request for proposal - gainesville, georgia · request for proposal rfp no. (13047) ... plan...

City of Gainesville Retirement Plan A Custodial Service RFP

CITY OF GAINESVILLE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP No. (13047) (Retirement Plan A Custodial Services)

Proposal Release: (May 31, 2013)

Proposal Questions Deadline: (July 05, 2013 @ 10:00 am)

Proposal Due Date: (July 12, 2013)

Finalist Selection date: (August 14, 2013)

Finalist Notification Date: (August 15, 2013)

Finalist Presentations: (September 2 – 6, 2013)

Award date: (By September 20, 2013)

Postal Return Address: Courier Delivery Address:

City of Gainesville City of Gainesville Purchasing Office Purchasing Office P.O. Box 2496 300 Henry Ward Way, Room 103 Gainesville, GA 30503 Gainesville, GA 30501


City of Gainesville Request for Proposal

RFP No. (13047) (Retirement Plan A Custodial Services)

Sealed Proposals will be received by the City of Gainesville, Administrative Services Department, 300 Henry Ward Way, STE 103, Gainesville, GA. 30501 until (July 12, 2013), (2:00 pm), for the Purchase of Investment Custodial Services. The proposals will be publicly opened and read aloud at 2:05pm on said date at the above address. At the time of the proposal opening, only vendor names will be released.

PROPOSAL CORRESPONDENT

Upon Release of this Request for Proposal, all vendor communications concerning this acquisition must be directed to the Administrative Services Department correspondent listed below:

Matt Hamby City of Gainesville

PO Box 2496, Gainesville, GA. 30503 Phone: (770.535.6899)

FAX: (770.535.5636) ([email protected])

Unauthorized contact regarding the proposal with other Gainesville City employees or Retirement Plan A Board Members may result in disqualification. Any oral communications will be considered unofficial and non-binding on the City of Gainesville. Vendor should rely only on written statements issued by the proposal correspondent.

1.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1 Project Scope and Objectives

The objective of this RFP document is to solicit proposal to provide custodial services, including asset safekeeping, account management, plan accounting, investment accounting and reporting, asset pricing, securities litigation monitoring, foreign exchange services (in necessary), transition services, risk management services, benefit processing and short-term investment management for short-term cash sweeps and transfer of funds.

The Plan was created in the City Charter in the 1940’s as a retirement plan for City of Gainesville Civil Service employees. It was, and still is, for Employees of the city who do not contribute to Social Security as


a City Employee. The Plan was removed from the City Charter in 1996 and restated in a Plan Document. The Plan is administered by a Board that consists of seven members elected by City Employees and Retirees. The Board is responsible for interpreting the Plan, maintaining records, establishing procedures, receiving and distributing information concerning the Plan, and obtaining legal, actuarial, and investment counsel among other responsibilities. The Board currently retains a consultant to assist in the evaluation of the Plan’s investment managers. The Plan can be amended by the city council and has been from time to time over the years. The Board currently meets quarterly and at other times as issues arise. The Plan is funded by equal percentage contribution of payroll by the City and Employees. Currently the contribution rate is 13.2% each.

There is an annual Actuarial Review of the Plan. This review is designed primarily to determine what extent the Plan is funded in relation to its obligations to it Participants. The Actuary uses data such as the number of Employees in the City including their ages and salaries, historical data as to retirements by City employees, standard mortality rates, and inflation. This census information is merged with information concerning the assets and benefits of the Plan along with projections for the future in order to make an educated analysis of the funding status of the Plan. In other words, it answers the questions, “How well is the Plan situated financially to provide the benefits to present and future retirees?” As of our last Actuarial review, July 1, 2012, the Plan was 63.6% funded. As is true of many pension funds today, this percentage is less than ideal. It was necessary in 2008 to amend the Plan by restructuring the benefit formulas for new-hires. We believe that these steps, in conjunction with more stable investment return, will get us back on track towards increasing our funded ratio going forward. This less than ideal funded ratio has had the effect over the last several years of not allowing consideration of any benefit enhancements that would increase the Plan costs. While recent investment performance has been good, and the actuary gives us a positive report at this time, we know we will still have to keep costs down as we work toward the goal of improving this ratio. So, it’s important to remember that although we have more assets in the Plan than ever before, we also have more commitments to our participants.

The City of Gainesville’s Retirement Plan A’s (GRPA) fund structure includes total assets of about $69 million as of December 31, 2012. The City of Gainesville maintains a defined benefit plan with approximately 486 participating active employees and 224 retirees.

The Board will award the contract after a thorough evaluation of the following criteria: (1) the minimum requirements set forth in this RFP, (2) exclusion factors set forth in this RFP, (3) the technical criteria set forth in this RFP, (4) general evaluation criteria set forth in this RFP and (5) Price. Proposals will be evaluated utilizing the percentages set forth in the Section 4.2.3 Criteria Weight of this RFP document.

1.2 Investment Management and Accounting Information

GRPA maintains an investment structure using a variety of investments summarized in the following investment account structure as of December 31, 2012.

Account Manager/Fund Market Value % Alloc

Blackrock Equity Dividend $ 8,018,998 11.6%

Eaton Vance $ 4,048,710 5.9%

Pennsylvania $ 3,821,065 5.5%

Yacktman Fund $ 3,733,176 5.4%

TRP New American Growth $ 6,069,703 8.8%


Wells Fargo Growth Fund $ 6,025,786 8.7%

PIMCO Total Return $19,860,349 28.8%

PIMCO INV Grade Corp $ 6,305,527 9.1%

PIMCO Real Return $ 2,670,982 3.9%

PIMCO Unconstrained Bond $ 4,175,683 6.1%

PIMCO All Asset $ 4,276,071 6.2%

1.3 Objectives of the RFP

The purpose of this RFP is to provide necessary and sufficient information to Vendors of custodial services to allow them to provide a detailed proposal to the Board outlining the available services and detailing the costs associated with each service. While specific requirements are provided within the respective service section of this document, the Board’s overall objectives for this RFP are to:

1.3.1 Select Vendors who offer efficient, effective, and timely services and reporting.

1.3.2 Select Vendors who offer product solutions that will support GRPA’s current and future custodial needs.

1.3.3 Choose Vendors who have demonstrated the ability to employ advanced technology in their own processes and who have assisted clients in applying technology to improve processes.

1.3.4 Establish optimal pricing for the services defined within this RFP.

1.3.5 Utilize services that will improve processing efficiency, effectiveness, and enhance control.

1.3.6 Ensure the safety of all securities held.

Additionally, we will consider some of the following factors in determining ability:

1. Corporate organization, general experience, and stability;

2. Professional Board/client relations;

3. Custody services expertise and experience;

4. Risk management – internal control structure;

5. Cash management capabilities and experience;

6. Accounting and reconciliation capabilities;

7. On-Line account access;

8. Performance measurement and analytics capabilities and experience;

9. Technology;

10. Timeliness and accuracy of reporting;

11. Yearend reporting capabilities;

12. Assistance with GASB issues and reporting; and

13. Cost of services.


2.0 REQUIRED INFORMATION The following information shall be provided in each proposal in the order listed below. A Vendor is expected to provide a response for each requirement listed in sections 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and both proposal certification pages. Further a Vendor is expected to review the procedures and requirements listed in section 5.0. Failure to respond to any request for information within this proposal may result in rejection of the proposal at the sole discretion of the board. 2.01 Minimum Requirements 2.01.1 Background, Organization and Commitment

A. Please provide a brief history of your firm’s experience with global custody, safekeeping, clearing and lending services and a detailed discussion of special expertise or unique capabilities.

B. How do you define your fiduciary responsibility? C. What office would service this account? D. What banking institutions has your firm acquired or merged into the existing firm in the last

three years? Are there any other potential mergers/acquisitions on the near horizon (12 months)?

E Include Location, Experience with Georgia Public Pensions and number of Public Pensions

currently servicing. Provide a list of all Georgia municipal retirement accounts. F. Describe, in depth, your company’s experience for Defined Benefit Pension Plans. G. Does the bank carry E&O and Fiduciary Liability Insurance? Please include amounts of

coverage and type of coverage. H. Is your firm currently being investigated by any outside agencies, the result of which could

materially affect the services that would be provided?

2.01.2 General Information A. What is the total number of your global custody clients? B. What is the total market value of all your global custody clients? C. Please provide three references of a similar size Plan (including company name, contact,

title, and telephone number). D. What percentage of the bank’s revenues does the global custody business generate?


E. Describe your policies regarding confidentiality of client information. F. Please provide your fee structure for our business based on the data we have provided you. 2.01.3 Administration and Staff Information A. Describe who will service our relationship and provide biographies. Describe how the client

relationship works. How many accounts does this individual or team currently handle? B. Describe the procedures which you utilize to assure continuity of services during vacations

or other absences occurring within your account administration area. C. What level of employee turnover have you experienced in the last three years? 2.01.4 Investment Manager Liaison Group A. Describe how your organization interacts with investment managers. B. What is the background of the typical employee who interfaces with the manager? C. How do you monitor investment manager satisfaction? D. Do you provide investment managers with access to a remote inquiry service? If so, what

information or reports are available to them “on-line”? E. Through what vehicles can managers communicate trade data? Do you use the DTC

manager affirmation system? For other managers do you have an automated system such as PC download of trades?

F. What procedure is used to assure accurate information is entered into the system? How is

trade information matched between manager and broker? What automatic edits are built into the system? What is the error rate on trade input?

G. Are managers contacted at regular intervals to solicit feedback? H. How are peak trading volume periods handled? 2.01.5 Data Processing/Computer Systems A. Please indicate the location(s) of your administrative operations and computer facilities that

support your global custody operations. B. Please describe your system’s hardware configuration. Indicate how long the current

hardware has been in use. C. Please describe your system’s software. Indicate who designed the software (in-house

versus purchased) and how long the current software has been in use.


D. Define the systems support available to your global custody services. 1. Backup and recovery capabilities. 2. Security and emergency arrangements. 3. Downtime experience. E. Do you have interface capability with the client’s portfolio accounting system, InfoVisa? F. Do you have a data processing programming staff dedicated to the global custody systems?

If so, how many employees? How much of their time is devoted to this activity? What is your turnover rate?

G. Describe any significant system enhancements, changes and/or additions to the global

custody systems that have been implemented over the past two years. What system enhancements, changes and/or additions are being considered over the next two years?

H. Do you plan any major system conversions within the next two years? I. Describe your firm’s commitment (in dollars) toward future systems development and

software. J. Which, if any, parts of the system are batch-oriented vs. real-time on-line? K. Are reports available “on-line” to the consultant through computer interaction? L. Please describe the independent audit review that is performed on the computer system. M. How often are domestic and foreign prices updated? What are your domestic and foreign

pricing sources and how are prices verified? How are mortgage and other non-traditional fixed income securities priced?

N. Describe all sub-advisor relationships with other financial institutions to provide

global/international custodial services. 2.01.6 On-Line Communications A. What reports and functions are available on-line? Please provide examples. B. How current are the transactions and valuations? C. Describe your system's customer availability timeframes.


2.01.7 Accounting and Reporting A. Describe your accounting and reporting system. Describe your shadow accounting process. B. What reports are provided as part of your standard package? How frequently are they

produced and how quickly are they distributed? Please list and describe each report separately along with the date available and date mailed to the client and provide examples of these reports.

C. What optional reports, if any, are available with/without an extra fee? Please list and

provide examples. D. How are special requests handled? Is your system flexible enough to accommodate tailored

reporting requirements? E. How do asset valuations and transactions statements reflect pending transactions? F. How do asset statements reflect accrued items such as accrued income and expenses? G. Is interest and dividend income reported on an accrual basis? When are income payments

on governments, corporate bonds, mortgages or short-term paper credited? Is income earned in Fed funds, clearinghouse funds or other? Is accrued interest included in the monthly reports? Are accrued interest and dividends from money market, fixed income and equities shown separately?

H. Are the reports produced on a trade-date accrual basis?

I. Describe your process for auditing statements prior to release. J. Is your firm knowledgeable regarding Public Safety retiree $3,000 medical exclusion? K. Does your firm provide On-line access to 1099 and pay records/registers? If so, does it have

print capabilities? L. Describe your firms process for reporting 1099’s. M. Describe your firm’s process for determining correct Federal and State tax withholding.

Describe your process if the withholdings are incorrect. N. Is your firm knowledgeable of rollover requirements for Federal and Georgia State

guidelines? Describe your firm’s process for remaining up to date on any changes.


2.01.8 Securities Processing A. Which major depository and clearinghouse facilities are you a member of? B. Does your accounting system accommodate options and futures trading? C. How do you handle short selling, real estate, venture capital and private placements? D. Please describe how you distribute and keep track of proxy information. Give examples of

any reports you produce that are available to clients. What is the price of this service, if any?

E. Describe your procedure for crediting of dividend and interest payments. F. How do you receive and pay for securities purchased and delivered in accordance with

industry practice, securities sold by an investment manager of the plan, and written advice from corresponding broker’s confirmation of each securities trade?

G. What is your procedure for establishing subaccounts to hold property in custody? 2.01.9 Procedures and Controls A. Is there a general audit system in place? Is it certified by a major public accounting firm?

Discuss frequency and scope of review performed. B. Please describe the organizational structure of your internal audit department including the

following: - Size of professional staff. - Reporting relationship of Chief Internal Auditor. - Adequacy of overall control environment over custody operations. - Frequency and scope of audits performed over custody area by internal auditors. C. What securities pricing services are utilized for each asset category and how are the prices

verified? D. What is your system of quality control to ensure reporting accuracy? E. What internal audit procedures and checks exist to assure that the following reported data is

valued or authorized? - Disbursements - Fee payments - Commission rate and payees - Interest and dividend received - Contributions - Accrued income


F. What controls are in place to ensure that account activity is within the policies set by the

client? G. What type of insurance coverage is carried by your institution with respect to any acts or

omissions of directors, officers and other personnel resulting in loss of funds? H. Describe your securities settlement and clearance procedures and systems. I. Describe the daily notification procedures to advise fund managers of transactions and cash

balances available for investment. 2.01.10 Cash Management A. Describe your policies concerning: 1. Collection and crediting of interest and dividend income. 2. Automatic investment of cash balances. 3. Available money market funds B. Describe your investment vehicles used for short term cash reserves. Include investment

philosophy, objectives and performance data for the last five calendar years. C. When does income become available for investment? D. How do you handle the investment of cash in trades that fail? E. How do you minimize the fail float impact? F. Who benefits from fails? G. How do failed transactions affect the cash balance? How are they accounted for over the

close of the reporting periods? H. Do you offer a monthly analysis of fail income?

I. Are receipts and disbursements posted in immediately available or clearinghouse funds? J. Describe your sweep vehicle used for cash awaiting trade instructions and describe how fees

are charged to the client. Please provide a list of fund’s available.


2.01.11 Transition A. Include a conversion plan and an outline of the process. B. Please specify if you have a dedicated “conversion team”. If so, please include names, titles

and brief biographies.

C. What amount of lead time is necessary to proceed with the conversion? Describe the timeframe associated with the conversion process.

D. Is on-site training available for client staff during the conversion process?

2.01.12 Legal Issues

A. Please state whether you are willing to acknowledge that you are a fiduciary of the fund as defined by Georgia Statutes.

B. Please state whether you agree that the agreement shall be construed under the laws of the

state of Georgia and federal law where applicable. C. Please state whether you agree to a venue for any legal proceeding to be in the county in

which the Board sits. D. Please describe your process and suggested timeframes for proxy voting, notification of

proxy information and reports detailing all proxy voting activities. E. Please describe your process and timeframes for relevant receipt, analysis and processing of

corporate actions regarding conversation privileges, issuance of rights, mergers, tender offers, reorganization and other actions requiring decision by the Board.

F. Please describe your process and timeframes for class actions on behalf of the Plan to

include identification, analysis, communication and processing of relevant litigation claims that affect the Plan.

2.01.13 Payment Distributions

A. Describe your process for check distribution and rollovers? Can these distributions be done on a weekly basis? Do you have other methods of distribution? (i.e. Direct Deposit, Debit Card, etc.)

B. Describe your process for new retiree payments; include direct deposit of first check and

withholding of benefit deductions. Can these be done on a weekly basis? C. Describe your payment process for established retirees. D. How many accounts are allowed for direct deposit per retiree?


E. Does your firm have the ability to deduct health, life, dental, and vision coverage and submit payments to the City with detailed report of each participating contributions? With what frequency can this be done? Can the reports be totaled by deduction type?

F. Describe your audit process to ensure payments are not being made to deceased retirees.

How often can these be performed? 3.0 COST PROPOSAL

**The items listed in the Cost Proposal should be submitted within your proposal in a separate sealed envelope**

A. Please provide a detailed annual fee quote on a bundled and unbundled basis for custody

and related services alone. Are the fees guaranteed for any period of time? B. Please provide a five year fee quote. C. Please provide your best fee per account for performance measurement and analytic

services separate from the detailed quote requested above. D. We would consider an alternative “flat fee” for providing custody services, if you wish to

make such a proposal. E. Provide your investment management and custody fee for managing the STIF and GSTIF fund

options proposed in Section 1.4.3. 4.0 RFP Administrative Information

4.1 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

All questions must be submitted in writing to the proposal correspondent named above. Questions must be received by 10:00 a.m., (July 05, 2013). A list of questions and answers will be provided to all know proposers and by request. Requests may be made to the proposal correspondent named above.

4.1.2 PROPOSAL RESPONSE DATE AND LOCATION

The Administrative Services department must receive the vendor’s proposal in a sealed envelope, in its entirety, not later than (2:00 pm), Eastern Standard Time at 300 Henry Ward Way, Ste 103, Gainesville, Georgia 30501 on (July 12, 2013). Proposals arriving after the deadline will be returned unopened to their senders. All proposals and accompanying documentation will become the property of the City of Gainesville and may not be returned. One (1) original, (1) original unbound and (9) copies of this proposal must be submitted to allow for evaluation. Proposals must be clearly marked on the outside of the package:

(RFP 13047 Retirement Plan A Custodial Services)

Vendors assume the risk of the method of dispatch chosen. The City of Gainesville assumes no responsibility for delays caused by any delivery service. Postmarking by the due date will not substitute for actual proposal receipt. Late proposals will not be accepted nor will additional time be granted to any


vendor. Proposals may not be delivered by facsimile transmission or other telecommunication or solely by electronic means.

Proposal Schedule:

Proposal Release: (May 31, 2013)

Proposal Questions Deadline: (July 05, 2013 @ 10:00 am)

Proposal Due Date: (July 12, 2013)

Finalist Selection date: (August 14, 2013)

Finalist Notification Date: (August 15, 2013)

Finalist Presentations: (September 2 – 6, 2013)

Award date: (By September 20, 2013)

4.1.3 WAIVER OF TECHNICALITIES

All items must meet or exceed specifications as stated by the City of Gainesville. The City of Gainesville reserves the right to waive any technicalities and to reject or accept any Proposal in its entirety or to accept any portion thereof if it is determined that either method results in lower costs, better service, final satisfaction or is otherwise determined to be in the best interest of the City of Gainesville. Award may be made by item number or in total. Determination of best response to proposal will be the sole judgment of the City of Gainesville. Proposals shall remain valid for ninety days from the date of proposal opening.

4.1.4 PROPOSAL REJECTION

The City of Gainesville reserves the right to reject any or all proposals at any time without penalty.

Any vendor, who acts as a supplier to another vendor submitting a proposal and also submits a proposal of their own, will be viewed as participating in Collusive behavior. This behavior displays a pattern or practice of unethical or immoral business practices. Any vendor associated with this practice may be banned from doing business with the City of Gainesville for up to three years.

4.1.5 WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSALS

Proposals may be withdrawn at any time prior to the proposal opening. After proposals have been publicly opened, withdrawal of a proposal shall be based upon the following:

The Proposer shall give notice in writing of his claim of right to withdraw his proposal due to an error within two business days after the conclusion of the proposal opening procedure. Proposals may be withdrawn from consideration if the price is substantially lower than the other proposals due solely to a mistake therein, provided the proposal was submitted in good faith, and the mistake was a clerical mistake as opposed to a judgment mistake, and was actually due to an unintentional arithmetic error or an unintentional omission of a quantity of work, labor or material made directly in the compilation of the proposal, which unintentional arithmetical error or unintentional omission can be clearly shown by objective evidence drawn from inspection of original work papers, documents and materials used in the preparation of the proposal sought to be withdrawn. The proposer’s original work papers shall be the sole


acceptable evidence of error and mistake if he elects to withdraw his proposal. If a proposal is withdrawn under the authority of this provision, the lowest remaining responsive proposal shall be deemed to be the low proposal.

4.1.6 PROPOSER’S RESPONSIBILITY

When determining whether a proposer is responsible, or when evaluating a proposal, the following factors may be considered, any one of which will suffice to determine whether a proposer is responsible or the proposal is the most advantageous to the City:

The ability, capacity and skill of the proposer to perform the contract or provide the equipment and/or service required.

The character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience and efficiency of the proposer.

Whether the proposer can perform the contract within the time specified.

The quality of performance of previous public and private contracts or services, including, but not limited to, the proposer’s failure to perform satisfactorily or complete any written contract. The City’s termination for default of a previous contract with a proposer, within the past three years, shall be deemed to be such a failure.

The previous and existing compliance by the Proposer with laws relating to the contract or service.

Evidence of collusion with any other Proposers, in which case colluding proposers will be restricted from submitting further proposals on the subject project or future proposals, for a period not less than three years.

The proposer has been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude or any felony, excepting convictions that have been pardoned, expunged or annulled, whether in this state, in any other state, by the United States, or in a foreign country, province or municipality. Proposer shall affirmatively disclose to the City all such convictions, especially of management personnel or the proposers as an entity, prior to notice of award or execution of a contract, whichever comes first. Failure to make such affirmative disclosure shall be grounds, in the City’s sole option and discretion, for termination for default subsequent to award or execution of the contract.

If the proposer will be unable, financially or otherwise, to perform the work.

At the time of the proposal opening, the proposer is not authorized to do business in the Georgia, or otherwise lacks a necessary license, registration or permit.

Any other reason deemed proper by the City.

4.1.7 NON-ENDORSEMENT

As a result of the selection of a vendor to supply products and/or services to the City of Gainesville, the City of Gainesville is neither endorsing nor suggesting that the vendor’s product is the best or only solution. The vendor agrees to make no reference to the City of Gainesville in any literature, promotional material, brochures, sales presentation or the like without the express written consent of the City of Gainesville.


4.1.8 PROPRIETARY PROPOSAL MATERIAL

Any information contained in the proposal that is proprietary will be neither accepted nor honored. All information contained in this proposal is subject to public disclosure.

4.1.9 RESPONSE PROPERTY OF THE CITY OF GAINESVILLE

All material submitted in response to this request becomes the property of the City of Gainesville. Selection or rejection of a response does not affect this right.

4.1.10 NO OBLIGATION TO BUY

The City of Gainesville reserves the right to refrain from contracting with or purchasing from any vendor. The release of this proposal does not compel the City of Gainesville to purchase.

4.1.11 COST OF PREPARING PROPOSALS

The City of Gainesville is not liable for any cost incurred by vendors in the preparation and presentation of proposals and demonstrations submitted in response to this proposal.

4.1.12 NUMBER OF PROPOSAL COPIES REQUIRED

Vendors are to submit one (1) original Proposal, (1) original unbound and nine (9) copies.

4.1.13 ADDENDA

Proposers are responsible to check the City of Gainesville’s website for the issuance of any addenda prior to submitting a proposal. The address is http://www.gainesville.org/purchasing

4.1.14 PROPOSAL AWARD AND EXECUTION

The City will select the proposal that, in its sole discretion, is the most responsive and responsible proposal to the City. The City reserves the right to make any award without further discussion of the proposal submitted; there may be no best and final offer procedure. Therefore, the proposal should be initially submitted on the most favorable terms the vendor can offer. The specification may be altered by the City of Gainesville based on the vendor’s proposal and an increase or reduction of services with the manufacturer may be negotiated before proposal award and execution.

4.1.15 LOCAL VENDOR PREFERENCE

Local Vendor means a bidder or offeror which operates and maintains a brick and mortar business,

i.e. a physical business address, within the city limits of the City of Gainesville, has a current

business license, has paid in full all real and personal taxes owed the City, is considered a vendor in

good standing with the City and can obtain an active vendor status.

A local vendor may receive an opportunity to match for purchases, bids, proposal or contracts over

$20,000 and less than $100,000. The local vendor may be given an opportunity to match the lowest

price proposal, if the quotation or bid of the local vendor is within 3% of the lowest price proposal

by a non-local vendor. In the event a local vendor matches the lowest price proposal, including all

other terms, quality, services and conditions, then the local vendor shall be awarded the contract.


In the event the price proposal of more than one local vendor is within 3% of the lowest overall

price proposal of a non-local vendor, the local vendor with the lowest proposal will be given the first

opportunity to match the lowest overall price proposal. If this local vendor declines to match the

price proposal, then the local vendor with the next lowest bid within 3% will be given the

opportunity to match the lowest proposal. This process will continue with all local vendors having

proposal within 3% of the lowest overall bid by a non-local vendor.

Policy to be stated. This policy shall be so stated in all applicable solicitations.

Exemptions. This provision does not apply to public works construction projects or road projects pursuant to the laws of the State of Georgia (O.C.G.A §36-91 or §32-4).

4.2 RFP Evaluation Process An Evaluation Team composed of representatives of the City’s Retirement Plan A will evaluate proposals on a variety of quantitative and qualitative criteria. Neither the lowest price nor highest scoring proposal will necessarily be selected. 4.2.1 Proposal Evaluation Team The Evaluation Team shall determine which Vendors meet the minimum requirements pursuant to selection criteria of the RFP. The Evaluation team may negotiate with one or more Vendors during the same period and may, at its discretion, terminate negotiations with any or all Vendors. 4.2.2 Proposal Selection Criteria The Evaluation team shall assign up to the maximum number of points for each evaluation item to each of the proposing Vendor’s proposals. All assignments of points shall be at the sole discretion of the Evaluation team. The information required to be submitted in response to this RFP has been determined by the Board to be essential for use by the Evaluation team in the proposal evaluation and award process. Therefore, all instruction contained in this RFP shall be met in order to qualify as a responsive and responsible vendor and participate in the Evaluation team’s consideration for award. Proposals which do not meet or comply with the instruction of this RFP may be considered non-conforming and deemed non-responsive and subject to disqualification at the sole discretion of the Evaluation team. The Evaluation Team Reserves the Right to:

Select for contract or for negotiations a proposal other than that with lowest costs.

Reject any and all proposal or portions of proposal receive in response to this RFP or make no award or issue a new RFP.

Waive or modify any information, irregularity, or inconsistency in proposals received.

Request modification to proposals from any or all vendors during the contract review and negotiation.

Negotiate any aspect of the proposal with any Vendor and negotiate with more than one Vendor at the same time.


4.2.3 Criteria Weight All proposal shall be evaluated using the same criteria and scoring process. The following criteria shall be used by the Evaluation Team to evaluate proposals:

Criteria Weight

Past performance 10

Experience and Expertise 20

Vendor Responses 30

Presentations & Demonstrations 10

Corporate qualifications including financial stability 10

Cost Proposal 10

References 10

Total 100

4.2.4 Proposal Clarification The Evaluation team may contact any Vendor in order to clarify uncertainties or eliminate confusion concerning the contents of a proposal. Proposals may not be modified as a result of any such clarification request.

4.2.5 References The Evaluation Team may contact any customer of the Vendor, whether or not included in the Vendor’s reference list, and use such information in the evaluation process. Additionally, the Board may choose to conduct on-site visits. 4.2.6 Oral Presentations Selected Vendors may be invited to make oral presentations to the Evaluation Team. The Vendor representative(s) attending the oral presentation shall be technically qualified to respond to questions related to the proposed system and its components. All of the Vendor's costs associated with participation in oral discussions and system demonstrations conducted for the Evaluation Team are the Vendor’s responsibility. 4.3 Contract Terms and Conditions 4.3.1 General Information 1. The term of the contract between the successful bidder and the city shall be for 5 years with 2

extensions for a period of 1 year for each extension. 2. The selected Vendor will be required to enter into a written agreement with the City, including

terms and conditions explicitly described in this RFP. The City reserves the right to incorporate standard State contractual provisions into any contract negotiated as a result of a proposal submitted in response to this RFP. Any proposed modifications to the terms and conditions of the standard contract are subject to review and approval by the city attorney. Vendors will be required to sign the contract for all services, and may be required to sign additional agreements. The selected Vendor or Vendors will be expected to enter negotiations with the State, which will result in a formal contract between parties. Procurement will be in accordance with subsequent contracted agreement. This RFP and the selected Vendor’s response to this RFP will be


incorporated as part of any formal contract. The selected vendor must complete a City of Gainesville Vendor packet prior to the completion of the contract.

3. The Vendor shall discharge each of its duties and exercise each of its powers with due care, skill,

prudence, and diligence under the circumstances that a prudent expert acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of any enterprise of like character and with like aims. The Vendor shall discharge its duties under the contract solely in the interest of GRPA acting in its capacity as a fiduciary of GRPA.

4. The successful Vendor shall promptly execute a contract incorporating the terms of this RFP

within twenty (20) days after award of the contract. 5. If the Vendor to whom the award is made fails to enter into the agreement as herein provided,

the award will be annulled, and an award may be made to another Vendor. Such Vendor shall fulfill every stipulation embraced herein as if they were the party to whom the first award was made.

4.4 Insurance Requirements

Proposer must provide evidence, satisfactory to the City, of the following insurance requirements:

o Owner requires the vendor to have and maintain the following insurance coverage and indemnification provisions with the City of Gainesville named as an additional insured hereunder.

o The vendor agrees to provide and maintain insurance coverage until the contract is completed

and to furnish certificates from its insurance carriers showing that it carries insurance in the following minimum limits:

General Liability: $1,000,000 per occurrence

$3,000,000 aggregate

Professional Liability/Errors & $1,000,000 per occurrence

Omissions/Fiduciary Liability: $3,000,000 aggregate

Automobile Liability: $1,000,000 per occurrence

Workers’ Compensation Statutory Limits

o Proof of Insurance

The vendor shall furnish the Owner with certificates showing the type, amount, class of operations covered, effective dates, and date of expiration of policies. Such certificates shall also contain substantially the following statement: The insurance covered by this certificate will not be cancelled or materially altered, except after thirty (30) days written notice has been received by the Owner. (Endorsements to the Policy that name the City as an Additional insured and establishment of cancellation notice are required)


City of Gainesville

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP No. (13047)

(Retirement Plan A Custodial Services)

Proposal Certification

Proposers must return the following certification with their proposals.

With my signature, I certify that I am authorized to commit my firm to the Proposal and that the information herein is valid for 90 days from this date.

I further certify that all information presented herein is accurate and complete and that the scope of work can be performed as presented in this proposal upon the City’s request.

Proposers Signature ________________________________________Date ______________________

Name (printed) ____________________________________Title ______________________________

Unofficial Witness Signature_________________________________Date_______________________

Name (printed)_____________________________________Title______________________________

Company___________________________________________________________________________

Address____________________________________________________________________________

Phone____________________________________Fax_______________________________________

Email Address________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________ Notary Public Commission Expires:_________________


City of Gainesville

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP No. (13047)

(Retirement Plan A Custodial Services)

Proposal Certification

This form must be completed and signed for bid to be considered.

Postal Return Address: Courier Delivery Address:

City of Gainesville City of Gainesville Purchasing Office Purchasing Office P.O. Box 2496 300 Henry Ward Way, Room 103 Gainesville, GA 30503 Gainesville, GA 30501

Proposal Response: Price: $____________________

Having read and responded to all attached specifications, the undersigned offers the above quoted prices, terms and conditions. Signed, sealed, and delivered _______________________________________ In the presence of: (Name of Company) ________________________________ By: ________________________________________ Unofficial Witness (Person authorized to sign binding contract) Title: ______________________________________ ________________________________ Notary Public Attest: ______________________________________ Commission Expires: ______________ (Officer of Company if Corporation) Title: _______________________________________

request for proposal - gainesville, georgia · request for proposal rfp no. (13047) ... plan...

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