Request for Proposal Printing & Mailing Services Date of Issue: 03/24/2015 For period beginning: 05/01/2015 Due Date/Time for Receipt of Proposals: 04/06/2015 @ 2:00 p.m. (EDT)
RFP Number: 201501 Date of RFP Opening: April 6, 2015 Time of RFP Opening: 2:00 p.m. (EDT) Location of RFP Opening: s Office 9th Floor 2001 Adams Lane Sarasota, Florida 34237 Objectives The is currently seeking a Request for Proposal (RFP) from prospective vendors for the purpose of creating, processing and distributing the following printing & mailing projects: 1. Sarasota County Notice of Proposed Property Taxes and Proposed or Adopted Non-Ad Valorem Assessments 2. Homestead Exemption Receipts Term of Contract The contract will be for a term of three (3) years and may be renewed for up to two (2) additional years at the option of the. The contract term will begin May 1, 2015. The reserves the right to cancel this contract, provided 30 days written notice is given. The will remain obligated to pay for services rendered prior to such termination. Proposal Response Responses to this request can be submitted by electronic mail or U.S. mail as instructed below: Electronic Submission: DPerkins@SC-PA.com Subject: Bulk Mailing and Printing Services Request for Proposal # 201501 All email submissions should be sent with a Delivery Receipt Confirmation Mail Submissions: Attn: Finance Department 2001 Adams Lane Sarasota, FL 34237 The outside of the envelope containing the proposal must be clearly identified as: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Response must be received no later than 2:00 p.m. (EDT) on Monday, April 6, 2015. Responder shall assume full responsibility for timely delivery of their proposal. Page 2 of 14
STANDARD TERMS, CONDITIONS, AND SCOPE OF SERVICES 1. Calendar of Events Listed below are the dates and times by which the actions noted must be completed. All dates and times are subject to change. Action Date Issue RFP 03/24/2015 Last date to receive questions or request or 04/02/2015 @ 2:00 p.m. (EDT) Clarifications Proposal Due 04/06/2015 @ 2:00 p.m. (EDT) Completion of Evaluation Process 04/20/2015 Notification to Selected Vendor 04/22/2015 Contract Negotiations 04/23/2015 04/27/2015 Contract Approval 04/29/2015 Contract Start Date 05/01/2015 2. Questions and Additional Information Requests for clarification or additional information should be directed to: Donna Perkins DPerkins@SC-PA.com All inquiries must be e-mailed. No inquiries or questions will be entertained over the phone or fax. All questions submitted will be responded to by e-mail. If you would like to receive a list of all the questions submitted by all vendors and the Property Appraiser s responses, please submit your e- mail address to the individual listed above. A copy of all questions and answers will be forwarded to all who have requested to receive them. No questions or request for further clarification received after 04/02/2015 @ 2:00 p.m. (EDT) shall be responded to. 3. Submittal Requirements The response to this RFP must be on the standard forms provided in this document. Supporting material may also be submitted, however, the decision will be based on the information contained on the standard forms and requested attachments. In addition, Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) Certification must be included. The Property Appraiser reserves the right to request audited financial statements or the most recent annual report. 4. Legal Name The proposal shall clearly indicate the legal name, address, and telephone number of the proposer. The proposal shall be signed in ink and in longhand with the name typed below the signature. When submitted by a corporation, the proposal must be signed with the name of the corporation followed by the name of the State of Incorporation and legal signature of an employee authorized to bind the corporation. 5. Proposal Expenses All proposal preparation expenses are to be borne by the proposer. Page 3 of 14
6. Public Records Responses become Public Records and shall be subject to public disclosure consistent with Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. 7. Reserved Rights The Property Appraiser reserves the right to accept or reject any and/or all proposals, to waive irregularities or informalities in any proposal or in the RFP procedures, and to accept or reject any item or combination of items. Exceptions to any specification must be placed on Response Form C Exceptions and will be considered in the final analysis. 8. Selection Criteria The following criteria will be used during the evaluation process: 1. Complete response to all required items contained on the standard forms; 2. Printing & mailing service costs per identified project; 3. Ability to provide forms and formats as requested (see samples) 4. Ability to meet current and future service requirements; 5. Demonstrated ability to have successfully completed jobs of similar magnitude in the past; 6. Compliance with all federal, state and local regulations; 7. Ability and willingness to conform to unavoidable delays in mailing schedule. The Property Appraiser s intent is to contract with the vendor who, in the sole opinion of the Property Appraiser, is most qualified to perform the printing & mailing services required at the best price. After the Property Appraiser has tentatively selected the successful vendor, a conference may be requested by either party for the purpose of planning and clarification prior to the formal award and contract. At any time during the conference, the Property Appraiser may modify who he has selected. 9. Minimum Criteria Qualified proposing vendors must meet the following minimum criteria in order to have their proposal considered: 1. Vendor submitting a proposal for the printing & mailing of any type of property tax notice must be authorized to transact business in the State of Florida ; 2. Must be CASS certified by the U.S. Postal Service and provide a copy of their certificate; 3. Must have the capability to obtain NCOA (National Change of Address) certification for mailing; 4. Submission of the notarized sworn statement under Section 287.133 Florida Statutes on Public Entity Crimes. 10. Insurance Accompanying this proposal shall be a copy of the proposer s Errors and Omissions Insurance of not less than $1,000,000 and the vendor shall maintain this insurance during the life of any resulting agreement. Page 4 of 14
11. Contract Execution In the event that the vendor to whom the services are awarded does not execute a contract by April 27, 2015, the Property Appraiser may give notice to such vendor of intent to award the contract to the next most qualified vendor or to call for a new RFP and may proceed to act accordingly. The intent and content of this RFP and the response provided by the selected vendor will become an attachment to the final contract. 12. Indemnification The vendor shall indemnify and hold harmless the Property Appraiser s Office, its officials, agents, and employees from and against all claims, actions, damages, fees, fines, penalties, defense costs, suits, or liabilities which may arise out of any act, neglect, error, omission, or default of the successful proposer arising out of or in any way connected with the successful proposer s performance or failure to perform under the terms of any contract resulting from this RFP. 13. Payment Payment, excluding postage cost, will be paid by the Property Appraiser at the completion of each printing & mailing project provided the vendor has issued an accurate written invoice with statistical verification of the charges including the postage expense statements. A check for the estimated postage will be provided at the time of mailing. 14. Taxes The Property Appraiser is exempt from any and all taxes. A tax exempt certificate will be supplied to the successful vendor upon request. 15. Printing & Mailing Projects This RFP addresses two (2) specific and different printing & mailing projects: 1. Sarasota County Notice of Proposed Property Taxes and Proposed or Adopted Non-Ad Valorem Assessments, which are generally mailed mid-august 2. Homestead Exemption Receipts, DR-500, which are generally mailed the end of December. An electronic file of the data for items 1 & 2 will be provided by the Property Appraiser s Office and will be e-mailed, as instructed by the vendor. The size and format of the forms and notices are fixed and cannot be altered, unless approved by the Property Appraiser. Samples of our current forms and notices are supplied and identified in Section Exhibits. Vendors are to use the same weight paper and color combinations in estimating costs (unless otherwise noted). If the vendor would like to provide an alternative form and/or layout, they may do so, in addition to the response based on forms as provided. If a vendor cannot provide the forms as in the samples, it should be noted as an exception, and the alternative then provided. The Property Appraiser may review the alternative provided but may disqualify the response if, in his opinion, the alternative is not in the best interest of the Property Appraiser s Office. Page 5 of 14
Specifics for each project are outlined in the following section of this proposal. If projects are added, deleted, or modified based on legislative, technological or procedural changes, the Property Appraiser may amend the existing contract to incorporate the changes. The vendor will use the least cost postage for all mailings. 16. Designated Account Executive and Project Manager The proposing vendor will designate an account executive and alternate. The designated account executive must have the authority to make timely decisions and to contractually bind the vendor based on oral statements relating to capacity, ability and scheduling. The project manager may be the same person as the account executive or may be another individual based on the nature of the printing & mailing project. The vendor may change any of these individuals at their discretion with at least 2 weeks notification to the Property Appraiser. 17. Property Appraiser designative representative The Property Appraiser will designate a representative to be the primary account liaison. 18. Approximate Counts Response Form B Proposed Item Costs indicates an estimate of the number of documents for the year. This number is the Property Appraiser s best estimate of the average volume - based on historical data - and in no way guarantees these as minimum or maximum volumes. Vendor shall thoroughly examine and be familiar with the specifications contained in this RFP. The failure or omission of vendor to receive or examine this document shall in no way relieve the vendor of obligations with respect to this RFP or the subsequent contract. 19. Postage Expense Statement For each printing & mailing project, the vendor must provide the Property Appraiser with a detailed postage expense statement. At the completion of each project, the vendor must provide the Property Appraiser with an audit report detailing mail piece, page, and record count totals. Please include at least one sample of any such statement you have provided other customers on similar printing & mailing projects. 20. Sign Off of Printed Material For each project, the Property Appraiser or his designee must sign their approval on the final proof of all printed forms, brochures, envelopes, etc. before any are printed for the mailings. Only the version approved will be accepted for printing. In addition, a signed approval will be required on a sample of any form containing live variable data before all of the forms are printed with the variable data. Vendor accepts all liability, both public and financial, for improperly printing or mailing unapproved or erroneous material. 21. Vendor Error The vendor is responsible for correct execution of the projects. If an error occurs, and the Property Appraiser determines that it is the vendor's error, the Property Appraiser will determine corrective action, not to exceed a reprint and remailing of the pieces in error at the vendor's cost. Page 6 of 14
22. Cost for Missed Deadlines If the vendor is unable to meet the deadlines for printing & mailing a project, the vendor will be responsible for any additional costs incurred by the Property Appraiser in the completion of the project. Additional costs are those in excess of what the project would have cost if it had been completed by this vendor at the rates submitted in this proposal. For example, if another vendor must be used and additional charges for staffing or after hour rates are required, the Property Appraiser will be responsible for only the amount that would have been due according to the contract and the vendor who did not complete the project will be responsible for reimbursing the Property Appraiser for the balance. 23. Public Entity Crimes In accordance with Section 287.133, Florida Statutes, a person or affiliate who has been placed on the convicted vendor list following a conviction for a public entity crime may not submit a bid on a contract to provide any goods or services to a public entity for the construction or repair of a public building or public work, may not submit bids on leases or real property to a public entity, may not be awarded or perform work as a contractor, supplier, subcontractor, or consultant under a contract with any public entity, and may not transact business with any public entity in excess of the threshold amount provided in Section 287.017, Florida Statutes, for Category Two for a period of 36 months from the date of being placed on the convicted vendor list. Page 7 of 14
SPECIFICATIONS Printing & Mailing Project 1: Sarasota County Notice of Proposed Property Taxes and Proposed or Adopted Non-Ad Valorem Assessments Print a Notice of Proposed Property Taxes and Proposed or Adopted Non-Ad Valorem Assessments and print variable data onto the Notice. Print an Information Supplement. Insert the Notice and Information Supplement into an envelope, seal, sort, tray, and mail at the Post Office nearest to the vendor in compliance with US Postal Regulations. Materials: Sarasota County Notice of Proposed Property Taxes and Proposed or Adopted Non-Ad Valorem Assessments Quantity 275,000 (approximate count) Size 8 ½ X 11 (Refer to Sample #1) Stock 24# White Bond Color Front Back 4/4 Fold Folded to fit #10 envelope Information Supplement Quantity 235,000 (approximate count) Size 8 ½ X 11 (Refer to Sample #2) Stock 24# White Bond Color Front Back, 4/4 Fold Folded to fit #10 envelope Envelopes Quantity 235,000 (approximate count) Size #10 Window Envelopes. (Refer to Sample #3) Stock 24# White Color Black, 1/0 Other With Return Address and Indicia Envelopes - Catalog Quantity 3,000 (approximate count) for Combined NOTICE Mailings. Size 9 x 12 Window Envelopes. (Refer to Sample #4). Stock 28# White Color Black, 1/0 Other With Return Address only (No Indicia) Page 8 of 14
Combined Mailing Counts (Approximate) Pieces Domestic Frequency Foreign Frequency 1 207,200 8,000 2 11,350 500 3 2,500 100 4 1,000 40 5 or more 1,700 50 Combinations: In an effort to reduce the postage expense, the vendor shall insert all multiple NOTICES being mailed to the same owner at the same mailing address in the same envelope with one (1) Information Supplement. Multiple NOTICES of five (5) or more being mailed to the same owner at the same address shall be mailed in the catalog envelopes with one (1) Information Supplement. Exact counts will vary. Each group shall be mailed in one envelope, if possible. Vendor shall meter the postage and bill the Property Appraiser. NOTE: The vendor shall provide the Property Appraiser with a print file of the mailing to indicate how many pieces were mailed in each grouping for both domestic and foreign pieces. Artwork: Mailings: Mail Processing: The artwork for the Information Supplement will be supplied by the Property Appraiser during the middle of July. Approximately 275,000 Notice of Proposed Property Taxes and Proposed or Adopted Non-Ad Valorem Assessments and 235,000 Information Supplements to be mailed mid-august. Vendor shall format the mailing addresses to eliminate any blank lines in the name and address fields. Sequence Number: Vendor shall have the capability of imprinting each printed piece with a sequence numbering system to be used to determine the actual number of pieces printed. Barcodes: Note: Vendor shall have the capability of generating and imprinting each printed piece with barcodes (linear and matrix) of supplied variable data. On the bottom of the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes and Proposed or Adopted Non-Ad Valorem Assessments, the entries for the phone number, (941) 861-8200, the address, 2001 Adams Lane, Sarasota 34237, and the petition date, shall be bolded and printed as variable data onto the form. The pitch shall be the same used for the variable data. The reason for requesting to have the phone number, address, and the petition date bolded is to make it stand out from the rest of the text so it can be easily identified when reading the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes and Proposed or Adopted Non-Ad Valorem Assessments. Page 9 of 14
SPECIFICATIONS Printing & Mailing Project 2: Homestead Exemption Receipts Print the DR-500, Homestead Exemption Receipt form. Print variable data onto the Homestead Exemption Receipts. Fold, sort, tab, tray, and mail at Post Office nearest to the Vendor in compliance with US Postal Regulations. Materials: Homestead Exemption Receipts Quantity 109,000 (approximate count) Size 8 X 6 (Refer to Sample #5) Stock 100# Tag Color Front Back, Black and Red, 2/2 Fold & Tab 4 x 6 Fold & Clear, Tab conform to postal regulations Artwork: Mailings: Mail Processing: To be supplied by the vendor. Approximately 109,000 Homestead Exemption Receipts to be mailed the end of December. Vendor shall format the mailing addresses to eliminate any blank lines in the name and address fields. Sequence Number: Vendor shall have the capability of imprinting each printed piece with a sequence numbering system to be used to determine the actual number of pieces printed. Barcodes: Additional Forms: Vendor shall have the capability of generating and imprinting each printed piece with barcodes (linear and matrix) of supplied variable data. Vendor shall supply and deliver 100 Homestead Exemption Receipts to the Property Appraiser for office use during the first week in January. This item has been included in the quantity estimates. Page 10 of 14
RFP RESPONSE COVER SHEET Proposal submitted by: Vendor: Address: Phone: Fax: E-mail: Vendor Web site URL, if applicable: This proposal contains all of the following items: Response Form A - General Information Questionnaire Response Form B - Proposed Printing & Mailing Project Costs Response Form C - Exceptions Copy of C.A.S.S. Certification issued by U.S.P.S. Signature Printed Name Title Date Please submit 1 original and 1 copy of your proposal Page 11 of 14
RESPONSE FORM A - GENERAL INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRE Vendor: Please answer each of the following questions (attach additional sheets as necessary): 1. How long has your company been in business? 2. Who is your designated Account Executive and how long has this person been with your company? 3. List all Florida property appraisers you have done business with and the type of projects that you completed for them, as well as a contact person and telephone number. 4. If you do not currently have any Florida property appraiser clients, list three (3) similar projects that you have completed, as well as the customer s name, contact person, and telephone number. 5. What contingency plans are in effect if the production equipment is not functional? 6. Are all the components for this project produced at your facility? If not, which components are subcontracted and with whom? Page 12 of 14
Bill Furst RESPONSE FORM B - PROPOSED PRINTING & MAILING PROJECT COSTS Vendor: Based on the stated volumes, please indicate the cost of providing the following printing & mailing services to this office. Printing & Mailing Project 1 Costs Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Quantity of Notice of Proposed Property Taxes and Proposed or Adopted Non-Ad Valorem Assessments 275,000 275,000 275,000 X Cost per Piece A = Total Cost of printing and processing the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes and Proposed or Adopted Non-Ad Valorem Assessments, excluding postage Quantity of Information Supplements 235,000 235,000 235,000 X Cost per Piece B = Total Cost of printing and processing the Information Supplements, excluding Postage 1 = Total Cost of Project 1 excluding Postage = A + B $0.00 $0.00 Printing & Mailing Project 2 Costs Quantity of Homestead Exemption Receipts 109,000 109,000 109,000 X Cost per Piece 2 = Total Cost of Project 2 excluding postage Total Project Costs = 1 + 2 Page 13 of 14
RESPONSE FORM C - EXCEPTIONS Vendor: Please list any items that you take exception to or will be unable to comply with: Page 14 of 14