electronic bill presentment & payment services (cs-310)

Draft version12 #896060, 08/30/2013 Date Issued: September 6, 2013 Pre-Submittal Meeting (See Section 1.F): October 2, 2013 Deadline for Submission of Questions: October 23, 2013 Statement of Qualifications Due: November 13, 2013

City and County of San Francisco Request for Qualification (RFQ) For San Francisco Water Power Sewer (Services of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission)

Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment Services (CS-310)

RFQ #CS-310 Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment Services of 20

Contents I. INTRODUCTION AND SCHEDULE ............................................................................... 4

II. SCOPE OF SERVICES .................................................................................................. 8

III. STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATION SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS .............................. 9

A. Time and Place for Submission of Statement of Qualifications: ..................................................................... 9

B. Response Package ......................................................................................................................................... 10

IV. SELECTION CRITERIA .............................................................................................. 10

A. Minimum Qualifications (MQ) ...................................................................................................................... 10

B. Evaluation Criteria for Pre-qualification ....................................................................................................... 11

V. TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR RECEIPT OF STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS ........ 13

VI. CCSF CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS .......................................................................... 17

VII. PROTEST PROCEDURES ......................................................................................... 19

APPENDICES:

A. CCSF’s Professional Services Agreement (P-500)

B. Contract Monitoring Division Forms

C. CCSF’s Administrative Requirements

D. Response Template

ATTACHMENTS

1. SFPUC Paper Bill – Current Design 2. SFPUC Paper Bill – Draft of Potential Future Design

Acronyms and Abbreviations


CAB Contract Administration Bureau (part of SFPUC)

CCSF City and County of San Francisco

CDD City Distribution Division (part of SFPUC)

CMD San Francisco Contract Monitoring Division

EBPP Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment

HRC San Francisco Human Rights Commission

LBE Local Business Enterprise

MQs Minimum Qualifications

NTP Notice to Proceed

PCI Payment Card Industry

PDT Pacific Daylight Time

RFQ Request for Qualifications

SLA Service Level Agreement

SFPUC San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

SFWPS San Francisco Water Power and Sewer (new branding name of SFPUC)

SOQ Statement of Qualifications


I. INTRODUCTION AND SCHEDULE A. Request for Qualification The City and County of San Francisco (CCSF), through its San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), is issuing this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in order to identify qualified contractors with the skills, resources and assets to provide electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) and related services. The SFPUC and other CCSF Agencies/Departments wish to start, expand, enhance and improve their use of EBPP services and intend to create pools (Pools) of qualified vendors for specific product categories that meet Minimum Qualifications (MQ) and can supply EBPP technology solutions as well as other support functions to maximize the value of an EBPP program to CCSF/SFPUC and their customers. B. Description of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission The SFPUC is a City department that provides retail drinking water and sewer services to San Francisco, wholesale water to three (3) other Bay Area Counties, and hydroelectric power to San Francisco’s municipal operations. The SFPUC supplies drinking water to 2.5 million customers in the four (4) Bay Area counties of Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco. Headquartered at 525 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco, the SFPUC has approximately 2,000 employees with a combined annual operating budget of approximately $700 million. The mission of the SFPUC is to:

• Serve San Francisco and its Bay Area customers with reliable, high quality and affordable water, while maximizing benefits from power operations and responsibly managing the resources entrusted to its care;

• Protect public health, public safety and the environment by providing reliable and efficient collection, treatment and disposal of San Francisco’s wastewater;

• Provide reliable greenhouse gas-free electricity to City municipal departments and other customers; • Conduct its business affairs in a manner that promotes efficiency, minimizes waste, and ensures rate

payers confidence; and • Promote diversity and the health, safety, and professional development of its employees.

The SFPUC is comprised of three (3) separate enterprises. The SFPUC Water Enterprise is responsible for managing the transmission, treatment, storage and distribution of potable water to San Francisco’s wholesale and retail customers. The SFPUC Wastewater Enterprise is responsible for managing the collection, treatment and disposal of San Francisco’s wastewater. The SFPUC Power Enterprise is responsible for managing retail power sales, transmission and distribution services, power scheduling, street lighting services, and EE and renewable programs for municipal customers. In addition, the Enterprise manages the SFPUC's, power planning and policy relationships with energy market regulators, and coordinates utility services for redevelopment areas, energy resource planning efforts and various other energy services.

For additional information regarding the SFPUC please visit our website at www.sfwater.org.

C. SFPUC Billing Services


Presently, SFPUC Water and Wastewater bills are produced internally and mailed with assistance from internal CCSF fulfillment services to residential and business customers every-other-month. Billing is staggered so that roughly half of the bills are produced and sent each month. SFPUC began to change this every-other-month practice in July, 2013 and will bill all customers monthly, the result of which will be a near doubling of bill production and payments received/processed. The increased billing volume and a desire to expand and enhance the use of EBPP are the drivers behind this RFQ. The following is a summary of SFPUC’s current revenue, systems, and billing/payment statistics:

FY 2011 - 2012 REVENUES

Water Sales $346,309,847 Wastewater Sales $230,962,221 Sub-Total $577,272,068

Power Sales

Municipal Paying $64,644,632 Non-Municipal Paying (Retail) $14,012,812 Sub-Total $78,657,444

Land Leases $9,393,212

Grand Total $665,323,724

Billing (Customer Care) Information Systems

• SFPUC uses Oracle Customer Care and Billing for the billing and recording of collections for Water and Wastewater Services

• SFPUC uses the Utility Star Billing System (Able Software) for the billing and recording of collections for Power Services

• SFPUC uses the Colonial Real Estate System for the billing and recording of collections for land leases.

Current Bill Delivery Statistics

Bill Delivery Method Water & Wastewater Power Land United States Postal Service 80% 100% 100% Electronic Bill Presentment 20% 0% 0%

Printing of ALL categories of bills is performed in-house. Mailing of Power and Land bills is also completed in-house. Statement insertion and mailing of Water/Wastewater bills are outsourced to the CCSF Reproduction and Mail Services. EBPP is performed by Kubra, www.kubra.com.

http://www.kubra.com/


Current Payment Types (See Descriptions Below the Chart) Category Water & Wastewater Power Land Mailed Checks (Processed by CCSF Treasurer and Tax Collector’s Office)

Yes No No

ePayments1 Yes No No Paymode2 Yes No No Auto Pay (Direct Debit – Customer Bank Account) Yes No No Station Payments (Cash and Checks) Yes No No Mailed Checks (Processed by SFPUC Customer Service) Yes Yes Yes In-Person Office Payments (Cash and Checks) Yes No No In-Person Office Payments (Credit/Debit Card) Yes No No Card Payments via Web Yes No No Card Payments via IVR Yes No No Wire Payments Yes No No Work Order Payments (Municipal Customers Only) Yes Yes Yes Journal Entry Payments (Municipal Customers Only) Yes Yes Yes

• Mailed Check Payments are outsourced and processed through an in-house lockbox operated by the

CCSF Office of Treasurer and Tax Collector (TTX) • ePayments are processed through Kubra • Paymode is a product of Bottomline Technologies procured through Bank of America • Auto Pay (Direct Debit) is processed through Bank of America. Enrollment forms are processed by

Stop Processing • Station Payments are processed at 828 Stockton Street (Dots Printing & Stationery) in Chinatown • Credit/Debit Card Payments originated in the SFPUC Office are processed through Bank of America

Merchant Services • Card Payments on the WEB and via IVR are processed through FIS3.

1 ePayments are payments processed either via credit/debit card or automated clearinghouse WEB standard entry class code debit. 2 Paymode: see: http://www.paymode-x.com/About-Us.aspx 3 FIS (NYSE: FIS) is a global provider dedicated to banking and payments technologies. FIS serves more than 14,000 institutions in over 100 countries. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., FIS employs more than 35,000 people. For more information about FIS, visit www.fisglobal.com.

http://www.paymode-x.com/About-Us.aspx

http://www.fisglobal.com/


Water and Wastewater Payments Processed FY2011-2012

Number of Transactions

Percent of Total Transactions

Dollar Amount Percent of Total Dollar

Amount Mailed Checks Processed at TTX 504,040 50.58% $395,641,821 72.79% ePayments (Checking Account) 230,457 23.13% $50,098,093 9.21% Paymode 68,467 6.87% $13,561,657 2.49% AutoPay (Direct Debit) 113,088 11.35% $29,276,745 5.38% Station Payments 21,710 2.18% $5,341,078 0.98% Mail Payments Processed at SFPUC Customer Service

1,774 0.18% $17,736,970 3.26%

Office Payments (Cash and Check) 31,249 3.14% $21,058,364 3.87% Office Payments (Credit/Debit Card) 6,697 0.67% $2,773,161 0.51% Card Payments via WEB 5,765 0.58% $4,045,542 0.74% Card Payments via IVR 13,272 1.33% $3,986,253 0.73% TOTAL 996,518 100.00% $543,519,684 100.00%

D. CCSF Goals

1) CCSF, acting by and through the SFPUC, is soliciting Statements of Qualification (SOQs) from qualified technology firms, commercial banks, and other qualified experts (Respondents) to start, expand and improve use of EBBP services. Respondents with relevant experience and qualifications in one or more of the Service Categories defined in Section II, Scope of Services of this RFQ, that meet the Minimum Qualifications (MQ) set forth in Section IV.A, are encouraged to submit SOQs.

2) Based on an objective evaluation of Respondents’ experience and qualifications, SFPUC seeks to

establish a Pool of pre-qualified Respondents for EBPP Services categories defined in Section II.

3) Respondents pre-qualified under this RFQ will be entered into a Pool of pre-qualified vendors and remain eligible for consideration and contract negotiation through September 30, 2015. Although SFPUC makes no guarantees regarding the amount of work that will be contracted as a result of this RFQ, Respondents admitted into the Pool will remain in the Pool until the Pool’s expiration on September 30, 2015. Actual contract volumes and periods will vary depending upon service needs.

4) Selection for placement in a Pool does not guarantee a future contract award for professional services,

and SFPUC retains the right to terminate the Pool at any time. SELECTED RESPONDENTS PLACED IN A POOL ARE NOT GUARANTEED A CONTRACT. The Pool may be used by any CCSF Department, at its sole and absolute discretion.

5) Each qualified Respondent may subcontract as necessary to provide services in the Service Categories

defined in Section II below. The Respondents will be evaluated based on the extent to which Respondents are able to provide the services either in-house or with qualified, experienced subcontractors specified in the Respondent’s SOQs.

6) As used in this RFQ, the term “Respondent” refers to any entity submitting a response to the RFQ to be

considered for inclusion in a pre-qualified Pool. The “Contractor” refers to the Respondent(s) awarded contracts for services under this RFQ.

7) Please do not contact CCSF staff or representatives regarding this RFQ, except as otherwise stated in


this RFQ. 8) Contracts that are awarded shall be subject to all applicable CCSF selection and contracting provisions

for Professional Services Contracts (PSC).

E. RFQ Schedule of Events RFQ Event Date* Time/Deadline RFQ is Issued by the SFPUC September 6, 2013 Pre-Submittal meeting (not mandatory) October 2, 2013 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM Deadline for submission of written questions or requests for clarification

October 23, 2013 5:00 PM

Statement of Qualifications Due November 13, 2013 11:00 AM NOTE: *Each date is subject to change. All hours are stated in Pacific Daylight Time. SFPUC staff highly recommends that Respondents check the following website regularly for updates to the Schedule of Events: http://sfwater.org. F. Pre-Submittal Meeting A pre-submittal meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 2, 2013 from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. PDT at 525 Golden Gate Avenue, 2nd Floor, O’Shaughnessy Conference Room A and B, San Francisco, California, 94102 or by conference call to (877)468-2136 (USA Toll-Free), participant code: 875005, The project team and SFPUC staff will be available to answer questions or requests for clarification on any items in this RFQ. Participation in this meeting is optional for any potential RFQ Respondents. All questions will be addressed at this conference and any available new information will be provided at that time. Questions received and responses given during this meeting will be available as an Addendum to the RFQ following the meeting at the SFPUC website www.sfwater.org. If you have further questions regarding the RFQ, please contact David E. Scott via email ([email protected]) or via telephone (415-551-4672). II. SCOPE OF SERVICES This Scope of Services is to be used as a general guide and is not intended to be a complete list of all services that may be required or desired. SFPUC Customer Services will, if Contractors are engaged, administer the Agreement. Other CCSF Departments will, if Contractors are engaged, separately administer such agreements. Each Respondent must specify, in Appendix D, the Service Categories for which it wants to be considered for qualification. A Pool of qualified vendors will be established for each of the Service Categories defined in #1-3 below. Respondents may submit qualifications for any number of the three (3) Service Categories listed below. The SFPUC encourages Respondents to submit qualifications for all Service Categories for which they meet or exceed MQs described in this RFQ. However, each Respondent should focus its efforts on the Service Categories for which it has proven expertise, particular specialty or competitive advantage. Responses to Service Categories in which Respondent expertise cannot be clearly demonstrated, as described in the MQs section of this RFQ, will be considered non-responsive and not be eligible for placement into that category of pre-qualified vendors.

http://sfwater.org/

http://www.sfwater.org/

mailto:[email protected]


CCSF Departments may negotiate agreements with as many members of Pools as appropriate in each of the below three (3) Service Categories: SERVICE CATEGORIES

1. Enrollment Services & Financial Institution & Third Party Bill Presentment & Payment Services

2. Enrollment Services & Options to Deliver Electronic Bills and Make Payments

3. Enrollment Services & SFPUC Branded Bill Presentment & Payment Services Within these Service Categories, CCSF Departments plan to engage with contractors that can supply one or more of the below functions:

A. BANK OR THIRD PARTY EBPP SERVICES: Electronic presentment of SFPUC or other CCSF Agencies/Departments bills to the Respondent’s current and future bill pay customers through the Respondent’s EBPP Service.

B. BILL PAY CONSOLIDATION SERVICES: Consolidation of electronic bill payment volumes produced through the various service providers in the industry.

C. BRANDED EBPP SERVICES: Vendor hosted SFPUC, or other CCSF Department, branded EBPP Service to electronically deliver bills and accept electronic payments to/from SFPUC, or other CCSF Department, customers.

D. ALTERNATE AND EMERGING ELECTRONIC BILL PAY AND PAYMENT SERVICES: Optional services and technologies that help SFPUC, or other CCSF Departments, increase use of EBPP, reduce paper bills and/or increase electronic payments.

E. MARKETING AND PROMOTION SERVICES: Increase enrollment of SFPUC customers into SFPUC’s and other CCSF Department Branded EBPP Service.

III. STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATION SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS A. Time and Place for Submission of Statement of Qualifications:

SOQs and all related materials must be received not later than 11:00 am, on Wednesday, November 13, 2013:

By mail: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Contract Administration Bureau Attn.: CS-310, E-Bill Presentment & Payment Services 525 Golden Gate Avenue, 8th Floor San Francisco, CA 94102. Deliver SOQs to: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Contract Administration Bureau Attn.: CS-310, E-Bill Presentment & Payment Services


525 Golden Gate Ave., 1st Floor, Customer Service San Francisco, CA 94102

Postmarks will not be considered when judging the timeliness of submissions. Submission of SOQs by e-mail or fax will not be accepted. Late submissions may be rejected, including those submitted late due to postal or delivery service failure. Please plan accordingly. B. Response Package

Respondents must submit the information highlighted in #1-2 immediately below in an envelope or box labeled CS-310, E-Bill Presentment & Payment Services. Responses must be complete and concise explanations of the Respondent’s ability to satisfy each proposed Service Category’s MQs and description of the Respondent’s expertise, unique capabilities and competitive advantages within each proposed Service Category. Marketing and general sales information should not be included. All parts, pages, figures, and tables are to be numbered and clearly labeled.

1. One (1) original printed response (with original signatures) labeled as “Original.” The pages

should be bound by a method in which the sheets may be easily separated (e.g. 3-hole binder, binder clip, comb. binding, velo binding) and labeled as:

Appendix B: Contract Monitoring Division (CMD) Forms – 1 original Appendix C: City’s Administrative Requirements Appendix D: Response Template

2. One (1) CD-ROM or USB flash drive containing entire response as specified in 1, above, including all RFQ Attachments. The CD-ROM and electronic files on the CD-ROM must be labeled with the Respondent’s name. All files should be submitted in unprotected PDF or Word format. Electronic files should include signatures, where applicable.

IV. SELECTION CRITERIA

A. Minimum Qualifications (MQ) Respondents must demonstrate they meet the MQs by the SOQ submittal deadline to be considered responsive and eligible for placement into a Pool. It is mandatory that each Respondent have the below MQs for each of the Service Categories to which a Respondent submits an SOQ. If the Respondent is a team consisting of a Prime Respondent with one or more proposed subcontractors, then the Prime Respondent must have the below MQs for each of the subject areas selected in Appendix D. If the Respondent is a joint venture team, then the joint venture team as a whole must have the below MQs for each of the Service Categories selected.


1) Respondent must have product capabilities to support CCSF’s and SFPUC’s needs. Please

refer to Scope of Services above and demonstrate that your firm/team/joint venture provides the needed services.

2) Respondent must have a minimum of three (3) years relevant experience providing all of the services for which it submits an SOQ.

3) Respondents to Service Categories #1 and #3 must provide three (3) years audited financial statements including a balance sheet and income statement. Respondents to Service Categories #1 and #3 must have minimum equity capital of $500,000.

4) Respondent’s key staff assigned to support SFPUC’s operating requirements must have a minimum of three (3) years relevant experience delivering the services for which the Respondent submits an SOQ.

5) Respondent must provide a minimum of three (3) relevant reference contacts (preferably from utilities similar in size to SFPUC).

6) Respondent must submit a certification statement that it holds all licenses and registrations required by applicable federal and state laws for businesses offering the services.

7) Respondent must submit a certification statement that it is in compliance with all statutory and regulatory obligations of its business (for example PCI for credit/debit card processing) and that no government or other oversight body has issued a cease and desist (or equivalent) order relevant to the Service Categories to the Respondent in the past two (2) years.

8) Respondent must agree to establish Service Level Agreements (SLA) for the purchased services and agree to liquidated damages for critical misses.

9) If awarded, Respondent agrees to assign a dedicated customer service officer(s) who covers all of the purchased products/services as a single point of contact to SFPUC and identify the customer service officer(s) assigned to SFPUC and provide a resume of his/her/their background and experience.

10) If awarded, Respondent agrees to assign a dedicated account representative to the SFPUC, or any other CCSF Department, relationship.

B. Evaluation Criteria for Pre-qualification

1. Evaluation Team The Evaluation Team will be comprised of individuals who are knowledgeable on the subject matter, and may include staff from the SFPUC, other City agencies, and/or other utilities or organizations. The Evaluation Team will be responsible for evaluating and rating the responses for pre-qualification. SFPUC/City staff closely involved with the preparation of this RFQ and the development of the scope of services will not be allowed to be part of the Evaluation Team. 2. Minimum Qualifications (MQ) The MQs for this RFQ are set forth above and in Section B of Appendix D. The MQs are used by SFPUC to determine whether the Respondent and the proposed staff have experience on projects comparable to the Service Categories requested by the SFPUC. Respondents not meeting these MQs, as determined by the SFPUC, will not be considered for evaluation or for inclusion in the pre-qualified list. Responses will be reviewed by CCSF staff to determine if MQs are met. Only responses that meet the MQs will be evaluated and rated by the Evaluation Team.


3. Evaluation Criteria for Pre-qualification (Total of 100 points)

Each RFQ response that meets the MQs will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria below. For each Service Category for which a Respondent is proposing, a Respondent must receive a score of 70 points or above out of the 100 total possible points to be pre-qualified. There is no numerical limit to the number of Respondents that may be pre-qualified under each Service Category.

a. Overall Quality of Submission – 10 points

1) Response conforms with RFQ requirements and concisely but comprehensively addresses

RFQ requirements; 2) Response is professionally presented and contains organized content and format.

b. Firm Contracting, Relationship Management and Implementation – 25 points

1) Respondent’s analysis of CCSF’s Professional Services Agreement (P-500) demonstrates a

willingness to negotiate and execute a contract. 2) Respondent’s implementation project plan is realistic, workable and achieves SFPUC’s

goals and objectives. 3) Respondent’s relationship management provides support and advocacy for SFPUC’s goals

and objectives. 4) Respondent’s customer service provides high quality and timely responsiveness and

demonstrates dedication to solving critical issues quickly and completely. 5) Overall, Respondent communicates a dedication to serving CCSF and SFPUC needs and a

commitment to timely, accurate and professional service.

c. Responses to General Questions and Scenarios – 40 points

1) Demonstrated expertise and ability to provide the required services within the Service Category.

2) Product capabilities and flexibility to meet CCSF Department’s needs. 3) Emphasis on security, financial controls, and private information management. 4) Quality and timeliness of reporting and data exchanges. 5) Demonstrated experience with or appropriateness of stated approach to situation. 6) Quality and relevance of products and services that would be of value to the SFPUC in

order to improve bill payer participation. 7) Quality and relevance of recommended actions the CCSF might take to increase EBPP

participation.

d. Staff Qualifications – 25 points

1) Clarity and appropriateness of proposed staffing structure. 2) Relevance of staff roles and responsibilities, experience, education and other qualifications

of staff to services requested under this RFQ.


3) Clarity, appropriateness, and value of the project leader’s background, expertise, and authority to represent the firm, including leader’s value to the SFPUC and its finances, strength as a project manager, and demonstrated ability to solve problems.

4) Background, expertise, and authority of the staff person(s). 5) Disclosure of whether any proposed staff have ever been removed or asked to resign from

a project.

C. Pre-Qualification Process Respondents scoring 70 points and above will be added to the pre-qualified list and eligible for potential contract negotiations with a CCSF Department on an as-needed basis. PLACEMENT OF A RESPONDENT IN THE PRE-QUALIFIED POOL DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE RESPONDENT WILL BE AWARDED A FUTURE CONTRACT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. Respondents placed in a Pool will remain eligible for participation and possible contract negotiation on an as-needed basis through September 30, 2015. Subject to negotiations, SFPUC anticipates that the awarded as-needed contracts would have terms up to nine (9) years. Due to the varied nature of the services to be performed, the SFPUC reserves the right to contract with any, all or none of the pre-qualified Respondents. It is the SFPUC’s intent to create a pre-qualified Pool from which the SFPUC will, at its sole discretion, select and negotiate a contract with a pre-qualified Respondent. CCSF Departments reserve the right to select from the list of pre-qualified Respondents without further solicitation. (See Section IV.D. below.) The selection of any pre-qualified Respondents for contract negotiation shall not imply acceptance by the SFPUC of all terms of the response, which may be subject to further negotiation and approvals before the SFPUC may be legally bound thereby. If a satisfactory contract cannot be negotiated in a reasonable time with any pre-qualified Respondents, then the SFPUC, in its sole discretion, may terminate negotiations and begin contract negotiations with any remaining pre-qualified Respondents. D. Contractor Selection Processes Selection Process For each of the Service Categories, SFPUC anticipates selecting one or more pre-qualified firms with which to contract for delivery of the required services. Selected firms will be asked to enter into contract negotiations including pricing. If SFPUC and any selected firm are unable to successfully complete contract negotiations, SFPUC may invite another member of the pre-qualified Pool to enter into contract and pricing negotiations. V. TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR RECEIPT OF STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS A. Errors and Omissions in RFQ

Respondents are responsible for reviewing all portions of this RFQ, including Appendices and Attachments.


Respondents are to promptly notify the SFPUC, in writing, if the Respondent discovers any ambiguity, discrepancy, omission, or other error in the RFQ. Any such notification should be directed to: [email protected] with Subject: “RFQ #CS-310” promptly after discovery, but in no event later than 5:00 p.m. PDT on October 23, 2013. Modifications and clarifications will be made by Addenda as provided below.

B. Inquiries Regarding RFQ Inquiries regarding the RFQ and all oral notifications of intent to request written modification or clarification of the RFQ must be directed by e-mail to: [email protected], Subject: “RFQ #CS-310” no later than 5:00 p.m. PDT on October 23, 2013

C. Objections to RFQ Terms Should a Respondent object on any ground to any provision or legal requirement set forth in this RFQ, the Respondent must, not more than ten (10) calendar days after the RFQ is issued, provide written notice to [email protected], Subject: “RFQ #CS-310” setting forth with specificity the grounds for the objection. The failure of a Respondent to object in the manner set forth in this paragraph shall constitute a complete and irrevocable waiver of any such objection.

D. Addenda The SFPUC may modify the RFQ, prior to the submittal due date, by issuing Addenda, which will be posted on the website: http://sfwater.org. The Respondent shall be responsible for ensuring that its submittal reflects any and all Addenda issued by SFPUC prior to the submittal due date regardless of when the submittal is submitted. Therefore, SFPUC recommends that the Respondent consult the website frequently, including shortly before the submittal due date, to determine if the Respondent has downloaded all Addenda.

E. Revision of Submittal A Respondent may revise an SOQ on the Respondent’s own initiative at any time before the deadline for submission of SOQs. The Respondent must submit the revised SOQs in the same manner as the original. A revised SOQ must be received on or before the submittal due date.

In no case will a statement of intent to submit a revised SOQ, or commencement of a revision process, extend the submittal due date for any respondent. SFPUC staff reserves the right to approve an as-needed pool list without further clarifications of submittals received.

F. Errors and Omissions in SOQs Failure by SFPUC staff to object to an error, omission, or deviation in an SOQ will in no way modify the RFQ or excuse the Respondent from full compliance with the specifications of the RFQ or any contract awarded pursuant to the RFQ.

G. Financial Responsibility




http://sfwater.org/


The SFPUC accepts no financial responsibility for any costs incurred by a Respondent in responding to this RFQ. Submissions of the RFQ will become the property of the SFPUC and may be used by the SFPUC in any way deemed appropriate.

H. Respondent’s Obligations under the Campaign Reform Ordinance Respondents must comply with Section 1.126 of the S.F. Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code, which states:

No person who contracts with the City and County of San Francisco for the rendition of personal services, for the furnishing of any material, supplies or equipment to the City, or for selling any land or building to the City, whenever such transaction would require approval by a City elective officer, or the board on which that City elective officer serves, shall make any contribution to such an officer, or candidates for such an office, or committee controlled by such officer or candidate at any time between commencement of negotiations and the later of either (1) the termination of negotiations for such contract, or (2) three months have elapsed from the date the contract is approved by the City elective officer or the board on which that City elective officer serves.

If a Respondent is negotiating for a contract that must be approved by an elected local officer or the board on which that officer serves, during the negotiation period the Respondent is prohibited from making contributions to:

• the officer’s re-election campaign • a candidate for that officer’s office • a committee controlled by the officer or candidate.

The negotiation period begins with the first point of contact, either by telephone, in person, or in writing, when a Respondent approaches any city officer or employee about a particular contract, or a city officer or employee initiates communication with a potential Contractor about a contract. The negotiation period ends when a contract is awarded or not awarded to the Contractor. Examples of initial contacts include: (1) a vendor contacts a city officer or employee to promote himself or herself as a candidate for a contract; and (2) a city officer or employee contacts a potential Respondent to propose that the potential Respondent apply for a contract. Inquiries for information about a particular contract, requests for documents relating to a RFQ, and requests to be placed on a mailing list do not constitute negotiations.

Violation of Section 1.126 may result in the following criminal, civil, or administrative penalties:

1) Criminal. Any person who knowingly or willfully violates section 1.126 is subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and a jail term of not more than six months, or both.

2) Civil. Any person who intentionally or negligently violates section 1.126 may be held liable in a civil action brought by the civil prosecutor for an amount up to $5,000.

3) Administrative. Any person who intentionally or negligently violates section 1.126 may be held liable in an administrative proceeding before the Ethics Commission held pursuant to the Charter for an amount up to $5,000 for each violation.

For further information, proposers should contact the San Francisco Ethics Commission at (415) 581-2300.

I. Sunshine Ordinance


In accordance with CCSF Administrative Code Section 67.24(e), Respondents’ bids, responses to RFQs and all other records of communications between the SFPUC and persons or firms seeking contracts shall be open to inspection immediately after a contract has been awarded. Nothing in this provision requires the disclosure of a private person’s or organization’s net worth or other proprietary financial data submitted for qualification for a contract or other benefits until and unless that person or organization is awarded the contract or benefit. Information provided which is covered by this paragraph will be made available to the public upon request.

J. Public Access to Meetings and Records If a firm is a non-profit entity that receives a cumulative total per year of at least $250,000 in CCSF funds or CCSF-administered funds and is a non-profit organization as defined in Chapter 12L of the S.F. Administrative Code, the firm must comply with Chapter 12L. The Respondent must include in its proposal (1) a statement describing its efforts to comply with the Chapter 12L provisions regarding public access to proposer’s meetings and records, and (2) a summary of all complaints concerning the proposer’s compliance with Chapter 12L that were filed with the CCSF in the last two years and deemed by the CCSF to be substantiated. The summary shall also describe the disposition of each complaint. If no such complaints were filed, the Respondent shall include a statement to that effect. Failure to comply with the reporting requirements of Chapter 12L or material misrepresentation in Respondent’s Chapter 12L submissions shall be grounds for rejection of the proposal and/or termination of any subsequent Agreement reached on the basis of the proposal.

K. Reservations of Rights by the City The issuance of this RFQ does not constitute an agreement by the City that any contract will actually be entered into by the City. The City expressly reserves the right at any time to:

1) Waive or correct any defect or informality in any response, submittal, or submittal procedure; 2) Reject any or all submittals; 3) Reissue an RFQ; 4) Prior to submission deadline for SOQs, modify all or any portion of the selection procedures, including

deadlines for accepting responses, the specifications or requirements for any materials, equipment or services to be provided under this RFQ, or the requirements for contents or format of the submittals;

5) Procure any materials, equipment or services specified in this RFQ by any other means; or 6) Determine that no project will be pursued.

L. No Waiver No waiver by the SFPUC of any provision of this RFQ shall be implied from any failure by the SFPUC to recognize or take action on account of any failure by a Respondent to observe any provision of this RFQ.

M. Local Business Enterprise (LBE) Goals and Outreach The requirements of the Local Business Enterprise and Non-Discrimination in Contracting Ordinance set forth in Chapter 14B of the San Francisco Administrative Code as it now exists or as it may be amended in the future (collectively the “LBE Ordinance”) shall apply to this RFQ.

1) LBE Subconsultant Participation Goals

The LBE subconsulting participation goals have been waived for this solicitation.


2) Certified LBE Bid Discount /Rating Bonus

a) The LBE Bid Discount/Rating Bonus provisions of Chapter 14B, if applicable, will be applied at each

stage of that selection process (see Chapter 14B Rules & Regulations, Section IV.E.2.). b) Micro LBE and Small LBE Rating Bonus

The City strongly encourages proposals from qualified, certified Micro and Small LBEs. Pursuant to Chapter 14B, a rating bonus will be in effect for the award of this project for any proposers who are certified by HRC as a Micro or Small LBE, or joint ventures where the joint venture partners are in the same discipline and have the specific levels of participation as identified below. For joints ventures, the certified Micro and /or Small LBE must be an active partner in the joint venture and perform work, manage the job and take financial risks in proportion to the required level of participation stated in the proposal, and must be responsible for a clearly defined portion of the work to be performed and share in the ownership, control, management responsibilities, risks, and profits of the joint venture. The portion of the certified Micro and/or Small LBE joint venture’s work shall be set forth in detail separately from the work to be performed by the non-LBE joint venture partner. The certified Micro and/or Small LBE joint venture’s portion of the contract must be assigned a commercially useful function. Certification applications may be obtained by calling CMD at (415) 581-2310.

The rating bonus applies at each phase of the selection process. The application of the rating bonus is as follows:

i) 10% to a certified Micro or Small LBE; or a joint venture between or among certified Micro or

Small LBEs; ii) 5% to a joint venture with certified Micro and/or Small LBE participation, whose

participation is equal to or exceeds 35%, but is under 40% or iii) 7.5% to a joint venture with certified Micro and/or Small LBE participation, whose

participation equals or exceeds 40%; or iv) 10% to a certified non-profit entity.

The rating bonus will be applied by adding 5%, 7.5%, or 10% (as applicable) to the score of each firm eligible for a bonus for the purposes of determining the highest ranked firm.

c) Small Business Administration (SBA) LBE Rating Bonus

Pursuant to Chapter 14B.7(E), a 2% rating bonus will be in effect for proposers who are certified by HRC as a SBA LBE; however, the 2% rating bonus shall not be applied at any stage if it would adversely affect a Micro or Small LBE proposer or a J/V with LBE participation.

VI. CCSF CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS A. Standard Contract Provisions

The selected Respondent(s) will be required to enter into the Agreement, substantially in the form of the Agreement for Professional Services, attached hereto as Appendix A. Submission of a SOQ shall indicate Respondent’s Agreement to all terms of the Agreement. Failure by the Respondent to obtain compliance with


CCSF requirements and execute an Agreement within two (2) weeks of the date of Public Utilities Commission’s authorization/or Notice of Intent to Award an Agreement may result in the General Manager’s executing an Agreement with the next qualified Respondent. The SFPUC, at its sole discretion, may select another Respondent and may proceed against the original selected Respondent for damages. Respondents are urged to pay special attention to the requirements of Administrative Code Chapters 12B and 12C, Nondiscrimination in Contracts and Benefits, (¶34 in the attached Agreement); the Minimum Compensation Ordinance (¶43 in the attached Agreement); the Health Care Accountability Ordinance (¶44 in the attached Agreement); the First Source Hiring Program (¶45 in the attached Agreement); and applicable conflict of interest laws (¶23 in the attached Agreement), as set forth in Sections B, C, D, E and F below. B. Administrative Code 14B Reporting Requirements

Pursuant to Administrative Code Sections 14B.13(A)(7) and 14B.11(A), prime contractors and all subcontractors who are awarded contracts as a result of the bid process are required to use the Elation secure web-based Local Business Enterprise Utilization Tracking System (LBEUTS) to submit payment information including invoices and other related information. The Contract Monitoring Division (CMD) will use this information to monitor compliance with the 14B LBE Ordinance. For more information, please visit: www.sfgov.org/LBEUTS. C. Nondiscrimination in Contracts and Benefits

The successful Respondent will be required to agree to comply fully with and be bound by the provisions of Chapters 12B and 12C of the San Francisco Administrative Code. Generally, Chapter 12B prohibits the City and County of San Francisco from entering into contracts or leases with any entity that discriminates in the provision of benefits between employees with domestic partners and employees with spouses, and/or between the domestic partners and spouses of employees. The Chapter 12C requires nondiscrimination in contracts in public accommodation. Additional information on Chapters 12B and 12C is available on the HRC’s website at: www.sf-hrc.org. D. Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO) The successful Respondent will be required to agree to comply fully with and be bound by the provisions of the Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO), as set forth in San Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 12P. Generally, this Ordinance requires contractors to provide employees covered by the Ordinance who do work funded under the contract with hourly gross compensation and paid and unpaid time off that meet certain minimum requirements. For the contractual requirements of the MCO, see §43.

For the amount of hourly gross compensation currently required under the MCO or additional information, see http://sfgsa.org/index.aspx?page=403. Note that this hourly rate may increase on January 1 of each year and that contractors will be required to pay any such increases to covered employees during the term of the contract. E. Health Care Accountability Ordinance (HCAO) The successful Respondent will be required to agree to comply fully with and be bound by the provisions of the Health Care Accountability Ordinance (HCAO), as set forth in San Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 12Q. Contractors should consult the San Francisco Administrative Code to determine their compliance obligations under this chapter. Additional information regarding the HCAO is available on the web at www.sfgov.org/olse/hcao.

http://www.sfgov.org/LBEUTS

http://www.sf-hrc.org/

http://www.sf-hrc.org/

http://sfgsa.org/index.aspx?page=403

http://www.sfgov.org/olse/hcao


F. First Source Hiring Program (FSHP) If the contract is for more than $50,000, the First Source Hiring Program (Admin. Code Chapter 83) may apply. Generally, this ordinance requires contractors to notify the First Source Hiring Program of available entry-level jobs and provide the Workforce Development System with the first opportunity to refer qualified individuals for employment.

Contractors should consult the San Francisco Administrative Code to determine their compliance obligations under this chapter. Additional information regarding the FSHP is available on the web at http://www.workforcedevelopmentsf.org/jobseekerservices/index.php?option=com_content&view=article &id=63&Itemid=27 G. Conflicts of Interest The successful Respondent will be required to agree to comply fully with and be bound by the applicable provisions of state and local laws related to conflicts of interest, including Section 15.103 of CCSF’s Charter, Article III, Chapter 2 of CCSF’s Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code, and Section 87100 et seq. and Section 1090 et seq. of the Government Code of the State of California. The successful Respondent will be required to acknowledge that it is familiar with these laws; certify that it does not know of any facts that constitute a violation of said provisions; and agree to immediately notify the City if it becomes aware of any such fact during the term of the Agreement.

Individuals who will perform work for CCSF on behalf of the successful Respondent might be deemed consultants under state and local conflict of interest laws. If so, such individuals will be required to submit a Statement of Economic Interests, California Fair Political Practices Commission Form 700, to the City within ten calendar days of the City notifying the successful proposer that CCSF has selected the proposer.

H. SFPUC Intellectual Property SFPUC will not tolerate the unauthorized use of its intellectual property, including the SFPUC logo, course designs, and copyrighted publications. All firms, bidders, contractors, and others doing business with or at the SFPUC (including subcontractors) may not use the SFPUC intellectual property, or any intellectual property confusingly similar to the SFPUC intellectual property, without the SFPUC General Manager’s prior consent.

VII. PROTEST PROCEDURES

A. Protest of Non-Responsiveness Determination Within five (5) working days of the City issuance of a notice of non-responsiveness, any respondent that has submitted a SOQ and believes that the City has incorrectly determined that the SOQs is non- responsive may submit a written notice of protest. Such notice of protest must be received by the City on or before the fifth working day following the City’s issuance of the notice of non- responsiveness. The notice of protest must include a written statement specifying in detail each and every one of the grounds asserted for the protest. The protest must be signed by an individual authorized to represent the respondent, and must cite the law, rule, local ordinance, procedure or RFQ provision on which the protest is based. In addition, the protestor must specify facts and evidence sufficient for the City to determine the validity of the protest.

http://www.workforcedevelopmentsf.org/jobseekerservices/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=27

http://www.workforcedevelopmentsf.org/jobseekerservices/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=27


B. Protest of Establishment of the Pre-Qualified List Within five (5) working days of the SFPUC issuance of a notice of intent to establish the pre-qualified pool list, any respondent that has submitted a responsive submittal and believes that the SFPUC has incorrectly established a pre-qualified pool list, may submit a written notice of protest. Such notice of protest must be received by the SFPUC on or before the fifth working day after the issuance of the notice of intent to establish the pool list.

The notice of protest must include a written statement specifying in detail each and every one of the grounds asserted for the protest. The protest must be signed by an individual authorized to represent the respondent, and must cite the law, rule, local ordinance, procedure or RFQ provision on which the protest is based. In addition, the protestor must specify facts and evidence sufficient for the City to determine the validity of the protest.

C. Delivery of Protests All protests must be received by the due date. If a protest is mailed, the protestor bears the risk of non-delivery within the deadlines specified herein. Protests should be transmitted by a means that will objectively establish the date the SFPUC received the protest. PROTESTS OR NOTICE OF PROTESTS MADE ORALLY (E.G., BY TELEPHONE) WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Protests must be delivered to:

Express Mail, Hand Delivery OR U.S. Postal Service David E. Scott Contracts Administration Bureau San Francisco Public Utilities Commission 525 Golden Gate Avenue, 8th Floor San Francisco, California 94102 Email: [email protected] Subject Line Should Read: CS-310 Protest by “Respondents Name”


Appendix A to the RFQ CCSF’s Professional Services Agreement (P-500)

[Attached as a separate document]

Appendix B Contract Monitoring Division Forms

Requirements for Architecture, Engineering & Professional Services Contracts, for contracts over

$50,000 and over If a contractor would like to apply to be certified as a local business enterprise, it must submit item 2. To find out about item 5 and certification, the contractor should call Contract Monitoring Division at (415) 581-2310.

1. LBE Ordinance

Compliance Declaration:

http://sfgov.org/cmd

CMD Compliance

Affidavit (Form 3)

The City’s Local Business Enterprise and Nondiscrimination in Contracting Ordinance requires all contractors to sign this form, stating that they will abide by the Ordinance.

Contract Monitoring Division (formerly Human Rights Commission) 30 Van Ness, Suite 200 San Francisco, CA 94102-6059

(415) 252-2500

2. CMD Local Business Enterprise (LBE) Certification Application


CMD Certification Application

Local businesses complete this form to be certified by CMD as LBEs. Certified LBEs receive a bid bonus pursuant to Chapter 14B when bidding on City contracts. To receive the bid bonus, you must be certified by HRC by the proposal due date.


(415) 252-2500

Contract Monitoring Division (formerly Human Rights Commission) CMD Homepage: http://sfgov.org/cmd




Appendix C to the RFQ Standard Forms

Before CCSF can award any contract to a contractor, that contractor must file three standard CCSF forms (items 1-3 on the chart). Because many contractors have already completed these forms, and because some informational forms are rarely revised, CCSF has not included them in the RFQ package. Instead, this Appendix describes the forms, where to find them on the Internet, and where to file them. If a contractor cannot get the documents off the Internet, the contractor should call (415) 554-6248 or e-mail Purchasing ([email protected]) and Purchasing will fax, mail or e-mail them to the contractor.

If a contractor has already filled out items 1-3 on the chart, the contractor should not do so again unless the contractor’s answers have changed. To find out whether these forms have been submitted, the contractor should call Vendor File Support in the Controller’s Office at (415) 554-6702.

Item Form Name and Internet Location

Form Number

Description For more information

1. S.F. Administrative Code Chapters 12B & 12C Declaration: Nondiscrimination in Contracts and Benefits


HRC-12B-101 Contractors tell CCSF if their personnel policies meet the CCSF requirements for nondiscrimination against protected classes of people, and in the provision of benefits between employees with spouses and employees with domestic partners. Form submission is not complete if it does not include the additional documentation asked for on the form. Other forms may be required, depending on the contractor’s answers on this form.


(415) 252-2500

2. Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification

http://sfgsa.org/index.aspx? page=4762

www.irs.gov/pub/irs- pdf/fw9.pdf (Form W-9)

www.irs.gov/pub/irs- pdf/iw9.pdf (instructions for W-9)

W-9 CCSF needs the contractor’s taxpayer ID number on this form. If a contractor has already done business with CCSF, this form is not necessary because CCSF already has the number.

Controller’s Office Vendor File Support City Hall, Room 484 San Francisco, CA 94102

(415) 554-6702




http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf



http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw9.pdf



3. Business Tax Declaration

http://sfgsa.org/index.aspx? page=4762

P-25 All contractors must sign this form to determine if they must register with the Tax Collector, even if not located in San Francisco. All businesses that qualify as “conducting business in San Francisco” must register with the Tax Collector.

Controller’s Office Vendor File Support City Hall, Room 484 San Francisco, CA 94102

(415) 554-6702

Where the forms are on the Internet

Office of Contract Administration (OCA) OCA Homepage: http://www.sfgov.org/oca/



http://www.sfgov.org/oca/

Appendix D to the RFQ Response Template

[Attached as a separate document]

electronic bill presentment & payment services (cs-310)

Documents