Request for Proposal General Financial Advisor Services

San Bernardino County's Finance and Administration Department has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP No. CAO126-CAO4-6153) seeking an independent municipal financial advisor to provide comprehensive services to the Board of Supervisors and staff. The primary scope includes capital planning optimization, debt management, refunding analysis, rating agency coordination, and financing document review. Critically, proposers must be independent municipal advisory firms registered with both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Municipal Securities and Rulemaking Board (MSRB), with no pending investigations or disciplinary actions in the past five years. The RFP evaluation will weight qualifications and experience at 40%, technical review at 35%, cost/revenue at 15%, and references at 10%. Key dates include a deadline for questions on December 9, 2025, and proposal submission deadline of January 13, 2026 at 4:00 pm, with electronic submissions required through the County's ePro system. The contract is anticipated to be awarded in May 2026, with a five-year term from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2031, serving the County Government Center in San Bernardino.

The RFP includes a local preference policy providing a five percent cost advantage to qualified local vendors. Proposers must provide comprehensive insurance certificates, including commercial general liability ($1,000,000 minimum), professional liability ($1,000,000 per claim/$2,000,000 aggregate), automobile liability ($1,000,000 minimum), workers' compensation, and cyber liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate). Hourly rates for on-call advisory and pre-transaction services must be submitted on Attachment E, with no overtime or holiday rates permitted. The contract is non-exclusive, with the County reserving the right to award to multiple proposers or reject all proposals. While specific funding sources and budget ranges are not detailed in the RFP, proposers will be required to submit hourly rates for services. Potential vendors should note the strict registration requirements and the comprehensive nature of financial advisory services expected by the county, which will involve close collaboration with the Board of Supervisors and county staff.