EAST PALO ALTO SANITARY DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS 901 Weeks Street Glenda Savage, President East Palo Alto, CA 94303 Bethzabe Yañez, Vice President Phone: (650) 325-9021 Joan Sykes-Miessi, Secretary Fax: (650) 325-5173 Goro Mitchell, Director www.epasd.com Dennis Scherzer, Director Kenneth C. Jones, General Manager Request for Proposal: Compensation Consulting Firms The East Palo Alto Sanitary District (District) is requesting proposals (RFP) from interested, qualified and experienced Compensation Consulting Firms (Consultant) to design a compensation structure, conduct a compensation study and a job classification comparison for its employees. Please contact the District office by email info@epasd.com or phone (650) 325-9021 to obtain a copy of the request for proposal. The deadline for receiving proposals is February 19, 2015.
I. INTRODUCTION: A. General Information The East Palo Alto Sanitary District (District) is requesting proposals (RFP) from interested, qualified and experienced Compensation Consulting Firms (Consultant) to design a compensation structure, conduct a compensation study and a job classification comparison for its employees. There is no expressed or implied obligation for the District to reimburse responding firms for any expenses incurred in preparing proposals in response to this request. Materials submitted by respondents are subject to public inspection under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Sec. 6250 et set.), unless exempt. Additionally, the District reserves the right to reject any or all proposals submitted. The District reserves the right to retain all proposals submitted and to use any ideas in a proposal regardless of whether that proposal is selected. Submission of a proposal indicates acceptance by the firm of the conditions contained in this request for proposals, unless clearly and specifically noted in the proposal submitted and confirmed in the contract between the District and the firm selected. Notwithstanding other provisions of the RFP, Compensation Consulting Firms are hereby advised that this request is solicitation of proposals only. It is not intended, nor is it to be construed as, the engaging in formal competitive bidding pursuant to any statute, policy, or regulation. Proposals submitted will be evaluated by the General Manager. During the evaluation process, the District reserves the right, where it may serve the District s best interest, to request additional information and clarifications from proposers, or to allow corrections of errors or omissions. Oral presentations may be requested at the District s discretion by any one or more firms. It is anticipated that recommendation of the Compensation Consulting Firm selection will be presented to the Human Resources Committee and the Board of Directors during the month of March and April 2015. Following notification of the selected firm, it is expected a contract will be executed between both parties by April 10, 2015. II. DESCRIPTION OF THE EAST PALO ALTO SANITARY DISTRICT A. Background Information East Palo Alto Sanitary District, (subsequently referred to as EPASD or District ), is a Special District responsible for maintaining the sanitary sewers in a portion of the cities of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, in San Mateo County. The collection system carries wastewater from the District's service area to the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) where it is treated and disposed of in a manner which meets federal and state standards. The District was established in 1939 as a result of increased development in the East Palo Alto area. The initial sewer lines were installed as a WPA project. Construction began after the 1
treatment contract with the City of Palo Alto was signed in 1940 and District facilities were put into operation on September 8, 1942. The District is governed by a five-member Board of Directors, elected by the registered voters residing within the District. The Board establishes the operating policies of the District; District employees carry out those policies on a day-to-day basis. District employees consist of the General Manager, who is responsible for the administration of all District business, and necessary support staff with office and/or field responsibilities. We are totally committed to the maintenance of the highest standards of quality and service to members of the public and our community. III. NATURE OF SERVICES REQUIRED Scope of Work Objective The objective of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is that the Consultant will evaluate the body of work performed by employees; review, update and if necessary, create class specifications; evaluate the District s labor market competitiveness, and recommend classification and compensation program policies, processes and procedures. The District has nine (9) budgeted full-time staff positions. The position titles are: General Manager Office/Human Resources Manager Field Maintenance Supervisor Accounting Assistant Administrative Technician Receptionist/Administrative Assistant Senior Collection Systems Maintenance Worker Collection Systems Maintenance Worker I (2) Professional Services Required The District engages Consultant to conduct the Classification and Compensation Study. Consultant s tasks will include, but not be limited to, the following: A. Meet with the District s General Manager and/or delegates to define documents and interpret data, project objectives, and expected outcomes and deliverables. B. Define plan/methodology for collecting and analyzing compensation data for each position. C. Gather data on each position, revising and developing classifications and/or job descriptions and their distinguishing job factors on each position, as necessary. D. Conduct its analysis based on interviews, questionnaires, market surveys and other 2
necessary information/sources. E. The compensation study survey will encompass a labor market survey of comparable special districts and other public agencies. Agencies used will be agreed upon by District and Consultant prior to commencement of the analysis. Some of the local preferred comparable agencies, not limited to, are: * City of Berkeley * City of Fremont * City of Hayward * City of Livermore * City of San Leandro * City of San Ramon * Dublin San Ramon Services District * Castro Valley Sanitary District * Mt. View Sanitary District * Oro Loma Sanitary District * South Bayside System Authority * Stege Sanitary District * Union Sanitary District * West Bay Sanitary District * West County Wastewater District * West Valley Sanitation District of Santa Clara County F. Collect and analyze labor market compensation (salary) data, summarize findings and monitor survey process. G. Evaluate current internal salary relationships and make appropriate recommendations. H. Review the current Salary Schedule structure and make recommendations that will provide the best structure to accommodate the needs of the District. Provide the District with a new/up-to-date Salary Schedule with grades and determined steps category. I. Prepare a classification report. J. Prepare a compensation report. Deliverables In order to evaluate and assess the appropriateness of Consultant s recommendations regarding the District s classification and compensation structure, job descriptions and/or class specifications, a full and complete understanding of methodologies, approaches, data gathered and data analyzed that form the basis of each recommendation is required. It is essential that the most accurate and appropriate classification matches are used for market compensation comparisons. 3
A. Develop externally competitive and internal equitable salary recommendations for each job class included in the study B. Evaluate position Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime exemption status and determine if position status is properly classified. C. Classification Specifications and/or Job Description: * Provide revised and/or new classification specifications and/or job description, as necessary. * It is understood that Consultant is to make recommendations based on their analysis, and that any revisions to existing classification specifications/job descriptions will be finalized by the District, after appropriate review. D. Salary Structure with grades and determined steps category E. Defined grade range for each job title IV. SCHEDULE AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS A. Key Dates for Proposal Evaluation and Selection: Time Table Distribution of RFP January 22, 2015 Proposal submission deadline February 19, 2015 Notification of Oral Presentations, if March 3, 2015 needed Oral presentations, as needed March 10, 2015 Board Approval April 2, 2015 Notification to selected Consultant April 3, 2015 Expected signing of Contract April 10, 2015 The District has made every effort to include sufficient information within this Request for Proposal to prepare as responsive, comprehensive, and competitive a proposal as possible. B. Questions: Inquiries concerning the RFP should be addressed to Kenneth C. Jones, General Manager, at kjones@epasd.com. C. Proposal Submission: Proposals must be delivered in person or mailed directly to East Palo Alto Sanitary District no later than 5:00 P.M., February 19, 2015. Late submissions after the deadline or proposals delivered via fax will not be accepted. A total of three (3) identical proposals labeled COMPENSATION STUDY PROPOSAL FOR THE EAST PALO ALTO 4
SANITARY DISTRICT plus an electronic version on CD or USB memory stick must be submitted to the following address as follows: East Palo Alto Sanitary District 901 Weeks Street East Palo Alto, CA 94303 Attention: Kenneth C. Jones, General Manager D. Notification to all bidders: The review committee will forward its recommendation to the East Palo Alto Sanitary District Board of Directors for approval in April 2015. Each firm submitting a proposal will be notified of the final decision by April 10, 2015. Upon written request, we will provide an electronic copy of the winning proposal once the contract is executed. E. Contract Term: The Compensation Survey contract will become effective on the execution of the contract. We will make every effort to administer the proposal process in accordance with the terms and dates discussed in this RFP. However, we reserve the right to modify the proposal process and dates as deemed necessary, and reserve the right to not award a contract. The District assumes no obligation for any costs incurred by any proposer in preparing the response to this request, attending an interview, or any other activity prior to award of the contract to the selected proposer. F. Additional Services If it should become necessary for the District to request the Consultant to render any additional services to either supplement the services requested in this RFP or to perform additional work as a result of the specific recommendations included in any report issued on this engagement, then such additional work shall be performed only if set forth in an addendum to the contract between the District and the firm. Any such additional work agreed to between the District and the firm shall be performed at the same rates set forth in the schedule of fees and the contents of the Technical Proposal. G. Payment Progress payments will be made on work completed during the course of the engagement. Interim billings shall cover a period of not less than a calendar month. 5
V. Proposal Requirements A. Format of Technical Proposal 1. Title page a) The RFP subject, b) The proposing firm s name, c) Contact person s name, local address, telephone number, and email address. If the firm has more than one office, state which office will be responsible for providing services to the District, and d) The date of submission. 2. Table of Contents a) Identification of material submitted, by section and page number, b) Cross reference to section and page number of RFP. 3. Transmittal Letter a) General introduction stating the proposer s understanding of the services to be provided, b) A positive commitment to perform the service within the time period specified, c) A statement why the firm believes itself to be best qualified to perform the engagement, d) A statement of how long you have been in business and how many compensation surveys were performed by your firm for public agencies during the past five (5) years, e) A statement that the proposal is a firm and irrevocable offer for a period of 60 days, f) Name(s) of person(s) authorized to represent the proposer, title, address, telephone number, email address, and g) Signature. 4. Detailed Proposal Following the Order Set Forth in Section B B. Contents of Technical Proposal The purpose of the Technical Proposal is to demonstrate the qualifications, competence, and capacity of the firms seeking to undertake a compensation survey for the District in conformity with the requirements of this RFP. The Technical Proposal should demonstrate the qualifications of the firm and of the particular staff to be assigned to this engagement. It should also specify an analysis approach that will meet the RFP requirements. The Technical Proposal should address all the points in the order outlined in the RFP (exclude any cost information, which should only be included in the cost proposal section). The proposal should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of the proposer s capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the RFP. While additional data may be presented, the areas detailed below must be included. They represent the criteria against which the proposal will be evaluated. 6
1. License to Practice in California An affirmative statement should be included that the firm and all assigned key professional staff are properly licensed to practice in California. 2. Independence The firm should provide an affirmative statement that it is independent of the East Palo Alto Sanitary District. The firm should also list and describe the firm s professional relationships involving the District for the past five (5) years, together with a statement explaining why such relationships do not constitute a conflict of interest relative to performing the proposed compensation survey. In addition, the firm shall give the District written notice of any professional relationships entered into during this period of this agreement. 3. Commercial General Liability. The Contractor shall take out and maintain, during the performance of all work under this Agreement, in amounts not less than specified herein, Commercial General Liability Insurance, in a form and with insurance companies acceptable to the District. a. Coverage for Commercial General Liability insurance shall be at least as broad as Insurance Services Office Commercial General Liability coverage (Occurrence Form CG 00 01) or exact equivalent b. Commercial General Liability Insurance must include coverage for (1) Bodily Injury and Property Damage; (2) Personal Injury/Advertising Injury; (3) Premises/Operations Liability; (4) Products/Completed Operations Liability; (5) Aggregate Limits that Apply per Project; (6) Explosion, Collapse and Underground (UCX) exclusion deleted; (7) Contractual Liability with respect to this Agreement; (8) Broad Form Property Damage; and (9) Independent Contractors Coverage. c. The policy shall contain no endorsements or provisions limiting coverage for (1) contractual liability; (2) cross liability exclusion for claims or suits by one insured against another; or (3) contain any other exclusion contrary to the Agreement. d. The policy shall give the District, the Board and each member of the Board, its officers, employees, agents and District designated volunteers insured status using ISO endorsement forms 20 10 10 01 and 20 37 10 01, or endorsements providing the exact same coverage. 7
e. The additional insured coverage under the policy shall be primary and non-contributory and will not seek contribution from the District s insurance or self-insurance and shall be at least as broad as CG 20 01 04 13, or endorsements providing the exact same coverage. f. The general liability program may utilize either deductibles or provide coverage excess of a self-insured retention, subject to written approval by the District, and provided that such deductibles shall not apply to the District as an additional insured. 4. Firm Qualification and Experience To qualify, the firm must have extensive experience with compensation practices/methodologies of local specials districts/municipalities and in compliance with all local, state and federal laws. The proposal should briefly introduce your firm, indicating whether your firm is local, regional, national, or international. State the size of the firm, the size of the firm s compensation staff, the location of the office from which the work on this engagement is to be performed (the District has a strong preference to work with a firm with office and assigned staff located in Northern California), and the number and nature of the professional staff to be employed in this engagement on a full-time basis and the number and nature of the staff to be so employed on a part-time basis. Indicate the name of the person who will be authorized to answer questions and to bind the firm, the person s title, address, email and telephone number. If your firm participates in a peer review or quality review program provide the year, month and result of the most recent review and submit a copy of the report on the firm s most recent external quality control (peer) review, with a statement whether that quality control review included a review of specific government engagements. Provide information on the results of any federal or state desk reviews or field reviews of its audits during the past three (3) years. In addition, provide information on the circumstances and status of any disciplinary action taken or pending against the firm during the past three (3) years with state regulatory bodies or professional organizations. 5. Engagement Partner, Manager/Supervisor and Staff Qualifications and Experience Identify the senior-level staff, including engagement partner and manager/supervisor, who would be assigned to this engagement on an on-going basis. Indicate the qualifications of these individuals in relations to their practice in California. Please provide information on the compensation study experience of these individuals, including information on relevant continuing professional education for the past three (3) years and membership in professional organizations relevant to the performance of this survey. Staff consistency is a very important consideration the District reserves the right to approve or reject any replacements in the senior level staff participating in the District s compensation analysis. 8
Include resumes of those individuals supervising the compensation study. 6. Prior Engagements with the District List separately all engagements within the last five (5) years, ranked on the basis of total staff hours, for the District by type of engagement (i.e., compensation study, management or advisory services, other). Indicate the scope of work, date, engagement partners, total hours, the location of the firm s office from which the engagement was performed, and the name and telephone number of the principal client contact. 7. Specific Compensation Study Approach The proposal should set forth a work plan, including an explanation of the compensation study methodology to be followed to perform the services required in Section III of this RFP. a) Proposed segmentation of the compensation study. b) Expectations of District staff: i.what documents and working papers are expected to be provided by District staff? ii.please provide sample Prepared by Client (PBC) lists and schedules for each section of the compensation study. c) Planned number of hours on the engagement for each level of compensation study staff. d) Type and extent of use of software in the engagement. e) Type and extent of analytical procedures to be used in the engagement. f) Approach to be taken to gain and document an understanding of the District s current compensation structure. 8. Identification of Anticipated Potential Compensation Study Problems The proposer should identify and describe any anticipated potential compensation study problems, the firm s approach to resolving these problems, and any special assistance that will be required from the District. 9. References Please provide the name of all cities, counties and special districts for which the firm has performed compensation studies during the past three (3) years. These engagements should be ranked first for special districts on the basis of total staff hours, followed by all 9
cities and counties ranked on the basis of total staff hours. Indicate the scope of work, date, engagement partner, total hours. Please include reference contact information for at least three of these special districts, including the name, telephone number and email address of the principal client contact. The District reserves the right to contact any or all of the listed references. 10. Delegation or subcontract responsibilities Proposer will not delegate or subcontract its responsibilities without prior written consent of the District. 11. Price A complete estimate and explanation of fees is to appear in the text of your response. Please provide a list of fees for additional services that may be requested in relation to this compensation study. All proposals shall contain provisions to the effect that in the event that extraordinary circumstances warrant more intensive and detailed services beyond those in the contractual agreement, the firm shall provide in writing and in advance, the reasons for the additional services together with the firm s estimate of costs, and a statement that no work will be performed without advance approval by the District. Any and all additional work as agreed in advance by the District shall be compensated for at the same rate quoted in the schedule submitted in the proposal. VI. EVALUATION PROCEDURES Proposals will be evaluated using three sets of criteria. Firms meeting the mandatory criteria will have their proposal evaluated and scored for both technical qualifications and price. The following represents the principal selection criteria, which will be considered during the evaluation process: A. Mandatory Elements (maximum 30 points): 1. The Consultant firm is independent, insured and licensed to practice in California (5 points). 2. The firm has no conflict of interest with regard to any other work to be performed for the District (5 points). 3. The firm adhered to the instructions in the RFP (10 points). 4. The firm submits a sample of its last compensation study and the firm has record of quality compensation study work (10 points). B. Technical Quality (maximum 50 points): 10
1. Expertise and Experience (15 points) a) The firm s substantial past experience in performing the required compensation study of other special districts/municipalities comparable to the District. b) The quality and stability of the firm s professional staff to be assigned to the engagement and the quality of the firm s management support personnel to be available for technical consultation is acceptable to the District. 2. Compensation Study Approach (25 points): a) The firm provided proposed plans for the various segments of the engagement which are acceptable to the District. b) The firm presented a thorough understanding of the objectives, scope and issues for this type of engagement. c) Adequacy of proposed staffing plan. d) Adequacy of analytical procedures. e) The firm is committed to the timeliness in the conduct and completion of the compensation study. f) Location of firm managing and conducting compensation study. 3. References (10 points) C. Price (maximum 20 points): Evaluation of the maximum fee to conduct the compensation study. D. Oral Presentation During the evaluation process, the General Manager and/or delegates may, at its discretion, request any one or more firms to make oral presentations. Such presentations will provide firms with an opportunity to answer any questions the committee may have on a firm s proposal. Not all firms may be asked to make such oral presentations. E. Final Decision It is anticipated that the Board of Directors will select a firm in April 2015. Following notification of the firm selected, it is expected a contract will be executed between both parties by April 10, 2015. 11