RFP 915-58-65.docx

RFP #915-58-65

Large Volume Bill Print, Mail & EBP

City of Grand Rapids, Michigan Purchasing Department 300 Monroe, NW Room 720 Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Buyer Contact: Jeffrey Poll Email: jpoll@grand-rapids.mi.us

Request for Proposal #915-58-65 Large Volume Bill Print, Mail, and Electronic Bill Presentment (EBP) Proposal Due Date: July 31, 2025 11:00 am EDT

The City of Grand Rapids is issuing this Request for Proposal (RFP) for obtaining proposals from qualified and experienced large-volume print and mail companies for utility and other City billing services including bill print and mail with online presentment for the City of Grand Rapids and its customers.

All information in a Company’s proposal and the subsequent contract is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. 1976 no.442, as amended, MCL 15.231 or latest revision thereof. Companies shall note that pricing methodologies, cost and fee proposals, and any other response information related to pricing shall not be considered confidential information.

Companies interested in submitting a response to this solicitation are required to complete the requirements of this RFP, and upload through the Bidnet Direct procurement system or via hard copy, along with any attachments by the deadline specified: https://www.bidnetdirect.com/mitn

Any awarded vendor(s) for this Request for Proposal (RFP) are required to be registered in the City’s financial system, Oracle, Vendor Self Service (VSS) site. All solicitation information and documents shall be available to vendors registered in VSS. If you are not currently registered, or wish to update an existing vendor profile, click on the following link to begin registration: https://ibmjjb.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/fscmUI/redwood/supplier-registration

INTRODUCTION

The City of Grand Rapids is issuing this Request for Proposal (RFP) to obtain proposals from qualified and experienced large-volume print and mail companies for utility and other City billing services, including bill print and mail with online presentment for the City of Grand Rapids and customers.

The objective of this RFP is to provide sufficient information to enable qualified respondents to submit written proposals. This RFP is not a contractual offer or commitment to purchase services. Respondents must be bona fide providers of the products and services requested.

The City reserves the right to check all references furnished and consider responses received in determining the award. The City reserves the right to perform investigations as may be deemed necessary by the City to assure that competent persons will be and are utilized in the performance of any Agreement and to verify the accuracy of the contents of proposals.

To respond to this RFP, proposals must conform to the procedures, format, and content requirements outlined in this document. A complete signed copy of this RFP shall be submitted with the response. Significant deviations may be grounds for disqualification. The City reserves the right to waive, at its discretion, any irregularity or informality that City deems correctable or otherwise not warranting rejection of the RFP.

This Request for Proposal does not commit the City to award a contract, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal under this request, or to procure a contract for services or supplies. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received as a result of this RFP, to negotiate with all qualified sources, and/or to cancel this RFP in part or in it’s entirely, if it is in the best interest of the City to do so.

The City of Grand Rapids “General Terms & Conditions” are hereby incorporated by reference. Proposers are advised to review this document in its entirety and to rely only upon the contents of this RFP and accompanying documents and any written clarifications or addenda issued by the City of Grand Rapids. Submission of a Proposal establishes a conclusive presumption that the Proposer is thoroughly familiar with the RFP, and the Proposer understands and agrees to abide by all of the stipulations and requirements contained therein.

ESTIMATED TIMETABLE:

Key milestones for the procurement are shown below. Proposers shall note that the dates provided are provided as a guideline only and are subject to change as the City deems in its own best interests.

BACKGROUND

Grand Rapids is the second largest city in Michigan, serving a population of approximately 200,000 people with a municipal area of 46 square miles. The City is also a regional provider of water, wastewater, storm water, and other public services to a number of municipalities in Kent and Ottawa counties, serving a population of approximately 325,000 and covering 137 square-miles of service area.

Grand Rapids Water System is a department of the City of Grand Rapids. The primary functions of the department is to provide municipal water supply to meet the domestic needs and fire protection for the City and customer communities. With a total labor force of about 140 employees, the department services approximately 82,800 water/sewer accounts.

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to provide sufficient information to enable qualified respondents to submit written proposals so that the City is able to select a qualified company. Qualified companies will provide bill print, presentment, and mailing services to the City of Grand Rapids that will meet or exceed the following objectives:

· Proven and stable history performing identified services.

· Solid references with similar organizations and services.

· Best value low-cost printing, mailing and a full suite of hosted Electronic Bill Presentment including 24 month archive.

· Dedicated experienced project manager and account management staff to partner with the City to accomplish cost savings and efficiencies and to accommodate the City’s diverse requirements.

· Robust quality control including continuous integrity checks with bar codes and camera scanning.

· Strong disaster recovery and secure data transmission capabilities (SAS70 compliance).

· A solid service level agreement meeting the City’s requirements.

· United States Postal Service (USPS) preferred mailer with Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) certification, Indicia mailing, address correction and sorting for maximum postal discounts and postal efficiencies.

· Able to provide monthly invoices to the City department including line-item detail and separate bills for reimbursement of postage fund and special project mailings.

· Ability and experience to partner with the City information systems: Harris/Cayenta, BS&A, and Accela.

· Professional bill design services for maximized savings and improved customer experience.

· Able to meet the City’s Technical Requirements.

The Grand Rapids Water System generates approximately 36,000 bills each month for water. The system produces an average of 9,000 customer bills per week. The Water System bills monthly and quarterly, with monthly reminders to residential customers. Quarterly bills are printed and mailed on weekdays, usually but not always on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Each bill is printed on 8-1/2 x 11 paper, in color, with duplex. . Additional customer communications may also be mailed during the week along with special request mailings from other City departments.

The current Utility bill printing process is as follows: The City’s Utility Customer Information System (CIS) process runs overnight and generates an XML file and a number of PDF reports (average of five different report types on a given day). City staff zips and names the reports which are uploaded to the vendor SFTP site and/or run via an XML transfer. Files are received by the vendor and confirmation job samples are sent to the Utility Business Office via email or online portal. Business Office staff review and approve sample files and finally, the vendor processes and mails the reports. Confirmation is emailed to the Utility Business Office.

Summary of print and mail jobs in 2023.*

Scan line; Bar code

# of Insert Requests

Varies Average 50,000 to 80,000 Depending on selective inserting criteria

*Additional detail is included in Exhibit B.

The City will require the selected vendor’s EBP solution to easily connect to the City’s selected payment vendor for online payment processing, where applicable.

SCOPE OF SERVICES:

The awarded company shall be utility focused and have the ability to work with the City’s billing software vendors including but not limited to Harris/Cayenta, BS&A, and Accela. Utility bill printing by the selected vendor will be via the XML extract from Cayenta Utilities, per the City’s current process.

The contracted vendor shall present best practices to City personnel with a detailed transition plan, specific tasks, timelines, data requirements, staff assignments, paper and envelope selection, etc. The Contractor will work with City staff to transition current report templates including scan lines and bar codes. The City requires vendor services include bill design, print, mail and hosted electronic presentment while providing City staff complete control of the process and the output. Examples of some current envelopes and bill documents are included as Exhibit C and Exhibit D.

City staff will work with the selected vendor to generate and mail utility bills using XML. The Contractor shall print bills in the agreed format and provide integrity checks to ensure that the total is properly invoiced, and errors are caught. Utility bills will have a perforated coupon on the bottom of the statement to be returned by the customer with payment in an inserted #9 pre-printed envelope that includes an identifying color stripe on the edge.

An OCR scan line is included for processing of payment and placement shall be tested and approved by the City Treasurer. In addition to the utility bills, reminders, notices, and return envelopes, an annual water quality report or other inserts may need to be printed and inserted. Pre-printed items will need to be stored by the vendor until they are consumed, or mailing is complete. For example, the City may require 90,000 full color reports printed on two sides for insert into all utility bills. It will take three months to complete inserting in all bills, so stock reports need to be stored until they are needed for insert.

The City requires the ability to selectively identify and insert the proper items into each envelope; the ability to include one #9 -return mail envelope in multiple statement envelopes or eliminate #9 envelopes if statements have credit balances or for auto-pay statements; and the ability to selectively intelligently insert special notices into specific customer utility bills (currently pdf), using specific criteria.

Billing files shall be processed in First Class presort order to ensure the lowest possible postage qualification and ensure optimum expedition through the US Postal Service. The Contractor shall bar code the utility bill with the zip code information to minimize postage costs.

The Contractor shall apply the minimum required postage to the utility bill. The Contractor shall keep abreast of current and pending changes in postage regulations and rates and keep the City informed of these changes. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to minimize postage rates through the use of bar coding, sorting by zip codes or other means available.

The Contractor shall deliver the sorted/bar coded utility bills to the Post Office same day/next day so that they will receive maximum postage discounts and that they are mailed on the first business day following the transfer of the original billing file to the Contractor.

The City can provide sufficient funds for one month of postage prior to the first mailing. The Contractor will thereafter provide separate monthly invoices showing number of bills, correspondence, inserts mailed, postage amount, and exception amounts.

Contractor shall reconcile and report daily file information received with the output upon completion of data processing daily.

The City has several utility bills that are mailed to the same address. The City desires that, with the redesign and transition to XML, bills for these accounts are inserted into the same billing envelope to minimize postage cost. There are a few customers that have more statements than will fit in a regular envelope. These statements will need to be put into a larger envelope or container and addressed accordingly with adequate postage applied.

The Contractor shall provide online tools for job tracking, multiple audit points and proofing prior to production. The City requires that the Contractor provide the Customer and Customer Service Representatives the online ability to view replicas of customer bills - including actual balance due with a link to the City’s payment processor. The presentment site shall also include reminders, notices, and other information and 24 months of historical data, real-time over the internet.

Online bill presentment and archive shall also be available to the City’s customers with an option to go paperless and receive a bill notification by email. The online bill presentment system shall integrate with the City’s current and future payment providers encouraging the option to pay the bill electronically online. The City desires this process to be single sign-on process. Financial data reports shall pass between the bill print contractor, the payment processing provider, and the City Treasurer such that the City, and both contractors’ financial transaction data is updated. Future bill presentment hosting may or may not transition to the payment provider.

Tax bills and Assessor’s notices are currently produced from Bellefeui Szur & Associates software. Files can be provided as pdf, .TXT files or compressed into a .ZIP file. The Treasurer's Office desires the tax bill layout as provided in the attached document. If Tax bills and Assessment notices are contracted to and designed by the selected vendor, data will be available in ASCii with data layouts provided. Tax bills and other notices shall also be included in the EBP portal.

The City requires robust reporting tools including, but not limited to, accuracy and billing cycle timeliness metrics, print & mail volume by batch, statement integrity check results, exception reports with account number, and number not deliverable returned.

The City staff shall have direct contact with the Contractor’s staff to fulfill special needs or to answer questions concerning the bill.

Any transition, design, programming, development service or other costs not included elsewhere shall be detailed in the proposal.

Responses / Submittals:

The City requires submittal of a response either through uploading the complete response through the BidNet Direct solution (https://www.bidnetdirect.com/mitn), or by hard-copy submittal of the complete response in a digital media format (on flash drive or other media) to the address provided herein, by the submittal due date. In order to expedite and simplify proposal evaluation and to assure that each proposal receives the same orderly review all proposals should adhere to the format described herein. A completed, signed copy of page 1 (acknowledging all information contained within the RFP) of this RFP document shall be submitted as part of the proposal response for both hard and electronic copies as well as completed pages 8-14. The proposer name and/or initials shall be entered in the areas provided. Responses should contain the elements of information requested. Submission of a proposal shall be conclusive evidence that the Proposer has investigated and is satisfied as to the conditions to be encountered in performing the work.

All proposal sections and pages should be appropriately numbered. Any variances from specifications, which may be proposed, must be specifically noted as an “Exception” in fields provided.

All responses, documents, terms, and information related to the proposer’s response to this RFP shall be submitted with the response package prior to the submission deadline, and become the property of the City. No separate schedules, agreements, terms, conditions, etc shall be recognized or accepted if not submitted with the response to this RFP.

Submitted proposals must include a table of contents listing all sections, figures, and tables. Major sections and appendices should be separated by labeled index tabs, and pages must be numbered. Submitted proposals shall include:

Section 1: Introduction and Executive Summary

A. Provide a brief introduction and Executive Summary describing your primary business, the company’s background and history, including year established, former names, and type of ownership and the number of years your company has been in business.

B. Include the Respondent’s understanding of the scope of services to be rendered. The Executive Summary should be designed specifically for review by a non-technical audience and senior management and include a summary of the major facts or features of the proposal, including a brief proposal overview, value-added information and services, lines of authority and communication, any conclusions, assumptions, and recommendations the Respondent desires to make.

C. Provide the number of locations for the company and the location of the office that will be working with the City.

D. Identify whether the company is a single source provider of professional services or if a subcontractor will be used. If a subcontractor will be used, please provide detailed information regarding the nature of the subcontracting work and descriptive information about the company, including its primary representative.

E. Provide a statement concerning the Company’s current financial stability. Any financial/bank statements, data, line of credit information, proof of cash reserves, etc., pertaining to the company performance may be listed as “Confidential” and will be made available for review only by the review team of the project. Any such financial data shall be clearly labeled and defined and may be submitted in a separate envelope as part of the submittal.

F. Please, indicate if your company has a Diversity and Inclusion policy or program. If so, briefly describe.

Section 2: References, Company Qualifications A. Provide up to four (4) client references for similar service contracts as specified herein, including but not limited to the organization name, contact person, address, telephone number and email address. Include the date of initiation, contract status and brief overview of the services provided. The Project Manager and team members, as well as management procedures and controls, shall also be outlined. Emphasis should be placed on government organizations, utilities, CIS billing, and Cayenta Utilities experience. The Respondent agrees that the City may contact the references given at the City’s discretion. All references must include projects that were fully completed that are similar in size and scope to this project.

Section 3: Key Personnel Resumes and Professional Qualifications A. Provide a corporate resume for the individuals that will be providing the services specified herein, including number of years’ experience, qualifications, and certifications.

B. The assigned Project Manager of this project shall be identified in the proposal and cannot be altered throughout the project unless agreed to by both the City of Grand Rapids and the company.

Section 4: Technical Requirements This section seeks assurance of your firm’s ability to provide the services as described in the RFP. This completed section shall be included with your response submittal. NOTE: All costs for ‘yes’ answers shall be detailed/included in proposed pricing.

Requirements Can you comply?

Details

Print Operational Capabilities

Can you comply?

Can you comply?

Daily Processing

Can you comply?

Services

Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP) and Customer Service Portal

Can you comply?

Reliability and Stability

A. Number of total, current personnel available for services described herein.

B. Identify any additional value-added services that may be of interest to the City.

Section 5: Transition and Implementation Plan and Timeline Provide a full and complete description of the service(s) being offered.

Provide a transition/implementation plan for cutover and assuming responsibilities from the City’s current contractor, including but not limited to, approach testing, technical support, assumptions, constraints and required resources. Include a timeline with process steps.

Describe how the company responds to daily issues and maintains close, effective communications with the City and its staff. Describe any current resources available to service the City as needed.

Section 6: All Costs Associated with Proposed Services The following project cost tables shall be completed and submitted, expressed in unit and aggregate terms. Proposers shall also provide information on second and third year costs and/or increase as applicable. Use additional pages as necessary. This completed section shall be included with the response submittal.

Scanned envelope and document samples are provided in Exhibit C and Exhibit D. Sample documents are available for review at the Grand Rapids Purchasing Department.

Initial Design and Configuration

Complete Print and Mail Services

Current annual print totals provided in Exhibit B – Annual Print Totals by Month and Type

$ /Piece

*Print from one simple, fixed width text file with multiple formats; some require canary paper or yellow shading

$ /Piece

Miscellaneous: “As Needed” Billing Services

Shall include but not be limited to: all labor, set-up, equipment, pickup and delivery as needed, all data transfer processing and quality control checks and services, all pre-sorting and mailing services, including proper folding and inserting, all paper stock.

Additional Large Volume Print and Insert Services

Provide additional costs and pricing structures for “as needed” printing and inserting services that may arise. Base per piece cost on 82,800 printed inserts per occurrence.

Past Due, Add-to-Tax, Lien Letters and other Special Mailing Processing

Shall include but not be limited to: all labor, set-ups, equipment, pickup and delivery as needed, all data transfer processing and quality control checks and services, all pre-sorting and mailing services, including proper printing folding and inserting, all paper stock. Include volume cost structures.

Electronic Presentment

The City is seeking a fully Hosted Electronic Presentment Solution (SaaS). The City requires that 24 months of bills are available on-line for customers and City staff to view. Customers enroll and access bill presentment using the vendor provided portal.

$ /Campaign

Other Services

Provide additional costs and pricing structures for other “as needed” services that you provide (including volume cost structures), that are not already included herein.

Other fees not already listed.

Any transition, design, programming, development service or other costs not included elsewhere shall be detailed in the proposal.

Agency shall provide any changes to the fee or rate schedule(s) for Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 of the contract.

USPS Postal Rates Provide in detail the current USPS mailing rates that may be applicable to the City. Include information on any possible upcoming/future rate increases.

Cost Savings Recommendations Provide any recommended options, not already included, for improved cost savings associated with your proposal and include any associated costs.

Company Name:

RFP Submittal Checklist:

· Vender Self Service (VSS), Oracle Registration

· Completed RFP Proposal with additional information

· Completed RFP Document Page 1, Section 5, and Section 6

· Signed Contract & Bid Award (in blue ink)

· Completed Litigation Statement

· Completed Conflict of Interest Statement

· Certificate of Insurance (successful Contractor upon award notification)

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

All information in a bidder’s response and the subsequent contract is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1976 no. 442, as amended, MCL 15.231 or latest revision thereof. Companies shall note that pricing methodologies, cost and fee proposals, and any other response information related to pricing shall not be considered confidential information.

The City reserves the right to declare as non-responsive and reject any proposal in which material information requested is not furnished or where indirect or incomplete answers of information are provided, or if departments are contacted prior to bid opening. All proposals submitted shall include the City’s RFP document and, in the format, requested, no exceptions. Any submitted proposal not including the City form may be rejected as non-responsive.

No separate agreements shall be recognized unless they are included in the proposal for analysis and review, prior to contract award. The City shall not be bound by any part(s) of any Company’s response to the RFP which contains information, options, conditions, terms, or prices not requested nor required in the RFP unless such conditions are agreed to by both parties prior to entering a contract.

The City of Grand Rapids “General Terms and Conditions” are hereby incorporated by reference. This signed and completed RFP document, along with the complete submitted response, will be included by reference as part of any contract document with the awarded vendor. Respondents must be bona fide providers of the products and services requested.

This Request for Proposal does not commit the City to award any contract, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal under this request, or to procure a contract for services or supplies. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received as a result of this RFP, to negotiate with all qualified sources, and/or to cancel this RFP in part or in whole, if it is in the best interest of the City to do so.

All documents and submittals provided with the RFP response shall become the property of the City and shall be subject to public inquiry and dissemination as required. Any response that is submitted in full as “confidential” or “proprietary” shall be rejected as non-responsive, no exceptions.

All costs proposed shall remain firm for one-hundred twenty (120) days from the date of the RFP opening.

Communication Restriction:

The City of Grand Rapids Purchasing Department shall be the sole point of contact for purposes of information concerning this RFP. From the date that this RFP is issued until the date the Contract is awarded, interested parties should not contact any official or employee of the City for additional information concerning this RFP, except in writing directed only to the contact listed herein, or the City Purchasing Agent. Any requests for clarification or additional information regarding this RFP shall be directed in writing. If a prospective Proposer engages in any unauthorized communication, the City may reject that Respondent’s proposal(s).

Cost of Preparation:

The Respondent shall be responsible for all costs incurred in the development and submission of any response. The City assumes no contractual obligation because of the issuance of the solicitation, the preparation or submission of a response by a Respondent, the evaluation of an accepted response, or the selection of finalists. The City shall not be contractually bound until the City and the successful Respondent have executed a written Contract for performance of work.

Discrepancies or Omissions:

If a Proposer should find discrepancies or omissions in these documents, he/she should at once notify the Purchasing Agent/Buyer. The Proposer is required to furnish any information regarding any additional costs not covered herein by the City with their proposal. It is the City's intent for all costs to be included herein. Any costs not included herein may not be considered allowable costs under any contract.

Non-Collusion:

By signed submittal and completion of this document, the Proposer certifies that this proposal response is made without prior understanding, agreement, or connection with any corporation, firm, or person submitting a proposal for the same product and that this proposal is in all respects bona fide, fair and not the result of any act of fraud or collusion with another person or firm engaged in the same line of business or commerce. The Proposer understands collusive bidding is a violation of Federal Law and that any false statement thereunder constitutes a felony and can result in fines, imprisonment, as well as civil damages.

RFP/Solicit Cancellation:

The City reserves the right to cancel this solicitation and/or any planned award for any or no reason as it deems in its own best interests, at no additional costs to the City. Such cancellation notice shall be provided to all respondents prior to final contract execution.

Economy of Responses:

Responses and presentations should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward and concise description of the Proposer’s capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the solicitation. Emphasis should be placed on completeness and clarity of content.

Multiple Responses:

Multiple responses or solutions, defined as the submission by the same Proposer of two or more responsive responses offering an alternative which meet the requirements of the solicitation, will be considered. Multiple responses shall be submitted separately and will be evaluated as independent responses.

Reserved Rights:

The City of Grand Rapids reserves the right to request any additional information which might be deemed necessary after responses are submitted as it deems in its own best interests to do so.

Further, the City, as it deems in its own best interest, reserves the right to:

1. Reject any or all bids.

2. Issue subsequent RFP’s.

3. Postpone opening for its own convenience.

4. Remedy technical errors in the RFP process.

5. Approve or disapprove the use of particular subcontractors.

6. Solicit best and final offers from all or some of the Proposers.

7. Award an agreement in its own best interests.

8. Waive informalities and irregularities in responses and/or services proposed.

The City reserves the right to check all references furnished and consider responses received in determining the award. The City reserves the right to perform investigations as may be deemed necessary by the City to assure that competent persons will be and are utilized in the performance of any Agreement and to verify the accuracy of the contents of responses.

Questions:

Any formal requests for clarification, questions, or additional information regarding this solicitation shall be submitted in writing no later than 2:00 p.m. July 24, 2025 per the following contact information:

Jeffrey Poll Buyer, Purchasing Department 300 Monroe NW Suite 720 Grand Rapids MI 49503 Phone: (616) 456-3973 Email: jpoll@grand-rapids.mi.us

Any questions received after July 24, 2025, 2:00 pm shall not be considered. Questions received prior to the stated deadline will be collated into a single Addendum document to be provided to all proposers, on or about July 27, 2025. Any and all questions, requests for clarification or additional information received by the City regarding this RFP will not be considered confidential in any way, shape, or form.

It is the Proposer’s responsibility to assure receipt of all Addenda. The Proposer should verify with BidNet Direct solution (https://www.bidnetdirect.com/mitn) prior to submitting a response that all Addenda have been received. Proposers are required to acknowledge the number of Addenda received as part of their responses.

Proposers who obtain copies of this solicit from sources other than BidNet Direct solution (https://www.bidnetdirect.com/mitn) risk the potential of not receiving addenda, since their names will not be included on the vendor list for this particular solicit. Such Proposers are solely responsible for those risks.

Price Quotations:

All costs and prices shall be quoted in U.S. dollars. Pricing/Rates proposed for complete services as described herein shall be inclusive of all overhead, all fuel costs, mobilization, labor, materials, equipment, scheduling, parking fees, setups, incidentals, profit, mailing and postage costs, and all other miscellaneous cost borne by the Contractor throughout the life of the contract. Any required travel costs shall be provided as an estimate at standard rates (i.e., coach airfare, standard room rental, etc.); any travel costs above standard rates shall be at the Contractor’s cost. In case of error in the extension of prices in the response, the unit prices shall govern.

Submittals Deadline:

The City requires submittal of a response either through uploading the complete response through the BidNet Direct solution (https://www.bidnetdirect.com/mitn), or by hard-copy submittal of the complete response in a digital media format (on flash drive or other media) to the address provided herein, by the submittal due date. In order to expedite and simplify proposal evaluation and to assure that each proposal receives the same orderly review all proposals should adhere to the format described herein. A completed, signed copy of page 1 (acknowledging all information contained within the RFP) of this RFP document shall be submitted as part of the proposal response for both hard and electronic copies as well as completed pages 8-14. The proposer name and/or initials shall be entered in the areas provided. Responses should contain the elements of information requested. Submission of a proposal shall be conclusive evidence that the Proposer has investigated and is satisfied as to the conditions to be encountered in performing the work.

All responses, documents, terms, and information related to the proposer’s response to this RFP shall be submitted with the response package prior to the submission deadline. No separate schedules, agreements, terms, conditions, etc shall be recognized or accepted if not initially submitted with the response to this RFP.

Proposal responses and submittals shall be received by the City’s Purchasing Department no later 11:00 A.M. August 21, 2024.

Responses provided via mail or commercial express service must be shipped in one box or package with the following information prominently displayed:

Purchasing Department - City of Grand Rapids 300 Monroe NW Room 720 Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Request for Proposal #915-58-65 Large Volume Bill Print, Mail, & EBP Due: July 31, 2024, 11:00 AM

Company Name: #####

If the response is sent by mail or commercial express service, the Respondent shall be responsible for actual delivery of the response to the City Purchasing Department before the deadline. All responses become the property of the City of Grand Rapids. The content of all responses shall be held confidential and sealed until after the public bid opening.

Late Proposals, Modifications, or Withdrawal:

Proposals received after the date and time indicated will not be accepted or considered.

Proposals may be withdrawn or modified in writing prior to the proposal submission deadline. Proposals that are resubmitted or modified shall be sealed and submitted to the City’s Purchasing Department prior to the proposal submission deadline. Following the deadline date proposals will be considered firm.

Solicit Evaluation/Award:

The City reserves the right to award to any proposer for any services or solutions as it deems in its own best interest. Upon final award recommendation, the Purchasing Department will provide appropriate notice through the VSS site, or by email.

The City reserves the right to award in total, to reject all responses in whole or in part, and to…