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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExhibit 12City of Miami, Florida Federal Lobbying Services RFQ 04-05-125R 3.0 SPECIAL CONDITIONS 3.1 Method of Award A Qualification Committee (aka "Committee"), comprised of City staff and the Contract Administrator, and other members as deemed necessary, will review and evaluate all Responses received from prospective Proposers to determine if Proposer(s) meets the minimum qualifications on a per Category(s) basis. All Proposers who meet the minimum qualifications shall be placed on a Qualification List, per Category, and be eligible for consideration for contract award, and it shall be the City's sole discretion to award a contract to any Proposer, based upon that which is in the best interest of the City. The City shall award a contract to Successful Proposer(s) through action taken by the City Commission at a duly authorized meeting. This action shall be administratively supported by a Contract that shall be executed by all successful Proposers and the City. The Committee will evaluate each Response based on qualifications and submission of required documentation and information, per Category. The Committee shall submit its recommendation to the City Manager for acceptance. The City Manager shall make his/her recommendations to the City Commission, which will make the final determination of award. The City Manager will also request authorization to negotiate and execute a contract(s) with each of the recommended Proposer(s). No rights of any kind shall be provided to any Proposer until a Contract is executed by the City and the Successful Proposer(s). Upon authorization of the City Commission, the City Manager or his/her designee shall negotiate the Contract with the Successful Proposer(s). The City Attorney's Office will provide assistance to the City Manager or designee during the negotiation of the Contract and must approve the Contract as to legal form and correctness. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any or all responses to this RFQ, waive informalities, and request new Responses for the services in this described RFQ. The City further reserves the right to add, delete or modify the categories on Attachment A. It further reserves the right to add additional qualified Proposers throughout the duration of the contract, depending upon need. 3.2. Work Assignments Identified by the City All service assignments during the contract period will be on an "as needed" basis, complying with notification requirements. The City offers no guarantee as to the number or frequency of work assignments or the amount of payments under the terms of this contract. 3.3. Use of Subcontractors The Proposer shall not, at any time during the tenure of the contract, subcontract any part of his/her. operations or assign any portion or part of the contract, to Subcontractor(s) except under and by virtue of permission granted by the City through the proper officials. Nothing contained in this RFQ shall be construed as establishing any contractual relationship between any subcontractor and the City. 11 City of Miami, Florida Federal Lobbying Services RFQ 04-05-125R The Successful Proposer(s) shall be fully responsible to the City for all of the acts and omissions of any subcontractor and their employees for the performance of work under this RFQ, and for any acts and omissions of persons employed by Qualified Proposer. 3.4. Unauthorized Services Neither the Successful Proposer(s) nor any of his/her employees shall perform any services unless duly authorized by the Contract Administrator or authorized designee. The Successful Proposer(s) shall not be paid for any work performed outside the scope of the award, or any work performed by an employee not otherwise previously authorized. 3.5. Non -Exclusive Contract Although the purpose of this RFQ is to secure a Contract that can satisfy the total needs of the City or of a specific City department(s), it is hereby agreed and understood that this RFQ does not constitute the exclusive rights of the Successful Proposer(s) to receive all services that may be generated by the City in conjunction with the services contemplated by this RFQ. The City also reserves the right to perform any services so deemed in its best interest. 3.6. Limited Contract Extension Any specific service assignment which commences prior to the termination date of the contract and which will extend beyond the termination date shall, unless terminated by mutual written agreement by both parties, continue until completion at the same rates, terms and conditions as set forth herein. 3.7. On-line Vendor Registration It is the policy of the City that all prospective Proposers register on-line at http://www,ci.miami.fl.us/procurement, click on the link, Vendor Registration, fill out all required fields, and indicate the commodities/services which prospective Proposer can regularly supply to the City for bid / RFQ notification purposes sent by the City to registered prospective Proposer via email or facsimile transmission, or both. Prospective Proposers who have already registered previously are not required to re -register. Unless, prospective Proposer has to update its information concerning changes such as ownership, new address, telephone number, fax, commodities, etc. Prospective Proposer can access its Vendor Profile by selecting the link; modify profile, and entering its assigned User ID and Password. All prospective Proposers should register an -line, regardless if Proposer submits a Bid or the "Statement of No Bid Form". The City will make its best effort to source all registered vendor with the related commodity or service of future bid/RFQ solicitations and send bid/RFQ notification via the email or facsimile, or both. Bid/RFQ Notification sent via e-mail to prospective Proposer will contain a link of the solicitation to download the document, and the entire document will be sent via facsimile to those prospective Proposers who choose to be contacted via fax. A Purchase Order will not be issued by the City unless the Successful Proposer has registered on-line. For any questions, contact the Vendor Registration Section at (305) 416-1913. 4.0. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS 12 City of Miami, Florida Federal Lobbying Services RFQ 04-05-125R 4.1. Acceptance/Rejection The City or the City Manager or designee reserves the right to accept or reject any or all Proposals or to select Proposer(s) that, in the opinion of the City, will be in the best interest of and/or the most advantageous to the City. The City also reserves the right to reject the Proposal of any Proposer(s) who has previously failed to properly perform under the terms and conditions of a contract, to deliver on time contracts of a similar nature, and who is not in a position to perform the requirements defined in this RFQ. The City reserves the right to waive any irregularities and technicalities and may, at its discretion, withdraw and/or re -advertise the RFQ. 4.2. City Not Liable for Delays It is further expressly agreed that in no event shall the City be liable for, or responsible to, the Successful Proposer(s), any Subcontractor, or to any other person for, or on account of, any stoppages or delay in the work herein provided for by injunction or other legal or equitable proceedings or on account of any delay for any cause over which the City has no control. 4.3. Cost Incurred By Successful Proposer(s) All expenses involved with the preparation and submission of Proposals to the City, or any services performed in connection therewith shall be bome by the Successful Proposer(s). 4.4. Legal Requirements This RFQ is subject to all applicable federal, state, county and local laws, ordinances, rules and regulations that in any manner affect any and all of the services covered herein. Lack of knowledge by the Qualified Proposer(s) shall in no way be cause for relief from responsibility. 4.5. Non -Appropriation of Funds In the event no funds or insufficient funds are appropriated and budgeted or funding is otherwise unavailable in any fiscal period for payments due under the Contract, then the City or the City Manager or designee, upon written notice to the Consultant or his/her assignee of such occurrence, shall have the unqualified right to terminate the Contract without any penalty or expense to the City. 4.6. Occupational License Requirement Any Proposer with a business location in the City, who submits a Proposal under this RFQ, shall meet the City's Occupational License Tax requirements in accordance with Chapter 31.1, Article 1 of the City of Miami Charter. Proposers with a business location outside the City of Miami shall meet their local Occupational License Tax requirements. A copy of the license must be submitted with the Proposal; however, the City may at its sole option and in its best interest allow the Proposer to supply the license to the City during the evaluation period, but prior to award. 4.7. Payment Payments to the Qualified Proposer(s) shall be made in arrears, and based on work performed to the satisfaction of the City. No advance payments will be made at any time. Payment shall be made after delivery, within 45 days of receipt of an invoice for services/goods and pursuant to Florida Statute 218.74 and other applicable laws. 13 City of Miami, Florida Federal Lobbying Services RFQ 04-05-125R 4.8. One Proposal Only one (1) Proposal from an individual, firm, partnership, corporation or joint venture will be considered in response to this RFQ. 4.9. Public Entity Crimes A person or affiliate who has been placed on the convicted Proposer list following a conviction for a public entity crime may not submit a proposal on a contract to provide any goods or services to a public entity, may not submit a Response on a contract with a public entity for the construction or repair of a public building or public work's project, may not submit a response on a lease of real property to a public entity, may not be awarded or perform work as a contractor, supplier, subcontractor, or consultant under a contract with any public entity, and may not transact business with any public entity in excess of the threshold amount provided in Section 287.017 of Florida Statutes for Category Two for a period of 36 months from the date of being placed on the convicted Bidder / Proposer list. 4.10. Resolution of Protests Any actual or prospective contractual party who feels aggrieved in connection with the solicitation or award of a contract may protest in writing to the Director of Purchasing/Chief Procurement Officer who shall have the authority, subject to the approval of the City Manager/Chief Administrator and the City Attorney, to settle and resolve a protest with final approval by the City Commission. Proposers are alerted to Section 18-103 of the City's Ordinance No. 12271 describing the protest procedures. Protests failing to meet the requirements for filing shall not be accepted. Failure of a party to timely file shall constitute a forfeiture of such party's right to file a protest. NO EXCEPTIONS. 4.11. Review of Proposals for Responsiveness Each Proposal will be reviewed to determine if it is responsive to the submission requirements outlined in the RFQ. A "responsive" Proposal is one which follows the requirements of the RFQ, includes all documentation, is submitted in the format outlined in the RFQ, is of timely submission, and has appropriate signatures as required on each document. Failure to comply with these requirements may deem a Proposal non -responsive. A responsible Proposer is one that has the capability in all respects to fully perform the requirements set forth in the Proposal, and that has the integrity and reliability, which will assume good faith performance. 4.12. Sales Tax The City is State Sales Tax exempt. Notwithstanding, Proposers should be aware of the fact that all materials and supplies which are purchased by the Proposer for the completion of the contract is subject to the Florida State Sales Tax in accordance with Section 212.08 Florida Statutes amended 1970 and all amendments thereto and shall be paid solely by the Proposer. 4.13. Employees are Responsibility of Qualified Proposer(s) 14 City of Miami, Florida Federal Lobbying Services RFQ 04-05-125R All employees of the Qualified Proposer(s) shall be considered to be, at all times, the sole employees of the Qualified Proposer(s) under its sole direction and not an employee or agent of the City. All applicable taxes, fringe benefits, and training for all personnel for the performance under the contract shall be the sole responsibility of the Qualified Proposer(s). 4.14. Use of Name The City is not engaged in research for advertising, sales promotion, or other publicity purposes. No advertising, sales promotion or other publicity materials containing information obtained from the Proposal are to be mentioned, or imply the name of the City, without prior express written permission of the City. 4.15. Collusion The Proposer, by submitting a Proposal, certifies that its Proposal is made without previous understanding, agreement or connection either with any person, firm, or corporation submitting a Proposal for the same services, or with the City's Purchasing Department or initiating Department. The Proposer certifies that its Proposal is fair, without control, collusion, fraud, or other illegal action. The Proposer further certifies that it is in compliance with the conflict of interest and code of ethics laws. The City will investigate all situations where collusion may have occurred and the City reserves the right to reject any and all Proposals where collusion may have occurred. 4.16. Contract Administrator The Contract Administrator for the Contract shall be: Name Ignacio Ortiz -Petit Department Office of the City Manager Address 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 4.17. Indemnification The Qualified Proposer(s) shall agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the City and its' officials, employees and agents (collectively referred to as "Indemnities") and each of them from and against all losses, costs, penalties, fines, damages, claims, expenses (including attomey's fees), liabilities (collectively referred to as "Liabilities") by reason of any injury to or death of any person or damage to or destruction or loss of any property arising out of, resulting from, or in connection with (i) the performance or non-performance of the services contemplated by the Contract which is or is alleged to be directly or indirectly caused, in whole or in part, by any act,' omission, default or negligence (whether active or passive) of the Indemnities, or any of them or (ii) the failure of the Qualified Proposer(s) to comply with any of the requirements specified within the Contract, or the failure of the Qualified Proposer(s) to conform to statutes, ordinances, or other regulations or requirements of any governmental authority, federal, state, or local, in connection with the performance under the Contract. Qualified Proposer(s) expressly agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Indemnities, or any of them, from and against all liabilities which may be asserted by an employee or former employee of Qualified Proposer(s), ,or any of its' subcontractors, if applicable and as provided above, for which the Qualified Proposer(s)'s liability to such employee 15 City of Miami, Florida Federal Lobbying Services RFQ 04-05-125R or former employee would otherwise be limited to payments under state Workers' Compensation or similar laws. 4.18. Insurance Within ten (10) days after notification of award, the Qualified Proposer(s) shall furnish Evidence of Insurance to the Purchasing Department. Please refer to Section 6.3 Indemnification and Insurance. Execution of a Contract is contingent upon the receipt of proper insurance documents. If the insurance certificate is received within the specified time frame but not in the manner prescribed in this RFQ, the Qualified Proposer(s) shall be verbally notified of such deficiency and shall have an additional five (5) calendar days to submit a corrected certificate to the City. If the Qualified Proposer(s) fails to submit the required insurance documents in the manner prescribed in this RFQ, within fifteen (15) calendar days after the Qualified Proposer(s) has been made aware of Commission award, the Qualified Proposer(s) may be in default of the contractual terms and conditions. Under such circumstances, the Qualified Proposer(s) may be prohibited from submitting future proposals to the City. Information regarding any insurance requirements shall be directed to the Risk Management Administrator, Risk Management Department, at (305) 416-1700. Additionally, Qualified Proposer(s) may be liable to the City for the cost of re -procuring the services, caused by Qualified Proposer(s)'s failure to submit the require documents. 4.19. Hold Harmless The Qualified Proposer(s) shall hold harmless and indemnify the City for any errors in the provision of services and for any fines, which may result from the fault of the Qualified Proposer(s). 4.20. Audit Rights and Records Retention The Qualified Proposer(s) agrees to provide access to the City, and to any of its duly authorized representatives, to any books, documents, papers, and records of the Qualified Proposer(s) which are directly pertinent to this Contract, for the purpose of audit, examination, excerpts, and transcriptions. The Qualified Proposer(s) shall maintain and retain any and all books, documents, papers and records pertinent to the Contract for three (3) years after the City makes final payment under the Contract and all other pending matters are closed. On an onloingwbasis, the most recent Financial Statements and audit reports, whether internal or external Raudi s, must be provided to the City. Qualified Proposer(s)'s failure to adhere to, or refusal to comply with this condition shall result in the immediate cancellation of the Contract by the City. 411. Proposer's Warranty Proposer warrants that no one was paid a fee, commission, gift, or other consideration contingent upon receipt of an award for the services specified herein. 4.22. Applicable Laws The Proposer acknowledges, represents, and warrants that in the performance of all the terms and conditions of this Contract, Proposer shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, and executive orders, now existing or hereinafter in effect and each and every provision required by law as a condition of any federal, state, or local grant received by the City with respect to this Contract. Lack of knowledge by the Proposer shall in no way be cause for relief from responsibility. 16 City of Miami, Florida Federal Lobbying Services RFQ 04-05-125R 5.0. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING A RESPONSE The following information and documents are required to be provided with Proposer's Response to this RFQ. Failure to do so may deem your Proposal non -responsive. The purpose of this RFQ is to hire qualified Proposers, which may be an individual, firm, corporation, joint venture, partnership or other legal entity, for the provision of various federal lobbying services to the City, on behalf of the Office of the City Manager/Chief Administrator. Therefore, only fully capable, experienced, and qualified Proposers should submit Proposals in response to this RFQ. Each Proposer must clearly reflect in its Proposal any Sub -Contractors proposed to be utilized, and provide for the Sub -Contractor the same information required of Successful Proposer(s). The City retains the right to accept or reject any Sub -Contractors proposed. 5.1 PREPARATION OF RESPONSES - Proposers are expected to thoroughly examine the RFQ to fully understand the scope of services the City is seeking to secure. Failure to do so will not relieve Proposers from responsibilities for estimating properly the difficulty or cost of successfully performing the work. 5.1.1 Each Proposer shall furnish the information and documentation required in the RFQ. The Proposer shall sign the Response to the RFQ and print in ink or type your name, address, and telephone number on the forms to be returned with Proposal, as applicable. 5.1.2 Proposer should retain a copy of all Response documents for future reference. 5.1.3 All RFQ forms as described under Section 6.0, must be fully completed and typed or printed in ink, and must be signed in ink with the firm's name and by an officer or employee having authority to bind company or firm by his/her signature. 5.1.4 Multiple Responses will be considered non -responsive. 5.2 SUBMISSION REQUUIREMENTS,,.µ :-�..: In order to determine Proposer's Qualifications, on a per Category basis, the following documents, as a minimum, are to be submitted as part of the Response to this RFQ. The following documentation should be included as a minimum in the Proposal and submitted to the City. Responses to all requests for documentation requested below will be utilized to determine whether Proposer met all minimum requirements depicted in Section 2.4, Proposer Minimum Qualifications, and to determine qualifications for each Proposer on a per Category basis. Proposers must clearly identify under which Category of Expertise it is seeking to qualify, and Proposers may seek to qualify for one, multiple, or all Categories. Within its Response, Proposers must provide, for each Category of Expertise it is seeking to qualify, all the requested information sought below, in order to determine whether Proposer met the minimum qualification requirements for said Category(s). The response to this solicitation should be presented in the following format for comparison purposes. 17 City of Miami, Florida Y.�. Federal Lobbying Services RFQ 04-05-125R 1. Cover Page -The Cover Page should include the Proposer's name; Contact Person for the RFQ; Firm's Liaison for the Contract; Primary Office Location; Washington, D.C. area office location and Local Business Address, if applicable; Business Phone and Fax Numbers, if applicable Email addresses; Title of RFQ; RFQ Number; Federal Employer Identification Number or Social Security Number. 2. Executive Summary - A signed and dated summary of not more than three (3) pages containing the Proposer's Overall Expertise, Qualifications and Experience, including the Categories under which Proposer is seeking to qualify. Include the name of the organization, business phone, contact person, and phone/fax/email address. Describe its overall organization, history and background, tax status, principals, owners, board of directors and/or board of trustees, number of professionals employed, and the date Proposer was incorporated/organized; State(s) incorporated/organized in. 4. Provide the branch or other subordinate units or divisions that will perform or assist in performing any work resulting from this RFQ; the number of years the firm has been in existence and number of years firm has been providing this type of service; the overall size of the firm; and the primary sector (public vs. private) and markets the firm serves. 5. State number of partners, managers, supervisors, seniors and other professional staff employed at the office from which the work for the City is to be performed. 6. Provide the Proposer's, and any employee(s), partner(s), principal(s), officer(s) or owner(s) of the firm, and/or the firm or any of its affiliates or parent, including joint ventures, most recent and/or current experience in performing these services, including any previous City of Miami experience. 7. Detail its overall legal and political consultative expertise. Provide the City with a list of other individuals, municipalities, associations, or organizations who have retained the Proposer for the purposes of representation before the federal. government; and indicate how long the relationship existed and the periods of service. Include contact name, telephone number, and period of time representation occurred. The City reserves the right to contact any reference- ars-cart ,of -the - qualification process. 8. Describe in detail, on a per Category basis, the lobbying and consulting experience and expertise of the Proposer; include resumes for the principal supervisory personnel who will be assigned to this engagement and describe their relevant experience in the past three (3) years in providing similar services and any experience addressing inner city economic problems. Include contact name, telephone number, and period of time representation occurred. The City reserves the right to contact any reference as part of the qualification process. 9. Include a description of how the Proposer proposes to staff this engagement, and include the name of the principal, the names of those members of the firm designated to assist in the various areas of required expertise; the qualifications of the individuals in those areas; and the role each member of the lobbying team will play. Provide resume(s) as necessary. 10. List the most significant accomplishments related to federal lobbying services performed in the past three (3) years; summarize scope of services, term of service, 18 City ofMiami, Florida Federal Lobbying Services RFQ 04-05-125R engagement partners, and the name and telephone number of the principal client contact. 11. Provide a minimum of two (2) references on the letterhead of the client to whom services of a similar nature were provided. The City reserves the right to contact any reference as part of the qualification process. 12. Provide details of any lawsuits, bankruptcies, indictments, or investigations involving the Proposer, an employee(s), partner(s), principal(s), officer(s) or owner(s) of the firm, and/or the firm or any of its affiliates or parent, including joint ventures, or any of its principals. 13. Indicate whether the selection of Proposer would result in any current or future potential conflict of interest. If so, your response must specify the party with which the conflict exists or might arise, the nature of the conflict, and whether your firm or any of its affiliates or parent, would step aside or resign from the engagement or representation creating the conflict. Please also disclose any financial or contractual relationship an employee(s), partner(s), principal(s), officer(s) or owner(s) of the firm, and/or the firm or any of its affiliates or parent, including joint ventures, has, or have had, over the past five (5) years with any City of Miami elected or appointed official, or with a firm in which they were employed. This information is subject to verification as part of the qualification process. 5.3. Response Format One (1) original and seven (7) copies of your complete Response to this RFQ must be delivered to: Ms. Priscilla A. Thompson, City Clerk City of Miami Office of the City Clerk First Floor 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, Florida 33133 Responses must be clearly marked on the outside of the package referencing RFQ NO. 04-05- 125R, FEDERAL LOBBYING SERVICES. Responses received after that date and time will not be accepted and shall be returned unopened to Proposer. Proposals received at any other location than the aforementioned or after the Proposal submission date and time shall be deemed non -responsive. Proposals should be signed by an official authorized to bind the Proposer to the provisions given in the Proposal. Proposals are to remain valid for at least 180 days. Upon award of a Contract, the contents of the Proposal of the Qualified Proposer may be included as part of the Contract, at the City's discretion. Proposers must provide a response to each issue. Proposals should be prepared in a concise manner with an emphasis on completeness and clarity. Attachment A - 19