Granville County Sheriff - Request for Proposal Commissary Services_2025.pdf

Granville County Sheriff’s Office

Inmate Commissary Services

Request for Proposal Commissary Services

Office of the SHERIFF “In God We Trust”

Sheriff Robert D. Fountain, Jr.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

TO PROVIDE

INMATE COMMISSARY SERVICES

FOR THE GRANVILLE COUNTY DETENTION FACILITY

Advertisement Date:

July 18, 2025

Proposal Due Date:

August 11, 2025

525 NEW COMMERCE DRIVE

OXFORD, N.C. 27565

919-693-3213

919-603-1315 FAX

Request for Proposal Commissary Services

ADVERTISEMENT, GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Granville County

Request for Proposal

Granville County Detention Center

The Granville County Sheriff's Office solicits Vendors to submit proposals for Commissary

Services for the Granville County Detention Center.

The deadline for submitting proposals shall be not later than:

August 11, 2025, 12:00 p.m. EST

PROPOSALS NOT RECEIVED BY THE TIME AND DATE SPECIFIED WILL NOT

BE OPENED OR CONSIDERED.

RFP Sealed Bid Opening will be opened August 13, 2025, at 1:30 pm EST in the Granville

County Sheriff’s Office Management Conference Room located at 525 New Commerce

Drive, Oxford, NC 27565.

The original and TWO (2) copies (FOR A TOTAL OF THREE (3) proposals), CLEARLY MARKED AS FOLLOWS:

Sheriff Robert Fountain

"Inmate Commissary Services RFP"

Granville County Sheriff’s Office 525 New Commerce Drive

Oxford, NC 27565

Proposals should be submitted in a sealed envelope, plainly marked as addressed above, and include the submitting bidder’s company name.

Proposals may be hand delivered or mailed to the above address in sufficient time to ensure receipt on or before the time and date specified above.

All responsible Vendors are encouraged to submit proposals. Minority owned Vendors are encouraged to apply. Granville County is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

No telephone, electronic or facsimile proposals will be considered. Proposals received after the time and date for closing will not be considered.

Granville County reserves the right in its sole judgement, to accept or reject any or all proposals with or without cause and to waive any technicalities or irregularities in proposals received whenever such rejection or waiver is in the best interest of the

Request for Proposal Commissary Services

County. The County reserves the right to reject the offer of a Vendor who has previously failed to perform properly or complete on time contract of a similar nature, or an offer from a Vendor whom investigation shows is not able to perform the contract.

A tour of the facility will be held for all Vendors; attendance is optional. This tour is scheduled for August 5, 2025, at 2;00 p.m. EST. Interested parties for the tour should report to the Administration Lobby of the Granville County Detention Center, located at 525 New

Commerce Drive, Oxford, NC 27565 by 2:00 p.m.

Submitted proposals are not subject to public inspection until a contract is awarded and executed. Proposals will be evaluated, and bidders may be requested to provide a demonstration of their proposed products and services offered.

Vendors with recommendations or suggestions in addition to specifications herein are welcomed to submit an alternate proposal, however, the base bid must be in accordance with the specifications set forth herein and any alternate proposals shall be clearly identified as such.

Any inquiries requests for interpretation, technical questions, clarification, or additional information shall be directed to Sheriff Robert Fountain, at:

sheriff.fountain@granvillecounty.org with a copy to Robert Bailess, at Robert.Bailess@granvillecounty.org.

Written responses will be provided as an addendum to this RFP.

Proposals should include the following:

• PROPOSAL FOR SERVICE

• PRICING SHEET

• SIGNATURE SHEET

• CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE

• ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

• E-VERIFY CERTIFICATION

• IRAN DIVESTMENT ACT CERTIFICATION FORM

• CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE

(REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK)

mailto:sheriff.fountain@granvillecounty.org

PURPOSE

Granville County Sheriff’s Office is seeking no cost proposals from experienced and qualified Inmate Commissary Service providers for flexible, secure, and reliable inmate commissary services to the Detention Center, located at 525 New Commerce Drive, Oxford, NC 27565. Primarily the Granville County Sheriff’s Office desires to establish an agreement with one qualified contractor to provide off-site services. The contractor shall be responsible for all costs associated with accepting the orders, preparing the orders at a location off site for pre-packaged delivery to the Granville County Detention Center and delivering the orders to specific locations inside the facility under strict rules regarding the safety and security of all parties involved in the transactions. Delivery times and dates are subject to change as needed by Detention Center command staff.

BACKGROUND

The Granville County Sheriff’s Office operates a 187-bed facility housing local, state, and federal inmates and currently maintains approximately 115 inmates. The Sheriff’s Office does not guarantee that sales, bookings, or population numbers will remain constant or increase.

Commissary shall operate in an efficient and effective manner to ensure that the security of the facility is maintained; and, to retain a quality inmate trust fund accounting system adequate to service inmate needs, allowing a full audit trail of any transactions.

All costs related to the operations of commissary services are the responsibility of the Vendor. Costs related to the Inmate trust fund accounting system will be covered by the price of the commissary products the Vendor charges the inmate. The Commissary Operation and the Inmate trust fund accounting system will not place additional cost responsibilities on the Granville County Detention Center.

Granville County will receive a rate of return for commissary sales.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

All proposals submitted shall become property of Granville County. At the discretion of

Granville County, vendors submitting proposals may be required to make presentations as part of the evaluation process.

Granville County will not reimburse the respondents to this RFP for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of said proposals or in the preparation for and attendance at a presentation. The County reserves the right to request any Vendor submitting a proposal to clarify their proposal or to supply additional information necessary to assist the County's selection. All firms must be able to meet all the requirements contained in the RFP as of the deadline for receipt of proposals.

All proposals shall include all the information requested in this RFP and any additional data that the respondent deems pertinent to the understanding and evaluation of the proposal. The respondent should not withhold any information from the written response in anticipation of

Request for Proposal Commissary Services presenting the information orally since oral presentations may not be solicited. All proposals shall meet, at a minimum, all criteria outlined in the following sections.

The following describes the intended process for how commissary will be ordered and delivered. The services shall include inmate accounting systems, hardware, software, warranty, maintenance, staffing requirements, billing, and implementation requirements.

The vendor will be required to provide up to date inmate accounting, commissary ordering and delivery solution systems that meet the requirements set forth here as well as any value-added aspects the vendor may propose. The vendor will provide and assume all costs for the integration with the Granville County Sheriff’s Office Detention Management System and for integration with the Granville County Finance Office.

It is the intent of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office to partner with the vendor providing an advantageous business model, high level of professionalism, and a secure process of providing commissary to the inmates. The vendor must supply all specified equipment within 30 days of being awarded the contract or the contract may be terminated. The Detention

Center currently has a capacity of 187 inmates.

The Granville County Sheriff’s Office is requiring the vendor to provide the following:

1. Inmate Accounting Software to be updated as new versions become available.

2. Vendor supplies (how many?) computer workstations and printers needed to process commissary orders. It is estimated that approximately 10 workstations and printers will need to be licensed or otherwise provided or suited to provide services.

3. One high security Lobby Kiosk for citizens to add funds to the inmate account.

Functionality should include:

a. Magnetic stripe credit card reader with the ability to accept debit or credit card deposits.

b. Driver’s License scan ability.

c. Bulk coin.

d. Bulk bill acceptor.

e. Video camera.

f. Receipt printer.

4. One high security Intake Kiosk for the purpose of collecting funds from inmates at the time of intake processing. The functionality should include:

a. Magnetic stripe credit card reader with the ability to accept debit or credit card deposits.

b. Driver’s License scan ability.

c. Bulk coin acceptor.

d. Bulk bill acceptor.

e. Video camera.

f. Receipt printer.

5. Six (6) wall mounted inmate order entry Kiosks with color touch screens. Inmate

Housing Kiosk functionality to include:

a. Commissary Order Entry.

b. Account History / Current Balance.

c. Appointment Request Features.

d. Grievance / Medical Requests.

e. Kites and Informal Communications with Staff.

f. Inmate Calendar Views

g. Ability to Post Facility Information (SCSO Rulebook, ORC, etc.)

h. Phone Time Management

6. Provide a Debit Card program for inmate release or checks for facility transfer of an inmate.

7. Proposed menu with the price point on all current commissary menu items. Menu items must match in size and quantity. If items do not match in size or brand, the vendor MUST provide details on the items including ounce size, quantity and brand on the substituted item MUST match ounce for ounce pricing on the current selling items.

8. Pre-bagged commissary orders delivered same day to the facility (4) four times per week from the Vendor’s warehouse. The delivery days will be Monday-Thursday every week.

9. All deliveries to the Detention Center must be secured. Individual inmate commissary orders are to be delivered in heat sealed clear plastic bags. Each order

Request for Proposal Commissary Services should have two (2) copies of the order receipt sealed within the packaging. The receipt should contain the following information:

a. Inmate name.

b. Inmate Location.

c. Inmate System Number.

d. Items and Quantity Ordered.

e. Total Price of Packaged Order.

f. Balance of Inmate Account after the Order.

10. Individual commissary orders shipped to the facility will be delivered to the inmate population by the Detention Center staff employees.

11. Prices listed shall be guaranteed for the first year of the contract. The Vendor agrees in the event of a request for adjustment in any product unit price, the Vendor shall notify the Sheriff’s Office in writing of the requested adjustment, the requested effective date, and provide justification of the adjustment prior to the requested effective date of the adjustment. The Sheriff’s Office may agree in writing to any change in retail selling price, and/or change in any profit percentage, prior to a price adjustment going into effect.

12. The vendor will be responsible for the integration expense with JMS for Granville

County Detention Center. Information.

13. Each year vendors will provide up to approximately 7,000 I.D. bands with fasteners and all accessories needed for the I.D. bands or other similar system that the vendor may elect or propose to use. The I.D. system, whether bands or others, must be compatible with our JMS and Inmate Accounting system.

14. The vendor is responsible for all updates to software and equipment purchased by the vendor during the entire duration of the contract.

ORDERING PROCESS AND PROCEDURES

The successful vendor will provide an Inmate Order Entry Wall-Mount Housing Type Kiosk Solution with Commissary Order Entry Software to order commissary, fully integrated with Granville County Sheriff’s Office Jail Management Software. The entire inmate population will be allowed to order commissary one (1) time per week, delivered to the jail 4 times per week by section and housing location. The electronic data of the orders will be transmitted via the internet to the vendor’s designated warehouse, including all relevant information. The Granville County Sheriff’s Office will not allow for vendors to dial in to the Granville County Sheriff’s Office computer system or any other Granville

Request for Proposal Commissary Services

County computer system for the retrieval of orders. Order information must be able to be transmitted locally from the commissary computer supplied by the awarded vendor.

Pricing and items cannot be changed by the vendor without the consent of the designated representative of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office. Prices enclosed shall remain in effect for the first year of the contract. Price increases shall be allowed on the anniversary date of the commissary contract upon approval of the designated representative of the

Granville County Sheriff’s Office.

Each inmate will order with a weekly dollar limitation that will be set forth by the Detention

Facility. The weekly spending limit will not include phone time. If inmates have insufficient funds to cover the cost of the entire order, the vendor must provide a system for the inmate’s ordered items to be processed in a prioritized manner. This procedure must be approved by the Jail and based upon available funds. Once the inmate’s available funds are exhausted, additional items will not be processed. The vendor’s software must search for the next item on the commissary sheet that may be attained by the inmate due to limited funds, maximizing the inmate’s purchases. Items exceeding the inmates’ available funds must be listed at the bottom of the inmate receipt. In addition, any items that are unavailable to the inmate due to restrictions, unauthorized items, or item quantities that exceed the Jail’s limits, etc., must be listed at the bottom of the inmate’s receipt. A sample of the master commissary sheet and inmate receipt detailing said restrictions must be enclosed with the vendor’s response.

The vendor must establish a procedure for handling replacement and/or reimbursement for outdated or defective items which are deemed defective by the Detention Center and purchased within a 30-day period. This procedure must be approved by the Detention Center Administrator.

It is the Detention Center’s intent to maintain the current, security conscious, correctional environment. All products intended to be sold to inmates must be submitted to the Detention

Center for inspection and approval prior to sale for safety and security purposes.

The vendor will be required to develop an informational package which will explain and inform the inmate population of the procedures for ordering and receiving commissary. All such information must be provided in both English and Spanish.

INMATE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM

The Granville County Sheriff’s Office will require the awarded vendor to provide an Inmate

Banking System, Commissary Kiosk Ordering Software System, and an integrated bond payment system directly linked with the court systems within Granville County. The vendor system will be used to facilitate the tracking of inmate funds and inmate locations within the Detention Center.

1. The vendor will provide and assume all costs for the integration with Tyler- Odyssey JMS and Correct-Tek, to include medical charges, for the electronic exchange of all pertinent inmate information required to operate the financial system. Integration with Tyler-Odyssey JMS is mandatory and shall be updated as often as possible throughout the day.

2. The vendor shall be responsible for supplying any necessary financial reports from their software and hardware to meet the needs of the Granville

County Sheriff’s Office. The vendor shall be responsible for providing adequate training for the Granville County Sheriff’s Office employees as to the proper use of the vendor’s software and hardware. On-going training will be required by the vendor as the need arises. The vendor shall submit, upon award, a training schedule. All training will be the sole responsibility of the vendor.

3. The vendor’s software, at a minimum, must meet the following requirements:

a. Security protocols to limit accessibility to the vendor’s software by individual, group, and the ability to authorize software access by terminal/workstation.

b. Provide terminal/workstation internet browser based “view only rights”, to provide inmates information regarding past orders, and inmate account history.

c. Track inmates who may be indebted and automatically track arrears, payments of fines, restitution, damage to property payments and other financial obligations. The system must be able to calculate and post such payments.

d. Monitor all system activity including but not limited to, new entries, data changes, logins, logouts, and releases.

e. Allow multiple workstations to print checks to a networked check printer. Allow a debit card system to be used once inmates are released from the Granville County Jail.

Configuration for said workstations to the networked printer must be achieved without user assistance.

f. Ability to print “non-negotiable sample checks” to assist in configuration changes and verification of print locations prior to the printing of a “live” check.

g. A positive pay checking account system works in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Office bank account to verify checks.

h. The system must provide an on-line “money count” option to assist in the counting of each cash drawer at shift change/cash drawer closeout. The money count must be printable at any time during the shift for cash drawer verification purposes.

i. Generate receipts for all deposits with the ability to automate the receipt numbering system.

j. Deduct on-line from an inmate’s account of store order purchases.

k. Post on-line credits for commissary orders, shortages, damages, and releases.

l. Create various reports, including at least:

1) “Ledger” Report for each inmate.

2) Reporting of individual inmate accounts monthly or entire incarceration to include all transactions (deposits and withdrawals).

3) Ability to create reports.

4) Recoverable/Receivable reporting to include inmates charged, paid, and due/outstanding amounts.

m. Post deposits on-line and in real time, into an inmate’s account, all window and mail deposits.

n. Ability to generate debit cards to pay inmates for credit balance upon release or transfer from the facility.

DATA RECOVERY / DISASTER BACK UP PLANS

Disaster recovery to the Granville County Sheriff’s Office will include:

1. Scheduled backup of critical data to a secure cloud-based server.

2. Off-site backup to secure Web Site – daily or more frequent transmission of exported database files.

Recovery under any of the above scenarios will include first efforts to restore the data on the machine that failed without resorting to a prior backup. If this is not possible, the Vendor will restore the last backup to a service replacement system and ship the replacement to the site on the business day following the data restoration. The vendor will outline additional service procedures offered.

EQUIPMENT WARRANTY AND MAINTENANCE

1. All equipment, including software, provided by the vendor shall be warranted and maintained by the vendor for the extent of the contract terms and any renewal periods. The vendor must list all equipment provided. All equipment must be new or in excellent working order.

2. Quarterly maintenance shall be completed on all Kiosks. Kiosks that are not functioning properly and unable to be repaired shall be replaced within forty-eight

(48) hour of determining that the Kiosk is unable to be repaired.

3. The vendor shall provide initial on-site training session(s) for Sheriff’s Office staff.

4. The vendor shall provide on-line user manuals on all desktops utilizing the vendor’s software.

5. All information entered in the vendor’s software during the extent of the contract is the property of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office.

6. The vendor must provide a 24-hour helpdesk and contact information to assist when technical assistance is required.

PRODUCTS/PRICING

The vendor shall supply a complete detailed master list with pricing of all items available to the Granville County Sheriff’s Office with their RFP response. The vendor will list ALL

SIZES offered including ounce sizes and quantity counts (i.e., 3 oz chips, etc.). The vendor shall make available, commissary goods from the approved commissary master list issued by the Granville County Sheriff’s Office to the inmates. The vendor is responsible for ensuring that only items included on the commissary master list are available. The

Granville County Sheriff’s Office reserves the right to add, eliminate or restrict products on the commissary master list. The Granville County Sheriff’s Office has been designated as a tobacco free facility and tobacco products are strictly prohibited.

The Granville County Sheriff’s Office has put an emphasis on security friendly commissary items to enhance security and timeliness of cell searches. This includes, but is not limited to, clear and re- sealable products for both food and hygiene products. Product quality will be considered for all items offered to the inmate population. The vendor shall note any security friendly item offered in their response to get credit for said product.

BILLING & COMMISSION

1. The Granville County Sheriff’s Office will require detailed billing at least once every month.

2. Commissions due to the Granville County Sheriff’s Office will be paid on Gross

Sales and shall remain in the control of the Granville County Finance

Department.

3. Credits for shortages/damages to inmate orders shall be input into the vendors system for credit to the individual inmate’s accounts. The vendor’s system must allow for on-line crediting where the Granville County staff may view the order in the computer, and credit said shorted/damaged products electronically. Credits shall be sent to the vendor and said credits shall be reflected on a separate invoice from the sale.

4. Vendors will provide a commission to Granville County Sheriff’s Office on gross commissary sales at a certain percentage rate to be specified in the vendor’s proposal. .

5. The Vendor may submit any other pertinent information that will assist the

Sheriff’s Office in evaluating the potential revenue and benefits for their proposal. This may include additional features or capabilities available by virtue of the commissary and/or Inmate Accounting Software. All costs should be detailed for each additional feature.

SIGNATURE SHEET

I hereby certify that the information submitted by me/my company in response to this

RFP is true and accurate. I understand that Granville County has the right to reject any or all proposals or to waive minor irregularities when to do so would in the best interests of Granville County.

Name:

Address:

Email:

Phone Number: _________________Fax Number: _________________

Print Name: _____________________________________

Signature: ___________________________________ Date: _____________________

IRAN DIVESTMENT ACT CERTIFICATION REQUIRED BY NORTH CAROLINA SESSION

LAW 2015-118 AND

CHAPTER 147, ARTICLE 6E OF THE NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL STATUTES

Name of Contractor:

As of the date listed below, the Contractor named above is not listed on the Final

Divestment List created by the State Treasurer pursuant to North Carolina Session Law 2015-118 and Chapter 147, Article 6E of the North Carolina General Statutes.

The undersigned hereby certifies that he or she is authorized by the Contractor named above to make the foregoing statement.

Signature Date

Printed Name Title

Notes to persons signing this form:

North Carolina Session Law 2015-118 and Chapter 147, Article 6E of the North Carolina General

Statutes requires this certification for bids or contracts with the State of North Carolina, a North

Carolina local government, or any other political subdivision of the State of North Carolina.

The certification is required at the following times:

• When a bid is submitted

• When a contract is entered into (if the certification was not already made when the vendor made its bid)

• When a contract is renewed or assigned

North Carolina Session Law 2015-118 and Chapter 147, Article 6E of the North Carolina General

Statutes also requires that contractors with the State, a North Carolina local government, or any other political subdivision of the State of North Carolina must not utilize any subcontractor found on the State Treasurer's Final Divestment List.

The State Treasurer's Final Divestment List can be found on the State Treasurer's website at the address www.nctreasurer.com/lran and will be updated every 180 days.

http://www.nctreasurer.com/lran

Request for Proposal Commissary Services

E-VERIFY CERTIFICATION

PURSUANT TO NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL STATUTE 143-133.3

Name of Contractor:

Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 153A-449, no county may enter into a contract unless the contractor and the contractor's subcontractors comply with the E-Verify requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the North Carolina General Statutes.

In accordance with North Carolina General Statute 143-133.3, the undersigned hereby certifies, and incorporates into its contract with Granville County, that the Contractor named herein, and the Contractor's subcontractors, comply with the requirements of Article 2 of

Chapter 64 of the North Carolina General Statutes.

The undersigned hereby certifies that he or she is authorized by the Contractor named above to make the foregoing certification.

Signature Date

Printed Name Title