RFP027-06_Website_Redesign.pdf

For more information, please visit our online supplier portal, located at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct

City of Meriden

Purchasing Department

142 East Main St. Room 210

Meriden, CT 06450

RFP027-06 WEBSITE REDESIGN

Project ID: RFP027-06

RELEASE DATE: July 17, 2026

RESPONSE DEADLINE: August 7, 2026, 11:00 am

Please refer to the project timeline in this document for all important deadlines.

Request For Proposal #RFP027-06

Title: RFP027-06 Website Redesign

Table Of Contents

1. LEGAL NOTICE

2. INFORMATION TO PROPOSERS

3. PROJECT DETAILS

4. EVALUATIONS/QUALIFICATIONS

5. VENDOR SUBMISSION FORMS

Attachments:

A - Professional Services- Sample Agreement

B - COI Requirements

LEGAL NOTICE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The City of Meriden is accepting electronic proposals for:

RFP027-06 Website Redesign

The City of Meriden is soliciting proposals to update its website to enhance the user experience, simplify content management, and provide improved citizen-centric information and customer service to its community, while meeting high standards for design quality and visual appeal. The new website must have a priority of striving to be ADA compliant.

Proposals shall be submitted as electronic responses per specifications obtained via the City eProcurement Portal: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct and on the State of Connecticut

Department of Administrative Services website (https://webprocure.proactiscloud.com).

Proposals may be received up to but not later than 11:00 am, Friday, August 7, 2026 via the City eProcurement Portal located at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct. The City eProcurement

Portal Clock is the official clock for the determination of all deadline dates and times. Without exception, responses will not be accepted after the submission deadline regardless of any technical difficulties. Please submit electronic responses via the City eProcurement Portal:

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct by way of the eProcurement Portal, responses will be locked and digitally encrypted until the submission deadline passes.

The Consulting firm will be evaluated and selected based on and technical competence, qualifications of staff, the capacity and capability to perform the work required, past record performance, knowledge of Federal, State, and Municipal procedures and proposed rates and fees. The right is reserved to reject any or all proposals, in whole or in part, to award any item, group of items, or total proposal, and to waive informality or technical defects, if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the City of Meriden. No proposer may withdraw its proposal within 120 days of the date of the opening.

The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and may waive any informality.

The City of Meriden is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Disadvantaged, minority, small, and women business enterprises are encouraged to respond.

Rawle Dummett Purchasing Officer City of Meriden, CT 06450-8022 Dated: July 17, 2026 https://procurement.opengov.com/po1tal/meridenct https://webprocure.proactiscloud.com/

INFORMATION TO PROPOSERS

1. SUMMARY

The City of Meriden is seeking to update its website to enhance the user experience, simplify content management, and provide improved citizen-centric information and customer service to its community, while meeting high standards for design quality and visual appeal. The City would like to decentralize content management by empowering our staff to easily create and manage website content in each department under the oversight of a central administrator. The new website must have a priority of striving to be ADA compliant.

2. TIMELINE

Release Project Date: July 17, 2026

Question Submission Deadline: July 31, 2026, 4:00pm

Response Submission Deadline: August 7, 2026, 11:00am

3. PROPOSAL PROCEDURES

The City will only be accepting electronic submissions of proposals. Please submit electronic responses via the

City eProcurement Portal: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct. By way of the eProcurement

Portal, responses will be locked and digitally encrypted until the submission deadline passes. Proposals are due for submission no later than 11:00 am, Friday, August 7, 2026.

4. PROPOSALS/QUALIFICATIONS

A. Proposals shall be submitted as one : Qualifications and Fees/Proposal;

B. Proposals must be made out and signed in the corporate, or other, name of Proposer, and must be fully and properly executed by an authorized person.

C. Proposals received later than the time and date specified will not be considered.

D. Amendments to or withdrawal of Proposals received later than the date and time set forth in the proposal opening will not be considered.

5. EXAMINATION OF DOCUMENTS

Proposers are to examine all documents and visit the site in order to make a thorough examination of the conditions so that they may familiarize itself with all of the existing requirements, conditions, and difficulties that will affect the execution of the work in order to determine the amount of work necessary to carry out the true intent of the specifications and work shown on the drawings.

The City of Meriden and its agents do not have any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or sufficiency of any proposal document obtained from any other source other than from the City eProcurement Portal:

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct. Obtaining documents from any other source(s) may result in obtaining incomplete and inaccurate information. Obtaining documents from any other source may also result in failure to receive any addenda, corrections, or other revisions to the documents that may be issued.

No request shall be honored if such request is made less than seven (7) calendar days prior to the date fixed for the opening of proposals. Any and all such interpretations, and any supplementary instructions, will be in the form of a written addenda to the specifications which, if issued, will be made available via the City eProcurement Portal, located at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct for addenda. Failure of any proposals to receive any such addenda shall not relieve any proposals from any obligations under its proposal as submitted.

Proposers shall submit all inquiries regarding this proposal via the City eProcurement Portal, located at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct. Please note the deadline for submitting inquiries. All answers to inquiries will be posted on the City eProcurement Portal. Proposers may also click “Follow” on this document to receive an email notification when answers are posted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to check the website for answers to inquiries.

6. AWARD OF CONTRACT

The Purchasing Officer reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or parts thereof for any reason, to negotiate changes to proposal terms and to waive minor inconsistencies with the RFP. The Purchasing Officer reserves the right to make a selection on the basis of qualifications, experience in providing similar services elsewhere, the proposal’s responsiveness to the Request For Proposal requirements; and to negotiate a contract with the Consultant(s).

The contract will not be awarded to any corporation, firm, or individual which/who is in arrears to the City of

Meriden by debt or contract, or who is in default as security or otherwise by any obligation to the City of

Meriden.

The right is reserved to reject any or all proposals, in whole or in part, to award any item, group of items, or total proposal, and to waive informality or technical defects, if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the City of Meriden.

7. TAXES

The City of Meriden is exempt under Connecticut General Statutes from the payment of the excise taxes imposed by the federal government and the Sales and Use Tax of the State of Connecticut; such taxes should not be included in the proposal price. Upon request, exemption certificates will be furnished to the successful

Proposer.

8. FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

The Contractor shall agree that neither it or its subcontractors, except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment any individual or to discriminate against such individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of the individual's race, color, religious creed, age, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, present or past history of mental disability, intellectual disability, learning disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness or status as a veteran. The aforementioned terms are obtained from Connecticut General Statutes Section 46a-60, et seq., entitled “Discriminatory employment practices prohibited,” as amended.

9. NON-COLLUSION STATEMENT

Each proposer submitting a proposal to the City of Meriden for any portion of the work contemplated by the documents on which bidding is based shall execute and attach thereto the sworn Non-Collusive Statement, to the effect that the proposal has not colluded with any other person, firm, or corporation in the submission of the proposal/qualifications.

10. FORM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN CITY OF MERIDEN AND CONSULTANT

The Agreement for the work will be via Purchase Order and Standard Professional Services Agreement.

11. CITY OF MERIDEN CODE OF ETHICS

The City of Meriden has adopted a Code of Ethics located in Chapter 21 of the Code of the City of Meriden, sections 21-1 through 21-15, inclusive, which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. The terms of the

Code of Ethics shall constitute a part of any contract or agreement entered into by the City of Meriden as a result of this proposal as if those terms were fully set forth in such contract or agreement.

Proposers are specifically advised that the Code of Ethics prohibits public officers and employees, as well as their immediate families and businesses, with which they are associated from participating in any transaction which is incompatible with the proper discharge of official duties or responsibilities. Proposers are also advised that the Code of Ethics contain provisions with respect to paid contractors and former employees and officials.

PROPOSERS SHOULD NOTE THAT PROPOSALS, CONTRACTS, AND AGREEMENTS ENTERED

INTO OR AWARDED IN VIOLATION OF THE CODE OF ETHICS ARE VOIDABLE BY

RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MERIDEN.

Copies of the Code of Ethics may be obtained from the office of the City Clerk or may be found online on the

City of Meriden’s website.

12. ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACT

No contract may be assigned without the written consent of the Purchasing Officer or designee.

13. PERMITS

The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining any and all necessary permits required by the City of Meriden prior to the commencement of work. The Contractor may contact the City of Meriden Building Department for permit information at (203) 630-4091. For all other required permits, contact the City of Meriden Engineering

Department at (203) 630-4018.

14. PRICE AND PAYMENT

The City of Meriden is exempt from the payment of the excise taxes imposed by the Federal government and the Sales and Use Tax of the State of Connecticut under Connecticut General Statutes; accordingly, such taxes shall not be included in the pricing.

The City of Meriden, unless stated otherwise in the documents or Contract, will make payment to the

Contractor not less than thirty (30) days following completion of services.

15. INSURANCE

The successful consultant shall be required to provide a Certificate of Insurance denoting general liability, automobile liability, workers compensation liability, and other coverage required by the City’s Risk Manager.

16. LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS

The successful firm(s) shall ensure that any appropriate licenses or certifications required by the State of

Connecticut are maintained for the duration of the project. The firm must meet all municipal, state and federal affirmative action and equal employment opportunity practices.

17. TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The selected consultants must have the capability to provide the City of Meriden with expertise in performing other functions, such as, but not limited to, preparation of permit applications, liaison functions and clerical assistance. The following are some potential services which the selected Consultant may be required to provide.

It is also understood that the selected consultant will be required to complete all direct or indirect responsibilities associated with the assigned task so that the intent and desired goal of the City can be achieved.

These services may include, without limitation, reviewing drawings and specifications, providing individuals or sub-consultants with specialized knowledge, assisting in the preparation of legal proceedings, appearance before

Courts or Commissions, providing expert opinions, or conclusions as well as performing investigations of technical matters.

PROJECT DETAILS

PROJECT INFORMATION & EXPECTATIONS

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

The following must be considered in submitting a website redesign proposal for the city:

• Design consistent with City’s expected new marketing campaign

• Home page must include links to pages that drive the most traffic and conversations

• Links must be clearly written so users know exactly where they are headed

• Incorporate user friendly navigation menus, visible calls to action

• Consistently design pages

• Users must be able to find what they’re searching for quickly and intuitively

• Buttons and forms must be easy to navigate

• Must integrate city’s 311 system (QAlert)

• Must integrate OpenGov, incorporating online permitting/licensing and legal forms

• Incl. tool to assist in rewriting content for improved Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Website must be in compliance with ADA accessibility standards for municipal websites

• Mobile friendly – for smart phones, tablets, etc.

• Incl. ability for public to access social media content posted by city

• Enhance security protocols

• Fast page loads

• Simple content management, including adding videos

• Incl. easily accessible translation tool to easily convert site to native language for users

• Create Employment Portal, to incl. new HR employee onboarding and tracking software

Anticipated Deadline to complete project: June 1, 2027

EVALUATIONS/QUALIFICATIONS

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Qualifications of the Individual or Firm/Cost

Proposal Points Based 35

(35% of Total)

2. Demonstrated ability to meet project deadline. Timeframe for delivery of service.

Points Based 15

(15% of Total)

3. Demonstrated ability of key personnel and experience.

Points Based 15

(15% of Total)

4. Similar projects completed within past five

(5) years.

Points Based 20

(20% of Total)

5. References of past clients. Points Based 15 (15% of Total)

VENDOR SUBMISSION FORMS

1. NON-COLLUSIVE STATEMENT/AFFIDAVIT*

Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. MUST BE NOTARIZED & STAMPED or

SEALED.

• Non-Collusive_Bid_Statement...

*Response required

2. PROPOSAL - Qualifications & Fees/Pricing*

*Response required

3. Any Additional Information https://government-project.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/196784/702c7dfa-5aaa-4f75-8268-1eb67e4e69da_Non-Collusive_Bid_Statement.pdf