REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. Employee Benefits Brokerage and Consulting Services. Duckett Creek Sanitary District

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1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Employee Benefits Brokerage and Consulting Services Duckett Creek Sanitary District INVITATION Duckett Creek Sanitary District is seeking a benefit brokerage/consulting firm to perform a full range of services related to the design, implementation, maintenance and improvement of Duckett Creek s employee benefits insurance program. Interested and qualified brokers/consultants are invited to submit proposals which will be accepted until Monday May 16, at 4:30 p.m. Proposals should be addressed to: Julie O Guinn Duckett Creek Sanitary District 3550 Hwy K O Fallon, Missouri oguinn@duckettcreek.com Please provide three bound or hard copy proposals and one electronic (pdf) copy of your proposal. SCHEDULE: Activity Date Time RFP Distribution Tuesday, May 03, 2016 RFP Responses Due Monday, May 16, :30 p.m. Open Meeting with RFP Candidates Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Starting 8:30 a.m. Proposal Review May 18th through May 23rd Selection of Broker/Consultant Tuesday, May 24, 2016 End of Day BACKGROUND OF DUCKETT CREEK SANITARY DISTRICT The District occupies approximately 54 square miles, one quarter of the area of St. Charles County, and encompasses a portion of the cities of St. Charles, St. Peters, O'Fallon, Weldon Spring, Dardenne Prairie and Cottleville. The District serves approximately one-third of St. Charles County s 378,474 residents. The District operates approximately 652 miles of sanitary sewers and 47 lift stations. Wastewater treatment is provided by one 6.5 and one 7.0 million gallon per day (MGD) capacity activated-sludge secondary treatment facilities. The District also has a treatment facility servicing 440 acres in the Missouri bluffs area and three package type treatment plants known as membrane bioreactor (MBR) plants. The District currently has forty four benefit-eligible full time employees. The District offers the following benefits: health, dental, vision, short term disability, long term disability, life insurance, AD&D,

2 Voluntary life and AD&D. A benefit summary will be provided along with each insurance benefit s plan summary. Current renewal is October 1 st for medical insurance and December 1 st for all other policies. SCOPE OF SERVICES Duckett Creek is looking for a benefits partner that can provide professional, highly qualified benefits guidance and services. This includes, but is not limited to: Develop short and long range employee benefit goals and strategies. Partner with Human Resources administrative team to administer all group insurance plans including responding to questions from and providing information to District staff and providing other benefits-related advisory services throughout the plan year. Prepare the annual renewal process obtaining proposals from qualified insurance carriers who specialize in group insurance programs. Provide Duckett Creek with an analysis of proposed alternatives and assist with the process of selecting the most favorable annual renewal options. Inform Duckett Creek of local and national benefit trends and provide benchmark data to help calibrate program offerings with employee and employer costs compared to similar organizations. Meet with and provide reports and presentations to Duckett Creek representatives when requested: 1. Administrative Staff - compliance meeting and planning meetings annually 2. Employee insurance committee meetings annually 3. Board Minimum of 1-2 meetings annually Assist Duckett Creek with the implementation and communication of new programs or changes to existing programs including attendance and presenting information at Open Enrollment meetings and other employee meetings as requested. Work closely with the administrative team to develop and execute the benefits communication strategy. Partner with Duckett Creek to effectively manage the vendors that provide insurance or related services to Duckett Creek. Act as advisor, educator and compliance resource on issues including but not limited to discrimination testing, COBRA, HIPAA, Medicare, FMLA, HSA plans, HRA plans, FSA plans, Wellness programs and the Affordable Care Act. Research and report any new developments in employee benefits on an ongoing basis. Recommend innovative ideas and new products, programs and services to ensure a competitive, valued and cost effective benefit program. Introduce proven programs and ideas to manage healthcare costs while providing competitive benefit program. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS The proposer shall have at least ten (10) consecutive years of experience in Missouri providing brokerage and benefits consulting services to public entities. The firm shall have provided such services to jurisdictions whose service populations are similar in size as the District s.

3 The proposer must be legally authorized to do business in the State of Missouri and shall meet all licensing and other requirements imposed by State and Federal laws and regulations. The proposer shall have experienced management staff, possessing comprehensive knowledge of benefit administration pertaining to public employers. The proposer shall possess knowledge of applicable laws, regulations and codes and shall be familiar with local conditions and trends relating to group insurance in Missouri. Please complete answers to the questions provided below: 1. Describe your firm s history and background providing benefit insurance brokerage services. 2. Please provide information about key personnel who will be assigned to the District s account. Describe their areas of responsibly, education, experience and professional qualifications in those areas with emphasis on public sector organizations. 3. Describe your organization s approach and philosophy in the renewal process particularly medical insurance. Who in your company will be involved in this process? Please be prepared to share examples of success in negotiated renewals. 4. Describe your underwriting and actuarial resources. 5. If your firm is selected, how would you propose the transition of our account? 6. Describe your approach to supporting our programs during the plan year. 7. Does your company provide and/or support wellness initiatives? If so, discuss expertise in providing wellness strategies and wellness guidance to clients. 8. Do you provide employee communication services for your clients employees? If so, please describe your expertise in providing benefit related communication assistance and guidance to clients and provide two examples. 9. Describe the process that is used to assist clients in creating an employee communication strategy. 10. Do you provide customers benefits guides or annual enrollment materials for your clients? If so, please provide a sample. 11. How do you support your clients in ensuring their employee benefits programs remain compliant with all federal and state laws? What is your process or procedure with regard to compliance notices? 12. Describe your standard response times to client inquires. 13. Describe what makes your firm uniquely qualified to work on our account. 14. Based on the information provided and the services requested what is your proposed fee(s). Please also advise a fee (if additional fee) to implement and manage a wellness program for the District. 15. Please advise if your company meets or can meet the following insurance guidelines and can provide proof of insurance prior to commencement of service: LIABILITY AND INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS 1. As a condition of the award of any contract or grant in excess of five thousand dollars by Duckett Creek to a business entity, the business entity shall, by sworn affidavit affirm its enrollment and participation in a federal work authorization program (EW-Verify) with respect to the employees working in connection with the contracted services. Every such business entity shall sign an

4 affidavit affirming that it does not knowingly employ any person who is an unauthorized alien in connection with the contracted services [RSMO (2)]. Any entity contracting with Duckett Creek shall only be required to provide the referenced affidavit on an annual basis. A copy of the affidavit is included in this proposal request. 2. Public Record all bids submitted become public record and may be reviewed by anyone requesting to do so after the award has been made. 3. Proposal Rejection The District reserves the right to reject any and all proposals. 4. Expenses. The District is not liable for any cost incurred by the proposer prior to issuing a contract. 5. News Releases News releases pertaining to this RFP, other services or the project to which it relates, will not be made without the prior approval by, and then only in coordination with, the District s Executive Director. 6. Legal Requirements Any contract ensuing from this RFP will be subject to all State of Missouri and local law as well as District policies and practices. 7. Legal Relationship The relationship of the Consultant to the District shall be that of an independent contractor and no principal-agent or employer-employee relationship is created by this agreement. The Consultant shall not contract any work under this agreement without written approval of the District. 8. The Consultant warrants that no agreement has been made with any person or agency to solicit or secure this contract upon an understanding for a gratuity, percentage, brokerage, or contingent fee in any form to any person excepting bona fide employees of the Consultant or bona fide established commercial or sales agencies. For breach of this warranty, the District may, by written notice, terminate the right of the Consultant to proceed under this contract and shall be entitled to pursue the same remedies against the Consultant as they could pursue in the event of a breach of this contract. The rights or remedies of District as provided in this paragraph shall not be exclusive and are in addition to any other rights as provided by law. 9. To preserve the integrity of District employees and board members and to maintain public confidence in the RFP process, the District prohibits the solicitation or acceptance of anything of value by District employees or board members from any person seeking to initiate a business relationship with the District. The offeror shall not pay any salaries, commissions, fees or make any payments or rebates to any employee, board member or elected official of the District or their designees. It is the offeror s responsibility to include in their proposal a notification to the District of any principals in the company, their spouses or children who are employed by the District, and of any other possible conflicts of interest that exists and the nature of that conflict. The District reserves the right to disqualify an offeror or cancel the contract award if any association disclosed to the District could either give the appearance of a conflict or cause the objectivity of the work to be performed by the offeror. The District s determination regarding any questions of a conflict of interest shall be final. 10. The consultant agrees not to assign, transfer, convey, sublet or otherwise dispose of this agreement without the previous consent and written approval of the District.

5 11. Cancellation If services cannot be provided as requested, the District may obtain services with another Consultant without being in breach of contract. Cancellation of contract must be given in writing seven calendar days prior to termination date. 12. Indemnification The Consultant does hereby agree at all times hereafter to defend, indemnify and save harmless the District, its appointed officials and employees, against all liability, loss, damages, costs or expenses which the District may, hereinafter, sustain, incur or be required to pay by reason of any personal injury, death, property loss or damage sustained and suffered by any person because of the intentional or negligent acts or omissions of the Consultant, its officers, employees, or representatives while performing under the terms of this contract. However, the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to liabilities, losses, charges, costs or expenses caused by or resulting from the intentional or negligent acts or omissions of the District, or any of the officers, employees or representatives thereof. 13. Insurance. The consultant s insurance shall be primary as respects the District. Any other insurance maintained by the District shall be excess and not contributing insurance with the consultant s insurance. The following are the insurance requirements that will be included in the contract executed based on this RFP. MINIMUM LIMITS OF INSURANCE Workers compensation Employer s Liability and Professional Liability: Statutory WC limits as required by the Statutes of the State of Missouri, (or a qualified self-insurer) and Employers Liability in an amount of no less than $1.0 million. In addition, professional liability, also known as errors and omissions coverage, in the amount of $1,000,000 is required. Automobile, General liability and Property Damage: Minimum amounts of automobile, general liability, and property damage insurance coverage during the life of the contract: $3,000,000 for bodily injury and property damage per occurrence for automobile and general liability. This combined single limit of $3,000,000 can be accomplished through the use of a combination of primary and umbrella coverage. Automobile coverage must include non-owned vehicles.

6 AFFIDAVIT OF WORK AUTHORIZATION The proposer/contractor who meets the section , RSMo definition of a business entity must complete and return the following Affidavit of Work Authorization. Comes now (name of Business Entity Authorized Representative) as (Position/Title) first being duly sworn on my oath, affirm (Business Entity Name) is enrolled and will continue to participate in the E-Verify federal work authorization program with respect to employees hired after enrollment in the program who are proposed to work in connection with the service related to contract(s) with the District for the duration of the contract(s), if awarded in accordance with subsection 2 of section , RSMo. I also affirm that (Business Entity Name) does not and will note knowingly employ a person who is an unauthorized alien in connection with the contracted services provided to the contract(s) for the duration of the contract(s), if 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. Authorized Representative s Signature Printed Name Title Date Address Subscribed and sworn to me this (day) of (month/year). I am commissioned as a notary public within the County of, (County/State) and my commission expires on (date). Signature of Notary Date