REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS UTILITY BILL PRINTING & MAILING SERVICES PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND TIME: FRIDAY, APRIL 22, :00 p.m. CST SUBMIT PROPOSALS TO: Sheila Smail City Clerk City of Maryville 415 North Market Street P.O. Box 438 Maryville, MO 64468

2 INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND The City of Maryville, MO (the City) is soliciting proposals from qualified vendors to perform utility bill printing, mailing, and e-billing services using professional, high quality, efficient and cost-effective processes. The City of Maryville is the county seat of Nodaway County, and is incorporated as a third-class city under the Missouri statutes. The City encompasses approximately 4.4 square miles and is located in the northwest corner of the state, approximately 95 miles north of Kansas City, Missouri. The City s population is 11,972 according to the 2010 census, and is served by a staff of approximately 81 full time employees. Additional information can be obtained on the City s website at The City provides water and sewer services to approximately 4,000 customers. Each customer is billed on a monthly basis in one cycle, at the end of the month. In addition, the City sends approximately 465 late notice bills each month. Utility bills are printed single-sided on 8.5x11 paper with one perforation, with pre-printed information on the opposite side, and include a return envelope. The City currently uses Tyler Technologies Incode Version 10 for its utility billing software. SCOPE OF SERVICE The Vendor must provide programming and bill design services as required. The design should be able to accommodate the use of graphics and allow for messages. Services must be compatible with the City s billing software and provide means for secure data transmission and confirm receipt of data. The City transmits its data electronically. The Vendor should report non-certified addresses to the City for correction in future billings. The Vendor will be required to print, insert, meter and mail via first class postage, within 24 hours of receipt of the City s FTP file. Confirmation of receipt must be provided. This schedule must be contractually guaranteed. The Vendor shall print bills single-sided with pre-printed information on the opposite side, on a high quality laser printer on 8.5x11 white laser paper. Bills will be printed in one color plus black and have a perforated remittance stub for customers to return with payments. The billing design shall include an appropriate bar code scan line and an OCR line for remittance processing. Envelopes should be a double window (#10) that will allow for the outgoing address in the bottom, with the return address and the City logo in the top window. Payment stubs will be designed with the payment address revealed when inserted into the vendor provided return window envelope #9 (which should be security tinted on the inside). The Vendor must support bill insert services, in which the Vendor can print inserts and include with utility bill statements. City departments may occasionally need special inserts printed. These services should be charged at a per unit fee and be based on the insert specifications. Insert prices must be quoted separately prior to inclusion. 1

3 The Vendor must pre-process data for address certification and pre-sort for lowest first class rate. Software used to pre-sort must be USPS approved. Any non-certified addresses should be reported to the City within 30 days for correction in future billings. The Vendor must be capable of providing combined multiple statements for one customer into one envelope; also conditional exclusion of return envelopes for customers with zero or credit balances, and for bank draft customers. The Vendor must offer e-billing services. The Vendor must provide access to PDF images of the bills. The City wants to have the ability to view, print, fax or images of the bills sent by mail for a specified period of time (a minimum of 90 days) after mailing. The Vendor shall provide the City with an accounting of postage charges on a monthly basis, detailing the total number of printed bills, bills mailed, and the cost billed to the City for postage and services. The Vendor may not subcontract any segment or service covered herein. OPTIONAL SERVICES The City may, during the term of this contract, desire to purchase additional services from the Vendor, such as e-payments, in order to enhance the level of service it provides to its customers. Please list any other services that could be provided and list those in a manner readily distinguishable from the prices quoted for document printing and mailing services. DESCRIPTION OF PROCEDURAL AND IMPLEMENTATION COSTS Prices shall include all costs associated with performing the requirements stated in the specifications and there can be no additional charges for jammed/wasted materials or any other overhead. Please include all costs that are associated with the utility billing statement processing services and any other costs that may be associated with implementing this process. PRICING Pricing proposals must be detailed including the per item fee. The Vendor shall include all pricing for initial deployment and on-going costs. Pricing must include all costs for labor, hardware, software, hosting, testing and any other costs to be charged. Proposals will not be selected solely based on cost. PREPARATION OF PROPOSAL Those wishing to submit a proposal for evaluation are to follow the proposal format instructions defined below. Vendors must respond to all requirements in a straightforward and concise manner to the maximum extent possible. Emphasis should be on completeness and clarity of content and should not include any elaborate or promotional material. Proposals received that either do not follow these requirements, or contain insufficient information for a meaningful 2

4 evaluation may result in disqualification from further consideration. The conformance of the proposal will be judged solely by the City. The Vendor needs to provide information explaining how they generate utility bills and what would be the desired format of submitting a draft copy of a bill and other proofs. Provide examples with submission or the proposal. All proposals must contain the original signature of the person authorized to sign the proposal. Faxed proposals will not be considered. It is the responsibility of all vendors to examine the entire Request for Proposal package and seek clarification of any item or requirement that may not be clear and to check all responses for accuracy before submitting a proposal. Negligence in preparing a proposal confers no right of withdrawal after the due time and date. SUBMITTING YOUR PROPOSAL To facilitate evaluation of proposals, the original proposal and two (2) identical copies, plus one (1) electronic copy shall be submitted to the City of Maryville. The original shall be clearly marked original. All proposals must be in a sealed package and clearly marked Sealed Proposal Utility Bill Printing & Mailing Services Proposals must be received in the office of the City Clerk for the City of Maryville no later than 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 22, Late proposals will not be considered. Submissions shall be addressed and delivered to: Sheila Smail City Clerk City of Maryville 415 North Market Street P.O. Box 438 Maryville, MO Questions concerning this RFP should be directed to Denise Town, Finance Director, by phone at , or at townden@maryville.org. The proposal, at a minimum, shall include the following information: Provide a brief background and description of the vendor s qualifications. Confirmation that the vendor has a minimum three (3) years of experience in providing current services to other similar organizations. List of three (3) municipal utility references (preferably of similar size and scope to the City) with point of contact names and phone numbers for which the vendor has provided similar services for a period of at least 12 months (Tyler Technologies Incode users are preferred). 3

5 Provide a description of the method of file transfer, and a brief description and sample of the bill, which incorporates the City s logo. Describe how the City will be billed and how services are billed, including supplies, programming, stocking supplies, postage, additional inserts, etc. Specify the location and description of the bulk mail center that will be utilized as the primary mail drop off point for the bills. In addition, designate an alternative facility to utilize if necessary to assure an uninterrupted billing service to the City. Describe the timeline from when the file is received to when the customer receives the bill in their mailbox. Provide a schedule of fees. All fees need to be listed and priced separately. If a fee is not identified on the schedule, please add it. If a fee is not applicable or there is no charge, put N/A or N/C. Provide detailed sample invoices, listing all items, including postage. If charges for multiple items are combined, please identify and state the individual items that comprise the joint line item. EVALUATION CRITERIA An evaluation of each proposal will be performed by City staff. It is anticipated the selection recommendation will be presented to the City Council for their approval at the City Council meeting on May 9, The recommendation to the City Council for the successful Vendor will be based on the following: Experience, capacity and capability to provide the services in a professional, timely, and secure manner. Cost of providing the services. Information obtained through references checks. TERMS AND CONDITIONS The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, in whole or in part, to waive any and all informalities, and to disregard all non-conforming, non-responsive or conditional proposals. The City reserves the right to request additional information and/or clarification from any or all vendors. Any proposals submitted become the property of the City, and as such are public records subject to Missouri Sunshine Law and public review. This RFP does not commit the City to award a contract. 4

6 When responding to this RFP, please follow all instructions, as failure to do so could result in early disqualification. All bidders shall comply with the requirements of Section RSMo, participation in a federal work authorization program. The attached Affidavit of Work Authorization form shall be completed and made a part of the bid proposal. The Vendor on behalf of itself and its employees agrees to keep confidential all records and other information with respect to the City and its customers. It is anticipated the successful Vendor will be awarded a contract for an initial three-year period, with the option to extend the contract for two additional one-year periods. The contract agreement shall be construed and governed in accordance with the laws of the State of Missouri. Any controversy or claim arising out of or in relation to this contract, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association at a hearing in Nodaway County, Missouri. The contract may be terminated by either party by giving written notice to the other party no later than one-hundred twenty (120) calendars days before the proposed termination date. No individual shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefit of, subjected to discrimination under, or denied employment in the administration of or in connection with this contract agreement because of age, sex, race, color, religion, creed, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, national origin, honorably discharged veteran or military status, the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability, or use of a service animal by a person with disabilities. 5

7 SCHEDULE OF FEES FOR UTILITY BILL PRINTING & MAILING SERVICES Unit price per utility bill processed (includes processing, sorting, printing, folding, inserting, mailing, envelope, return envelope and delivery to USPS) Charge for additional bill inserts Charge for text on back of utility bill Postage rate per piece Programming fee per hour for initial set-up Programming fee per hour for changes after initial set-up Unit price per utility bill for web-based online PDF viewing of bill mailed Unit price per utility bill for suppression of return envelope Unit price per utility bill for other special handling (please describe) Unit price per utility bill for e-billing option Unit price for customer e-payment solution On a separate document, please provide a price list for any additional services not listed above, or that could be considered in the future by the City. Respectfully Submitted, By: Typed Name: Title: Company: Address:, Authorized Officer Telephone Number: Address: 6

8 AFFIDAVIT OF WORK AUTHORIZATION Comes now as first being duly sworn on (NAME) (OFFICE HELD) my oath, affirm is enrolled and will continue to participate in a (COMPANY NAME) federal work authorization program in respect to employees that will work in connection with the contracted services related to for the duration of the contract, if awarded in (BID/SFS NUMBER) accordance with RSMo Chapter (2). I also affirm that (COMPANY NAME) does not and will not knowingly employ a person who is an unauthorized alien in connection with the contracted services related to for the duration of the contract, if (BID/SFS NUMBER) awarded. In Affirmation thereof, the facts stated above are true and correct (The undersigned understands that false statements made in this filing are subject to the penalties provided under Section , RSMo). Signature (person with authority) Printed Name Title Date **************************** Subscribed and sworn to before me this of. I am (DAY) (MONTH, YEAR) commissioned as a notary public within the County of, State of (NAME OF COUNTY), and my commission expires on. (NAME OF STATE) (DATE) 7