Post_Deployment_Workday_Support.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

2026-RFP-003

POST DEPLOYMENT WORKDAY SUPPORT

City of Palm Desert

73-510 Fred Waring Drive

Palm Desert, CA 92260

RELEASE DATE: January 22, 2026

DEADLINE FOR QUESTIONS: February 9, 2026

RESPONSE DEADLINE: February 23, 2026, 2:00 pm

RESPONSES MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO:

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/cityofpalmdesert https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/cityofpalmdesert

City of Palm Desert

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Post Deployment Workday Support

I. Background and Introduction II. Notice Inviting Proposals

III. Scope of Services IV. Requests for Clarification V. Content and Format of Proposal

VI. Submittal Requirements VII. Evaluation Criteria

VIII. Selection Process IX. General Conditions X. Protests

Attachments:

A - Sample Professional Services Agreement

Request For Proposal #2026-RFP-003 Title: Post Deployment Workday Support

1. Background and Introduction

1.1. Summary

The City of Palm Desert ("City") is requesting proposals from qualified firms (“Proposers”) to establish a

Professional Services Agreement ("Agreement") for a one (1) year initial term with possible two, one-year extensions for Post Deployment Workday Support (“Services”).

To serve and promote the welfare of its residents, the City of Palm Desert ("City") intends to procure the

Services, as described below.

The City is seeking a Workday certified service partner for the sustainment and support, release planning and support, reporting creation and support, configuration and continuous improvement of all utilized

Workday, HCM, Finance, Adaptive Planning, and Procurement systems and workstreams. Support includes but is not limited to the defined services described in this RFP.

1.2. Background

The City is a charter city located in the Coachella Valley in Eastern Riverside County, within the low desert region of Southern California. The City is home to approximately 50,000 full-time and an additional 32,000 seasonal residents. Palm Desert offers big-city resources within a welcoming, small-town environment, with high-quality educational opportunities, safe and clean streets, extensive retail and entertainment options, and a robust community programming. Widely considered the geographical, educational, and retail hub of the Coachella Valley, Palm Desert was incorporated in 1973 and operates under a council-manager form of government with a five-member City Council elected by district, each serving a four-year term. The City Council meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at

Palm Desert City Hall, 73-510 Fred Waring Drive

1.3. Contact Information

Project Contact:

Clayton von Helf

Information Technology Manager

73510 Fred Waring Drive

Palm Desert, CA 92260

Email: cvonhelf@cityofpalmdesert.org

Phone: (760) 346-0611 Ext: 338

Procurement Contact:

Celina Cabrera

Management Analyst

73510 Fred Waring Dr

Palm Desert, CA 92260

Email: ccabrera@cityofpalmdesert.org

Phone: (760) 776-6449

Department:

Finance Department mailto:cvonhelf@cityofpalmdesert.org tel:(760)346-0611;ext=338 mailto:ccabrera@cityofpalmdesert.org tel:(760)776-6449

1.4. Timeline

The above scheduled dates are tentative and City retains the sole discretion to adjust the above schedule.

Nothing set forth herein shall be deemed to bind City to award a contract for the Services and City retains the sole discretion to cancel or modify any part of or all of this RFP at any time.

Release of Request for Proposal January 22, 2026

Last Day to Submit Questions for

Clarification

February 9, 2026, 2:00pm

Clarifications Issued by City on or before February 12, 2026, 2:00pm

Deadline for Receipt of Proposals submitted on or before

February 23, 2026, 2:00pm

2. Notice Inviting Proposals

2.1. NOTICE

RFP No.: 2026-RFP-003

Project Title: Post Deployment Workday Support

Project No. (if applicable): N/A

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that proposals will be received by the City of Palm Desert (“City”) electronically through the City's online bid management provider (“OpenGov Procurement”), until 2:00 pm, Monday, February 23, 2026. Proposals shall not be submitted by fax, email, telephone, mail, hand delivery, or other means. Proposals received through any means other than OpenGov Procurement will be returned to the Proposer unopened.

The City is requesting proposals to provide: Post-deployment support for Workday

The award of this contract is subject to available budget adequate to carry out the provisions of the proposed Agreement including the identified scope of work. The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals determined not to be in the best interest of the City.

The City of Palm Desert is committed to inclusion and diversity and welcomes proposals and bids from contractors, consultants, and vendors of all faiths, creeds, ancestries, and ethnicities without regard to disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or immigration status. The City condemns and will not tolerate prejudice, racism, bigotry, hatred, bullying, or violence towards any group within or outside of our community.

2.2. SCOPE OF SERVICES

The services sought under this RFP are described in more detail in the Scope of Services section, which is incorporated herein by this reference. Notwithstanding the inclusion of such services in the Scope of

Services section, the final scope of services negotiated between the City and the successful Proposer shall be set forth in the Professional Services Agreement (“Agreement”) executed by and between the

City and the successful Proposer. A copy of the Agreement is attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference.

2.3. CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Each Proposer shall be a Workday certified service partner and shall retain certification throughout the time it submits its proposal and for the duration of the contract.

2.4. REGISTRATION

Interested proposers may register as vendors and download the RFP. To register, visit the City’s electronic bidding website, OpenGov Procurement, and subscribe as a vendor with the City to receive notifications of new projects. Interested proposers may follow the RFP to view and/or download the RFP documents, receive addenda alerts and notices, and prepare and submit a response.

2.5. PRE-PROPOSAL MEETING

For this RFP, there is no pre-proposal meeting.

3. Scope of Services

The City is seeking support services that include but are not limited to the defined services described in this RFP.

3.1. Workday Maintenance and Sustainment

Ongoing proactive system evaluation for improvement of function and performance, as a public enterprise.

• Functional design and performance

• Regulatory compliance

• Compliance with audits

• Reduction of manual intervention and process maintenance

• Underused or unused system features and functions

3.2. Workday Release Risk Evaluation, Planning, and Support

4 Months Prior to Release 1 or Release 2 Release Prep Windows – Vendor to:

• Review City strategy roadmaps, feature requests, open issues, and identified areas of opportunity https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/cityofpalmdesert

5 Weeks Prior to R1 or R2 Release Prep Windows – Vendor to:

• Identify the release support team (Vendor resources and City assigned resources)

• Create and present the release project plan and timeline to City

4 Weeks Prior to R1 or R2 Release Prep Windows – Vendor to:

• Plan tenant management activities with City

• Review all release notes for “coming soon” items

• Recommend adoption strategies based upon business needs

• Check and adhere to guidance within the Preparation Center

• Plan and Support City Administrators in the review and supplement of test plans, test use case scenarios, and risk identification, risk mitigation planning, and issue resolution

• Review and execute the Customer Feature Release Checklist

1 Week Prior to R1 or R2 Release Prep Windows – Vendor to:

• Set up Workday Adoption

• Review the What’s New in Workday report in the City tenant

• Review the Release Notes for features and fixes impacting the City roadmap, open issues, open areas of opportunity, and feature requests

• Complete a Release Impact Analysis: Review what’s changing and how it affects existing configurations, integrations, business processes, and impacted modules

• Conduct a fit-gap analysis for new features

• Validate the delivery date schedule for changes and perform plan and team updates as necessary

• Update the test Plan and work with City for the update of use case tests

• Update the Test Plan to include Regression testing. This will ensure maintaining current functionality and any unplanned disruptions to integrations do not break the integrations

During the Release Prep Windows – Vendor to:

• Support City assigned testers, and testing leads with the execution and/or resolution of identified issues as part of the User Acceptance testing, and other Test Plan activities

• Work with City testing leads/IT to validate integrations, security roles, and business processes

• Configure new features or enhancements

• Optimize existing configurations for performance and usability

• Update business processes and security policies

• Conduct knowledge transfer sessions to City team members

• Review the Workday What’s New report and Release Notes for impactful updates

• Check the delivery date plan for schedule changes and make any necessary plan and schedule updates with the City

• Communicate with Workday to resolve questions and issues

• Assist City with best practices and recommendations for the planning of change management activities and timelines

Post Feature Release – Vendor to:

• Monitor Performance of system for issues; resolve issues; and fine tune system as needed in coordination and with approval from assigned City staff.

• Review feature delays and coordinate the changes and impacts to the release project plan with the City o Check the Release Notes for updates to features, fixes, and retirements o Provide support for the replacement of retired reports and any customized versions of those reports utilized by the City o Provide the City with all user videos, job aids, and user guides published by the Vendor or by

Workday as part of the applicable Adoption Kit o Provide the City with an updated set of Configuration Workbooks documenting configuration changes that resulted from the update o Provide job aids, user guides and updated documentation reflecting the updated configuration

• Off cycle release support (releases not occurring within the Workday planned Release 1 and

Release 2 activity) including additional City requested updates, Workday weekly, and Workday monthly releases to be supported under the same processes and methodologies identified above with exception to forms and processes only made available by Workday as part of their planned Release 1 and Release 2 events

• Additional release review and support to include, but not limited to, security patch releases, City elected release features, reports being discontinued and their replacement with new reports, testing of the additional releases, and training of the additional features and functions

3.3. Additional Workday Support Elements

• Enterprise Interface Builder (EIB) Support: template creation and loading into Workday Sandbox and Production environments

• City Configuration Workbooks o Maintain and make available the City Configuration Workbooks to provide the most up to date information on the current City Configurations, Reports, Business Processes, and

Security Groups

• Design and implement State and Federal Regulatory and Business Critical Process and

Configuration changes as assigned by the City Administrative Team in the Sandbox Tenant and migration to the Production Tenant upon completion of testing and approval by the City

Administrative team

• Expertise and Technical Consultative Guidance to the City Administrative team in all adopted

Workday modules

• Custom Report creation and modifications as requested by the City Administrative Team including but not limited to the following report types:

o Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools (BIRT) developed reports o Custom o WD Delivered with modifications o Standard Report Writer o Standard Xpresso o Discovery Boards o Adaptive Planner and related office Connect reporting o PRISM

• Business Process (BP) design, configuration, maintenance, and implementation as assigned by the City administrative team in the sandbox tenant and migration to the production tenant upon completion of testing and approval by the City administrative team

• Workday integration architecture design, technical consultation, configuration, and implementation into the assigned tenant(s) as directed by the assigned City technical resources

• Perform continuous improvement evaluations and recommendations to City staff of current system configurations, business processes, feature utilization and use, and best practices as demonstrated by industry best practices (public organizations, specifically municipal).

• Workday issue and defect support o Vendor to provide a structured service level proposal that includes response and resolution times

4. Requests for Clarification

All questions, requests for interpretations, or requests for clarification, whether administrative or technical, must be submitted in writing through the “Q&A” tab in the City’s online bid management system, OpenGov-Procurement.

All written questions, if answered, will be responded to in writing, provided to all interested firms, and posted through OpenGov-Procurement. Oral statements regarding this RFP by any person shall be considered unverified unless confirmed in writing. To ensure a response, questions must be received no later than 2:00 pm (local time) on Monday, February 9, 2026.

5. Content and Format of Proposal

5.1. Proposal (WITHOUT COST)*

Proposals shall be concise, well organized and demonstrate qualifications and applicable experience.

Proposals shall be organized and include page numbers for all pages in the proposal. The proposal shall be uploaded here, in the following order and shall include:

1. Cover Letter

A. This letter should briefly introduce the firm, summarize the firm’s general qualifications, include an executive summary of the specific approach which will be used to deliver the work scope; and identify the individual(s) name, address and phone number authorized to negotiate Agreement terms and compensation.

2. Experience and Technical Competence

A. Background: Provide history of the firm’s consulting experience which specifically addresses the individual or firm’s experience with similar Service as described in this RFP.

B. References: The proposal shall include a list of recently completed projects that are similar in scope and function to this RFP. Provide a description of the project, client name, and the name, title, and telephone number of the primary contact person.

3. Firm Staffing and Key Personnel

A. Staffing: Provide the number of staff to be assigned to perform the Services and the names/discipline/job title of each as well as your firm’s capacity to provide additional personnel as needed.

B. Key Personnel: Identify key persons that will be principally responsible for working with the

City. Indicate the role and responsibility of each individual.

https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/cityofpalmdesert

C. Team Organization: Describe proposed team organization, including identification and responsibilities of key personnel. Indicate time zone of each key team member and primary support staff.

D. Subcontractors: The Proposer shall identify functions that are likely to be subcontracted and identify the subcontractor that is anticipated to perform each function.

4. Proposed Method to Accomplish the Work

A. Describe the technical and management approach to providing the Services to the City.

Proposer should take into account the scope of the Services, and general functions required.

Include a draft first year schedule of tasks, milestones, and deliverables that will provide for timely provision of the Services. In reviewing the scope of Services and goals described herein, the Proposer may identify additional necessary tasks and is invited to bring these to the City’s attention within the discussion of its proposed method to accomplish the work.

5. References

A. Proposals must include at least three (3) references for current or recent customers (within the last three years).

B. Reference organizations should be public sector agencies of comparable size.

*Response required

5.2. Fee Proposal*

Please provide a lump-sum, not-to-exceed fee proposal for the scope of Services. The fee proposal shall include hourly rates for all personnel for “Additional Work” (as such term is defined in the proposed

Agreement attached herein).

*Response required

5.3. Non-Collusion Declaration*

The undersigned declares:

I am an authorized representative of my company, the party making the foregoing Bid, to certify the following.

The Bid is not made in the interest of, or on behalf of, any undisclosed person, partnership, company, association, organization, or corporation. The Bid is genuine and not collusive or sham. The Bidder has not directly or indirectly induced or solicited any other Bidder to put in a false or sham bid. The Bidder has not directly or indirectly colluded, conspired, connived, or agreed with any Bidder or anyone else to put in a sham bid, or to refrain from bidding. The Bidder has not in any manner, directly or indirectly, sought by agreement, communication, or conference with anyone to fix the Bid Price of the Bidder or any other

Bidder, or to fix any overhead, profit, or cost element of the Bid Price, or of that of any other Bidder. All statements contained in the Bid are true. The Bidder has not, directly or indirectly, submitted his or her

Bid Price or any breakdown thereof, or the contents thereof, or divulged information or data relative thereto, to any corporation, partnership, company, association, organization, bid depository, or to any member or agent thereof to effectuate a collusive or sham bid, and has not paid, and will not pay, any person or entity for such purpose.

Any person executing this declaration on behalf of a Bidder that is a corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or any other entity, hereby represents that he or she has full power to execute, and does execute, this declaration on behalf of the Bidder.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

5.4. SAM.gov*

Please enter your legal entity name for SAM.gov verification.

*Response required

5.5. Type of Business*

☐ C Corporation (if corporation, two signatures are required)

☐ S Corporation (if corporation, two signatures are required)

☐ Limited Liability C Corporation (if corporation, two signatures are required)

☐ Partnership

☐ Limited Liability Partnership

☐ Sole Proprietor/Individual

☐ Other

*Response required

5.6. Litigation*

Provide litigation history for any claims filed by your firm or against your firm related to the provision of

Services in the last five (5) years (or type "N/A").

*Response required

5.7. Changes to Agreement*

The City standard professional services agreement contract is included as an attachment herein. The

Proposer shall identify any objections to and/or request changes to the standard contract language in this section of the proposal (or type "N/A"). If you are identifying changes here ALSO upload a copy of the redlined Language/Agreement with your Proposal. Changes requested may affect theCity's decision to enter into an Agreement.

*Response required

5.8. No Deviations from the RFP*

In submitting a proposal in response to this RFP, Proposer is certifying that it takes no exceptions to this

RFP including, but not limited to, the Agreement. If any exceptions are taken, such exceptions must be clearly noted here, and may be reason for rejection of the proposal. As such, Proposer is directed to carefully review the proposed Agreement and, in particular, the insurance and indemnification provisions therein (or type "N/A").

*Response required

5.9. Project Team Resumes*

Submit resumes of all key personnel/support staff that will produce work product for the Services.

Describe their qualifications, education, and professional licensing.

*Response required

5.10. List the Signatory(s) Authorized to Sign and Bind an Agreement.* (If two (2) signatures are required, include the following information for both signatories)

1. Full Name

2. Title

3. Physical Business Address

4. Email Address

5. Phone Number

Corporation (C-Corp): Requires two signatures from authorized officers— one from President or Vice

President, and the other from the Secretary or Treasurer.

An alternate signatory may be used if authorized by a Notarized Corporate Resolution or Article of

Authority.

LLC: Usually requires one signature from an authorized member or manager. For significant contracts

(e.g., over $50,000 for construction or over $25,000 for service agreements), additional approvals or signatures may be required.

Sole Proprietorship, Non-Profit, Single LLC: Only the one signature is necessary.

*Response required

5.11. Conflict of Interest Disclosure*

The proposer understands that any and all relationships with construction firms that may submit bids for projects developed under this agreement will require full disclosure of any direct or indirect conflicts of interest, financial interests, relationships, and the nature of any relationships with any related project bid submitters; and that any violation of this provision may result in the immediate termination of the

Agreement

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

5.12. Certification of Proposal*

The undersigned hereby submits its proposal and, by doing so, agrees to furnish services in accordance with the Request for Proposal (RFP), and to be bound by the terms and conditions of the RFP.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

6. Submittal Requirements

6.1. General

It is strongly recommended that the Proposer submit proposals in the format identified in this RFP to allow the City to fully evaluate and compare the proposal. All requirements and questions in the RFP should be addressed and all requested data shall be supplied. The City reserves the right to request additional information which, in the City’s opinion, is necessary to assure that the Proposer’s competence, number of qualified employees, business organization, and financial resources are adequate to perform according to the Agreement.

6.2. Preparation

Proposals should be prepared in such a way as to provide a straightforward, concise delineation of capabilities to satisfy the requirements of this RFP. Responses should emphasize the Proposer’s demonstrated capability to perform the Services. Expensive bindings and promotional materials, etc., are not necessary or desired. However, technical literature that supports the approach to providing the

Services and work plan should be forwarded as part of the proposal. Emphasis should be concentrated on completeness, approach to the work and clarity of proposal.

6.3. Site Examination

Proposers may visit the City and its physical facilities to assess local conditions that may affect the performance of the work; become familiar with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, and codes; conduct any investigations deemed necessary to perform the services at the proposed price in accordance with the Agreement; and correlate their observations and findings with the requirements of the Agreement.

6.4. Authorization

The proposal shall be signed by an individual, partner, officer or officers authorized to execute legal documents on behalf of the Proposer.

6.5. Confidentiality of Proposal

Proposals submitted in response to this RFP shall be held confidential by City and shall not be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Cal. Government Code section 6250 et seq.) until after either City and the successful Proposer have completed negotiations and entered into an Agreement or

City has rejected all proposals. All correspondence with the City including responses to this RFP will become the exclusive property of the City and will become public records under the California Public

Records Act. The City will have no liability to the Proposer or other party as a result of any public disclosure of any proposal or the Agreement.

If a Proposer desires to exclude a portion of its proposal from disclosure under the California Public

Records Act, the Proposer must mark it as such and state the specific provision in the California Public

Records Act which provides the exemption as well as the factual basis for claiming the exemption. For example, if a Proposer submits trade secret information, the Proposer must plainly mark the information as “Trade Secret” and refer to the appropriate section of the California Public Records Act which provides the exemption as well as the factual basis for claiming the exemption. If a request is made for information marked “Confidential”, “Trade Secret” or “Proprietary” (“Proprietary Information”), the City will provide

Proposers who submitted the information with reasonable notice to seek protection from disclosure by a court of competent jurisdiction. Proposer shall have five (5) working days after receipt of such notice to give City written notice of Proposer's objection to the City's release of Proprietary Information. Proposer shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the City, and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against all liability, loss, cost or expense (including attorney's fees) arising out of a legal action brought to compel the release of Proprietary Information.

Proposals which indiscriminately identify all or most of the proposal as exempt from disclosure without justification may be deemed unresponsive and disqualified from further participation in this RFP.

6.6. Submittal Instructions

The proposal must be received no later than 2:00 pm, on or before Monday, February 23, 2026 through the City’s electronic bidding system, OpenGov Procurement. It is solely the responsibility of Proposer to see that its proposal is properly submitted in #Content and Format of Proposal in proper form and prior to the stated closing time. The City’s electronic bidding system will not accept late proposals. The City will only consider proposals that have transmitted successfully and have been sent an email with a time stamp from the City’s electronic bidding system indicating that the proposal was submitted successfully.

Proposers shall be solely responsible for informing themselves with respect to the proper utilization of the City’s electronic bidding system, ensuring the capability of their computer system to upload the required documents, and the stability of their internet service. Failure of the Proposer to successfully submit an electronic proposal shall be at the Proposer’s sole risk, and no relief will be given for late and/or improperly submitted proposals.

Proposers experiencing any technical difficulties with the proposal submission process may contact

OpenGov Procurement Support using the instant help chat function (located at the bottom right of the screen while on the website) during business hours, or by emailing support@procurenow.com. Neither the City nor OpenGov Procurement make any guarantee as to the timely availability of assistance or assurance that any given problem will be resolved by the proposal submission date and/or time.

7. Evaluation Criteria

7.1. Preliminary Review

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points) https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/cityofpalmdesert/projects/229616/document?section=2176708 mailto:support@procurenow.com

1. Workday Certified Service Partner

Vendors must be a Workday Certified Service

Partner to be considered. Vendors without certification may be eliminated from consideration.

Pass / Fail 100 (50% of Total)

2. References

Vendor has provided at least three acceptable customer references. Proposals failing to provide acceptable references will be eliminated from consideration.

Pass / Fail 100 (50% of Total)

7.2. Proposal Evalutation

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Content of the Proposal

Proposal clearly addresses RFP requirements including a comprehensive work plan

0-5 Points 30 (30% of Total)

2. Proposer's Experience and Performance

Proposal provides adequate background on the experience of both the firm and the team members to be assigned to the project.

0-5 Points 30 (30% of Total)

3. Reference Evaluation

City staff will evaluate responses from firm-provided references.

0-5 Points 30 (30% of Total)

4. Fee Proposal

Fees are reasonable and clearly identify costs included and excluded by the proposal.

0-5 Points 10 (10% of Total)

7.3. Final Evaluation

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Optional Firm Interviews

The City may choose to interview the top firms as determined by staff to best meet the needs of the City.

N/A N/A

8. Selection Process

1. During the evaluation process, the City reserves the right, where it may serve the City's best interest, to request additional information or clarifications from Proposers, or to allow corrections of errors or omissions.

2. It is the City’s intent to select a Proposer best evidencing demonstrated competence and professional qualification to perform the Services. The City reserves the right to reject all proposals, select by proposal review only or interview as needed. Certain Proposers may be selected to make a brief presentation and oral interview after which a final selection will be made.

The successful Proposer will be selected on the basis of information provided in the RFP, in-person presentations, and the results of the City’s research and investigation. Upon selection of a

Proposer, the City will endeavor to negotiate a mutually agreeable NO VALUE with the selected

Proposer. In the event that the City is unable to reach Agreement, the City will proceed, at its sole discretion, to negotiate with the next Proposer selected by the City. The City reserves the right to contract for services in the manner that most benefits the City including awarding more than one contract if desired.

3. After negotiating a proposed Agreement that is fair and reasonable, City staff will make the final recommendation to the City Council concerning the proposed Agreement. The City Council has the final authority to approve or reject the Agreement.

9. General Conditions

9.1. Amendments to RFP

The City reserves the right to amend the RFP or issue to all Proposers addenda to answer questions for clarification.

9.2. Amendments to Proposals

Unless specifically requested by the City, no amendment, addendum or modification will be accepted after a proposal has been submitted to City. If a change to a proposal that has been submitted is desired, the submitted proposal must be withdrawn and the replacement proposal submitted prior to the deadline stated herein for receiving proposals.

9.3. Non-Responsive Proposals

A proposal may be considered non-responsive if conditional, incomplete, or if it contains alterations of form, additions not called for, or other irregularities that may constitute a material change to the proposal.

9.4. Costs for Preparing

The City will not compensate any Proposer for the cost of preparing any proposal, and all materials submitted with a proposal shall become the property of the City. The City will retain all proposals submitted and may use any idea in a proposal regardless of whether that proposal is selected.

9.5. Cancellation of RFP

City reserves the right to cancel this RFP at any time prior to contract award without obligation in any manner for proposal preparation, interview, fee negotiation or other marketing costs associated with this

RFP.

9.6. Price Validity

Prices provided by Proposers in response to this RFP are valid for 90 days from the proposal due date. The

City intends to award the contract within this time but may request an extension from the Proposers to hold pricing, until negotiations are complete, and the contract is awarded.

9.7. No Commitment to Award

Issuance of this RFP and receipt of proposals does not commit the City to award a contract. City expressly reserves the right to postpone the proposal for its own convenience, to accept or reject any or all proposals received in response to this RFP, to negotiate with more than one Proposer concurrently, or to cancel all or part of this RFP.

9.8. Right to Negotiate and/or Reject Proposals

City reserves the right to negotiate any price or provision, task order or service, accept any part or all of any proposals, waive any irregularities, and to reject any and all, or parts of any and all proposals, whenever, in the sole opinion of City, such action shall serve its best interests and those of the tax-paying public. The Agreement, if any is awarded, will go to the Proposer whose proposal best meets City’s requirements.

9.9. Non-Discrimination

The City does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, ancestry, medical condition, disability or gender in consideration for an award of contract.

The City's commitment to diversity and inclusion can be found here.

10. Protests

The procedures set forth in this section are mandatory and are the sole and exclusive remedy of a bidder, proposer or other vendor to dispute the award of a contract that the city solicits through a competitive process. A protest that does not comply with these procedures with these procedures may be summarily rejected and the person submitting the protest shall be deemed to have waived all rights to relief.

10.1. Protests of Solicitation Method

By submitting a bid, proposal, or other application for contract award, the bidder, proposer, or other vendor shall be deemed to have waived all rights to challenge the City’s method of procuring the contract or any discrepancy in the solicitation process or documents. Bidders, proposers, or vendors may submit bids, proposals, or other applications under protest. Any protest under this section shall be submitted in writing to the official designated to receive the bid, proposal, or other application and shall include a full summary of the factual and legal basis for the protest.

https://www.cityofpalmdesert.org/our-city/departments/city-manager/inclusion

10.2. Waiver

Any person who: (1) did not directly submit a bid or proposal; (2) is not responsible or qualified to receive the contract; (3) failed to submit a responsive bid or proposal; (4) is not in line to receive the contract or is otherwise ineligible for contract award; (5) does not have a beneficial interest in the award; or (6) fails to submit a timely protest shall be deemed to have waived any right to protest the award of the contract. Any protest deemed waived shall be subject to summary rejection without further consideration, and the person shall have no right to any relief.

10.3. Protests of Award

A bidder, proposer, or other vendor applying for a City contract through a competitive process may submit a written protest of the contract award. The protest shall identify and explain the factual and legal grounds for the protest. Any grounds not raised in the written protest shall be deemed waived by the protesting bidder.

10.4. Timing of Protest of Award

Protests shall be submitted in writing to the official designated to receive the bid, proposal or other application within the following times:

1. If of another bidder, within five (5) calendar days after the bid opening date.

2. If the City of Palm Desert makes a recommendation to the City Council/Housing Authority to award a proposal or other application, then within five (5) calendar days following the issuance of the recommendation and prior to the date of the award.

3. If in response to a notice of intent to reject a bid, proposal or other application, then within five

(5) calendar days following the issuance of the notice of intent.

10.5. Protest Review and Response

If a protest is timely submitted and complies with the requirements set forth above, the City shall review the protest, any response from the challenged bidder, proposer, or other vendor, and any other relevant information. The City shall issue a written decision to the protester within a reasonable time. If the protest is submitted in response to a recommendation of award, the protest shall be considered concurrently with the award of the contract, and the action of the approval authority shall be final.

10.6. Conflicts

The protest procedures contained in this section shall not apply if a particular solicitation contains a different protest procedure. This section does not limit or eliminate a claimant's obligations under the

Government Claims Act, Government Code Section 900 et seq.