HomeMy WebLinkAboutRFQCity of Miami
Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
Purchasing Department
Glenn Marcos, CPPO, CPPB, Director/Chief Procurement Officer
Miami Riverside Center
444 SW 2nd Avenue, 6`h Floor
Miami, Florida 33130
Web Site Address: http://ci.miami.fl.us/procurement
RFQ Number: 5010
Title: STATE LOBBYING SERVICES
Commodity Code: 918-58; 953-60; 961-49; 961-51; 964-63
Type of Purchase: Term Contract for One (1) year with OTR for Five (5)
additional one year periods
M/WBE Set -Aside: N/A
Sr. Buyer: Maritza Suarez, CPPB
Fax: 305-416-1925
E-Mail Address: msuarez(L77c1.miaml.fl.us
Issue Date: November 9, 2006
Deadline for Request for
Additional Information/Clarification: November 22, 2006
Pre -Proposal Conference/Site Visit: N/A
Bid Security: N/A
Performance Bond: N/A
Proposal Submittal Date: Wednesday, November 29, 2006,
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Sealed written Responses must be received by the City of Miami, City Clerk's Office, City
Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida 33133-5504, no later than the date, time
and at the location indicated above for receipt. Submittal of Response by fax is not
acceptable. One (1) original, seven (7) hard copies and one (1) copy on CD-ROM in pdf
format must be returned to the City or your response may be disqualified.
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 1
1.0 GENERAL TERMS ,-.ND
CONDITIONS
INTENT: The General Terms and
Conditions described herein apply to
the acquisition of
goods/equipment/services with an
estimated aggregate cost of
$25,000.00 or more.
DEFINITION.: A formal solicitation is
defined as issuance of an Invitation
for Bids, Request for Proposals,
Request for Qualifications, or Request
for Letters of Interest pursuant to the
City of Miami Code and/or Florida
Law, as amended. Formal Solicitation
and Solicitation shall be defined in the
same manner herein.
1.1. ACCEPTANCE OF GOODS
OR EQUIPMENT - Any good(s) or
equipment delivered under this formal
solicitation, if applicable, shall remain
the property of the seller until a
physical inspection and actual usage
of the good is made, and thereafter is
accepted as satisfactory to the City. It
must comply with the terms herein
and be fully in accordance with
specifications and of the highest
quality. In the event the
goods/equipment supplied to the City
are found to be defective or does not
conform to specifications, the City
reserves the right to cancel the order
upon written notice to the Contractor
and return the product to the
Contractor at the Contractor's
expense.
1.2. ACCEPTANCE OF OFFER -
The signed response shall be
considered an offer on the part of the
bidder/proposer; such offer shall be
deemed accepted upon issuance by the
City of a purchase order.
1.3. ACCEPTANCE/REJECTION
— The City reserves the right to accept
or reject any or all responses or parts
of after closing date and request re
issuance on the goods/services
described in the formal solicitation. In
the event of such rejection, the
Director of Purchasing shall notify all
affected bidders/proposers and make
available a written explanation for the
rejection. The City also reserves the
right to reject the response of any
bidder/proposer who has previously
failed to properly perform under the
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
terms and conditions of a
contract/agreement, to deliver on time
contracts of a similar nature, and who is
not in a position to perform the
requirements defined in this formal
solicitation. The City further reserves the
right to waive any irregularities or minor
informalities or technicalities in any or all
responses and may, at its discretion, re-
issue this formal solicitation.
1.4. ADDENDUMS — It is the
bidder's/proposer's responsibility to ensure
receipt of all Addendums. Addendums are
available on the City's web site at:
http://www.ci.miami.fl.us/procurement
1.5. ALTERNATE RESPONSES MAY
BE CONSIDERED - The City may
consider one (1) alternate response from
the same Bidder/Proposer for the same
formal solicitation; provided, that the
alternate response offers a different product
that meets or exceeds the formal
solicitation requirements. In order for the
City to consider an alternate response, the
Bidder/Proposer shall complete a separate
Price Sheet form and shall mark "Alternate
Response". Alternate response shall be
placed in the same response. This
provision only applies to formal
solicitations for the procurement of
goods, items, equipment, materials,
and/or supplies.
1.6. ASSIGNMENT - Contractor agrees
not to subcontract, assign, transfer, convey,
sublet, or otherwise dispose of this
Contract/Agreement, or any or all of its right,
title or interest herein, without City of
Miami's prior written consent.
1.7. ATTORNEY'S FEES - In connection
with any litigation, mediation and
arbitration arising out of this
Contract/Agreement, the prevailing party
shall be entitled to recover its costs and
reasonable attorney's fees through and
including appellate litigation and any post -
judgment proceedings.
1.8. AUDIT RIGHTS AND RECORDS
RETENTION - The Successful
Bidder/Proposer agrees to provide access at
all reasonable times to the City, or to any
of its duly authorized representatives, to
any books, documents, papers, and records
of Contractor which are directly pertinent
to this formal solicitation, for the purpose
of audit, examination, excerpts, and
transcriptions. The Successful
Page 2
Bidder/Proposer shall maintain and retain
any and all of the books, documents,
papers and records pertinent to the
Contract/Agreement for three (3) years
after the City makes final payment and all
other pending matters are closed.
Contractor's failure to or refusal to
comply with this condition shall result in
the immediate cancellation of this
contract/agreement by the City,
1.9. AVAILABILITY OF
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT STATE-
WIDE - Any Governmental, not -for -
profit or quasi -governmental entity in the
State of Florida, may avail itself of this
contract/agreement and purchase any and
all goods/services, specified herein from
the successful bidder(s)/proposer(s) at the
contract/agreement price(s) established
herein, when permissible by federal, state,
and local laws, rules, and regulations.
Each Governmental, not -for -profit or
quasi -governmental entity which uses this
formal solicitation and resulting bid
contract/agreement or agreement will
establish its own contract/agreement,
place its own orders, issue its own
purchase orders, be invoiced there from
and make its own payments, determine
shipping terms and issue its own
exemption certificates as required by the
successful bidder(s)/proposer(s).
1.10. AWARD OF CONTRACT:
A. The Formal Solicitation,
Bidder's/Proposer's response, any
addenda issued, and the purchase order
shall constitute the entire contract, unless
modified in accordance with any ensuing
contract/agreement.
B. The award of a contract where there
are Tie Bids will be decided by the
Director of Purchasing or designee
in the instance that Tie Bids can't be
determined by applying Florida
Statute 287,087, Preference to
Businesses with Drug -Free
Workplace Programs.
C. The award of this contract may be
preconditioned on the subsequent
submission of other documents as
specified in the Special Conditions or
Technical Specifications.
Bidder/Proposer shall be in default of
its contractual obligation if such
documents are not submitted in a
timely manner and in the corm
required by the City. Where
BidderlProposer is in default of
these contractual requirements,
the City, through action taken by
the Purchasing Department, will
void its acceptance of the
Bidder's/Proposer's Response
and may accept the Response
from the next most lowest
responsive, responsible
Bidder/Proposer or re -solicit the
City's requirements. The City, at
its sole discretion, may seek
monetary restitution from
Bidder/Proposer and its
bid/proposal bond or guaranty, if
applicable, as a result of damages
or increased costs sustained as a
result of the Bidder's/Proposer's
default.
D. The term of the
contract/agreement shall be
specified in one of three
documents which shall be issued
to the successful
Bidder/Proposer. These
documents may either be a
purchase order, notice of award
and/or contract award sheet.
E. The City reserves the right to
automatically extend this
contract/agreement for up to one
hundred twenty (120) calendar
clays beyond the stated
contract/agreement term in order
to provide City departments with
continual service and supplies
while a new contract is being
solicited, evaluated, and/or
awarded. If the right is
exercised, the City shall notify
the Bidder/Proposer, in writing,
of its intent to extend the contract
at the same price, terms and
conditions for a specific number
of days. Additional extensions
over the first one hundred twenty
(120) day extension may occur,
if, the City and the Successful
Bidder/Proposer are in mutual
agreement of such extensions.
F. Where the contract involves a
single shipment of goods to the
City, the contract term shall
conclude upon completion of the
expressed or implied warranty
periods.
G. The City reserves the right to
award the contract on a split -
order, lump sum or individual -
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
item basis, or such combination as
shall best serve the interests of the
City unless otherwise specified.
H. A Contract/Agreement may be
awarded to the Bidder/Proposer by the
City Commission based upon the
minimum qualification requirements
reflected herein. As a result of a RFP,
RFQ, or RFLI, the City reserves the
right to execute or not execute, as
applicable, an Agreement with the
Proposer/Bidder, whichever is
determined to be in the City's best
interests. Such agreement will be
furnished by the City, will contain
certain terms as are in the City's best
interests, and will be subject to
approval as to legal form by the City
Attorney.
1.11. BID BOND/ BID SECURITY - A
cashier's or certified check, or a Bid Bond
signed by a recognized surety company
that is licensed to do business in the State
of Florida, payable to the City of Miami,
for the amount bid is required from all
bidders/proposers, if so indicated under the
Special Conditions. This check or bond
guarantees that a bidder/proposer will
accept the order or contract/agreement, as
bid/proposed, if it is awarded to
bidderlproposer. Bidder/Proposer shall
forfeit bid deposit to the City should City
award contract/agreement to
Bidder/Proposer and Bidder/Proposer fails
to accept the award. The City reserves the
right to reject any and all surety tendered to
the City. Bid deposits are returned to
unsuccessful bidders/proposers within ten
(10) days after the award and successful
bidder's/proposer's acceptance of award, If
sixty (60) days have passed after the date
of the formal solicitation closing date, and
no contract has been awarded, all bid
deposits will be returned on demand.
Certified Minority/Women vendors may
apply to participate in the City's Bid
Bond Voucher Program by contacting
the Minority/Women Business Affairs
office.
1.12. RESPONSE FORM (HARDCOPY
FORMAT) - All forms should be
completed, signed and submitted
accordingly.
1.13. BID SECURITY FORFEITED
LIQUIDATED DAMAGES - Failure to
execute an Agreement and/or file an
acceptable Performance Bond, when
required, as provided herein, shall be just
cause for the annulment of the award and
the forfeiture of the Bid Security to the
Page 3
..ity, which forfeiture shalt be considered,
not as a penalty, but in mitigation of
damages sustained. Award may then be
made to the next most lowest responsible
Bidder/Proposer or all responses may be
rejected.
1.14. BRAND NAMES - If and wherever
in the specifications brand names, makes,
models, names of any manufacturers,
trade names, or bidder/proposer catalog
numbers are specified, it is for the purpose
of establishing the type, function,
minimum standard of design, efficiency,
grade or quality of goods only. When the
City does not wish to rule out other
competitors' brands or makes, the phrase
"OR EQUAL" is added. When
bidding/proposing an approved equal,
Bidders/Proposers will submit, with their
response, complete sets of necessary data
(factory information sheets, specifications,
brochures, etc.) in order for the City to
evaluate and determine the equality of' the
item(s) bid/proposed. The City shall be
the sole judge of equality and its decision
shall be final. Unless otherwise specified,
evidence in the form of samples may be
requested if the proposed brand is other
than specified by the City. Such samples
are to be furnished after the date of bid
opening/closing only upon request of the
City. If samples should be requested,
such samples must be received by the City
no later than seven (7) calendar days after
a formal request is made.
1.15. CANCELLATION - The City
reserves the right to cancel all formal
solicitations before bid opening/closing.
In the event of bid/proposal cancellation,
the Director of Purchasing shall notify all
prospective bidders/proposers and make
available a written explanation for the
cancellation.
1.16. CAPITAL EXPENDITURES -
Contractor understands that any capital
expenditures that the firm makes, or
prepares to make, in order to
deliver/perform the goods/services
required by the City, is a business risk
which the contractor must assume. The
City will not be obligated to reimburse
amortized or unamortized capital
expenditures, or to maintain the approved
status of any contractor. If contractor has
been unable to recoup its capital
expenditures during the time it is
rendering such goods/services, it shall not
have any claim upon the City.
1.17. CITY NOT LIABLE FOR
DELAYS - It is further expressly agreed
that in no event shall the City be liable
for, or responsible to, the C.
Bidder/Proposer/Consultant, any sub-
contractor/sub-consultant, or to any
other person for, or on account of, any
stoppages or delay in the work herein D.
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.
1.18. COLLUSION -- E.
Bidder/Proposer, by submitting a
response, certifies that its response is
made without previous understanding,
agreement or connection either with F,
any person, firm or corporation
submitting a response for the same
items/services or with the City of G.
Miami's Purchasing Department or
initiating department. The
Bidder/Proposer certifies that its H.
response is fair, without control,
collusion, fraud or other illegal action.
Bidder/Proposer certifies that it is in
compliance with the Conflict of I.
Interest and Code of Ethics Laws. The
City will investigate all potential
situations where collusion may have
occurred and the City reserves the 1.
right to reject any and all
bids/responses where collusion may
have occurred. K.
1.19. COMPLIANCE WITH
FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL
LAWS - Contractor understands that
contracts/agreements between private
entities and local governments are
subject to certain laws and
regulations, including laws pertaining
to public records, conflict of interest,
records keeping, etc. City and
Contractor agree to comply with and
observe all applicable laws, codes and
ordinances as that may in any way
affect the goods or equipment offered,
including but not limited to:
A. Executive Order 11246, which
prohibits discrimination against
any employee, applicant, or
client because of race, creed,
color, national origin, sex, or age
with regard to, but not limited to,
the following: employment
practices, rate of pay or other
compensation methods, and
training selection.
B. Occupational, Safety and Health
Act (OSHA), as applicable to this
Formal Solicitation.
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
L.
M.
N.
The State of Florida Statutes, Section
287.133(3)(A) on Public Entity
Crimes.
Minority/Women Business Affairs
Enterprise (M/WBE) City Ordinances
No. 10062, 10538, 11272, as
amended, as applicable to this Formal
Solicitation.
Environment Protection Agency
(EPA), as applicable to this Formal
Solicitation.
Uniform Commercial Code (Florida
Statutes, Chapter 672).
Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990, as amended.
National Institute of Occupational
Safety Hazards (NIOSH), as
applicable to this Formal Solicitation,
National Forest Products Association
(NFPA), as applicable to this Formal
Solicitation.
City Procurement Ordinance City
Code Section 18, Article III.
Conflict of Interest, City Code
Section 2-611;61.
Cone of Silence, City Code Section
18-74.
The Florida Statutes Sections 218.73
and 218.74 on Prompt Payment.
First Source Hiring Agreement, City
Ordinance No. 10032, as applicable to
this Formal Solicitation. Implemented
to foster the creation of new and
permanent jobs for City of Miami
residents; requires as a condition
precedent to the execution of service
contracts/agreements including
professional services.
Lack of knowledge by the bidder/proposer
will in no way be a cause for relief from
responsibility. Non-compliance with all
local, state, and federal directives, orders,
and laws may be considered grounds for
termination of contract(s)/agreement(s).
Copies of the City Ordinances may be
obtained from the City Clerk's Office.
1.20. CONE OF SILENCE - Pursuant to
Section 18-74 of the City of Miami Code, a
"Cone of Silence" is imposed upon each
RFP, RFQ, RFLI, or IFB after
advertisement and terminates at the time
Page 4
.ie City Manager issues a written
recommendation to the Miami City
Commission, The Cone of Silence shall
be applicable only to
Contracts/Agreements for the provision of
Goods and services and public works or
improvements for amounts greater than
$200,000. The Cone of Silence prohibits
any communication regarding RFPs,
RFQs, RFLI or IFBs (bids) between,
among others:
Potential vendors, service providers,
bidders, lobbyists or consultants Egl the
City's professional staff including, but not
limited to, the City Manager and the City
Manager's staff; the Mayor, City
Commissioners, or their respective staffs
and any member of the respective
selection/evaluation committee.
The provision does not apply to, among
other communications:
oral communications with the City
purchasing staff' regarding
Minority/Women Business Enterprise
(M/WBE) and local vendor outreach
programs;
oral communications, provided the
communication is limited strictly to
matters of process or procedure already
contained in the formal solicitation
document;
the provisions of the Cone of Silence do
not apply to oral communications at duly
noticed site visits/inspections, pre -
proposal or pre -bid conferences, oral
presentations before selection/evaluation
committees, contract negotiations during
any duly noticed public meeting, or
public presentations made to the Miami
City Commission during a duly noticed
public meeting; or
communications in writing or by email at
any time with any City employee, official
or member of the City Commission unless
specifically prohibited by the applicable
RFP, RFQ, RFLI or IFB (bid) documents
(See Section 2.2. of the Special
Conditions); or
communications in connection with the
collection of industry comments or the
performance of market research regarding
a particular RFP, RFQ, RFLI OR IFB by
City Purchasing staff.
Proposers or bidders must file a copy of
any written communications with the
Office of the City Clerk, which shall be
made available to any person upon
request. The City shall respor.a in
writing and file a copy with the Office
of the City Clerk, which shall be made
available to any person upon request.
Written communications may be in
the form of e-mail, with a copy to the
Office of the City Clerk at
Marc is@ci. miami.fl. us.
In addition to any other penalties
provided by law, violation of the
Cone of Silence by any proposer or
bidder shall render any award
voidable. A violation by a particular
Bidder, Proposer, Offeror,
Respondent, lobbyist or consultant
shall subject same to potential
penalties pursuant to the City Code.
Any person having personal
knowledge of a violation of these
provisions shall report such violation
to the State Attorney and/or may file a
complaint with the Ethics
Commission. Proposers or bidders
should reference Section 18-74 of the
City of Miami Code for further
clarification.
This language is only a summary of
the key provisions of the Cone of
Silence. Please review City of Miami
Code Section 18-74 for a complete
and thorough description of the Cone
of Silence. You may contact the City
Clerk at 305-250-5360, to obtain a
copy of same.
1.21. CONFIDENTIALITY - As a
political subdivision, the City of
Miami is subject to the Florida
Sunshine Act and Public Records
Law. If this Contract/Agreement
contains a confidentiality provision, it
shall have no application when
disclosure is required by Florida law
or upon court order.
1.22. CONFLICT OF INTEREST --
Bidders/Proposers, by responding to
this Formal Solicitation, certify that to
the best of their knowledge or belief,
no elected/appointed official or
employee of the City of Miami is
financially interested, directly or
indirectly, in the purchase of
goods/services specified in this
Format Solicitation. Any such
interests on the part of the
Bidder/Proposer or its employees
must be disclosed in writing to the
City. Further, you must disclose the
name of any City employee who
owns, directly or indirectly, an interest
of five percent (5%) or more of the
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
total assets of capital stock in the your business integrity or business
firm. honesty.
1.23. COPYRIGHT OR PATENT
RIGHTS — Bidders/Proposers warrant that
there has been no violation of copyright or
patent rights in manufacturing, producing,
or selling the goods shipped or ordered
and/or services provided as a result of this
formal solicitation, and bidders/proposers
agree to hold the City harmless from any
and all liability, toss, or expense
occasioned by any such violation.
1.24. COST INCURRED BY
BIDDER/PROPOSER - All expenses
involved with the preparation and
submission of Responses to the City, or
any work performed in connection
therewith shall be borne by the
Bidder(s)/Proposer(s).
1.25. DEBARMENT AND
SUSPENSIONS (Sec 18-107)
(a) Authority and requirement to debar and
suspend. After reasonable notice to an
actual or prospective Contractual Party,
and after reasonable opportunity for such
party to be heard, the City Manager, after
consultation with the Chief Procurement
Officer and the city attorney, shall have the
authority to debar a Contractual Party, for
the causes listed below, from consideration
for award of city Contracts. The debarment
shall be for a period of not fewer than three
years. The City Manager shall also have
the authority to suspend a Contractual
Party from consideration for award of city
Contracts if there is probable cause for
debarment, pending the debarment
determination. The authority to debar and
suspend contractors shall be exercised in
accordance with regulations which shall be
issued by the Chief Procurement Officer
after approval by the City Manager, the
city attorney, and the City Commission.
(b) Causes for debarment or suspension.
Causes for debarment or suspension
include the following:
(1) Conviction for commission of a
criminal offense incident to
obtaining or attempting to obtain
a public or private Contract or
subcontract, or incident to the
performance of such Contract or
subcontract.
(2) Conviction under state or federal
statutes of embezzlement, theft,
forgery, bribery, falsification or
destruction of records, receiving
stolen property, or any other
offense indicating a lack of
Page 5
(3)
Conviction under state or
federal antitrust statutes arising
out of the submission of Bids or
Proposals.
(4) Violation of
Contract/Agreement provisions,
which is regarded by the Chief
Procurement Officer to be
indicative of nonresponsibility.
Such violation may include
failure without good cause to
perform in accordance with the
terms and conditions of a
Contract/Agreement or to
perform within the time limits
provided in a
Contract/Agreement, provided
that failure to perform caused
by acts beyond the control of a
party shall not be considered a
basis for debarment or
suspension.
(5)
Debarment or suspension of the
Contractual Party by any
federal, state or other
governmental entity.
(6) False certification pursuant to
paragraph (c) below.
(7)
Found in violation of a zoning
ordinance or any other city
ordinance or regulation and for
which the violation remains
noncompliant,
(8) Found in violation of a zoning
ordinance or any other city
ordinance or regulation and for
which a civil penalty or fine is
due and owing to the city.
(9) Any other cause judged by the
City Manager to be so serious
and compelling as to affect the
responsibility of the Contractual
Party performing city Contracts.
(c) Certification, All
Contracts/Agreements for goods and
services, sales, and leases by the city shall
contain a certification that neither the
Contractual Party nor any of its principal
owners or personnel have been convicted
of any of the violations set forth above or
debarred or suspended as set forth in
paragraph (b)(5).
(d) Debarment and suspension decisions.
Subject to the provisions of paragraph (a),
the City Manager shall renc.cr a
written decision stating the reasons for
the debarment or suspension. A copy
of the decision shall be provided
promptly to the Contractual Party,
along with a notice of said parry's
right to seek judicial relief.
1.26. DEBARRED/SUSPENDED
VENDORS — An entity or affiliate
who has been placed on the State of
Florida debarred or suspended vendor
list may not submit a response on a
contract to provide 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, may
not submit response on leases of real
property to a public entity, may not
award or perform work as a
contractor, supplier, subcontractor, or
consultant under contract with any
public entity, and may not transact
business with any public entity.
1.27. DEFAULT/FAILURE TO
PERFORM - The City shall be the
sole judge of nonperformance, which
shall include any failure on the part of
the successful Bidder/Proposer to
accept the award, to furnish required
documents, and/or to fulfill any
portion of this contract/agreement
within the time stipulated.
Upon default by the successful
Bidder/Proposer to meet any terms of
this agreement, the City will notify the
Bidder/Proposer of the default and
will provide the contractor three (3)
days (weekends and holidays
excluded) to remedy the default.
Failure on the contractor's part to
correct the default within the required
three (3) days shall result in the
Contract/Agreement being terminated
and upon the City notifying in writing
the contractor of its intentions and the
effective date of the termination. The
following shall constitute default:
A. Failure to perform the work or
deliver the goods/services
required under the
Contract/Agreement and/or
within the time required or
failing to use the subcontractors,
entities and personnel as
identified and set forth, and to
the degree specified in the
Contract/Agreement.
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Failure to begin the work under this
Contract/Agreement within the time
specified.
Failure to perform the work with
sufficient workers and equipment or
with sufficient materials to ensure
timely completion.
Neglecting or refusing to remove
materials or perform new work where
prior work has been rejected as non
conforming with the terms of the
Contract/Agreement.
Becoming insolvent, being declared
bankrupt, or committing any act of
bankruptcy or insolvency, or making
an assignment for the benefit of
creditors, if the insolvency,
bankruptcy, or assignment renders the
successful Bidder/Proposer incapable
of performing the work in accordance
with and as required by the
Contract/Agreement.
Failure to comply with any of the
terms of the Contract/Agreement in
any material respect.
All costs and charges incurred by the City
as a result of a default or a default incurred
beyond the time limits stated, together with
the cost of completing the work, shall be
deducted from any monies due or which
may become due on this
Contract/Agreement.
1.28. DETERMINATION OF
RESPONSIVENESS - Each Response
will be reviewed to determine if it is
responsive to the submission requirements
outlined in the Formal Solicitation, A
"responsive" response is one which follows
the requirements of the formal solicitation,
includes all documentation, is submitted in
the format outlined in the formal
solicitation, is of timely submission, and
has appropriate signatures as required on
each document. Failure to comply with
these requirements may deem a Response
non -responsive.
1.29. DISCOUNTS OFFERED DURING
TERM OF CONTRACT/AGREEMENT
- Discount Prices offered in the response
shall be fixed after the award by the
Commission, unless otherwise specified in
the Special Terms and Conditions. Price
discounts off the original prices quoted in
the response will be accepted from
successful Bidder(s)/Proposer(s) during the
term of the contract/agreement. Such
discounts shall remain in effect for a
minimum of 120 days from approval by the
Page 6
.;ity Commission Any discounts offered
by a manufacturer to Bidder/Proposer will
be passed on to the City.
1.30. DISCREPANCIES, ERRORS,
AND OMISSIONS -Any discrepancies,
errors, or ambiguities in the Formal
Solicitation or addenda (if any) should be
reported in writing to the City's
Purchasing Department. Should it be
found necessary, a written addendum will
be incorporated in the Formal Solicitation
and will become part of the purchase
agreement (contract documents). The
City will not be responsible for any oral
instructions, clarifications, or other
communications.
A. Order of Precedence -- Any
inconsistency in this formal solicitation
shall be resolved by giving precedence to
the following documents, the first of such
list being the governing documents,
I) Addenda (as applicable)
2) Specifications
3) Special Conditions
4) General Terms and Conditions
1.31. EMERGENCY / DISASTER
PERFORMANCE - In the event of a
hurricane or other emergency or disaster
situation, the successful vendor shall
provide the City with the
commodities/services defined within the
scope of this formal solicitation at the
price contained within vendor's response.
Further, successful vendor shall
deliver/perform for the city on a priority
basis during such times of emergency.
1.32. ENTIRE BID CONTRACT OR
AGREEMENT - The Bid Contract or
Agreement consists of this City of Miami
Formai Solicitation and specifically this
General Conditions Section, Contractor's
Response and any written agreement
entered into by the City of Miami and
Contractor in cases involving RFPs, RFQs,
and RFLIs, and represents the entire
understanding and agreement between the
parties with respect to the subject matter
hereof and supersedes all other
negotiations, understanding and
representations, if any, made by and
between the parties. To the extent that the
agreement conflicts with, modifies, alters or
changes any of the terms and conditions
contained in the Formal Solicitation and/or
Response, the Formal Solicitation and then
the Response shall control. This Contract
may be modified only by a written
agreement signed by the City of Miami and
Contractor.
1.33. ESTIMATED QUANTI'i-1ES
— Estimated quantities or estimated
dollars are provided for your guidance
only. No guarantee is expressed or
implied as to quantities that will be
purchased during the
contract/agreement period. The City
is not obligated to place an order for
any given amount subsequent to the
award of this contract. Said estimates
may be used by the City for purposes
of determining the low
bidder/proposer meeting
specifications. The City reserves the
right to acquire additional quantities
at the prices bid/proposed or at lower
prices in this Formal Solicitation.
1.34. EVALUATION OF
RESPONSES
(2)
(3)
defaulter as surety or otherwise upon
any obligation to the City.
A contract/agreement may not be
awarded to any person or firm which
has failed to perform under the terms
and conditions of any previous
contract/agreement with the City or
deliver on time contracts/agreements
of a similar nature.
A contract/agreement may not be
awarded to any person or firm which
has been debarred by the City in
accordance with the City's Debarment
and Suspension Ordinance.
C. Determination of Responsibility
A. Rejection of Responses
The City may reject a Response for (1)
any of the following reasons:
(1) Bidder/Proposer fails to
acknowledge receipt of addenda;
(2) Bidder/Proposer mistates or
conceals any material fact in the
Response;
Response does not conform to
(3)
the
requirements of the Formal
Solicitation;
(4) Response requires a conditional
award that conflicts with the
method of award;
Response does not include
required samples, certificates,
licenses as required; and,
(6) Response was not executed by
the Bidder's/Proposer(s) (2)
authorized agent.
(5)
The foregoing is not an all inclusive
list of reasons for which a Response
may be rejected. The City may reject
and re -advertise for all or any part of
the Formal Solicitation whenever it is
deemed in the best interest of the City.
(4)
B. Elimination From Consideration
(1) A contract/agreement shall not be
awarded to any person or firm
which is in arrears to the City
upon any debt or
contract/agreement, or which is a
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Responses will only be considered
from entities who are regularly
engaged in the business of providing
the goods/equipment/services required
by the Formal Solicitation.
Bidder/Proposer must be able to
demonstrate a satisfactory record of
performance and integrity; and, have
sufficient financial, material,
equipment, facility, personnel
resources, and expertise to meet all
contractual requirements. The terms
"equipment and organization" as used
herein shall be construed to mean a
fully equipped and well established
entity in line with the best industry
practices in the industry as determined
by the City.
The City may consider any evidence
available regarding the financial,
technical and other qualifications and
abilities of a Bidder/Proposer,
including past performance
(experience) with the City or any
other governmental entity in making
the award.
The City may require the
Bidder(s)/Proposer(s) to show proof
that they have been designated as an
authorized representative of a
manufacturer or supplier which is the
actual source of' supply, if required by
the Formal Solicitation.
Page 7
..35. EXCEPTIONS TO GENERAL
AND/OR SPECIAL CONDITIONS OR
SPECIFICATIONS - Exceptions to the
specifications shall be listed on the
Response and shall reference the section.
Any exceptions to the General or Special
Conditions shall be cause for the bid
(IFB) to be considered non -responsive. It
also may be cause for a RFP, RFQ, or
RFLI to be considered non -responsive;
and, if exceptions are taken to the terms
and conditions of the resulting agreement
it may lead to terminating negotiations.
1.36. F.O.B. DESTINATION - Unless
otherwise specified in the Formal
Solicitation, all prices quoted by the
bidder/proposer must be F.O.B.
DESTINATION, inside delivery, with all
delivery costs and charges included in the
bid/proposal price, unless otherwise
specified in this Formal Solicitation.
Failure to do so may be cause for
rejection of bid/proposal.
1.37. FIRM PRICES - The
bidder/proposer warrants that prices,
terms, and conditions quoted in its
response will be firm throughout the
duration of the contract/agreement unless
otherwise specified in the Formal
Solicitation. Such prices will remain firm
for the period of performance or resulting
purchase orders or contracts/agreements,
which are to be performed or supplied
over a period of time.
1.38. FIRST -SOURCE HIRING
AGREEMENT (Sec. 18-105)
(a) The commission approves
implementation of the first -source
hiring agreement policy and requires
as a condition precedent to the
execution of service
contracts/agreements for facilities,
services, and/or receipt of grants and
loans, for projects of a nature that
create new jobs, the successful
negotiation of first -source hiring
agreements between the organization
or individual receiving said
contract/agreement and the
authorized representative unless such
an agreement is found infeasible by
the city manager and such finding
approved by the city commission at a
public hearing.
(b) For the purpose of this section, the
following terms, phrases, words and
their derivations shall ha\ .. .ne
following meanings:
Authorized representative means
the Private Industry Council of
South Florida/South Florida
Employment and Training
Consortium, or its successor as
local recipient of federal and
state training and employment
funds.
Facilities means all publicly
financed projects, including but
without limitation, utiffti time of responding, it is bidder/proposer and
his/her subcontractor(s), if applicable, full
responsibility to determine whether any of
its employees may be impacted by this
Florida Law at any given point in time
during the term of the contract/agreement.
If impacted, bidder/proposer must furnish
employee name(s), job title(s), job
description(s), and current pay rate(s).
Failure to submit this information at the
time of submitting a response constitute
successful bidder's/proposer's
acknowledgement and understanding that
the Florida Minimum Wage Law will not
impact its prices throughout the term of
contract/agreement and waiver of any
contractual price increase request(s). The
City reserves the right to request and
successful bidder/proposer must provide
for any and all information to make a wage
and contractual price increase(s)
determination.
development projects, municipal
public works, and municipal
improvements to the extent they
are financed through public
money services or the use of
publicly owned property.
Grants and loans means, without
limitation, urban development
action grants (UDAG), economic
development agency construction
loans, loans from Miami Capital
Development, Incorporated, and
all federal and state grants
administered by the city.
Service contracts/agreements
means contracts/agreements for
the procurement of services by
the city which include
professional services.
Services includes, without
limitation, public works
improvements, facilities,
professional services,
commodities, supplies, materials
and equipment.
(c) The authorized representative
shall negotiate each first -source
hiring agreement.
(d)
The primary beneficiaries of the
first -source hiring agreement
shall be participants of the city
training and employment
programs, and other residents of
the city.
1.39. FLORIDA MINIMUM WAGE - The
Constitution of the State of Florida,
Article X, Section 24, states that
employers shall pay employee wages
no less than the minimum wage for all
hours worked in Florida.
Accordingly, it is the contractor's and
its' subcontractor(s) responsibility to
understand and comply with this
Florida constitutional minimum wage
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
requirement and pay its employees the
current established hourly minimum wage
rate, which is subject to change or adjusted
by the rate of inflation using the consumer
price index for urban wage earners and
clerical workers, CPI-W, or a successor
index as calculated by the United States
Department of Labor. Each adjusted
minimum wage rate calculated shall be
determined and published by the Agency
Workforce Innovation on September 306
of each year and take effect on the
following January 1"
1.40 CITY OF MIAMI LIVING WAGE
ORDINANACE- The City of Miami
adopted a living wage ordinance for city
service contracts/agreements awarded by
the city containing a total
contract/agreement value exceeding
$100,000 annually for the following
services: food preparation and/or
distribution; security services; routine
maintenance services such as custodial,
cleaning, computers, refuse removal,
repair, refinishing and recycling; clerical or
other non -supervisory office work, whether
temporary or permanent; transportation and
parking services; printing and reproduction
services; landscaping, lawn, and or
agricultural services.
If this solicitation requires the
aforementioned services, effective on
October 1, 2006, contractors must pay its'
employees a living wage no less than
$10.58 an hour with a health benefit plan
and not less than $11.83 an hour without
health benefits, which shall be adjusted
annually by no later than April 1st
following the publication of the U.S
Page.8
,Department of Health and Human
Services Poverty Guidelines, as published
from time to time.
A service contractor is defined as any "for
profit" individual, business entity,
corporation, partnership, limited liability
company, joint venture, or similar
business: (1) Paid in whole or part from
one or more of the city's general funds,
capital project funds, special revenue
funds, or any other funds either directly or
indirectly, whether by competitive bid
process, informal bids, requests for
proposals, some form of solicitation,
negotiation, or agreement, or any other
decision to enter into a
contract/agreement; and, (2) The service
contractor is engaged in the business of,
or part of, a contract or a subcontract to
provided covered services, either directly
or indirectly, for the benefit of the city.
This does not aply to
contracts/agreements related primarily to
the sale of products or goods.
The service contractor, prior to entering
any such contract/agreement, must certify
to the city that it will pay each of its
covered employees no less than the living
wage. A copy of this certificate must be
made available to the public upon request.
The certificate, at a minimum, must
include the following:
(1) The name, address, and phone
number of the employer, a
contact person, and the specific
project for which the service
contract/agreement is sought;
(2) The amount of the service
contract/agreement and the city
department the
contract/agreement will serve.
A brief description of the
project or service provided;
A statement of the wage levels
for all covered employees; and
A commitment to pay all
covered employees the living
wage.
(3)
(4)
(5)
A copy of the living wage rate shall be
kept posted by the service contractor at
the site of the work in a prominent place
where it can easily be seen and read by
the covered employees and shall be
supplied to such employees within a
reasonable time after a request to do so.
Additionally, service contractors shall
furnish a copy of the requirements of the
City of Miami Living wage Ordinance to
any entity submitting a bid for a
subcontract on any service
contract/agreement subject to this article.
Posting requirements will not be required
where the service contractor prii.. .ne
following statements on the fron of
the covered employee's first paycheck
and every six months thereafter.
"You are required by the City of
Miami Living Wage Ordinance to be
paid a Living Wage, If you do not
believe you being paid at the Living
Wage rate, contact your employer, an
attorney, or the City of Miami." All
notices will be printed in English,
Spanish and Creole.
Service Contractors and their
subcontractors agree to produce all
documents and records relating to
payroll and compliance this
Ordinance. Each service contractor
shall maintain payroll record for all
covered employees and basic records
relating thereto and shall preserve
them for a period of three (3) years
from the date of termination or
expiration of the service
contract/agreement. The records shall
contain:
(1) The name and address of
each covered employee;
The job title and
classification;
The number of hours
worked each day;
The gross wages earned and
deductions made;
(5) Annual wages paid;
(6) A copy of the social security
returns and evidence of
payment thereof;
(7) A record of fringe benefit
payments including
contributions to approved
plans; and
Any other data of
information the city require
from time to time.
(2)
(3)
(4)
(8)
Every six months, the service
contractor shall file with the city's
procurement director a listing of all
covered employees together with a
certification of compliance with this
article. Upon request from the city,
the service contractor shall produce
for inspection and copying its payroll
records for any or all of its covered
employees for any period covered by
the service contract/agreement. The
city may examine payroll records as
needed to ensure compliance.
Failure to comply with the City of
Miami Living Wage Ordinance may
result in legal action by the covered
employee or former covered employee
as allowed by Florida Law, court
impose sanctions, city impose
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
sanctions, such as pay wage restitution,
impose monetary damages, suspension or
termination of payment, termination of
contract/agreement, and debarment.
Please review City of Miami Code Section
18-556 through Section 18-559 for a
complete and thorough description of the
City of Miami Living Wage.
1.41. GOVERNING LAW AND VENUE:
The validity and effect of this
Contract/Agreement shall be governed by
the laws of the State of Florida, The parties
agree that any action, mediation or
arbitration arising out of this
Contract/Agreement shall take place in
Miami -Dade County, Florida.
1.42. HEADINGS AND TERMS - The
headings to the various paragraphs of this
Contract/Agreement have been inserted for
convenient reference only and shall not in
any manner be construed as modifying,
amending or affecting in any way the
expressed terms and provisions hereof.
1.43. HEALTH INSURANCE
PORTABILITY AND
ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPPA) -
Any person or entity that performs or
assists the City of Miami with a function or
activity involving the use or disclosure of
"individually identifiable health
information (IIHI) and/or Protected Health
Information (PHI) shall comply with the
Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and
the City of Miami Privacy Standards.
HIPAA mandates for privacy, security and
electronic transfer standards, which include
but are not limited to:
1. Use of information only for performing
services required by the
contract/agreement or as required by
law;
2. Use of appropriate safeguards to prevent
non -permitted disclosures;
3, Reporting to the City of Miami of any
non -permitted use or disclosure;
4. Assurances that any agents and
subcontractors agree to the same
restrictions and conditions that apply to
the Bidder/Proposer and reasonable
assurances that IIHI/PHI will be held
confidential;
5. Making Protected Health Information
(PHI) available to the customer;
6, Making PHI available to the customer
for review and amendment; and
incorporating any amendments requested
by the customer;
Page 9
1. Making PHI available to the City of
Miami for an accounting of disclosures;
and
8. Making internal practices, books and
records related to PHI available to the
City of Miami for compliance audits.
PHI shall maintain its protected status
regardless of the form and method of
transmission (paper records, and/or
electronic transfer of data). The Bidder/
Proposer must give its customers written
notice of its privacy information practices
including specifically, a description of the
types of uses and disclosures that would
be made with protected health
information.
1.44. IDEMNIFICATION - The
Contractor shall indemnify and save
harmless forever the City, and all the
City's agents, officers and employees from
and against all charges or claims resulting
from any bodily injury, loss of life, or
damage to property from any act,
omission or neglect, by itself or its
employees; the Contractor shall become
defendant in every suit brought for any of
such causes of action against the City or
the City's officials, agents and employees;
the Contractor shall further indemnify
City as to all costs, attorney's fees,
expenses and liabilities incurred in the
defense of any such claims and any
resulting investigation.
1.45. INFORMATION AND
DESCRIPTIVE LITERATURE —
Bidders/Proposer must furnish all
information requested in the spaces
provided in the Formal Solicitation.
Further, as may be specified elsewhere,
each Bidder/Proposer must submit for
evaluation, cuts, sketches, descriptive
literature, and technical specifications
covering the products offered. Reference
to literature submitted with a previous
response or on file with the Buyer will not
satisfy this provision.
1.46. INSPECTIONS - The City may, at
reasonable times during the term hereof,
inspect Contractor's facilities and perform
such tests, as the City deems reasonably
necessary, to determine whether the goods
and/or services required to be provided by
the Contractor under this
Contract/Agreement conform to the terms
and conditions of the Formal Solicitation.
Contractor shall make available to the
City all reasonable facilities and
assistance to facilitate the performance of
tests or inspections by .ety
representatives. All tests and
inspections shall be subject to, and
made in accordance with, the
provisions of the City of Miami
Ordinance No. 12271 (Section 18-79),
as same may be amended or
supplemented from time to time.
1.47. INSPECTION OF
RESPONSE Responses received by
the City pursuant to a Formal
Solicitation will not be made available
until such time as the City provides
notice of a decision or intended
decision or within 10 days after bid
closing, whichever is earlier.
Bid/Proposal results will be tabulated
and may be furnished upon request
via fax or e-mail to the Sr.
Procurement Specialist issuing the
Solicitation. Tabulations also are
available on the City's Web Site
following recommendation for award.
1.48. INSURANCE - Within ten (10)
days after receipt of Notice of Award,
the successful Contractor, shall
furnish Evidence of Insurance to the
Purchasing Department, if applicable.
Submitted evidence of coverage shall
demonstrate strict compliance to all
requirements listed on the Special
Conditions entitled "Insurance
Requirements". The City shall be
listed as an "Additional Insured."
Issuance of a Purchase Order 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 Solicitation
the Contractor 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 Contractor fails to
submit the required insurance
documents in the manner prescribed
in this Solicitation within fifteen (15)
calendar days after receipt Notice of
Award, the contractor shall be in
default of the contractual terms and
conditions and shall not be awarded
the contract. Under such
circumstances, the Bidder/Proposer
may be prohibited from submitting
future responses to the City.
Information regarding any insurance
requirements shall be directed to the
Risk Administrator, Department of
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Risk Management, at 444 SW 2Agaueac
9eh Floor, Miami, Florida 33130, 305-416-
1604.
The Bidder/Proposer shall be
responsible for assuring that the
insurance certificates required in
conjunction with this Section remain in
effect for the duration of the
contractual period; including any and
all option terms that may be granted to
the Bidder/Proposer.
1.49. INVOICES - Invoices shall contain
purchase order number and details of
goods and/or services delivered (i.e.
quantity, unit price, extended price, etc).
1.50. LOCAL PREFERENCE - City
Code Section 18-85, states that the City
Commission may offer to a responsible and
responsive bidder/proposer, who maintains
a Local Office, the opportunity of
accepting a bid at the low bid amount, if
the original bid amount submitted by the
local vendor is not more than ten percent
f 10%1 in excess of the lowest other
responsible and responsive
bidder/proposer.
1.51. MANUFACTURER'S
CERTIFICATION - The City reserves the
right to request from bidders/proposers a
separate Manufacturer's Certification of' all
statements made in the bid/proposal.
Failure to provide such certification may
result in the rejection of bid/proposal or
termination of contract/agreement, for
which the bidder/proposer must bear full
liability.
1.52. MINORITY/WOMEN
PROCUREMENT PROGRAM -
Ordinance No. 10062, as amended, entitled
the Minority and Women Business Affairs
and Procurement Ordinance of the City of
Miami, Florida, sets forth "...a goal of
awarding at least 51 percent of the City's
total annual dollar volume of all
expenditures for all goods and services to
Black, Hispanic and Women minority
business enterprises on an equal basis." A
minority business enterprise is defined as a
business firm "...in which at least 51
percent of said enterprise is owned by
Blacks, Hispanics, or Women and whose
management and daily business operations
are controlled by one or more Blacks,
Hispanics or Women."
Page 10
hleve the goal established by these
Ordinances, participation in providing
goods and services to the City by
minorities is being encouraged in a
number of ways. All bidders/proposers
doing business with the City are
encouraged to include the participation of
minority firms in their response. In
evaluating bids/proposals for
determination of awards, minority
participation may be a factor. Failure to
adequately involve minority firms may be
a basis for rejecting any and all responses.
Possible ways to include minority
participation would involve:
I. Joint venture with a minority firm(s)
2. Utilizing minority firm(s) as
subcontractor(s).
3. Utilizing minority firm(s) to supply
goods and/or services.
4. Successful implementation of well
defined affirmative action program.
5. Other forms of minority
participation, if properly
documented.
Successful bidder(s)/proposer(s) shall
be required to establish an Affirmative
Action Plan, if not, an Affirmative
Action Policy shall be established,
pursuant to Ordinance #10062 as
amended. Effective date of
implementation must be indicated on
the policy.
A "Minority Status Information Sheet" is
provided to assist bidders/proposers in
presenting information concerning
minority participation.
Minority and women -owned business
firms are encouraged, but not required, to
register with the City prior to submitting a
response. The Purchasing Department,
Minority/Women Business Affairs Office,
will provide the necessary forms and
instructions upon request. All
bidders/proposers are urged to submit
responses for any goods or services that
they are able to supply, regardless of
minority classification. However,
compliance with all requests for
information regarding Minority/Women
Status or Participation is required.
Bidder's/Proposer's cooperation is greatly
needed to aid the City in achieving its
goal. Bidders/Proposers may contact this
Office at (305) 416-1913 for information.
1.53. MODIFICATIONS .,R
CHANGES IN PURCHASE
ORDERS AND
CONTRACTS/AGREEMENTS
No contract/agreement or
understanding to modify this Formal
Solicitation and resultant purchase
orders or contracts/agreements, if
applicable, shall be binding upon the
City unless made in writing by the
Director of Purchasing of the City of
Miami, Florida through the issuance
of a change order, addendum,
amendment, or supplement to the
contract/agreement, purchase order or
award sheet as appropriate.
1.54. NO INTEREST IN BIDDING
- If you do not wish to respond, please
return the "Statement of No Bid"
form, stating the reason. Failure to
submit a response after three (3) times
without a sufficient justification of
"No Bid" will be cause for removal
from the Vendor/Bidder's list.
Vendors are encouraged to register
on-line by visiting the City's website
at
http://www.ci.miamill.us/procuremen
1.55. NO PARTNERSHIP OR
JOINT VENTURE - Nothing
contained in this Contract/Agreement
will be deemed or construed to create
a partnership or joint venture between
the City of Miami and Contractor, or
to create any other similar relationship
between the parties.
1.56. NONCONFORMANCE TO
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT
CONDITIONS - Items may be tested
for compliance with specifications
under the direction of the Florida
Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services or by other
appropriate testing Laboratories as
determined by the City. The data
derived from any test for compliance
with specifications is public record
and open to examination thereto in
accordance with Chapter 119, Florida
Statutes. Items delivered not
conforming to specifications may be
rejected and returned at
Bidder's/Proposer's expense. These
non -conforming items not delivered
as per delivery date in the response
and/or Purchase Order may result in
bidder/proposer being found in
default in which event any and all re -
procurement costs may be charged
against the defaulted contractor. Any
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
violation of these stipulations may also
result in the supplier's name being
removed from the City of Miami's
Supplier's list.
1.57. NONDISCRIMINATION —
Bidder/Proposer agrees that it shall not
discriminate as to race, sex, color, age,
religion, national origin, marital status, or
disability in connection with its
performance under this formal solicitation.
Furthermore, Bidder/Proposer agrees that
no otherwise qualified individual shall
solely by reason of his/her race, sex, color,
age, religion, national origin, marital status
or disability be excluded from the
participation in, be denied benefits of, or
be subjected to, discrimination under any
program or activity.
In connection with the conduct of its
business, including performance of
services and employment of personnel,
Bidder/Proposer shall not discriminate
against any person on the basis of race,
color, religion, disability, age, sex, marital
status or national origin. All persons
having appropriate qualifications shall be
afforded equal opportunity for
employment.
1.58. NON-EXCLUSIVE CONTRACT/
PIGGYBACK PROVISION - At such
times as may serve its best interest, the City
of Miami reserves the right to advertise for,
receive, and award additional contracts for
these herein goods and/or services, and to
make use of other competitively bid
(governmental) contracts, SNAPS
Agreements, or other similar sources for
the purchase of these goods and/or services
as may be available.
It is hereby agreed and understood that this
formal/solicitation does not constitute the
exclusive rights of the successful
bidder(s)/proposer(s) to receive all orders
that may be generated by the City in
conjunction with this Formal Solicitation.
In addition, any and all commodities,
equipment, and services required by the
City in conjunction with construction
projects are solicited under a distinctly
different solicitation process and shall not
be purchased under the terms, conditions
and awards rendered under this solicitation,
unless such purchases are determined to be
in the best interest of the City.
1.59. OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE Any
person, firm, corporation or joint venture,
Page 11
with a business location in the City of
Miami and is submitting a Response
under this Formal Solicitation shall meet
the City's Occupational License Tax
requirements in accordance with Chapter
31,1, Article 1 of the City of Miami
Charter. Others with a location outside
the City of Miami shall meet their local
Occupational License Tax requirements.
A copy of the license must be submitted
with the response; however, the City may
at its sole option and in its best interest
allow the Bidder/Proposer to supply the
license to the City during the evaluation
period, but prior to award.
1.60. ONE PROPOSAL - Only one (1)
Response from an individual, firm,
partnership, corporation or joint venture
will be considered in response to this
Formal Solicitation. When submitting an
alternate response, please refer to the
herein condition for Alternate Responses
May Be Considered.
1.61. OWNERSHIP OF DOCUMENTS
- It is understood by and between the
parties that any documents, records, files,
or any other matter whatsoever which is
given by the City to the successful
Bidder/Proposer pursuant to this formal
solicitation shall at all times remain the
property of the City and shall not be used
by the Bidder/Proposer for any other
purposes whatsoever without the written
consent of the City.
1.62, PARTIAL INVALIDITY - If any
provision of this Contract/Agreement or
the application thereof to any person or
circumstance shall to any extent be held
invalid, then the remainder of this
Contract/Agreement or the application of
such provision to persons or
circumstances other than those as to
which it is held invalid shall not be
affected thereby, and each provision of
this Contract/Agreement shall be valid
and enforced to the fullest extent
permitted by law.
1.63 PERFORMANCE/PAYMENT
BOND — A Contractor may be required to
furnish a Performance/Payment Bond as
part of the requirements of this
Contract/Agreement, in an amount equal
to one hundred percent (100%) of the
contract price.
1.64. PREPARATION OF
RESPONSES (HARDCOPY
FORMAT) — Bidders/Proposers are
expected to examine one
specifications, required delivery,
drawings, and all special and general
conditions. All bid amounts, if F.
required, shall be typewritten entered
into the space provided with ink.
Failure to do so will be at the
Bidder's/Proposer's risk.
A. Each Bidder/Proposer shall
furnish the information required
in the Formal Solicitation. The
Bidder/Proposer shall sign the
Response and print in ink or type
the name of the
Bidder/Proposer, address, and
telephone number on the face
page and on each continuation
sheet thereof on which he/she
makes an entry, as required.
B. If so required, the unit price for
each unit offered shall be shown,
and such price shall include
packaging, handling and
shipping, and F.O.B. Miami
delivery inside City premises
unless otherwise specified.
Bidder/Proposer shall include in
the response all taxes, insurance,
social security, workmen's
compensation, and any other
benefits normally paid by the
Bidder/Proposer to its
employees. If applicable, a unit
price shall be entered in the
"Unit Price" column for each
item. Based upon estimated
quantity, an extended price shall
be entered in the "Extended
Price" column for each item
offered. In case of a discrepancy
between the unit price and
extended price, the unit price will
be presumed correct.
C. The Bidder/Proposer must state a
definite time, if required, in
calendar days for delivery of
goods and/or services.
D. The Bidder/Proposer should
retain a copy of all response
documents for future reference.
E. All responses, as described, 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 the company or
firm by his/her signature.
Bids/Proposals having any
erasures or corrections must be
initialed in ink by person signing
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
G.
the response or the response may be
rejected.
Responses are to remain valid for at
least 180 days. Upon award of a
contract, the content of the Successful
Bidder's/Proposer's response may be
included as part of the
contract/agreement, at the City's
discretion.
The City of Miami's Response Forms
shall be used when Bidder/Proposer is
submitting its response in hardcopy
format. Use of any other forms will
result in the rejection of the response.
IF SUBMITTING HARDCOPY
FORMAT, THE ORIGINAL AND
THREE (3) COPIES OF THESE
SETS OF FORMS, UNLESS
OTHERWISE SPECIFIED, AND
ANY REQUIRED
ATTACHMENTS MUST BE
RETURNED TO THE CITY OR
YOUR RESPONSE MAY BE
DEEMED NON -RESPONSIVE.,
1.65. PRICE ADJUSTMENTS — Any
price decrease effectuated during the
contract/agreement period either by reason
of market change or on the part of the
contractor to other customers shall be
passed on to the City of Miami.
1.66. PRODUCT SUBSTITUTES - In the
event a particular awarded and approved
manufacturer's product becomes
unavailable during the term of the
Contract/Agreement, the Contractor
awarded that item may arrange with the
City's authorized representative(s) to
supply a substitute product at the awarded
price or lower, provided that a sample is
approved in advance of delivery and that
the new product meets or exceeds all
quality requirements.
1.67. CONFLICT OF INTEREST, AND
UNETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICE
PROHIBITIONS - Contractor represents
and warrants to the City that it has not
employed or retained any person or
company employed by the City to solicit or
secure this Contract/Agreement and that it
has not offered to pay, paid, or agreed to
pay any person any fee, commission,
percentage, brokerage fee, or gift of any
kind contingent upon or in connection
with, the award of this Contract.
1.68. PROMPT PAYMENT —
Bidders/Proposers may offer a cash
Page 12
discount for prompt payment; however,
discounts shall not be considered in
determining the lowest net cost for
response evaluation purposes.
Bidders/Proposers are required to provide
their prompt payment terms in the space
provided on the Formal Solicitation. If
no prompt payment discount is being
offered, the Bidder/Proposer must enter
zero (0) for the percentage discount to
indicate no discount. If the
Bidder/Proposer fails to enter a
percentage, it is understood and agreed
that the terms shall be 2% 20 days,
effective after receipt of invoice or final
acceptance by the City, whichever is later.
When the City is entitled to a cash
discount, the period of computation will
commence on the date of delivery, or
receipt of a correctly completed invoice,
whichever is later. If an adjustment in
payment is necessary due to damage, the
cash discount period shall commence on
the date final approval for payment is
authorized. If a discount is part of the
contract/agreement, but the invoice does
not reflect the existence of a cash
discount, the City is entitled to a cash
discount with the period commencing on
the date it is determined by the City that a
cash discount applies.
Price discounts off the original prices
quoted on the Price Sheet will be
accepted from successful
bidders/proposers during the term of the
contract/agreement.
1.69. PROPERTY - Property owned by
the City of Miami is the responsibility of
the City of Miami. Such property
furnished to a Contractor for repair,
modification, study, etc., shall remain the
property of the City of Miami. Damages
to such property occurring while in the
possession of the Contractor shall be the
responsibility of the Contractor. Damages
occurring to such property while in route
to the City of Miami shall be the
responsibility of the Contractor. In the
event that such property is destroyed or
declared a total loss, the Contractor shall
be responsible for replacement value of
the property at the current market value,
less depreciation of the property if any.
1.70. PROVISIONS BINDING - Except
as otherwise expressly provided in this
Contract/Agreement, all covenants,
conditions and provisions of this
Contract/Agreement shall be binding
upon and shall inure to the bens._. of
the parties hereto and their respective
heirs, legal representatives, successors
and assigns.
1.71. PUBLIC ENTITY CRIMES -
A person or affiliate who has been
placed on the convicted vendor list
following a conviction for a public
entity crime may not submit a
response on a contract/agreement to
provide any goods or services to a
public entity, may not submit a
response on a contract/agreement with
a public entity for the construction or
repair of a public building or public
work, may not submit responses on
leases of real property to a public
entity, may not be awarded or perform
work as a contractor, supplier,
subcontractor, or consultant under a
contract/agreement with any public
entity, and may not transact business
with any public entity in excess of the
threshold amount provided in Section
287.017, for CATEGORY TWO for a
period of 36 months from the date of
being placed on the convicted vendor
list.
1.72. PUBLIC RECORDS -
Contractor understands that the
public shall have access, at all
reasonable times, to all documents
and information pertaining to City
contracts/agreements, subject to the
provisions of Chapter 119, Florida
Statutes, and City of Miami Code,
Section 18, Article III, and agrees to
allow access by the City and the
public to all documents subject to
disclosure under applicable law.
Contractor's failure or refusal to
comply with the provision of this
section shall result in the immediate
cancellation of this
Contract/Agreement by the City.
1.73. QUALITY OF GOODS,
MATERIALS, SUPPLIES,
PRODUCTS, AND EQUIPMENT -
All materials used in the
manufacturing or construction of
supplies, materials, or equipment
covered by this solicitation shall be
new. The items bid/proposed must be
of the latest make or model, of the
best quality, and of the highest grade
of workmanship, unless as otherwise
specified in this Solicitation,
1.74. QUALITY OF
WORK/SERVICES The
work/services performed must be of
the highest quality and workmanship.
City of Miarni
RFQ No. 5010
Materials furnished to complete the service
shall be new and of the highest quality
except as otherwise specified in this
Solicitation.
1.75. REMEDIES PRIOR TO AWARD
(Sec. 18-106)
If prior to Contract award it is determined
that a formal solicitation or proposed
award is in violation of law, then the
solicitation or proposed award shall be
cancelled by the City Commission, the City
Manager or the Chief Procurement Officer,
as may be applicable, or revised to comply
with the law.
1.76. RESOLUTION OF CONTRACT
DISPUTES (Sec. 18-105)
(a) Authority to resolve Contract disputes.
The City Manager, after obtaining the
approval of the city attorney, shall have the
authority to resolve controversies between
the Contractual Party and the city which
arise under, or by virtue of, a Contract
between them; provided that, in cases
involving an amount greater than $25,000,
the City Commission must approve the
City Manager's decision. Such authority
extends, without limitation, to
controversies based upon breach of
Contract, mistake, misrepresentation or
lack of complete performance, and shall be
invoked by a Contractual Party by
submission of a protest to the City
Manager.
(b) Contract dispute decisions. If a dispute
is not resolved by mutual consent, the City
Manager shall promptly render a written
report stating the reasons for the action
taken by the City Commission or the City
Manager which shall be final and
conclusive. A copy of the decision shall be
immediately provided to the protesting
party, along with a notice of such party's
right to seek judicial relief, provided that
the protesting party shall not be entitled to
such judicial relief without first having
followed the procedure set forth in this
section.
1.77. RESOLUTION OF PROTESTED
SOLICITATIONS AND AWARDS (Sec.
18-104)
(a) Right to protest. The following
procedures shall be used for resolution of
protested solicitations and awards except
for purchases of goods, supplies,
equipment, and services, the estimated cost
of which does not exceed $25,000.
Protests thereon shall be governed by the
Administrative Policies and Procedures of
Purchasing.
Page 13
1. Protest of Solicitation.
i. Any prospective proposer who
perceives itself aggrieved in connection
with the solicitation of a Contract may
protest to the Chief Procurement Officer.
A written notice of intent to file a protest
shall be filed with the Chief Procurement
Officer within three days after the
Request for Proposals, Request for
Qualifications or Request for Letters of
Interest is published in a newspaper of
general circulation. A notice of intent to
file a protest is considered filed when
received by the Chief Procurement
Officer; or
ii. Any prospective bidder who intends
to contest the Solicitation Specifications
or a solicitation may protest to the Chief
Procurement Officer. A written notice of
intent to file a protest shall be filed with
the Chief Procurement Officer within
three days after the solicitation is
published in a newspaper of general
circulation, A notice of intent to file a
protest is considered filed when received
by the Chief Procurement Officer.
2. Protest of Award.
i. Any actual proposer who perceives
itself aggrieved in connection with the
recommended award of Contract may
protest to the Chief Procurement Officer.
A written notice of intent to file a protest
shall be filed with the Chief Procurement
Officer within two days after receipt by
the proposer of the notice of the City
Manager's recommendation for award of
Contract. The receipt by proposer of such
notice shall be confirmed by the city by
facsimile or electronic mail or U.S. mail,
return receipt requested. A notice of
intent to file a protest is considered filed
when received by the Chief Procurement
Officer; or
ii. Any actual Responsive and
Responsible Bidder whose Bid is lower
than that of the recommended bidder may
protest to the Chief Procurement Officer.
A written notice of intent to file a protest
shall be filed with the Chief Procurement
Officer within two days after receipt by
the bidder of the notice of the city's
determination of non responsiveness or
non responsibility. The receipt by bidder
of such notice shall be confirmed by the
city by facsimile or electronic mail or
U.S. mail, return receipt requested. A
notice of intent to file a protest is
considered filed when received by the
Chief Procurement Officer.
iii. A written protest based on any of
the foregoing must be submitted to the
Chief Procurement Officer within five (5)
days after the date the notice of protest
was filed. A written prote... is
considered filed when received by the
Chief Procurement Officer.
The written protest may not challenge
the relative weight of the evaluation
criteria or the formula for assigning
points in making an award
determination.
The written protest shall state with
particularity the specific facts and law
upon which the protest of the
solicitation or the award is based, and
shall include all pertinent documental) Stay of Procurements during protests. Upon
and evidence and shall bneceipt of a written protest filed pursuant to the
accompanied by the required Filingrquirements of this section, the city shall not
Fee as provided in subsection (f). Thiproceed further with the solicitation or with the
shall form the basis for review of thaward of the Contract until the protest is
written protest and no facts, groundspsolved by the Chief Procurement Officer or
documentation or evidence ncthe City Commission as provided in subsection
contained in the protester'b) above, unless the City Manager makes a
submission to the Chief Procurement'ritten determination that the solicitation
Officer at the time of filing the protegtrocess, or the Contract award must be
shall be permitted in the considerationontinued without delay in order to avoid an
of the written protest. immediate and serious danger to the public
health, safety or welfare.
No time will be added to the above
limits for service by mail. In (e) Costs. All costs accruing from a protest
computing any period of time shall be assumed by the protestor.
prescribed or allowed by this section,
the day of the act, event or default
from which the designated period of
time begins to run shall not be
included, The last day of the period so
computed shall be included unless it
is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday
in which event the period shall run
until the end of the next day which is
neither a Saturday, Sunday or legal
holiday. Intermediate Saturdays,
Sundays and legal holidays shall be
excluded in the computation of the
time for filing.
(b) Authority to resolve protests. The
Chief Procurement Officer shall have
the authority, subject to the approval
of the City Manager and the city
attorney, to settle and resolve any
written protest. The Chief
Procurement Officer shall obtain the
requisite approvals and communicate
said decision to the protesting party
and shall submit said decision to the
City Commission within 30 days after
he/she receives the protest. In cases
involving more than $25,000, the
decision of the Chief Procurement
Officer shall be submitted for
approval or disapproval thereof to the
City Commission after a favorable
recommendation by the city attorney
and the City Manager.
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
(c) Compliance with filing requirements.
Failure of a party to timely file either the
notice of intent to file a protest or the
written protest, together with the required
Filing Fee as provided in subsection (f),
with the Chief Procurement Officer within
the time provided in subsection (a), above,
shall constitute a forfeiture of such party's
right to file a protest pursuant to this
section. The protesting party shall not be
entitled to seek judicial relief without first
having followed the procedure set forth in
this section
(f) Filing Fee. The written protest must be
accompanied by a filing fee in the form of
a money order or cashier's check payable
to the city in an amount equal to one
percent of the amount of the Bid or
proposed Contract, or $5000.00, whichever
is less, which filing fee shall guarantee the
payment of all costs which may be
adjudged against the protestor in any
administrative or court proceeding. If a
protest is upheld by the Chief Procurement
Officer and/or the City Commission, as
applicable, the filing fee shall be refunded
to the protestor less any costs assessed
under subsection (e) above. lithe protest is
denied, the filing fee shall be forfeited to
the city in lieu of payment of costs for the
administrative proceedings as prescribed
by subsection (e) above.
1.78. SAMPLES - Samples of items, when
required, must be submitted within the time
specified at no expense to the City. If not
destroyed by testing, biddcr(s)/proposer(s)
will be notified to remove samples, at their
expense, within 30 days after notification.
Failure to remove the samples will result in
the samples becoming the property of the
City.
1.79. SELLING, TRANSFERRING OR
ASSIGNING RESPONSIBILITIES -
Contractor shall not sell, assign, transfer or
Page 14
subcontract at any time during the term of
the Contract, or any part of its operations,
or assign any portion of the performance
required by this contract, except under
and by virtue of written permission
granted by the City through the proper
officials, which may be withheld or
conditioned, in the City's sole discretion.
1.80. SERVICE AND WARRANTY —
When specified, the bidder/proposer shall
define all warranty, service and
replacements that will be provided.
Bidders/Proposer must explain on the
Response to what extent warranty and
service facilities are available. A copy of
the manufacturer's warranty, if
applicable, should be submitted with your
response.
1.81. SILENCE OF
SPECIFICATIONS - The apparent
silence of these specifications and any
supplemental specification as to any detail
or the omission from it of detailed
description concerning any point shall be
regarded as meaning that only the best
commercial practices are to prevail and
that only materials of first quality and
correct type, size and design are to be
used. All workmanship and services is to
be first quality.
All interpretations of these specifications
shall be made upon the basis of this
statement.
If your firm has a current
contract/agreement with the State of
Florida, Department of General Services,
to supply the items on this solicitation,
the bidder/proposer shall quote not more
than the contract/agreement price; failure
to comply with this request will result in
disqualification of bid/proposal.
1.82. SUBMISSION AND RECEIPT
OF RESPONSES - Responses must be
received at the designated location and at,
or before, the specified opening/closing
date and time as designated in the IFB,
RFP, RFQ, or RFLI. NO
EXCEPTIONS. Bidders/Proposers are
welcome to attend the solcitation
opening/closing; however, no award will
be made at that time. Tabulation will be
posted on-line at
www.ci.miami,fLus/procurement.
A. Responses shall be enclose,.. i a F.
sealed envelope, box or package.
The face of the envelope, box or G.
package must show the hour and
date specified for receipt of
responses, the solicitation
number and title, and the name
and return address of the H.
Bidder/Proposer. Responses not
submitted on the requisite
Response Forms may be rejected.
B. Responses must be submitted to
the office and address listed on
the front page of this Solicitation
by the time specified to be
considered for award.
Responses received at any other
location than the specified shall
be deemed non -responsive.
Directions:
FROM THE NORTH: I-95 SOUTH
UNTIL IT TURNS INTO USI. USI
SOUTH TO 27TH AVE., TURN
LEFT, PROCEED SOUTH TO SO.
BAYSHORE DR. (3RD TRAFFIC
LIGHT), TURN LEFT, 1 BLOCK
TURN RIGHT ON PAN AMERICAN
DR. CITY HALL IS AT THE END
OF PAN AMERICAN DR.
PARKING IS ON RIGHT.
FROM THE SOUTH: US1 NORTH
TO 27TH AVENUE, TURN RIGHT,
PROCEED SOUTH TO SO.
BAYSHORE DR. (3RD TRAFFIC
LIGHT), TURN LEFT, 1 BLOCK
TURN RIGHT ON PAN AMERICAN
DR. CITY HALL IS AT THE END
OF PAN AMERICAN DR.
PARKING IS ON RIGHT.
C. Telegraphic responses
facsimile will not
considered.
or
be
D. Failure to follow these
procedures is cause for rejection
of bid/proposal.
E. The responsibility for obtaining
and submitting this solicitation to
the City Clerk's Office on or
before the time and date is solely
and strictly the responsibility of
Bidder/Proposer. The City of
Miami is not responsible for
delays caused by the United
States mail delivery or caused by
any other occurrence. Responses
received by the City Clerk after
the solicitation opening/closing
date and time will be returned
unopened, and will not be
considered for award.
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Late responses will be rejected.
All responses are subject to the
conditions specified herein. Those
which do not comply with these
conditions are subject to rejection.
Modification of responses already
submitted will be considered only if
received at the City Clerk's Office
before the time and date set for
opening/closing of solicitation
responses. All modifications must be
submitted in writing. Once a
solicitation opened/closed deadline
(date and/or time) expires, the City
will not consider any subsequent
submission which alters the responses.
I. If responses are submitted at the same
time for different solicitations, each
response must be placed in a separate
envelope, box, or package and each
envelope, box or package must
contain the information previously
stated in 1.81.A.
1.83. TAXES - The City of Miami is
exempt from any taxes imposed by the
State and/or Federal Government.
Exemption certificates will be provided
upon request. Notwithstanding,
Bidders/Proposers should be aware of the
fact that all materials and supplies which
are purchased by the BidderfProposer for
the completion of the contract/agreement is
subject to the Florida State Sales Tax in
accordance with Section 212.08, Florida
Statutes, as amended and all amendments
thereto and shall be paid solely by the
Bidder/Proposer.
1.84. TERMINATION — The City
Manager on behalf of the City of Miami
reserves the right to terminate this
contract/agreement by written notice to the
contractor effective the date specified in
the notice should any of the following
apply:
A. The contractor is determined by the
City to be in breach of any of the
terms and conditions of the
contract/agreement.
B. The City has determined that such
termination will be in the best interest
of the City to terminate the
contract/agreement for its own
convenience;
C. Funds are not available to cover the
cost of the goods and/or services. The
City's obligation is contingent upon
the availability of appropriate funds.
Page 15
1.85 TERMS OF PAYMENT - Payment
will be made by the City after the goods
and/or services awarded to a
Bidder/Proposer have been received,
inspected, and found to comply with
award specifications, free of damage or
defect, and properly invoiced. No
advance payments of any kind will be
made by the City of Miami.
Payment shall be made after delivery,
within 45 days of receipt of an invoice
and authorized inspection and
acceptance of the goods/services and
pursuant to Florida Statute 218.74 and
other applicable law.
1.86. TIMELY DELIVERY - Time will
be of the essence for any orders placed as
a result of this solicitation. The City
reserves the right to cancel such orders, or
any part thereof, without obligation, if
delivery is not made within the time(s)
specified on their Response. Deliveries
are to be made during regular City
business hours unless otherwise specified
in the Special Conditions.
1.87. TITLE - Title to the goods or
equipment shall not pass to the City until
after the City has accepted the
goods/equipment or used the goods,
whichever comes first.
1.88.TRADE SECRETS EXECUTION
TO PUBLIC RECORDS
DISCLOSURE- All Responses
submitted to the City are subject to public
disclosure pursuant to Chapter 119,
Florida Statutes. An exception may be
made for "trade secrets."
If the Response contains information that
constitutes a "trade secret", all material
that qualifies for exemption from Chapter
119 must be submitted in a separate
envelope, clearly identified as "TRADE
SECRETS EXCEPTION," with your
firm's name and the Solicitation number
and title marked on the outside.
Please be aware that the designation of an
item as a trade secret by you may be
challenged in court by any person. By
your designation of material in your
Response as a "trade secret" you agree to
indemnify and hold harmless the City for
any award to a plaintiff for damages, costs
or attorney's fees and for costs and
attorney's fees incurred by the City by
reason of any legal action chalh.._,.ng
your claim.
1.89. UNAUTHORIZED WORK
OR DELIVERY OF GOODS -
Neither the qualified
Bidder(s)/Proposer(s) .nor any of
his/her employees shall perform any
work or deliver any goods unless a
change order or purchase order is
issued and received by the Contractor.
The qualified Bidder(s)/Proposer(s)
shall not be paid for any work
performed or goods delivered outside
the scope of the contract/agreement or
any work performed by an employee
not otherwise previously authorized.
1.90. 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 this Solicitation are to
be mentioned, or imply the name of
the City, without prior express written
permission of the City Manager or the
City Commission.
1.91, VARIATIONS OF
SPECIFICATIONS - For purposes
of solicitation evaluation,
bidders/proposers must indicate any
variances from the solicitation
specifications and/or conditions, no
matter how slight. If variations are
not stated on their Response, it will be
assumed that the product fully
complies with the City's
specifications.
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 16
2.0. SPECIAL CONDITIONS
2.1. PURPOSE
The City, a municipal corporation of the State of Florida, is seeking the services of a qualified
Proposer(s) (Proposer"), which may be an individual, firm, corporation, joint venture, partnership or
other legal entity, for the provision of State Lobbying Services to the City, on behalf of the Office of
City Manager.
2.2 BID CONTRACTS OR AGREEMENTS
In a solicitation process involving issuance of an Invitation For Bids (IFB) and award to the
successful bidder by the proper authority, the IFB documents becomes the actual contract and
referred to as the "Bid Contract or Contract". In a solicitation process involving issuance of a
Request for Proposals (RFP), Request for Qualifications (RFQ), or Request for Letters of Interest
(RFLI) solicitation process, proceeded by successful negotiations of the terms, conditions, and scope
of work/services or specifications with the highest ranked/qualified firm based on "best value" of the
proposal; and, the proper authority providing for the "negotiation and execution" of the
aforementioned, results in a "Agreement or Professional Services Agreement", whereby the RFP,
RFQ, or RFLI becomes an integral part of said document. When the word "contract or agreement" is
used throughout this formal solicitation, it shall be applied according to the type of formal solicitation
described and referred to herein (IFB, RFP, RFQ, or RFLI).
2.3. DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/ CLARIFICATION
Any request for additional information or clarification must be received by no later than the date
specified on the cover sheet of this solicitation. Bidder/proposers may fax, or email their requests to
the attention of Maritza Suarez, Procurement Supervisor at the City of Miami, Purchasing
Department by facsimile number: 305-400-5025 or e-mail: msuarez@ci.miami.fl.us. All responses to
questions will be sent to all prospective bidders/proposers in the form of an addendum. NO
QUESTIONS WILL BE RECEIVED VERBALLY OR AFTER SAID DEADLINE.
2.4. TERM OF CONTRACT/AGREEMENT
The Proposer(s) qualified to provide the service(s) requested herein may be required to execute a
"Contract"/"Agreement" with the City, which shall include, but not be limited to, the following terms:
(1) The term of the ContractiAgreement(s) shall be for a period of one (1) year with an option to
renew for five (5) additional one (1) year periods, subject to the availability of funds for
succeeding fiscal years.
(2) The City shall have the option to extend or terminate the Contract/Agreement.
Continuation of the contract/agreement beyond the initial period is a City prerogative; not a right of
the bidder/proposer. This prerogative will be exercised only when such continuation is clearly in the
best interest of the City.
2.5. CONDITIONS FOR RENEWAL
Each renewal of this contractlagreement is subject to the following:
a) Continued satisfactory performance compliance with the specifications, terms and conditions
established herein.
b) Availability of funds
In the event the Contractor is unable to extend the contractlagreement for any subsequent period
under the above conditions, or for whatever cause, advance written notice and explanation must be
submitted to the Chief Procurement Officer, no later than ninety (90) days prior to the annual
expiration date. Such notification is subject to the acceptance of the City, or the Contractor may be
found to be in default.
2.6. NON -APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS
In the event no funds or insufficient funds are appropriated and budgeted or are otherwise
unavailable in any fiscal period for payments due under this contract/agreement, then the City, upon
City of Miami Page 17
RFQ No. 5010
written notice to Contractor or his assignee of such occurrence, shall have the unqualified right to
terminate the contract/agreement without any penalty or expense to the City.
2.7. AGREEMENT EXECUTION
The selected Proposer(s) qualified in accordance with the requirements of this Solicitation, shall be
awarded an opportunity to negotiate an agreement ("Agreement") with the City. The City reserves
the right to execute or not execute, as applicable, an Agreement with the selected Proposer(s) as
determined to be by the City in its best interest. Such Agreement will be furnished by the City, will
contain certain terms in the City's best interests, and will be subject to approval as to legal form by
the City Attorney.
2.8. UNAUTHORIZED WORK
The Successful Proposer shall not begin work until an Agreement has been fully executed and
issuance of a purchase order.
2.9. PROPOSER'S MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
The following represent the minimum qualification requirements for a Proposer to be deemed
responsive by the City, and Proposers shall satisfy each of the following minimum requirements cited
below. Failure to meet each of the following qualification requirements, and/or failure to provide
sufficient detail and/or documentation in its Proposal to determine responsiveness by the City, will
result in the Proposal being deemed non -responsive.
Proposer shall demonstrate and must include supporting documentation evidencing in the proposal
that they possess the following items listed in section a thru e.
a. Proposer must be properly licensed, as applicable, to conduct business in the State of Florida;
and have a minimum of five years' experience in lobbying for a municipal, county, or other local
government in Tallahassee, Florida.
b. Proposer shall have sufficient financial support, personnel, and organization to ensure that it can
satisfactorily execute the services if awarded a Contract/Agreement under the terms and
conditions herein stated.
c. Proposer shall have no record of judgments, bankruptcies, pending lawsuits against the City or
criminal activities involving moral turpitude and not have any conflicts of interest that have not
been waived by the City Commission.
d. Neither Proposer nor any principal, officer, or stockholder of Proposer (s) shall be in arrears or
in default of any debt or contract/agreement involving the City, (as a party to a
contract/agreement, or otherwise); nor have failed to perform faithfully on any previous
contract/agreement with the City.
e. For each Category of Expertise for which it is seeking to Qualify, Proposer must clearly
demonstrate its expertise, capability, qualifications, and experience to provide said services.
Proposer must provide all necessary documentation to determine qualifications. Please refer to
the above Section A and Section 5.3. Submission Requirements for further details.
2.10. CHANGES/ALTERATIONS
Proposer may change or withdraw a Proposal at any time prior to Proposal submission deadline;
however, no oral modifications will be allowed.
2.11 INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
INDEMNIFICATION
Bidder/Proposer shall pay on behalf of, indemnify and save City and its officials harmless, from and
against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, and causes of action, which may arise out of
bidder's/proposer's performance under the provisions of the contract/agreement, including all acts or
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 18
omissions to act on the part of bidder/proposer, including any person performing under this
Contract/Agreement for or on bidder's/proposer's behalf, provided that any such claims, liabilities,
losses and causes of such action are not attributable to the negligence or misconduct of the City and,
from and against any orders, judgments or decrees which may be entered and which may result from
this Contract/Agreement, unless attributable to the negligence or misconduct of the City, and from
and against all costs, attorneys' fees, expenses and liabilities incurred in the defense of any such
claim, or the investigation thereof.
The bidder/proposer shall furnish to City of Miami, c/o Purchasing Department, 444 SW 2"d Avenue,
6th Floor, Miami, Florida 33130, Certificate(s) of Insurance which indicate that insurance coverage
has been obtained which meets the requirements as outlined below:
1. Commercial General Liability
A. Limits of Liability
Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability
Each Occurrence $1,000,000
General Aggregate Limit $2,000,000
Personal and Adv. Injury $1,000,000
Products/Completed Operations $1,000,000
B. Endorsements Required
City of Miami included as an Additional Insured
Employees included as insured
Contractual Liability
11. Business Automobile Liability
A. Limits of Liability
Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability
Combined Single Limit
Any Auto
including Hired, Borrowed or Non -Owned Autos
Any One Accident $1,000,000
B. Endorsements Required
City of Miami included as an Additional Insured
III. Worker's Compensation
A. Limits of Liability
IV. Employer's Liability
Statutory -State of Florida
A. Limits of Liability
$100,000 for bodily injury caused by an accident, each accident
$100,000 for bodily injury caused by disease, each employee
$500,000 for bodily injury caused by disease, policy limit
V. Professional Liability/Errors and Omissions Coverage
Combined Single Limit
Each Claim
General Aggregate Limit
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RFQ No. 5010
Page 19
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
Deductible- not to exceed 10%
The City needs to be named as additional insured. BINDERS ARE UNACCEPTABLE.
The insurance coverage required shall include those classifications, as listed in standard liability
insurance manuals, which most nearly reflect the operations of the bidder/proposer.
All insurance policies required above shall be issued by companies authorized to do business under
the laws of the State of Florida, with the following qualifications:
The company must be rated no less than "A" as to management, and no less than "Class V" as to Financial
Strength, by the latest edition of Best's Insurance Guide, published by A.M. Best Company, Oldwick, New
Jersey, or its equivalent. All policies and for certificates of insurance are subject to review and verification by
Risk Management prior to insurance approval.
Certificates will indicate no modification or change in insurance shall be made without thirty (30) days
written advance notice to the certificate holder.
NOTE: CITY SOLICITATION NUMBER AND/OR TITLE OF SOLICITATION MUST APPEAR ON
EACH CERTIFICATE,
Compliance with the foregoing requirements shall not relieve the bidder/proposer of his liability and
obligation under this section or under any other section of this Contract/Agreement,
--If insurance certificates are scheduled to expire during the contractual/agreement period, the
Bidder/Proposer shall be responsible for submitting new or renewed insurance certificates to the City
at a minimum of ten (10) calendar days in advance of such expiration.
--In the event that expired certificates are not replaced with new or renewed certificates which
cover the contractual/agreement period, the City shall:
a. Suspend the contract/agreement until such time as the new or renewed certificates are received
by the City in the manner prescribed in the Solicitation.
b. The City may, at its sole discretion, terminate this contract/agreement for cause and seek re -
procurement damages from the Bidder/Proposer in conjunction with the General and Special
Terms and Conditions of the Solicitation.
The BidderlProposer shall be responsible for assuring that the insurance certificates required in
conjunction with this Section remain in force for the duration of the contractual/agreement period;
including any and all option terms that may be granted to the Bidder/Proposer.
2.12. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR
Upon award, contractor shall report and work directly with Mr. Ignacio Ortiz -Petit, Sr. Assistant to the
City Manager, who shall be designated as the Contract Administrator.
2.13. SUBCONTRACTORS OF WORK SHALL BE IDENTIFIED
As part of its Response, the Bidder/Proposer is required to identify any and all Subcontractors that
will be used in the performance of the proposed contract/agreement, their capabilities, experience,
minority designation, as defined in Ordinance 10062 and the portion of the work to be done by the
Subcontractor. Failure to identify arty and all subcontractors in the Solicitation shall render the
Response non -responsive; unless, the low bidder submits this documentation to the City within five
(5) working days after the solicitation opening/closing date.
The Contractor shall not, at any time during the tenure of the contract/agreement, subcontract any
part of his operations or assign any portion or part of the contract/agreement, to Subcontractor(s) not
originally mentioned in their Response, except under and by virtue of permission granted by the City
through the proper officials.
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 20
Nothing contained in this specifications shall be construed as establishing any contractual
relationship between any subcontractor and the City.
The proposer shall be fully responsible to the City for the acts and omissions of the subcontractor
and their employees, as for acts and omissions of persons employed by proposer.
2.14 TERMINATION
A. FOR DEFAULT
If Successful Proposer(s) defaults in its performance under this Contract/Agreement and does not
cure the default within 30 days after written notice of default, the City Manager may terminate this
Contract/Agreement, in whole or in part, upon written notice without penalty to the City of Miami. In
such event the Successful Proposer(s) shall be liable for damages including the excess cost of
procuring similar supplies or services: provided that if, (a) it is determined for any reason that the
Successful Proposer(s) was not in default or (2) the Successful Proposer(s)'s failure to perform is
without his or his subcontractor'slsubconsultant's control, fault or negligence, the termination will be
deemed to be a termination for the convenience of the City of Miami.
B. FOR CONVENIENCE
The City Manager may terminate this Contract/Agreement, in whole or in part, upon 30 days prior
written notice when it is in the best interests of the City of Miami. If this Contract/Agreement is for
supplies, products, equipment, or software, and so terminated for the convenience by the City of
Miami the Successful Proposer(s) will be compensated in accordance with an agreed upon
adjustment of cost. To the extent that this Contract/Agreement is for services and so terminated, the
City of Miami shall be liable only for payment in accordance with the payment provisions of the
Contract/Agreement for those services rendered prior to termination.
2.15. ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Services not specifically identified in this request may be added to any resultant contract/agreement
upon successful negotiation and mutual consent of the contracting parties.
2.16. EVALUATION/SELECTION PROCESS AND CONTRACT AWARD
The procedure for response evaluation, selection and award is as follows:
(1) Solicitation issued.
(2) Receipt of responses
(3) Opening and listing of all responses received
(4) Purchasing staff will review each submission for compliance with the submission requirements
of the Solicitation, including verifying that each submission includes all documents required.
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.
(6) 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/Agreement 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.
(5)
(7)
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 21
(8)
(9)
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)Iagreement(s) with each of the recommended Proposer(s). No rights of
any kind shall be provided to any Proposer until a Contract/Agreement 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/Agreement 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/Agreement and must approve the Contract/Agreement as to legal form and
correctness.
(10) 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.
(11) The City further reserves the right to add, delete or modify the "Categories of Expertise"
identified herein. It further reserves the right to add additional qualified Proposers throughout
the duration of the contract/agreement, depending upon need.
2.17. WORK ASSIGNMENTS IDENTIFIED BY THE CITY
All service assignments during the contract/agreement 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/agreement.
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 22
3.0 SPECIFICATIONS I SCOPE OF WORK
3.1 Background Information
With a population of over 360,000 residents, the City has one of the largest populations of any city in the
State of Florida and is located in Miami -Dade County, with a population of well over 2.2 million people.
The City seeks to secure experienced public sector lobbyist(s) to represent its various interests before the
Legislative and Executive branches of the State Government, with the purpose, at a minimum, of identifying
funding sources and influencing the development of legislation that will improve the quality of life for those
who live, work and visit the City. Proposers should possess or have continual and immediate access to legal
expertise on the governmental issue(s) needing to be addressed. Legal expertise for "key personnel" of the
Proposer is desirable and should be identified in its responses to the RFQ. Please refer to Section 3.2. below
for those anticipated "Categories of Expertise" being sought by the City. These Categories are not all
inclusive and may be modified throughout the duration of the contract/agreement.
It is the intent of this solicitation to establish a term Contract/Agreement, qualify Proposers ("Successful
Proposers") based upon their credentials, experience, and expertise, per the Categories identified on Section
3.2. As such, Proposers, in their Response, are to clearly identify those areas of expertise, on a per
Category basis, for which they are seeking to qualify. The City shall utilize qualified Proposers on the List, per
Category, on an as needed, when needed, basis. Proposers are not guaranteed specific work assignments or
quantity of work under the Categories. The City reserves the right to qualify additional firms or add categories
or add to the Scope of Work at any given point in time throughout the term of the contract/agreement when
deemed in the best interest of the City.
The Successful Proposer shall not represent any other party before the State Legislature or any other
administrative agency on any matter where such party's interest may be adverse to the City without written
permission of the City. In the event that Successful Proposer(s) desires to represent another party with the
state government, it shall inform the City Attorney and the City Manager, in writing, of any other party it wishes
to represent and the nature of the representation. The City may preclude the Successful Proposer(s) from
simultaneously representing the City and another party when, in the City's sole determination, the
representation of another party may be adverse to the City's interest.
3.2 Categories of Expertise
The City recognizes expertise of a Proposer may be in the Categories of Executive/Agency; Legislative, or
both. It is the City's desire to secure the services of Proposers who can provide quality service in one or more
areas of need, as shown below and identified as "Categories of Expertise." In its Response, Proposers
must reflect in which area(s) of expertise it is seeking to qualify under.
The City is seeking to qualify proposer(s) to lobby under the following categories of expertise.
Category Area of Expertise
A.
The Florida Cabinet
• Governor
• Attorney General
• Chief Financial Officer
• Commission of Agriculture
B. The Executive Office of the Governor and its Agencies
C. The Department of Financial Services
D. The Office of the Attorney General
E. The Commission of Agriculture and Consumer Services
City of Miami Page 23
RFQ No. 5010
F.
The State of Florida Legislature and its Agencies
• The Florida House of Representatives
• The Florida Senate
3.3. Scope of Work
The Successful Proposer(s) must provide state lobbying and consulting services as stipulated by the City.
While the provided Categories of Expertise reflects subject areas where the City is seeking to qualify
Proposers with experience and expertise, the City understands that each Proposer is uniquely qualified and
may be an expert in some but not all subject areas. As a result, the City is seeking a number of qualified
Proposers for each of the main subject areas reflected on Section 3.2. Proposers may seek to qualify for one
(1) Category, more than one (1) Category, or all Categories, depending upon its expertise, qualifications and
experience. At the time of need, and depending upon the issue, the City will select a qualified Proposer from
a Category, on an as needed basis, to perform required services.
In addition, the Successful Proposer shall perform, as a minimum, the following services:
• Communicate with the City Manager or his designee(s) on a weekly basis to review and analyze State
government executive and legislative actions having a bearing on the City's fiscal and programmatic
interests.
• Establish and maintain positive working relationships with the executive and legislative branches of the
State government to enhance the City's position with respect to financial assistance, including
reimbursements, applications, regulatory procedures, legislation, budget authorizations and
appropriations, and other similar matters as needed.
• Integrate its efforts with the City Manager/Chief Administrator or his/her designee to assure a strong and
consistent legislative program.
• Review on a continuing basis all existing and proposed State policies, programs and legislation. Identify
those issues that may affect the City or its residents, and regularly inform the City as to these matters.
Provide legal and legislative expertise and consulting services.
• Establish and maintain a fully functional office, if required, including, but not limited to, parking, phones,
facsimile, copy machine, personal computer with appropriate software as identified by the City, filing
space for City staff or officials in the Metropolitan Tallahassee area and provide clerical assistance for
said staff or officials during the session to ensure effective coordination between Tallahassee and the
City.
• Provide a full range of Legislative counsel and advocacy services, including preparing weekly reports
advising the City Manager of the current status of legislation during legislative sessions,
• Advise the City Manager/Chief Administrator on a timely basis of any issues, meetings, hearings, or
legislative and administrative procedures of relevance to the City.
• Monitor state legislative committee meetings, state agency hearings and meetings prior to and during the
regular and special legislative sessions relative to the City's legislative program or any other issues that
may impact the City of Miami, or offer sessions as the City's request.
• Represent the City at meetings, hearings, and conferences, as requested.
• Be available on a twenty-four hour, seven (7) day per week basis during the session, and immediately
thereafter, responding to any calls or pages by the City Manager or designated City staff.
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 24
• Confer with the Mayor, City Commission, City Manager, City Attorney, and other City personnel on an as
needed basis, regarding strategic organizational planning and program activities which have a bearing on
the ability of the City to make the best use of state -funded programs.
• Meet with the Mayor, City Commission, and City Manager or his designee(s) periodically and at mutually
agreed upon times and dates.
• Work with the Mayor, City Commission, Administration and the City's Legislative Delegation to develop
special or general legislation in keeping with, or supportive af, the City's adopted legislative program.
• Maintain liaison with the City's Legislative Delegation and assist the Delegation on any matter which the
City determines to be in the City's best interest.
• Counsel with the City regarding appearances by City personnel before Legislative Committees and State
Administrative agencies.
• Identify and notify the City in advance of opportunities related to grants and funding availability for
transportation, community and economic development, environmental matters, infrastructure
improvement, hurricane recovery efforts, housing and urban development, homeless programs,
intermodal programs, and any other areas that may be of interest to the City.
• Assist the City in the review of State executive Proposals, legislation under consideration, proposed and
adopted administrative rules and regulations, and other State developments for the purpose of advising
the City of those items which may have a significant bearing on City policies, funding, and programs.
• Consult with the City regarding any proposed formula changes in the State funding or other major State
programs to determine their impact on the City, and take the necessary steps as mutually agreed upon to
bring changes in the best interest of the City.
• Submit to the City an Annual Report of Accomplishments concerning the Successful Proposer's
responsibilities.
• Review the legislative policy statements adopted by the Florida League of Cities and the policy
statements of other local government lobbying groups for the purpose of identifying issues which may
either positively or negatively affect the City.
• Assist in implementing the City's State legislative agenda.
• Assist in writing, interpreting and monitoring legislation and regulations.
• Assist in the drafting of legislation, amendments, report language, position papers, and testimony.
• Provide monthly written progress reports detailing the services that have been rendered.
• Be prepared, at all times, to obtain documentation and research materials upon request.
• Develop and evaluate strategy for the support, opposition or amendment of pending legislation.
• Testify and lobby before the Legislature, Governor and Cabinet as necessary on behalf of the City, as
necessary.
• Appear and testify before state agency hearings, rule making proceedings, and other administrative
agency or legislative meetings, as required, to promote, oppose, and seek passage of legislation
affecting the City or its citizens, and specific legislation contained in City's legislative program.
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 25
• Upon request, coordinate appointments/meetings between the City's elected officials or other City staff,
and appropriate state officials and legislators.
• Provide periodic written reports (at least monthly), during those months that the legislature is not in
session, on issues of interest or concern to the City. Such information may include, but not necessarily
be limited to, action taken at interim committee meetings, rule making hearings, status of studies that
have commenced, and advance notice of legislation being proposed.
• Prepare weekly session reports that details legislative action taken during the week, status of legislative
issues, and anticipated action during the upcoming week.
• Provide a closing report in writing that summarizes the status of the City's legislative priorities within one
(1) week of the closing of the session and a more detailed final written report of specific legislation
affecting the City shall be provided within a reasonable time period, not to exceed sixty (60) days from the
close of session.
• Forward all copies required by the City of any and all reports upon request by the City. Such reports may
include but not necessarily be limited to, personal briefings and information bulletins.
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RFQ No. 5010
Page 26
4.0. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
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.
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
(per Section 2.9) for said Category(s).
The response to this solicitation shall be presented In the following format. Failure to do so
may deem your Proposal non -responsive.
1. Cover Page
The Cover Page should include the Proposer's name; Contact Person for the RFQ; Firm's Liaison for
the Contract/Agreement; Primary Office Location; Local Business Address, if applicable; Business
Phone and Fax Numbers; Title of RFQ; RFQ Number; Federal Employer Identification Number or
Social Security Number.
2. Table of Contents
The table of contents should outline, in sequential order, the major sections of the Proposal as listed
below, including all other relevant documents requested for submission. All pages of the Proposal,
including the enclosures, should be clearly and consecutively numbered and correspond to the table
of contents.
3. Executive Summary:
A signed and dated summary of not more than two (2) 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. Firm's Overall Qualifications and Experience
a. Firm shall satisfy each of the minimum requirements listed under Section 2.9, Proposer's
Minimum Qualification Requirements, of the RFQ.
b. 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.
c. 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.
d. 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 municipal, county, or other local government experience. Detail Proposer's
legal and political consultative expertise. Additionally describe all experience regarding
legislative, executive, administrative, and regulatory processes, and provide detailed
information on Proposer's experience utilizing bipartisan contacts and support,
particularly at the state level, and its expertise in areas cited in the Scope of Work,
Categories of Expertiese.
e. Detail its overall legal and political consultative expertise. Provide the City with a list of
other individuals, municipalities other government agencies, associations, or
organizations who have retained the Proposer for the purposes of representation before
the State of Florida Legislature; and indicate how long the relationship existed and the
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 27
periods of service. 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.
f. Describe in detail, on a per Cateaory 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.
g. Provide resume and experience of proposed Project Manager and Principal Personnel
to be assigned to the state lobbying engagement with the City. Detail their lobbying
experience, in the past three (3) years, particularly at the state level.
h. 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 evaluation process.
I. 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, particularly as it relates to state lobbying services.
5. Past Performance
a) List the five (5) most significant accomplishments related to state lobbying services
performed in the past three (3) years, preferably for a governmental entity; summarize
scope of services, term of service, engagement partners, and the name and telephone
number of the principal client contact, particularly regarding any City of Miami
relationship. Proposer should detail how the accomplished project was initially
conceived, who generated the idea (client or firm) and the timing/means of execution
from initial conception.
b) list three (3) Lobbying relationships, particularly with a governmental entity, for whom you
failed to meet your clients needs for which you were hired. Summarize scope of services,
term of service, engagement partners, and the name and telephone number of the
principal client contact, particularly regarding any City of Miami relationship. Discuss
reason(s) why goal(s) were not met and if you would do something different for the next
engagement.
c) Provide samples of past reports, informational materials, and written correspondence.
6. Capability and Approach to Scope of Work
a) Describe the Proposer's overall approach to representing the City before the State
Legislature in Tallahassee, Florida, including the role each member of the lobbying team
will play. Describe how it would approach meeting the requirements of the scope of work.
b) Describe its current relationship(s) with the 2007 executive and legislative branches of
the State Legislature. Additionally, discuss how Proposer plans to establish and maintain
positive working relationships with the City of Miami, and the executive and legislative
branches of the State Legislature, in order to enhance the City's position with respect to
funding, applications, regulatory procedures, legislation, and budgetary authorizations
and appropriations.
c) Discuss how the Proposer proposes to staff this engagement. 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.
d) Provide the estimated number of hours and/or percentage of involvement/availability for
each of the principals of the Proposer's team assigned to the City, including the Project
Manager, versus the estimated number of hours and/or percentage of
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 28
involvement/availability for each of the same principals, including the Project Manager, of
the Proposer's team assigned to the City with other clients. Provide a client list along with
a description of the assignment for each of the principals and Project Manager.
e) Discuss how Proposer plans to handle the workload to meet the requirements of the
City, in addition to handling Proposer's existing workload.
f) Describe the Proposer's management capacity, system for coordinating the services to
be provided, and how it researches and coordinates information received.
g) 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 elected or appointed official, or with a firm in which they were
employed. This information is subject to verification as part of the evaluation process.
Discuss any and all conflicts of interest and how Proposer will resolve same, particularly
to the benefit of the City.
h) Describe the Proposer's plans for providing office space, equipment, clerical support,
and all other ancillary services for City staff or officials who may be assigned or travel
to/from Tallahassee, Florida.
i) List any specific abilities related to performing the described services.
j) Should Proposer propose to utilize a subconsultant(s) to perform any of the services
described in this Request for Qualification, Proposer must identify subconsultant(s) and
their degree of involvement. Proposer must furnish the same information as outlined in
Section d) for the subconsultant(s), as applicable, in this section.
7. Trade Secrets Execution to Public Records Disclosure
All Proposals submitted to the City are subject to public disclosure pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes.
An exception may be made for "trade secrets."
If the Proposal contains information that constitutes a "trade secret", all material that qualifies for exemption
from Chapter 119 must be submitted in a separate envelope, clearly identified as "TRADE SECRETS
EXCEPTION," with your firm's name and the RFQ number marked on the outside.
Please be aware that the designation of an item as a trade secret by you may be challenged in court by any
person. By your designation of material in your Proposal as a "trade secret" you agree to indemnify and hold
harmless the City for any award to a plaintiff for damages, costs or attorney's fees and for costs and
attorney's fees incurred by the City by reason of any legal action challenging your claim.
8. Affidavits / Acknowledgments
a) Proposers should complete and submit as part of its Proposal all of the following
forms and/or documents:
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
• 6.1 Certification Statement Form (including Certificate of Authority)
• 6.2 Qualification Statement
• 6.3 Statement of Compliance with Ordinance 10032
• 6.4 Debarment and Suspension Certificate
Page 29
6.0. RESPONSE DOCUMENT FORMS
6.1. Certification Statement
The undersigned hereby certifies that neither the contractual party nor any of its principal owners
or personnel have been convicted of any of the violations, or debarred or suspended as set in
section 18-107 or Ordinance No. 12271.
All exceptions to this solicitation have been documented in the section below (refer to paragraph
and section).
EXCEPTIONS:
We (I) certify that any and all information contained in this response is true; and we (I) further
certify that this response is made without prior understanding, agreement, or connection with any
corporation, firm, or person submitting a response for the same materials, supplies, equipment, or
service, and is in all respects fair and without collusion or fraud. We (I) agree to abide by all terms
and conditions of this solicitation and certify that I am authorized to sign for the bidder/proposer.
Please print the following and sign your name:
NAME OF BIDDER/PROPOSER:
ADDRESS: CITY: STATE:
PHONE: FAX:
EMAIL:
AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE:
NAME:
TITLE: DATE:
FAILURE TO COMPLETE, SIGN, AND RETURN THIS FORM SHALL DISQUALIFY THIS RESPONSE.
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 30
Response Document Form - Certification Statement (Page 2 of 3)
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY
(IF CORPORATION)
HEREBY CERTIFY that at a meeting of the Board of Directors of
, a corporation organized and existing under the
laws of the State of , held on the _day of , a resolution
was duly passed and adopted authorizing (Name) as
(Title) of the corporation to execute bids/proposals on behalf of the
corporation and providing that his/her execution thereof, attested by the secretary of the
corporation, shall be the official act and deed of the corporation. I further certify that said
resolution remains in full force and effect.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this , day of
20
Secretary:
Print:
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY
(IF PARTNERSHIP)
I HEREBY CERTIFY that at a meeting of the Board of Directors of
, a partnership organized and existing under
the laws of the State of , held on the day of , a resolution
was duly passed and adopted authorizing (Name) as
(Title) of the to execute bids/proposals on behalf of the partnership and
provides that his/her execution thereof, attested by a partner, shall be the official act and deed of
the partnership.
I further certify that said partnership agreement remains in full force and effect.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this , day of
20
Partner:
Print:
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY
(IF JOINT VENTURE)
Joint venturers must submit a joint venture agreement indicating that the person signing
this bid/proposal is authorized to sign bid/proposal documents on behalf of the joint venture. If
there is no joint venture agreement each member of the joint venture must sign the bid/proposal
and submit the appropriate Certificate of Authority (corporate, partnership, or individual).
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 31
Response Document Form - Certification Statement (Page 3 of 3)
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY
(IF INDIVIDUAL)
I HEREBY CERTIFY that, I (Name) , individually and doing
business as (d/b/a) (If Applicable) have executed
and am bound by the terms of the bid/proposal to which this attestation is attached.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this , day of
20
Signed:
Print:
STATE OF )
SS:
COUNTY OF
The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this day of
20 , by , who is personally known to me or who has
produced as identification and who (did / did not) take an oath.
SIGNATURE OF NOTARY PUBLIC
STATE OF FLORIDA
PRINTED, STAMPED OR TYPED
NAME OF NOTARY PUBLIC
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 32
6.2. Qualification Statement
INSTRUCTIONS:
This questionnaire is to be included with your response. Do not leave any questions unanswered. When the question
does not apply, write the word(s) "None", or "Not Applicable", as appropriate. Please print.
COMPANY NAME:
COMPANY OFFICERS:
President Vice President
Secretary Treasurer
COMPANY OWNERSHIP:
LICENSES:
% of ownership
% of ownership
of ownership
% of ownership
1. County or Municipal Occupational License No.
(attach copy with response)
2. Occupational License Classification
3. Occupational License Expiration Date:
4. Metro -Dade County Certificate of Competency No.
(attached copy if requested in this solicitation)
5. Social Security or Federal I.D. No.
EXPERIENCE:
6. Number of Years your organization has been in business:
7. Number of Years experience BIDDER/PROPOSER (person, principal of firm, owner) has had in operation of
the type required by the specifications of the solicitation:
8. Number of Years experience BIDDER/PROPOSER (firm, corporation, proprietorship) has had in operation of
the type required by the specifications of the solicitation:
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 33
6.3. STATEMENT OF INTENT TO COMPLY WITH ORDINANCE NO. 10032
Bidder/proposer certifies that (s)he has read and understood the provisions of City of Miami Ordinance No. 10032,
pertaining to the implementation of a "First Source Hiring Agreement".
Bidder/Proposer will complete and submit the following questions as part of the response. Evaluation of
bidder' slproposer's responsiveness to Ordinance No. 10032 may be a consideration in the award of a contract.
Violations of this Ordinance may be considered cause for annulment of a contract/agreement between the successful
bidder/proposer and the City of Miami.
A. Do you expect to create new positions in your company in the event your company was awarded this contract by the
City?
Yes No
B. In the event your answer to Question "A" is yes, how many new positions would you create to perform this work?
C. Please list below the title, rate of pay, summary of duties, number of positions, and expected length or duration of
all new positions which might be created as a result of this award of contract.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
$)
(Use additional sheets if necessary)
COMPANY NAME:
SIGNATURE/TITLE: DATE:
FAILURE TO COMPLETE, SIGN, AND RETURN THIS FORM MAY DISQUALIFY THIS RESPONSE.
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 34
6.4. DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION
CITY OF MIAMI CODE SEC 18-56.4
(a) Authority and requirement to debar and suspend:
After reasonable notice to an actual or prospective contractual party, and after reasonable opportunity to such
party to be heard, the City Manager, after consultation with the Chief Procurement Officer and the City Attorney,
shall have the authority to debar a contractual party for the causes listed below from consideration for award of
city contracts. The debarment shall be for a period of not fewer than three (3) years. The City Manager shall also
have the authority to suspend a contractor from consideration for award of city contracts if there is probable cause
for debarment. Pending the debarment determination, the authority to debar and suspend contractors shall be
exercised in accordance with regulations which shall be issued by the Chief Procurement Officer after approval
by the City Manager, the City Attorney, and the City Commission.
Causes for debarment or suspension include the following:
1. Conviction for commission of a criminal offense incident to obtaining or attempting to obtain a public or
private contract or subcontract, or incident to the performance of such contract or subcontract;
2. Conviction under state or federal statutes of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or
destruction of records, receiving stolen property, or any other offense indicating a lack of business integrity
or business honesty;
3. Conviction under state or federal antitrust statutes arising out of the submission of bids or proposals;
4. Violation of contract provisions, which is regarded by the Chief Procurement Officer to be indicative of
nonresponsibility. Such violation may include failure without good cause to perform in accordance with
the terms and conditions of a contract or to perform within the time limits provided in a contract, provided
that failure to perform caused by acts beyond the control of a party shall not be considered a basis for
debarment or suspension;
5. Debarment or suspension of the contractual party by any federal, state or other governmental entity;
6. False certification pursuant to paragraph (c) below; or
7. Any other cause judged by the City Manager to be so serious and compelling as to affect the responsibility
of the contractual party performing city contracts.
(c) Certification:
All contracts for goods and services, sales, and leases by the City shall contain a certification that neither the
contractual party nor any of its principal owners or personnel have been convicted of any of the violations set
forth above or debarred or suspended as set forth in paragraph (b) (5).
The undersigned hereby certifies that neither the contractual party nor any of its principal owners or personnel
have been convicted of any of the violations set forth above, or debarred or suspended as set forth in paragraph
(b) (5).
(b)
Company name:
Signature:
Date:
FAILURE TO COMPLETE, SIGN, AND RETURN THIS FORM MAY DISQUALIFY YOUR RESPONSE
City of Miami
RFQ No. 5010
Page 35
6.5. STATEMENT OF NO RESPONSE
NOTE: If you do not intend to submit a response on this commodity or service, please return this form on or before the
submission date. Failure to submit a response after three (3) times without a sufficient justification of "No
Response" will be cause for removal from the Supplier list.
Office of the City Clerk
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL 33131-5504
We, the undersigned, have declined to submit a response on your RFQ No. 5010 for STATE LOBBYING SERVICES
for the following reasons:
Specifications too "tight", i.e., geared toward one brand or manufacturer only (explain below).
Insufficient time to respond to the Request for Qualifications
We do not offer this product or service.
Our schedule would not permit us to perform.
We are unable to meet specifications.
We are unable to meet bond requirements.
Specifications are unclear (explain below).
We are unable to meet insurance requirements.
Remove us from your suppliers' list for this commodity or service.
Other (specify below).
Remarks:
We understand that if this statement is not completed and returned, our company may be deleted from the City of Miami
bidders/proposers' list for this commodity or service.
Company Name:
Signature:
Title:
Telephone:
Date:
A completed vendor application should be returned with this form if vendor has not previously submitted an application
and secured a vendor number from the City.
City of Miami Page 36
RFQ No. 5010