Utility Bill Collection Services

Broward County, Florida is procuring Utility Bill Collection Services through an open-end contract for its Water and Wastewater Services department and various other county agencies. The contract requires vendors to establish and operate a minimum network of 24 geographically distributed payment collection locations throughout the County's service territory at no cost to the County, with specific location requirements in 11 cities and towns including four locations in Fort Lauderdale and two locations each in Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Davie, Dania Beach, Hollywood, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill, North Lauderdale, Oakland Park, and Pembroke Pines/Weston. Key deliverables include real-time payment processing, secure website access for payment lookup and validation, automated ACH fund transfers within two business days of collection, daily summary reporting, and electronic transmission of payment data via SFTP in CSV format. Vendors must charge customers a non-refundable administrative fee not to exceed $3.00 per transaction during the initial contract period, with increases capped at $4.00 per transaction over the agreement term, and must successfully demonstrate automation capabilities through three comprehensive pre-award tests within ten business days. The contract period begins upon award or September 9, 2026 (whichever is later) and terminates three years thereafter, with an option for up to two additional one-year renewal terms subject to satisfactory performance and County discretion. The solicitation was posted March 27, 2026, with a closing date of April 7, 2026, and questions are due by April 6, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. All responses must be submitted electronically through BPRO (Bonfire), and award will be made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder based on total bid price.

The solicitation does not restrict bidding to specific enterprise categories, though Small Business Enterprises (SBEs) and County Business Enterprises (CBEs) certified with Broward County's Office of Economic and Small Business Development may be eligible for procurement preferences if their bids are within ten percent of the lowest responsive, responsible bid from non-certified vendors. Vendors may also qualify for local preference consideration under Broward County Code of Ordinances Section 1-74 if they certify their status as a Local Business, Locally Based Business, or Locally Based Subsidiary with supporting documentation. Vendors must meet comprehensive insurance requirements including Commercial General Liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate), Cyber Liability ($1,000,000 per claim), Professional Liability/Errors and Omissions ($1,000,000 per claim), and Crime and Employee Dishonesty ($500,000 per claim), with Broward County named as an additional insured on all liability policies. All vendors must comply with the County's Enterprise Technology Services Security Requirements, including SOC 2 Type II certification, AES-256 encryption, multi-factor authentication, and 99.99% network uptime guarantees during prime business hours. Vendors must also submit certification forms addressing anti-human trafficking compliance, domestic partnership benefits (for contracts exceeding $100,000), litigation history, vendor questionnaires, and security questionnaires prior to award. No specific budget amount or award value range is disclosed in the solicitation documents, as this is an open-end contract with indefinite quantities and no guaranteed minimum purchase commitment stated.