Elections_Ballot_Sorting_System.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

2026-RFP-191

ELECTIONS BALLOT SORTING SYSTEM

Pierce County

1501 Market St, Suite 420

Tacoma, WA 98402

RELEASE DATE: August 19, 2026

DEADLINE FOR QUESTIONS: September 2, 2026

RESPONSE DEADLINE: September 16, 2026, 4:00 pm

RESPONSES MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO:

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/piercecountywa https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/%7bproject.government.code%7d

Pierce County

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Elections Ballot Sorting System

1. Introduction

2. Pierce County's eProcurement System

3. Summary

4. Background

5. Definitions

6. ADA

7. Objective/Scope of Work

8. Minimum Qualifications

9. Anticipated Contract Details and Expectations

10. General Information for Proposers

11. RFP Coordinator

12. Timeline

13. Procurement Documents and RFP Holder's List

14. Questions and Answers

15. Submission of Proposals

16. Public Records and Proprietary Material

17. Revisions to the RFP

18. Responsiveness

19. Contract and General Terms & Conditions

20. Costs to Prepare Proposal

21. No Obligation to Contract

22. Rejection of Proposals

23. Most Favorable Terms

24. Concern Resolution Process

25. Cooperative Purchasing

26. Title VI Compliance

27. RFP Questionnaire

28. Administrative, Organization, Threshold Review and Proposal Questions .

29. Evaluation and Scoring

30. Evaluation Process

31. Proposal Scoring Method

32. Scoring Criteria

33. Notification to Proposers

Request For Proposal #2026-RFP-191 Title: Elections Ballot Sorting System

34. Debriefing of Unsuccessful Proposers

35. Protest Procedure

Attachments:

A - Vendor Pricing

B - Proposer Questionnaire

C - Proposal Scoring Chart

D - Pierce County Service Agreement Sample

1. Introduction

1.1. Pierce County's eProcurement System

Welcome to Pierce County's eProcurement System. This system is inclusive to the procurement process, including submission of any questions and/or clarifications, the release of any addenda/notices, and submission of proposals. It is strongly encouraged that organizations responding to any procurement first read the entire procurement, paying close attention to the timelines, scope of work, eligibility, submission requirements, and specifically to the questionnaire section, which may include required attachments (when applicable), and ask for any clarifications regarding content and instructions early in the process.

1.2. Summary

Pierce County is seeking a qualified firm to provide an election ballot mail sorting system for the

Auditor's Office.

1.3. Background

Pierce County (hereafter known as the 'County' serves 600,000 registered voters in 717 precincts in The

State of Washington, an all vote-by-mail state. The Pierce County Auditor's Office ("Auditor") normally conducts four elections a year that can be county-wide or smaller in scope. All ballots are returned either through the United States Postal Service or deposited at a drop box. All voters are required to sign the outer envelope, and that signature is used to verify the voter’s identity before opening. The Auditor also sends out a variety of election related mail including confirmation cards, address updates, challenge letters, etc. The County currently has three incoming mail sorters. which are used for throughput as well as redundancy.

1.4. Definitions

• “Apparently Successful Proposer (ASP)” means a proposer selected as an entity to perform the anticipated services, subject to completion of contract negotiations and execution of a written contract.

• "Applicant," "Bidder," and "Proposer" mean an organization, agency or provider that submits a formal response to this procurement.

• "Application," "Bid," or "Proposal" mean a formal response to this solicitation.

• “CFR” means Code of Federal Regulations.

• “Client,” "Participant," "Household," or "Member" means an individual (or individuals) who receives services, or is eligible to receive services, under this procurement.

• “Contractor” means an individual or organization whose proposal has been accepted by the

County and has been awarded a fully executed, written contract.

• “Procurement” means the process by which the County obtains services.

• “Request for Proposal (RFP)” or "Solicitation" means this document and its attachments in which needed goods and/or services are identified and organizations are invited to provide information as to how they propose to meet the County's needs.

• “RCW” means Revised Code of Washington.

• “WAC” means Washington Administrative Code.

1.5. ADA

The County complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Bidders should contact the RFP

Coordinator to request an accommodation.

1.6. Objective/Scope of Work

1.6.1. Objective

The County's objective is to contract with a qualified vendor for necessary equipment for the Auditor to process incoming ballot envelopes and other election related mail, sort envelopes to varying categories, capture images of envelopes, read and interpret information on the envelope face, interface with the voter registration system, verify expected contents, and open the envelope. Vendors should respond with their best proposed solution for the Auditor, listing options for potential enhancements.

1.6.2. Scope of Work

The Auditor needs an incoming ballot envelope sorting solution. The solution must be able to meet all listed minimum requirements as well as offer enhanced services to help efficiently process incoming ballot envelopes as well as other election-related mail.

1.6.3. Minimum Requirements

A. Vendor shall propose an automated envelope sorting system that is scalable with a minimum of eight sorting pockets.

1. The system shall be modular in construction and capable of adding capacity at a later date.

2. All upgrades shall be performed on-site.

B. Vendor shall propose a solution with at least two machines that function at the same time on the same server.

C. System operating software which interfaces with the current State voter registration system, VoteWA.

D. System software and hardware that is compatible with Pierce County’s local area network and network security requirements.

E. System shall provide an accurate count of processed mail pieces.

F. System must scan and capture one side of the envelope (at a minimum) with the ability to crop captured image to a signature block area.

G. System must identify ballot return envelopes that may not contain all contents expected to be returned and sort such envelopes to a pocket.

1. This ability must be customizable for each election as ballot size and envelope contents can change.

H. System must be able to accommodate differing sizes of mail pieces.

I. System must have the ability to sort mail pieces by a user-defined sort scheme that can be changed with minimal effort.

J. System must be able to open (mill) envelopes without damaging the contents.

1. The milling area will have the ability to keep the area clean of all debris.

K. System must have the ability to sort out, into a different pocket, all mail pieces that are identified as not in the current mail processing job.

L. System must have the ability to sort out, into variable pockets, ballot envelopes that have been marked as challenged or rejected.

M. System must have the ability to identify and sort out automatically, into a different pocket, envelopes that have not been signed by the voter.

N. System must have the ability to upload information into the voter registration system, VoteWA including but not limited to: return date, batch number, return source, challenge code, voter id, election id, envelope number, signature image, etc.

O. System shall store envelope images, voter data, and reports in a directory that can be accessible to the operator.

1. All information shall be date/time stamped and archivable.

P. System must be equipped with a tray tag printer or other method of producing an identification tag for batches.

1. Such tag information should be customizable by the operator.

Q. System must include a tray audit report of all processed pieces that can be customizable by user.

R. System must have ability to append a return source (at least 60 different) to each envelope and transfer that data to the voter registration system.

S. System must include a solution for the system to automatically verify signatures in compliance with RCW 29A.40.110(3).

1. This solution should also allow the machine to continue sorting ballots.

T. System must be able to read information on envelopes.

1. At a minimum, the system should be capable of reading bar code information.

U. System must be ergonomically designed to minimize operator fatigue.

V. Vendor shall provide for standard support as well as extended support during election periods

(including weekend, holiday, and after-hours support).

W. Vendor shall provide training on new equipment, manuals and documentation, as well as on-going support and maintenance services.

X. Vendor should have a proposal for using sorting equipment to face ballots instead of relying on human labor to presort the drop box returns.

1.6.4. Schedule

The project must be in place no later than June 15th, 2027.

1.7. Minimum Qualifications

1.7.1. Proposer Eligibility

Proposers who do not meet these minimum qualifications will be considered non-responsive and their proposal will not be evaluated or scored.

1. Contractors must be licensed to perform work in the state of Washington.

1.8. Anticipated Contract Details and Expectations

1.8.1. Term

The initial contract period is anticipated to be for one (1) year. The County reserves the option to extend the contracts for 4 (four) additional 12 month terms. Amendments extending the period of performance, if any, shall be at the sole discretion of the County. However, no Contractor will be guaranteed an extension.

1.8.2. Value

The County anticipates awarding a single contract from this procurement. The County reserves the right to make fewer awards or no awards, based on the quality and scope of proposals received, available funding, and identified service needs.

The total funding available under this Request for Proposals (RFP) is limited and may be distributed among multiple providers. Proposers are encouraged to scale their funding requests proportionally to the scope and geographic reach of their proposed services. The County may negotiate budgets and service levels to ensure the most effective use of funds and equitable coverage across providers. The

County reserves the right to adjust award amounts at its sole discretion.

Additional federal, State, or local funds may become available during the contracting cycle and allocated through this solicitation. Funding may only be awarded for the same scope of services as described in this solicitation. It is important to note, any contract awarded as a result of this procurement is contingent upon the availability of funding. If at any time during the term of the contract the funding relied upon for the contract is reduced, modified, or eliminated, or if the funding terms are modified, Pierce County reserves the right to amend the contract as appropriate or to terminate the contract.

2. General Information for Proposers

2.1. RFP Coordinator

The RFP Coordinator is the sole point of contact in the County for this procurement. All communications between the Proposer and the County upon release of this RFP shall be with the RFP Coordinator.

Kimberly Smith

Procurement and Contract Specialist 2

Email: kimberly.smith@piercecountywa.gov

Phone: (253) 798-6015

Department:

Auditor's Office

Any other communication will be considered unofficial and non-binding on the County. Proposers are to rely on written statements issued by the RFP Coordinator. Communication directed to parties other than the RFP Coordinator may result in disqualification of the Proposer.

2.2. Timeline

Proposal Release Date: August 19, 2026

Question Submission & Concern Resolution

Request Deadline:

September 2, 2026, 4:00pm

Proposal Submission Deadline: September 16, 2026, 4:00pm

The County reserves the right to revise the above timeline.

2.3. Procurement Documents and RFP Holder's List

PROPOSERS WHO REGISTER AND DOWNLOAD RFP DOCUMENTS will be automatically added to the

FOLLOWERS' list in the County's eProcurement Portal. Notifications for solicitation updates, addendum and other procurement information will be sent to all who register on the Pierce County eProcurement

Portal.

2.4. Questions and Answers

Proposers may submit questions through the County's eProcurement Portal, under the Question &

Answer Section, no later than 4:00 pm on the date set forth in Section 2.2. Proposers must be registered in the eProcurement Portal software to submit questions, receive addendums and notifications, and ultimately submit a proposal. Proposers may only rely on written statements issued by the County. Any oral communications are unofficial and are not binding on the County.

2.5. Submission of Proposals

2.5.1. Deadline

The proposal must be received by the time/date as indicated in Section 2.2.

2.5.2. Attachments

Follow instructions carefully - if attachments are provided under this solicitation, they are to be utilized as part of the proposal - do not replace or use the organization's own format, as the proposal may be deemed "non-responsive" or "not eligible."

2.5.3. Instructions

All proposals are evaluated on the completeness and quality of the content. Only those Proposers providing complete information as required will be considered for evaluation. The County will not contact the organization for correction of proposals and Proposers are strongly encouraged to carefully review their proposals for completeness and accuracy before submitting. For proposals to be considered responsive and move to the review process, the Proposer must, under Section 3, RFP Questionnaire:

• Acknowledge all required “confirmations.”

• Complete all required attachments, to include uploading any supplemental documents requested in attachments.

• Submit the following materials as part of the proposal.

o Attachment A - Vendor Pricing o Attachment B - Proposer Questionnaire

2.5.4. Additional Resources/Helps

This section provides a curated list of help articles addressing common questions and challenges proposers may encounter during the Request for Proposal process. The resources below are intended to offer clear guidance, practical solutions, and relevant information to support a smooth and successful submission. Proposers are encouraged to review these materials as needed to better understand requirements, resolve issues, and navigate the process with confidence.

• Vendor Registration

• Following a Project

• Getting Started with Subscriptions

• How to Submit a Question in OpenGov

• How to Submit a Proposal Response in OpenGov

• How to Edit or Withdraw a Proposal after Submission in OpenGov

2.5.5. Electronic Submissions Only

https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/dceacbcf-203c-4b0d-aa57-550043bb0dc0 https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/82615c2a-a6e1-46ed-9b33-ec542acf013d https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/c7a5affa-e073-4d5a-8d87-b6eadcf343a9 https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/12c62371-147b-45f4-9bcd-cf2ce5f58259 https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/8e675a48-dad3-4759-9bae-6b4cb7970d21 https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/4f4218bf-7da6-4fc6-b0c3-7eade0776ebe

Only electronic submittal via the County's eProcurement Portal shall be accepted for this procurement.

No hard copies, emails, or fax submittals shall be accepted. The accepted forms of submitted materials are .pdf, png., jpeg., and MS Office formats such as docx. and xlsx.

2.5.6. Addenda & Notices

Proposers must acknowledge and confirm each addendum and notice issued under this solicitation. The system will not allow final submission unless all required confirmations are checked.

2.5.7. No Exceptions for Late Responses

Proposers should allow sufficient time to ensure timely receipt of the proposal by the County’s e-procurement System, OpenGov. Late responses will not be accepted and will be automatically disqualified. The County assumes no responsibility for delays caused by Proposer's technical related system errors.

2.5.8. County Property

All proposals and any accompanying documentation become the property of the County and will not be returned.

2.6. Public Records and Proprietary Material

• Organizations should be aware that any records they submit to the County or that are used by the County even if the organization possess the records, may be public records under the

Washington Public Records Act (RCW 42.56). The County must promptly disclose public records upon request unless a statute exempts them from disclosure. Organizations should also be aware that if even a portion of a record is exempt from disclosure, generally, the rest of the record must be disclosed. Exemptions are narrow and specific.

• Organizations should clearly mark any record they believe is exempt from disclosure.

2.7. Revisions to the RFP

In the event it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFP, addenda will be published in the

County's eProcurement Portal.

All amendments and notifications of cancellation shall be posted in the County's eProcurement Portal. If you did not receive this solicitation via the County’s eProcurement Portal, please register there to receive further notifications.

The County also reserves the right to amend or add to, retract from, or cancel this Procurement at any time, in whole or in part, and without penalty.

In the event of a conflict between amendments or between an amendment and this Solicitation

Document, the document issued latest in time shall control.

2.8. Responsiveness

All proposals will be reviewed by the RFP Coordinator to determine compliance with administrative requirements and instructions specified in this solicitation. The Proposer is specifically notified that the

County may reject or withdraw a proposal at any time as nonresponsive for any of the following reasons:

• Incomplete proposal

• Failure to comply with any part of this solicitation or any Attachments to this procurement

• Submission of incorrect, misleading, or false information.

The County also reserves the right, however, at its sole discretion to waive minor administrative irregularities, which are defined as variances which do not provide a proposer an advantage or benefit over other proposers.

2.9. Contract and General Terms & Conditions

The ASP will be expected to enter into a contract which is substantially the same as the Sample Contract and its General Terms and Conditions attached as Attachment D. In no event is a Proposer to submit its own standard contract terms and conditions in response to this solicitation. If a Proposer has a concern regarding a certain General Term & Condition, they can raise the issue per the Questions and Answers section of this solicitation.

2.10. Costs to Prepare Proposal

The County will not be liable for any costs incurred by the Proposer in preparation of a proposal submitted in response to this RFP, in conduct of a presentation or interview, or any other activities related to responding to this RFP.

2.11. No Obligation to Contract

This RFP does not obligate the County to contract for services specified herein.

2.12. Rejection of Proposals

The County reserves the right at its sole discretion to reject any and all proposals received without penalty and not to issue a contract as a result of this RFP.

2.13. Most Favorable Terms

The County reserves the right to make an award without further discussion of the proposal submitted. Therefore, the proposal should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms which the

Proposer can offer. There will be no best and final offer procedure.

The ASP should be prepared to accept this RFP for incorporation into a contract resulting from this

RFP. Contract negotiations may incorporate some or all of the Proposer’s proposal. It is understood that the proposal will become a part of the official procurement file on this matter without obligation to the County.

2.14. Concern Resolution Process

This procedure is available to potential Proposers who are contemplating submitting a proposal in response to this RFP. Only Concern Resolution submissions (Submissions) concerning the following subjects shall be considered:

• A claim that the solicitation unnecessarily restricts competition.

• A claim the solicitation evaluation or scoring process is unfair or flawed.

• A claim the solicitation requirements are inadequate or insufficient to prepare a response.

Proposers submitting a concern about this procurement shall follow the procedures described below. Submissions that do not follow these procedures shall not be considered. If a Proposer registers a concern against this solicitation, the issue(s) cannot be raised again during the protest period.

All submissions must be in writing and signed by the submitting party or an authorized Agent. The submission must be sent to the Procurement Coordinator, or designee, and needs to be received no later than 4:00 pm, local time, Tacoma, WA, per Section 2.2 Timeline, and must clearly articulate the basis for the submission. The Proposer submitting a concern must also include a proposed remedy.

Upon receipt of a submission, a submission review will be held by the County. The RFP coordinator will respond to submissions in writing and the Finance & Enterprise Services Department Director will be notified of all submissions and provided a copy of the County’s response. A copy of the response to the submission, including any changes to the solicitation, will also be posted in County's eProcurement

Portal.

The concern resolution process does not include an appeal process.

2.15. Cooperative Purchasing

The Washington State Interlocal Cooperation Act, Ch. 39.34 RCW, authorizes public agencies to cooperatively purchase goods and services if all parties agree. By responding to this RFP, Consultants agree that other public agencies may purchase goods and services under this procurement or contract at their own cost and without Pierce County incurring any financial or legal liability for such purchases.

Pierce County agrees to allow other public agencies to purchase goods and services under this procurement or contract, provided that Pierce County is not held financially or legally liable for purchases and that any public agency purchasing under such procurement or contract file a copy of this invitation and such contract in accordance with RCW 39.34.040.

2.16. Title VI Compliance

Pierce County, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to

2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21, nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs of the Department of

Transportation issued pursuant to such Act, hereby notifies all Proposers that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises as defined at 49 CFR Part 26 will be afforded full opportunity to submit proposals in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award.

3. RFP Questionnaire

3.1. Administrative, Organization, Threshold Review and Proposal Questions

1. Administrative Questions

1.1. Proposer Confirmation*

As an authorized representative of the Proposer, having carefully examined the Request for Proposals, propose to furnish services in accordance therewith as set forth in the attached proposal.

I further agree that this proposal will remain in effect for not less than sixty (60) calendar days from the date that proposals are due, and that this proposal may not be withdrawn or modified during that time.

I hereby certify that this proposal is genuine and not a false or collusive proposal, or made in the interests or on behalf of any person not therein named; and I have not directly or indirectly induced or solicited any Contractor or supplier on the above work to put in a false proposal or any person or corporation to refrain from submitting a proposal; and that I have not in any manner sought by collusion to secure to myself an advantage over any other contractor(s) or person(s).

In order to induce the County to consider this proposal, the Proposer irrevocably waives any existing rights which it may have, by contract or otherwise, to require another person or corporation to refrain from submitting a proposal to or performing work or providing supplies to Pierce County, and Proposer further promises that it will not in the future directly or indirectly induce or solicit any person or corporation to refrain from submitting a response or proposal to or from performing work or providing supplies to Pierce County.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

1.2. Ownership and Copyright of Submitted Materials*

By submitting a proposal, I agree that all documents, reports, proposals, submittals, working papers, or other materials prepared by the Proposer pursuant to this proposal shall become the sole and exclusive property of the County, and the public domain, and not property of the Proposer. The Proposer shall not copyright, or cause to be copyrighted, any portion of items submitted to the County in response to this procurement.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

1.3. Supplemental Attachment Confirmation*

I confirm I have reviewed the content of the following attachments included under this RFP: Sample

Agreement and any other documents as identified as "sample" in the Attachments section and acknowledge I understand and agree to these requirements should my organization receive a contract as a result of this proposal.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

1.4. Insurance Requirements*

By submitting a proposal, I understand and agree that if awarded funding from this RFP, the organization must be able to meet all insurance requirements based on services being purchased, prior to contract execution, and types of insurances may include, but are not limited to:

• Commercial General Liability Insurance: Required on all contracts. Standard levels are $1M occurrence/$2M aggregate (may be higher/lower, depending on value of contract and type of service).

• Commercial Automobile Liability Insurance: Required when the Contractor uses owned, rented, or leased automobiles to complete the services as required per the contract. Higher coverages may be required for fleet/large passenger vehicles.

• Workers Compensation Insurance: As required by Washington State.

• Professional Liability or Errors and Omissions Insurance: If the Contractor provides services such as analysis, consulting, counseling, daycare, legal, medical, nursing, pastoral, medical, or other services that require professional licensing.

• Abuse and Molestation: If the Contractor will be working directly with youth under the age of

18, elderly, disabled or other vulnerable populations.

• Cyber/Privacy and Security Insurance: If the Contractor is doing work that could give the

Contractor access to personal or sensitive information from within the County's network or on the Contractor's personal computer, or lead to breaches of security, leading to a loss of privacy or identity theft.

• Crime/Employee Dishonesty Insurance: If the Contractor is in the custody or control of Pierce

County funds such as cash, credit cards, checks or physical property.

• Other insurance(s) applicable to services being purchased: Such as Excess or Umbrella Liability

Insurance if the contract is in excess of $500,000.

In addition:

• Pierce County shall be named as an "Additional Insured" which must be provided in the insurance endorsement; and

• Insurance requirements also apply to any subcontractors hired by the main Contractor to deliver services, where applicable.

Please see "Exhibit D" in the SAMPLE AGREEMENT under attachments to see full insurance requirements. If you have questions regarding insurance requirements, please submit them through the “Question & Answer” section of the RFP.

☐ Please confirm

1.5. Debarment Certification*

As an authorized representative of the Proposer, I certify to the best of my knowledge and belief that the organization and its principals:

A. Are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any Federal department or agency;

B. Have not within a three-year period preceding this proposal been convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against them for commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, State, or local) transaction or contract under a public transaction; violation of Federal or State antitrust statutes or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property;

C. Are not presently indicted for or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a government entity

(Federal, State, or local) with commission of any of the offenses enumerated in paragraph (1)(b) of this certification; and

D. Have not within a three-year period preceding this proposal had one or more public transactions

(Federal, State, or local) terminated for cause or default.

E. Does not employ any person nor contracts with any person or agency excluded from participation in federal health care programs under either 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7 (§§1128 or 1128A

Social Security Act) or debarred or suspended.

By checking the confirmation, I understand that a false statement on this certification may be grounds for rejection of this proposal or termination of any award. In addition, under 18 USC Sec. 1001, a false statement may result in a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

2. Organization Information

2.1. Authorized Individual*

Please provide the name and title of the individual authorized to execute a contract on behalf of the organization.

*Response required

2.2. Organization Information*

Please provide the legal name, any d/b/a names, years in business, local address, billing address if different, email address, and phone number of the organization making the proposal.

*Response required

2.3. Organization Tax ID Number*

Please provide the Employee Identification Number (EIN).

2.4. Washington State Unified Business Identification (UBI) Number*

Please provide the organization's UBI number.

WARNING: Failure to provide a UBI number will be cause for the application to be disqualified from competition.

*Response required

2.5. Ownership Type*

Must choose at least two (2) answers: Profit status (1 or 2) and organizational structure (3, 4, 5, or 6).

Select all that apply

☐ 1. For Profit

☐ 2. Non Profit

☐ 3. Sole Proprietorship

☐ 4. Corporation/LLC/Partnership

☐ 5. City/County/State

☐ 6. Tribal Organization

*Response required

2.6. Organization Contacts*

Please provide the name, phone, and email for:

• Executive Director/CEO/President

• Financial Manager/CFO

• Contract Manager

*Response required

3. Scored Proposal Questions Complete attachments A and B, and upload with your proposal.

3.1. Proposal Upload*

Please upload your proposal materials here.

Complete and upload attachments A and B as part of your proposal upload.

4. Evaluation and Scoring

4.1. Evaluation Process

An Application Evaluation Committee (AEC) will review the bidding documents and evaluate all responses received based upon the criteria listed herein. The County may request clarifications or additional information, if needed. The proposer determined to be most qualified through the initial evaluation phase may be interviewed and the final determination will also consider reference checks and interviews.

The County intends to select the Contractor most qualified for this pursuit/solicitation and begin the negotiation and award process based on the requirements of this solicitation.

Selected Proposer(s) will be invited to enter into contract negotiations with the County. Should the

County and the selected proposer not reach a mutual agreement, the County will terminate negotiations and move to the next ranked contractor and proceed with negotiations. A Proposer’s inability to agree to the terms of the County’s standard contract may be a basis for the County to terminate negotiations and begin negotiating with one or more other Contractors.

4.2. Proposal Scoring Method

Proposals will be scored by consensus. Members of the AEC will score proposals individually and then meet to determine the final independent score for each proposal.

In the event the AEC has clarifying questions for a proposer, they shall notify the Procurement

Coordinator who will, in turn, send the question(s) to the appropriate proposer. The Procurement

Coordinator shall provide a deadline for the answers and shall then notify the AEC members of the response. If members of the AEC wish to change their original scores based on the response to the clarifying question(s), they shall notify the Procurement Coordinator who shall determine the proper subsequent process.

The County reserves the right to award the contract to any organization or combination of organizations whose proposal(s), in the opinion of the County, is in the best interest of the County.

4.3. Scoring Criteria

Final evaluation for short-listed firms will be on the following criteria:

A. Customer references which may be requested to be submitted from a firm, or may be gathered by the County.

B. Project interviews, presentations, and demonstrations as invited by the County, when deemed necessary. The County will notify invited teams of the schedule, agenda and any additional information being requested.

Vendor proposals will be initially evaluated on the following criteria:

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Ability to Provide Proposed Services

The ability of the firm to provide the proposed services based on the contemplated scope of work and volume of business. The firm's proposed approach to this work, including compliance with requirements, innovative offerings, services offered and other related matters

0-100 Points 60 (60% of Total)

2. Overall Cost Effectiveness and Pricing 0-100 Points 30 (30% of Total)

3. Proposer Experience

The experience of the firm, length of time in business, and individuals who will be assigned to provide the proposed services, past performance when providing services to the

County and other matters relating to relevant experience

0-100 Points 10 (10% of Total)

4.4. Notification to Proposers

The County will notify all proposers of the outcome of their proposal in writing upon completion of the evaluation process.

4.5. Debriefing of Unsuccessful Proposers

Any Proposer, who was not disqualified, who has submitted a proposal and been notified that they were not selected as an ASP may request a debriefing. The request for a debriefing conference must be received by the Procurement Coordinator within 5 days of having been notified that they were not selected.

Discussion at the debriefing conference will be limited to the following:

• Evaluation and scoring of the Proposal.

• Critique of the requesting Proposer’s Proposal based on the comments made by the Application

Evaluation Committee or individual comments made by an evaluator.

• Review of Proposer’s final score in comparison with other final scores without identifying the other firms.

Comparisons between proposals or evaluations of the other proposals will not be allowed. Debriefing conferences may be conducted in person or remotely and will be scheduled for a maximum of one (1) hour.

4.6. Protest Procedure

Protests may be made only by Proposers or authorized representative of a Proposer who submitted a response to this solicitation document and who have participated in a debriefing conference. Upon completing the debriefing conference, the Proposer is allowed five (5) business days to file with the

Procurement Coordinator a protest of the award decision. Protests must be received by the

Procurement Coordinator no later than 3:30 PM, local time in Tacoma, Washington on the fifth business day following the debriefing. Protests must be in writing, addressed to the Procurement Coordinator, and submitted by email to PCPURCHASING@piercecountywa.gov. The protest must state the RFP number, the grounds for the protest with specific facts and complete statements of the action(s) being protested. A description of the relief or corrective action being requested should also be included.

Protests that do not follow these procedures shall not be considered. This protest procedure constitutes the sole administrative remedy available to Proposers under this procurement.

Only protests stipulating an issue of fact concerning the following subjects shall be considered:

• A matter of bias, discrimination, or conflict of interest on the part of an evaluator.

• Errors in computing the score.

• Non-compliance with procedures described in the procurement document or County policy.

Protests not based on procedural matters will not be considered. Protests will be rejected as without merit if they address issues such as: 1) an evaluator’s professional judgment on the quality of a proposal, or 2) County’s assessment of its own needs or requirements.

Upon receipt of a protest, a protest review will be held by the County. The Finance & Enterprise

Services Department Director or an employee delegated by the Director who was not involved in the procurement will consider the record and all available facts and issue a decision within five (5) business days of receipt of the protest. If additional time is required, the protesting party will be notified of the delay.

In the event a protest may affect the interest of another Proposer who also submitted a proposal, such

Proposer will be given an opportunity to submit its views and any relevant information on the protest to the Procurement Coordinator.

The final determination of the protest shall:

• Find the protest lacking in merit and uphold the County’s action; or

• Find only technical or harmless errors in County’s procurement process and determine County to be in substantial compliance and reject the protest; or

• Find merit in the protest and provide the County options which may include:

o Correct the errors and re-evaluate all proposals, and/or o Reissue the solicitation document and begin a new process, or o Make other findings and determine other courses of action as appropriate.

If a protest is filed, the County will wait to execute the contract until a final determination on the protest is made.

mailto:PCPURCHASING@piercecountywa.gov