Department User Fee Study

The County of San Mateo's Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections (ACRE) Department is issuing a Request for Proposals for consulting services to conduct a comprehensive Department User Fee Study. The procurement seeks qualified firms to evaluate all user fees associated with Assessor, County Clerk, Recorder, and Elections services and develop recommended cost-based fee updates and a revised Master Fee Schedule. Key deliverables include a detailed review of existing fees, financial data collection and analysis, cataloging of current fee activities, identification of potential new fee services, departmental interviews, fee modeling, benchmarking against comparable jurisdictions, and presentation of findings to County officials. Proposers must meet minimum qualifications including at least four years of experience providing similar consulting services within the last seven years and designate an account manager with a minimum of two years of relevant experience. The evaluation criteria assigns points to project approach (30 points), firm qualifications (25 points), team qualifications (20 points), and price (25 points), with the County reserving the right to select the responsive, responsible proposer offering the overall best value rather than the lowest-priced proposal. The question submission deadline is March 16, 2026, at 5:00 PM, proposals are due March 30, 2026, at 5:00 PM via the eProcurement portal, and interviews are tentatively scheduled for April 13, 2026, with a one-year contract term and no renewal options mentioned.

The RFP includes local preference provisions offering additional evaluation points (5-10 percent) for Local Businesses, Local Non-Profits, and Small/Micro Businesses or Non-Profits certified under San Mateo County Ordinance Code Chapter 2.89. Proposers must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), provide a minimum of three references preferably from other public entities, and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws including the Living Wage Ordinance and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. The procurement is governed by either the Under $200,000 or Over $200,000 Standard Contract Template depending on the final award amount, both of which require workers' compensation insurance, general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence, and professional liability insurance of $1,000,000, with all work products becoming the property of San Mateo County upon completion or termination. No specific incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified, and no existing infrastructure or technology integration requirements are mentioned in the available documentation. Although no specific award value or budget range is provided in the RFP materials, the availability of two contract templates—one for amounts under $200,000 and one for amounts exceeding $200,000—suggests the County has not predetermined the anticipated contract value.