CITY OF LEMOORE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR CREDIT CARD PROCESSING SERVICE. City of Lemoore Finance Department 119 Fox St Lemoore, CA 93245

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1 CITY OF LEMOORE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR CREDIT CARD PROCESSING SERVICE City of Lemoore Finance Department 119 Fox St Lemoore, CA Notice is hereby given that the City of Lemoore is soliciting proposals from credit card processors who are currently processing transactions from merchants under the International Standards Organization ISO-8583 format and protocol. The schedule for this solicitation is: RFP Issue Date: March 10, 2009 Proposals Due Date: March 20, 2009 Selection Date: March 31, 2009 Notice to Proceed: April 21, 2009 Go Live: June 1, 2009 Firms interested in this project should submit a proposal through: Nancy Cota, Finance Director, City of Lemoore, 119 Fox St., Lemoore, CA Phone: (559) / Fax: (559) ncota@lemoore.com

2 Background REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) CREDIT CARD/DEBIT CARD PAYMENT PROCESSING SERVICES The City of Lemoore does not presently accept credit cards for payment for services. The City of Lemoore is seeking proposals for a credit card/debit card payment processing program to service the Parks and Recreation Department. General Requirements All Responders are bound by the deadline and location requirements of this RFP. Responders are responsible for all costs incurred in the preparation and submission of the proposals, demonstrations, interviews, preparation of responses to questions, requests for additional information, contract discussions, or for anything in any way related to this RFP. The City of Lemoore is not liable for any costs incurred by the Responder in response to this RFP and the Responder, including all related parties, disclaims and voluntarily and knowingly waives any and all rights to reimbursement for any such costs. Late proposals will not be considered. The City of Lemoore reserves the right to reject any or all responses or any portion thereof and to select the response(s) which, in its sole discretion, it judges to be in the best interest of the City. The City of Lemoore reserves the right to cancel or modify this RFP. There is no guarantee that the City of Lemoore will place the requested services under contract. The City of Lemoore reserves the right to investigate the qualifications of any Responder under consideration, including proposed subcontractors and parties otherwise related to the Responder and require confirmation of information furnished by a Responder, or require additional evidence of experience and qualifications to provide the services or otherwise discharge the obligations required by this RFP. The City of Lemoore reserves the right to disclose information contained in proposals to the public, subject to confidentiality statutes. All materials submitted with the response will become the property of City of Lemoore. No materials submitted will be returned to the Responder. The City of Lemoore reserves the right to approve or disapprove of particular subcontractors, joint venture partners, or other proposed team members. The City of Lemoore reserves the right to evaluate responses in terms of the best interests of the City, applying criteria provided in this RFP and any other criteria the City, in its sole discretion, deems pertinent.

3 The City of Lemoore reserves the right to accept other than the lowest cost proposal based upon an evaluation of all aspects of the response. The preferred Responder will be asked to prepare a contract for services to the City of Lemoore. The City will review and negotiate with the preferred responder on the terms of the contract. All responses must remain valid for a minimum period of ninety (90) days after the response due date. Responses may not be modified or withdrawn by the Responder during this period of time except in accordance with this RFP and with written permission granted by the City of Lemoore. Any response may be withdrawn in writing prior to the date and time set for receipt of responses. The Responder must certify, in writing, that as of the date of its execution of its proposal, it has no tax liabilities or other City of Lemoore obligations. The Responder s obligations pursuant to these provisions are ongoing from and after the effective date of the proposal through the termination date thereof. Accordingly, the Responder shall have an obligation to inform City of Lemoore if, at any time during the term of the proposal, it becomes delinquent in the payment of taxes, or other State or City of Lemoore obligations, or if it or any of its subcontractors are suspended or debarred by the State, the federal government, or any other state or governmental entity. Such notification shall be made within fifteen calendar (15) days of the date of suspension or debarment. The failure of the Responder to notify City of Lemoore of its suspension or debarment by the State of California, any other local, state, or the federal government shall constitute an event of default of the proposal with City of Lemoore. The selected Responder will be the sole point of contact concerning all contractual matters for the duration of the contract term. All members of a delivery team shall certify to this requirement. Information Provided by City of Lemoore Responders are solely responsible for conducting their own independent research, due diligence, or other work necessary for the preparation of responses, negotiation of contracts, and the subsequent purchase and/or delivery of services pursuant to any contract. The City of Lemoore takes no responsibility for the completeness or the accuracy of any information presented in the RFP or otherwise distributed or made available during this selection process or during the term of any subsequent contract. Questions and Addenda All questions regarding this RFP shall only be directed to Nancy Cota, (559) , Finance Director, ncota@lemoore.com. If it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFP, an amendment will be issued to all registered Responders.

4 Submittal of Responses Responses must be received, date stamped, and recorded by the Finance Director s Office by 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time on March 20, Responses received after that time will not be accepted. The response shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope clearly labeled Credit Card Processing. All responses shall be submitted by mail or hand delivered to: City of Lemoore Finance Director 119 Fox St. Lemoore CA Responses will be accepted by at ncota@lemoore.com. After the opening of the responses, a Responder may not correct, modify, or withdraw the price or any other provision of its response in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the City or fair competition. The City of Lemoore may waive minor informalities or allow the Responder to correct them. Responder's Responsibilities At the time of the opening of response, it will be presumed that each Responder has read and is thoroughly familiar with the scope of services to be performed under this RFP. The Responder agrees that, if a contract is executed with the City of Lemoore, the Responder shall make no claim against the City because of any estimate or statement made by any employees, agents, or consultants of the City which may prove to be erroneous in any respect. Basis of Procurement This RFP and any contract(s) that may result shall be in accordance with appropriate laws, ordinances, and regulations of the United States Government and the State of California. Specifications City of Lemoore envisions a system that can be implemented within the Parks and Recreation Department, and is accessible to residents via the City s website. The City will give preference to any system that shall not charge any system, transaction or credit card fees to the City. There is no guarantee of a minimum transaction/dollar value. Requirements: The total of the funds due the City shall be delivered to the assigned City account without charge. If Responder charges fees, a list of all associated fees including all system, transaction or credit card fees must be individually identified and segregated,

5 including various thresholds associated with varying dollar amounts and fees/fines associated with the return of a deposit from a credit card and/or debit card. The City must have the option of renewal of the contract after one year. The Responder must be able to redirect City residents, via the City s Website, to a secured website where transactions for Parks & Recreation services may take place. The system shall provide a confirmation of the transaction to the card user. The system must use the highest level of encryption and a secured private network. Reliability of the system is of the essence. Responder will list equipment available to the City s staff for swiping purposes, including portable credit card swipe machines that capture data and may be uploaded in the absence of a wireless network. The system shall provide detailed daily transaction logs/reports that meet the requirements of the City. Monthly, quarterly and yearly summary reports are required and must meet City requirements. There must be timely deposits and settlements of funds to the assigned City account. These times must meet the legal and/or procedural requirements of the City. The transaction file shall contain all of a day's transactions up to an agreed upon time (e.g. 5:00 p.m.). All transaction after that agree upon time shall appear in the next day's transaction file. Responder shall make the transaction file available to the City agencies no later than 8:00 a.m., Pacific Time on the following day. The file shall reside on computer equipment ("Transaction File Server") that is protected from unauthorized access by means of a firewall. The City's access to the files shall be a password protected, 128-bit encrypted, non-degradable, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), connection. Upon request of the City and at the expense of Responder, Responder shall agree to have annual security audits conducted by a third party who shall be chosen by the City. Responder shall retain authorization logs and transaction records for such period of time as required by applicable law, regulations, and agency's policies. The Responder shall establish and maintain adequate records of all expenditures incurred under the Contract. All records shall be kept in accordance with generally accepted accounting procedures. All procedures shall be in accordance with federal, state and local ordinances. The City shall have the right at any time upon ten days prior written notice to inspect Responder s transaction records for City Charges and associated Responder Fees. Any such inspection shall be made during regular business hours and comply with any reasonable security and confidentiality procedures of Responder. Responder shall provide the City with the capability to securely access, via password-protected site, to real-time transaction information. It is desired, but not required, that the Responders tracking system be compatible with the Pentamation, the City s accounting software. All liability and indemnification provisions in cases of Credit Card/Identity Theft must be included in the Responders bid proposals.

6 CUSTOMER SUPPORT CENTER ("CSC") REQUIRMENTS ATTENDED TELEPHONE SUPPORT: Responder shall provide a Customer Support Center ("CSC") that Customers may call. The CSC shall have the capability to answer questions from Customers and the City directly pertaining to the services provided by Responder hereunder. The CSC shall also have the capability to direct Customers to the appropriate City resources for non-billing issues. The CSC shall have the following minimum requirements: Toll free phone number(s) for access to CSC attendants and/or IVR services. Attended phones from 8am-9 p.m. Pacific time, 7 days a week. CSC shall meet or exceed industry standard performance metrics for service levels including but not limited to the number of busy signals, average time that a call is placed on hold, average number of calls resolved on the first call, and callback times. Self-serve options to Customers via a website and/or IVR. Secure access to real-time transaction data, as necessary to research a given transaction. Maintain a log of all calls received. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS CONFIDENTIALITY: Responder acknowledges that some of the data it may become privy to in the performance of this Agreement is of a confidential nature and Responder shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure that no such confidential information is disseminated or left exposed to unauthorized access by it or its employees. Responder agrees to observe complete confidentiality with respect to all aspects of any confidential information, proprietary data and/or trade secrets and any parts thereof, whether such contents are the City's or other manufacturer's, vendor's or distributor's whereby Responder or any Responder's personnel may gain access while engaged by the City or while on City premises. The restrictions herein shall survive the termination of this Agreement for any reason and shall continue in full force and effect and shall be binding upon the Responder or its agents, employees, successors, assigns, subcontractors, or any party claiming an interest in this Agreement on behalf of or under the rights of Responder following any termination. Responder shall advise all Responders agents, employees, successors, assigns and subcontractors that are engaged by the City of the restrictions, present and continuing, set forth herein. Responder shall defend and incur all costs, if any, for actions which arise as a result of noncompliance by Responder, his agents, employees, successors, assigns and subcontractors regarding the restrictions herein. SECURE STORAGE/TRANSMISSION OF DATA: All Customer transactions transmitted over the Internet must be through an encrypted transmission using 128-bit, non-degradable, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption. All Responder's systems used in conjunction with providing the service to the City shall be protected by industry standard devices (e.g. firewalls, etc) and continuously monitored for unusual access activities using industry standard intrusion detection software and procedures.

7 SECURE PHYSICAL LOCATIONS: Any information and/or data obtained by the Responder by the City or City's Customers shall be stored in a place physically secure from access by unauthorized persons. Responder shall take every reasonable precaution to ensure that all buildings, rooms, storage areas, and containers ("physical locations") used by Responder in providing the product(s) and service(s) under this Contract shall be secure and equipped with reasonable precautions against damage. SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS CITY AGENCY SUPPORT SERVICES: Upon request of the City and at mutually agreed upon prices, Responder shall make relevant training, consulting, and support services available to City agencies. Responder's technical personnel shall be available to assist the City in implementation, migration, review, and organizational improvement of existing systems and to advise on programming, development, and implementation of new systems. Describe the technical and non-technical support services you will make available to the City agencies. The Responder shall have an Account Representative who shall be the primary point of contact between the Responder and the City. OTHER REQUIREMENTS, TERMS, AND CONDITIONS EXPERIENCED VENDOR: Responder shall have acceptable experience of successfully providing the services described in this RFP to clients whom have similar requirements, scope of service(s), and quantities as those of the City. The City shall be the sole judge as to what is acceptable experience. ACCOMMODATION OF DISABILITIES: Responder shall provide reasonable accommodations to make their services available to qualified individuals with disabilities. CHANGE OF RESPONDER: Upon termination or expiration of service, Responder shall continue providing acceptable services during any transition period not to exceed 120 days. Responder shall agree to assist an Agency with the transition planning to a different Responder. PAYMENT TERMS AND INVOICING: The City normally will pay properly submitted Responder invoices within thirty (30) days of receipt providing goods and/or services have been delivered, installed (if required), and accepted as specified. Invoices presented for payment must be submitted in accordance with instructions contained on the purchase order including reference to purchase order number and submittal to the correct address for processing. A good faith dispute creates an exception to prompt payment. TAXES: The City is exempt from payment of all federal tax and State of California and local taxes. APPLICABLE LAW: This Contract shall be governed under the laws of the State of California. The Responder shall at all times comply with and observe all federal and

8 State laws, local charter, and ordinances which are in effect during the period of this Contract and which in any manner affect the work or its conduct. NONDISCRIMINATION / AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Contracts estimated to be over twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) require the submission of a written affirmative action plan by the Responder. WARRANTY OF OPERATION: Responder warrants that services provided hereunder shall meet the specifications set forth in this Contract, and Responder shall without charge to the City make such additions, modifications, or adjustments to the services as may be necessary to keep the services in accordance with such specifications. CANCELLATION: The City reserves the right to cancel any service in whole or in part without penalty due to non appropriation of funds or for failure of the Responder to comply with terms, conditions, and specifications of this contract.