirements of the Levine Act in connection with the

Agreement, including making any required disclosures of campaign contributions to County

Officers, which includes but may not be limited to elected County Officers. Elected County

Officers include members of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, as well as the

Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder, Controller, Coroner, District Attorney, Sheriff, and Tax

Collector-Treasurer. Any campaign contribution required to be disclosed under the Levine Act in connection with this Agreement shall be disclosed on the County of San Mateo Levine Act

Disclosure Form, a copy of which is available from the County upon request.Parties are solely responsible for accurate certification and disclosure. The Levine Act is complex, and this brief description is not legal advice. For example, certain contributions must be aggregated when determining whether contributions have exceeded the $500 threshold. If your proposal is selected, you are urged to review the Levine Act and consider consulting an attorney.

6.4. Term

Office of Assessor-County Clerk- Recorder & Chief Elections Officer is issuing Request for Proposal

(RFP) No. 2026-RFP-00252 for Digitization of Historical Land Records.

The agreement shall have a term of three (3) years. The County’s standard contract template has been included with this solicitation. The awarded contractor will be expected to sign an agreement prepared by the County using this template. Please ensure that your firm has completed legal review of these contract terms. If your firm wishes to request exceptions to these standard terms, submit a Contract Exceptions

Request by the Deadline for Questions, Comments and Contract Exceptions listed in the Solicitation

Schedule below. The County will consider Contract Exceptions Requests but reserves the right to reject requested modifications to its standard terms.

7. Terms and Conditions for Receipt of Proposals

7.1. Errors, Omissions and Inquiries regarding the RFP

Proposers are responsible for reviewing all portions of this RFP. Proposers are to notify the department, in eProcurement portal, if the proposer discovers any ambiguity, discrepancy, omission, or apparent error in the RFP. Such notification should be made promptly after discovery, but in no event later than five business days prior to the deadline for receipt of proposals. Modifications and clarifications will be made by addenda as provided below.

Inquiries regarding the RFP should be lodged in eProcurement portal.

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7.2. Objections to RFP Terms

Should a proposer object on any ground to any provision or legal requirement set forth in this RFP, the proposer must, not more than ten calendar days after the RFP is issued, provide written notice to the department, via eProcurement portal, setting forth with specific grounds for the objection.

7.3. Addenda

The County may cancel, revise, or reissue this RFP, in whole or in part, for any reason. Revisions will be posted as Addenda on eProcurement portal. No other revision of this RFP is valid. Proposers shall be responsible for ensuring that their proposals reflects any and all Addenda issued by the County prior to the proposal due date regardless of when a proposal is submitted. Therefore, the County recommends that proposers consult eProcurement portal frequently, including shortly before the proposal due date, to confirm that all Addenda have been downloaded.

7.4. Term of Proposal

Submission of a proposal signifies that the proposed services and prices are valid for the duration of the proposed agreement term and that the quoted prices are genuine and not the result of collusion or any other anti-competitive activity.

7.5. Revision or Withdrawal of Proposal

A proposer may revise a proposal on the proposer’s own initiative at any time before the deadline for submission of proposals. The proposer must submit the revised proposal in the same manner as the original on or before the proposal due date.

A proposer may withdraw a proposal at any time before the deadline for submission of proposals. After that time, whether or not a new RFP is issued for the same subject matter, withdrawal of a proposal may preclude the proposer from participating in the procurement as a proposer or subcontractor, except that an original equipment manufacturer may participate indirectly through a reseller.

7.6. Errors and Omissions in Proposal

The County will not be liable for any errors in proposals. Proposals may be rejected as unresponsive if they are incomplete, are missing pages or information, or cannot be opened for any reason. The County may waive minor irregularities, but such waiver will not modify any of the remaining RFP requirements.

7.7. No Commitment

Neither submission of a proposal nor the County’s receipt of proposal materials confers any right to the proposer nor any obligation on the County. This RFP does not commit the County to award a contract.

7.8. Financial Responsibility

The County shall have no financial responsibility for any costs incurred by a firm in responding to this

RFP or participating in any presentations or negotiations.

7.9. Estimated Quantity

If the RFP results in an indefinite quantity or a requirements agreement, the goods and services actually requested by the County may be less than the maximum value of the agreement and there is no guarantee, Page 20 of 22 Release date of December 16, 2025 either expressed or implied, as to the actual quantity of goods and services that will be authorized under the agreement.

7.10. Public Record

A. General

1. All proposals, protests, and information submitted in response to this solicitation will become the property of the County and will be considered public records. As such, they may be subject to public review.

2. Any contract arising from this RFP will be a public record.

3. The County is not seeking proprietary information and will not assert any privileges that may exist on behalf of the proposer.

4. Submission of any materials in response to this RFP constitutes:

▪ Consent to the County’s release of such materials under the Public Records Act without notice to the person or entity submitting the materials; and

▪ Waiver of all claims against the County and/or its officers, agents, or employees that the

County has violated a proposer's right to privacy, disclosed trade secrets, or caused any damage by allowing the proposal or materials to be inspected; and

▪ Agreement to indemnify and hold harmless the County for release of such information under the Public Records Act; and

▪ Acknowledgement that the County will not assert any privileges that may exist on behalf of the person or entity submitting the materials.

7.11. Reservations of Rights by the County

The issuance of this RFP does not constitute an agreement by the County that any contract will actually be entered into by the County. The County expressly reserves the right at any time to:

• Waive or correct any defect or informality in any response, proposal, or proposal procedure;

• Reject any or all proposals;

• Reissue an RFP;

• Prior to submission deadline for proposals, modify all or any portion of the selection procedures, including deadlines for accepting responses, the specifications or requirements for any materials, equipment or services to be provided under this RFP, or the requirements for contents or format of the proposals;

• Procure any materials, equipment or services specified in this RFP by any other means; or

• Determine that no project will be pursued.

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7.12. No Waiver

No waiver by the County of any provision of this RFP shall be implied from any failure by the County to recognize or take action on account of any failure by a proposer to observe any provision of this RFP.

7.13. Cooperative Agreement (Piggyback)

This competitive solicitation is being conducted as a Cooperative Procurement. The services, terms and conditions of any agreement resulting from this solicitation may be used by other organizations as a

Cooperative Agreement.

This provision in no way commits any affiliate to procure services from any awarded contractor, nor does it guarantee that any additional orders will result. At their discretion, and subject to their own procurement policies, interested organizations may make use of this competitive procurement and contract directly from the awarded contractor.

8. Protest Procedures

8.1. Protest of Non-Responsiveness Determination

Within five (5) working days of the County's issuance of a notice of non-responsiveness, any firm that has submitted a proposal and believes that the County has incorrectly determined that its proposal is non-responsive may submit a written notice of protest. Such notice of protest must be received by the County on or before the fifth working day following the County's issuance of the notice of non-responsiveness. The notice of protest must include a written statement specifying in detail each and every one of the grounds asserted for the protest. The protest must be signed by an individual authorized to represent the proposer, and must cite the law, rule, local ordinance, procedure or RFP provision on which the protest is based. In addition, the protestor must specify facts and evidence sufficient for the County to determine the validity of the protest.

8.2. Protest of Contract Award

Within five (5) working days of the County's issuance of a notice of intent to award the contract, any firm that has submitted a responsive proposal and believes that the County has incorrectly selected another proposer for award may submit a written notice of protest. Such notice of protest must be received by the

County on or before the fifth working day after the County's issuance of the notice of intent to award.

The notice of protest must include a written statement specifying in detail each and every one of the grounds asserted for the protest. The protest must be signed by an individual authorized to represent the proposer, and must cite the law, rule, local ordinance, procedure or RFP provision on which the protest is based. In addition, the protestor must specify facts and evidence sufficient for the County to determine the validity of the protest.

8.3. Delivery of Protests

All protests must be received by the due date. If a protest is mailed, the protestor bears the risk of non-delivery within the deadlines specified herein. Protests should be transmitted by a means that will objectively establish the date the County received the protest. Protests or notice of protests made orally

(e.g., by telephone) will not be considered. Protests must be delivered to:

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Protests@smcgov.org

Subject: Digitization of Historical Land Records, 2026-RFP-00252