Water, Sewer, and Stormwater Comprehensive Cost of Service and Utility Rate Design Study

The City of Westerville, located in Delaware County, Ohio, is seeking professional consulting services to conduct a comprehensive Water, Sewer, and Stormwater Comprehensive Cost of Service and Utility Rate Design Study. The procurement requires a qualified consultant with a minimum of five years of experience in public sector utility rate studies to perform a detailed financial analysis of the city's three utility systems. Key deliverables include a comprehensive financial model projecting ten years of revenues, operational expenditures, capital improvement costs, reserve funding, and debt service costs. The consultant must produce cost of service analyses by customer class, comparative rate analysis against neighboring utilities, capacity and impact fee recommendations, and develop a stormwater utility ordinance with implementation plan. Proposal submissions are due by January 22, 2026, at 5:00 PM EST through the Bonfire procurement portal, with a non-mandatory pre-proposal conference scheduled for January 8, 2026, at 11:00 AM EST via Google Meet. Written questions are due by January 9, 2026, at 5:00 PM EST. The evaluation criteria will be weighted as follows: experience and qualifications (30 points), capability and project approach (50 points), responsiveness (10 points), and cost (10 points).

The RFP does not specify any specific set-aside designations or restrictions for disadvantaged enterprises. No incumbent vendor information is provided in the documents. The consultant must maintain professional liability insurance of at least $1 million per claim and $2 million aggregate, as well as liability and property damage insurance of $1 million per person and $2 million per accident. While no specific contract dollar amount is identified, the city anticipates contract commencement on or about March 1, 2026, with preliminary findings due by May 31, 2026, and final deliverables due by June 30, 2026. The procurement timeline includes proposal evaluation on January 29, 2026, with presentations and interviews occurring between January 30 and February 13, 2026. Contract negotiations and award are expected between February 14 and February 28, 2026. The consultant will be required to provide GIS-based impervious area mapping, fee structure recommendations, and conduct rate workshops for City staff.