Request for Information Revenue Recovery_DPFi.pdf

CITY OF ATLANTA

DEPARTMENTS OF FINANCE AND WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION, REVENUE RECOVERY SERVICES

MOHAMED BALLA, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

MIKITA K. BROWNING, COMMISSIONER

DEPARTMENT OF WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

DATE: September 22, 2023

Table of Contents A. Description ............................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

B. Scope of Services

C. Schedule of Events

D. Proposal Contents

i. Cover Letter/Executive Summary

ii. Respondent Qualifications

iii. Staff Qualifications

iv. Approach to Working with the City

v. References

vi. Conflicts of Interest and Pending Litigation

E. Submittal Instructions

F. Evaluation Criteria

G. Inquiries

Request for Information Revenue Recovery City of Atlanta DOF and DWM Page 1

A. Description

1.1 This Request for Information (“RFI”) is being issued to identify interested and qualified respondents (“Respondent” or “Respondents”) to provide industry feedback by completing a review of commercial, industrial, and multi-family meter service accounts on behalf of the City of Atlanta, Georgia (“City”).

This RFI is conducted solely for market research and planning purposes. This RFI does not commit the City to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, at this time, the City is not seeking bids or proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.

Respondents who would like to submit an information statement are advised that the City of Atlanta will not pay for any information or assume responsibility for administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the Respondent’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be advertised on the City’s procurement site and the State of Georgia procurement site, which potential respondents can locate at the following URL: https://procurement.atlantaga.gov/. It is the responsibility of the potential respondent to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

1.2 The City’s Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) is responsible for management of the City’s finances and debt issuances, and the financial management of its related enterprise departments and other related authorities and agencies. These entities include, but are not limited to, the Departments of Aviation and Watershed Management respectively, the Atlanta Development Authority, the Atlanta and Fulton County Recreation Authority, and various other conduit issuers, collectively referred to within this Request for Qualification (“RFQ”) as the City. The City may issue General Obligation Bonds, Tax Anticipation Notes, Commercial Paper, Certificates of Participation, Lease Revenue Bonds, Airport Revenue Bonds, Water and Wastewater Revenue Bonds, Tax Allocation Bonds, and other debt obligations.

The City’s Commissioner of Watershed Management is responsible for the management of the enterprise agency that operates and maintains the City’s drinking water and wastewater systems. With responsibility for strategic planning and oversight for the operations of water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment services, and stormwater management, the DWM Commissioner ensures that the City complies with all federal and state regulations regarding water resource management;

identifies potential environmental issues and develops strategies to effectively respond;

ensures the City is aware of proposed environmental standards, trends and technologies;

and provides engineering reviews and design and construction management services on capital improvement projects.

https://procurement.atlantaga.gov/

City of Atlanta DOF and DWM Page 2

B. Scope of Services

The scope of work to obtain industry feedback using this RFI is for interested and qualified respondents to review Commercial, Industrial, and Multi-family metered water and wastewater accounts (only), as well as conduct field investigation services to maximize billable revenues.

2. Active commercial, industrial, and multi-family metered accounts will be reviewed for identification of any errors or anomalies in billings to determine if there is the potential or actual loss revenue to DWM.

• Review and investigate Commercial, Industrial, and Multi-family meter retail accounts to determine if there is a loss of revenue.

• Submit Work Orders and recommendations for any identified deficiencies that require attention and repairs.

• Make recommendation for any necessary updates to retail account billing information or physical locations of assets.

• Submit a draft and final report of errors or anomalies and provide recommendations based on the review/assessment of Commercial, Industrial, and Multi-family meter water accounts,

3. The following task are specifically excluded from the Scope of Services:

a. Review of Single-family Residential retail metered accounts;

b. Review of billing and collection policies and procedures;

c. Review of stormwater services;

d. Review of wholesale services;

1. The following is a summary of current Commercial, Industrial, and Multi-family metered account totals.

ACCOUNT TYPES NUMBER OF

Meters

(Sizes 1” to 12”) Commercial 13,150 Industrial 75 Multi-family 7,196

Total: 20,421

City of Atlanta DOF and DWM Page 3

e. Review of fire services;

f. Processes for the establishment of new accounts; and

g. Removal or replacement of any water meter assets. Such activities will be completed by the City DWM.

C. Schedule of Events

Dates Activities September 29, 2023 Questions Due to the City October 5, 2023 Response to Questions October 12, 2023 RFI Due

Questions regarding this RFI are to be submitted by email to the attention of DeShondrick Poole (dpoole@atlantaga.gov) no later than 5:00 PM local time on September 29, 2023. All questions received by this date and time will be answered appropriately. The subject of such emails should read, “City of Atlanta RFI – Revenue Recovery [FIRM]. The response to such questions will be distributed to all respondents, but the identity of the question provider will not be released.

Please do not direct any questions to the Office of the CFO, Office of the Commissioner of Watershed Management, the Mayor’s Office, or any other City office.

D. Proposal Contents

Responses should be as succinct, detailed, and clear as possible to fully demonstrate the capabilities for providing industry feedback according to the City’s scope of services and review criteria. The City reserves the right to seek supplemental information from any submitting firm.

Each proposal should conform to the following outline and include the following elements:

i. Cover Letter/Executive Summary Include a brief cover letter that highlights the key elements of your firm’s submission.

Indicate the name, address, and telephone number of the individual authorized to make representations on behalf of the firm. This letter must be signed by the person authorized to bind the firm to all commitments made in the proposal.

ii. Respondent Qualifications

1. Discuss your firm’s commitment to assist municipal clients with revenue recovery. Include your firm’s overall approach, understanding of the scope of work and your firm’s ability to mailto:dpoole@atlantaga.gov

City of Atlanta DOF and DWM Page 4 provide services listed in the scope of work. Include information on your firm’s condition, whether staff size has increased, decreased, or remained stable in recent years.

2. In a tabular format, detail your firm's experience in the past ten (10) years.

3. Confirm that the firm has engaged municipal clients with revenue recovery valued at $1,000,000 or greater.

4. Discuss your firm’s core competencies, market focus and how your existing capabilities will benefit the City. Indicate any additional tasks that may be appropriate within the scope of work of this engagement.

5. Small, Disadvantaged, Woman, Minority and Veteran owned businesses throughout Atlanta continue to blaze trails in corporate, non-profit and government roles, enriching our city in countless ways. The City of Atlanta offers an Equal Business Opportunity (EBO) certification and a Small Business Opportunity (SBO) certification. Indicate here if you are certified by the City: ____EBO and/or ____SBO. Provide this certification in an appendix if applicable.

6. Although The City no longer certifies Respondents for the Federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, the City does recognize this certification, as well as minority (MBE), woman (WBE) and veteran (SDVO) owned Certifications. Your firm is not required to obtain such certification to be responsive to this RFI, however, please indicate here if your firm is certified as a/an _____MBE, _____WBE, ____DBE, ____SDVOSB. If applicable, please provide the certificate as an appendix. To learn more about MBE, WBE, DBE or SDVOSB certification, please visit the GA Department of Transportation (G-DOT) website. If you are in Dekalb, Fulton, or Clayton County, you may also receive your DBE certification through MARTA.

7. Demonstrate compliance with City business tax laws by supplying one of the following:

Business Tax Registration Certificate, Vendor Registration Number or Certificate of Exemption (must demonstrate compliance before award). Please include it as an appendix.

8. Describe the firm’s professional liability (errors and omissions) insurance program. If it is fully or partially self-insured, indicate the nature of the security for claims payments (e.g., funded reserves, letters of credit, etc.).

iii. Staff Qualifications

1. Provide a staffing plan that lists those persons who will be assigned, including the designation of the person who would be the primary contact for the engagement.

Provide bios or resumes relative to the training, education, and relevant experience of the listed individuals, including the number of years with the firm. Please include resumes as an appendix.

2. Present your team’s experiences with comparable issuers by providing at least two relevant case studies that highlight your ability to provide timely advice, consultation, and https://www.georgia.org/small-business/minority-owned-small-businesses https://www.georgia.org/small-business/mean-wbe-mbe-certified https://doas.ga.gov/state-purchasing/supplier-services/minority-business-enterprise-certification https://www.sba.gov/partners/contracting-officials/contracting-program-administration/sdvosb-program-administration https://www.georgia.org/small-business/start/certification https://marta.diversitysoftware.com/

City of Atlanta DOF and DWM Page 5 support to an issuer with a variety of sizable and complex capital programs with varying needs and timelines, diverse staff, and growing population.

3. Are there any other lines of business conducted by your firm that could complement or conflict with your role and proposed scope of services? Please disclose any arrangements you currently have with the City, if any.

iv. Approach to Working with the City

a) Describe your firm’s ability to provide a detailed review of Commercial, Industrial, and Multi-family, metered accounts, and related quantitative analysis.

b) Describe your firm’s approach to identify lost, unbilled, or under-recovered revenues for retail accounts.

c) Describe your firm’s approach for conducting field investigations.

d) Identify a fee structure approach for the services and timeframe to complete the requested services.

• Note if the total all-inclusive maximum price should contain all direct and indirect costs including all out-of-pocket expenses.

• If your fee structure is performance-based with or without an upfront setup fee, please indicate the parameters of your firm’s performance-based cost structure.

• For services rendered in connection with work not indicated in the Scope of Services, describe proposed fees for different staffing levels.

v. References

a) Provide the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three (3) issuers (preferably at least one (1) will be a Georgia issuer) for whom the firm has served as financial advisor for municipal advisory engagements like those contemplated in this RFI.

vi. Conflicts of Interest and Pending Litigation

a) Are there any existing disputes or proceedings between your firm and the City?

b) Will the selection of your firm result in any current or potential conflicts of interest or appearance of conflicts of interest? If so, please specify the party with whom the conflict exists or might arise, the nature of the conflict, and whether your firm would consider withdrawing from the engagement or representation in the event of a conflict. If not, what actions would you take to mitigate the conflict or appearance of conflict?

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c) Does your organization’s executive management or any board member hold a leadership position with an entity or person doing business with the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, Department of Watershed Management, or any of the City’s related entities?

d) Please disclose fully the extent to which your firm or individual partners or employees are the subject of an any investigations or are a party to any litigation or arbitration. Also, include any such investigations which concluded in an ordered or imposed enforcement, disciplinary action, and/or bankruptcy, ordered or imposed, in the last three (3) years.

E. Submittal Instructions

Responses should not exceed thirty (30) pages, including the Executive Summary. Appendices do not count toward page limit; however, they should be brief and only included if they are required to fully answer the question.

1. Please seal and label all responses to indicate, “Responses to the RFI for Revenue Recovery Services- City of Atlanta, (Name of your Firm and address).

2. Responses are limited to Thirty (30) pages including the Executive Summary but excluding any resumes and appendices.

3. A panel will review responses that meet the criteria outlined herein, from which Respondents will be short-listed. The panel may or may not choose to hold oral interviews before making a final selection. Should interviews be held, it will be imperative that the lead representative for the City’s engagement be in attendance. Only those individuals directly involved with the presentation should attend the interview.

4. All responses should be valid for a 90-day period from the due date of the RFI and should be signed by an executive authorized to bind the Respondent. A firm may withdraw its response by written request to the City.

5. The City reserves the right to reject any response. All responses become part of the City’s public record. The selected Respondents will be precluded from providing financial advisory services.

F. Evaluation Criteria A comprehensive, fair, and impartial evaluation will be made of all proposals received by a panel of evaluators. Final selection will be made by the Chief Financial Officer and DWM Commissioner and submitted to the City Council for legislative approval. The City reserves the right to evaluate all factors it considers appropriate in the selection of a financial advisory services firm. Key criteria in this evaluation will include but are not limited to the following (not listed in any order of priority):

1. Capability of the firm to perform the required scope of services, including experience water & wastewater retail account audits and demonstrated capacity to provide

City of Atlanta DOF and DWM Page 7 technical financial analyses for retail accounts, and proven track record of industry success.

2. Qualifications, competence, and experience of the individuals to be assigned.

3. Demonstration of prior service to the City for similar and/or related services.

Please note The City reserves the right to request additional information or clarification, if necessary, or to request an interview with firm(s), or to reject all proposals with or without cause and waive any irregularities or informalities in the proposals submitted. The City further reserves the right to make such investigations as deemed necessary as to the qualifications of all Respondents submitting proposals. The City reserves the right to negotiate lower prices with responding Respondents as deemed in the best interests of the City. Be advised that the City of Atlanta reserves the right to perform credit or similar reviews of its financing team participants.

G. Inquiries After the RFI has been issued, proposers are prohibited from communicating with City staff, members of the City Council or any other officer or employee of the City regarding the RFI. To preserve the integrity of the selection process, questions regarding this RFI should be directed in writing via ATLCloud or the City’s contact person, DeShondrick Poole, Category Lead, at dpoole@atlantaga.gov. Questions should be received via email by the close of business September 29, 2023. Responses to all questions will be provided to all proposers by October 5, 2023. No telephone calls will be accepted.

mailto:dpoole@atlantaga.gov