Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By
THE CITY OF WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON
FOR
Printing, Insertion & Mailing of Utility Bills
RFP ISSUE DATE:
RFP DELIVERY
INSTRUCTIONS:
Estimated Timeline
Issue RFP:
Response Due:
Contract Award Target Date:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1 - INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS ............................................................................... 3
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SECTION 2 2-1
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GENERAL .............................................................................................................................5
RFP RESPONSE OUTLINE ......................................................................................................5
INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS
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SCOPE OF WORK
The City of Walla Walla, Washington (herein referred to as the City) is soliciting proposals to obtain a
vendor with the necessary experience and knowledge to provide printing, inserting and mailing services
for utility bills.
Utility Billing data is processed bi-weekly with all accounts billed on a monthly basis. The number of bills
mailed out bi-weekly fluctuates based on the cycles being billed. There are approximately 1,400 bills
mailed out on a bi-weekly basis, and approximately 11,000 bills mailed to utility customers each month.
In addition there can be additional runs of approximately 100 closing bills per week sent as separate
batches from the regular utility bills.
The vendor selected must be able to integrate with the citys billing system and maintain the look and feel
of the Citys Utility Bills. Bills are currently duplex laser printed utilizing a two color process to highlight
key data (ie: amount due, past due bills, etc). They contain perforation for a tear off payment stub, bar
coding of account numbers and are horizontal tri-fold to fit a # 10 envelope window. Utility bills are
mailed in a #10 double window envelope with a #9 single window return envelope that does not include
return postage, and a monthly newsletter insert.
The vendor selected must be able to provide a secure hosted web service with a browser based search
utility to look up accounts by account number, customer name, address, and bill date. The hosted web
service should include 12 months of historical data along with the ability of the City staff to remotely
reprint statements on a real-time basis.
The City is also considering the option of electronic bill presentment and is interested in a secure hosted
web service and e-mail notification system for electronic bill presentment to customers on a subscription
basis. This service would be for electronic bill presentment only, and would not include a payment
option. The City currently has a service for customers to pay their utility bills online.
This RFP contains instructions governing the requirements for a proposal and includes the proposal
format; the material to be included with the proposal; and how the entire proposal is to be submitted to
the Finance Division for consideration. This RFP also addresses the requirements that companies must
meet to be eligible for consideration as well as addressing proposers responsibilities.
Proposers assume responsibility for comprehending the entire RFP. If clarification is desired, it is the
responsibility of the proposer to submit questions in writing to the City Official listed in Section 1-4. It is
the proposers responsibility to ensure that all procedures and requirements of the RFP are accurately
followed and appropriately addressed. The proposer should carefully read the entire RFP before
submitting a proposal.
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PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
Proposal must be SEALED and CLEARLY IDENTIFIED with the Request for Proposals title, City of
Walla Walla Printing, Insertion & Mailing Services, proposers name and address, and submitted no later
than 4:00 p.m., Pacific Time, on November 9, 2010 to City of Walla Walla, P.O. Box 478, 15 N. 3rd
Avenue, Walla Walla, Washington, 99362-0216. A facsimile response or an electronic response to this
Request for Proposals does not meet the requirement of a sealed proposal and will not be accepted.
Proposals received after the exact time specified for receipt will not be considered.
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November 9, 2010
December 1, 2010
INQUIRIES
All inquiries concerning this request shall be submitted in writing and received by the Citys Finance
Division no later than 4:00 p.m., Pacific Time, on November 4, 2010 to:
Sara Humbert
Accounting Supervisor I
P.O. Box 478
15 N. 3rd Avenue
Walla Walla, WA 99362-0216
Telephone: (509) 527-4423
Fax:
(509) 524-7921
E-mail:
shumbert@ci.walla-walla.wa.us
Proposers should consider the Finance Division as the first and prime point of contact on all matters
related to the procedures associated with this RFP. If additional information is needed from any source,
Finance will work with the proposer and with the various offices of the City to gather that information.
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REJECTION OF PROPOSALS
The City in its sole discretion, expressly reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or portions
thereof, to reissue a Request for Proposal, and to waive informalities, minor irregularities, discrepancies,
and any other matter or shortcoming.
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PROPOSAL PRICE
The prices submitted in the proposal shall include everything necessary for the prosecution and
completion of the bill printing, mailing and insertion services including, but not limited to, furnishing all
materials and all management, supervision, labor and service. The vendor will provide detailed costs of
all services pertaining to Section 3 Technical Specifications Prices quoted by suppliers will be firm
prices, not subject to increase during the term of the contractual agreement arising with the City as a
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result of the proposal. Quoted prices shall include any applicable state and federal taxes. The City will
evaluate the total price for the basic requirements with any options(s) exercised at the time of award.
Evaluation of options will not obligate the City to exercise the option(s).
1-10 TERM OF AGREEMENT
The initial term of the agreement for Printing, Insertion, & Mailing of Utility Bills, if awarded, shall be a
minimum of five (5) years, commencing on or about December 1, 2010. The term of this Agreement may,
if mutually agreed upon in writing, be extended by one- (1) year increments for a total of five (5)
additional years, provided written notice of each extension is given to the proposer at least thirty (30)
days prior to the expiration date of such term or extension. In the event funding approval is not obtained
by the City, this Agreement shall become null and void effective the date of renewal. During extension
periods, all terms and conditions of this Agreement shall remain in effect.
1-11 AWARD OF AGREEMENT
The City shall make the award to the responsible proposer whose proposal will be most advantageous to
the City with respect to price, conformance to the specifications, quality, and other factors as evaluated
by the City. The City is not required or constrained to award the Agreement to the proposer proposing
the lowest price.
The City may award an Agreement on the basis of initial offers received, without discussion; therefore,
each initial offer should contain the proposers best terms from a cost and technical standpoint.
1-12 PROPOSAL CONFIDENTIALITY
Each proposer agrees that the contents of each proposal submitted in response to this RFP is confidential,
proprietary, and constitutes trade secret information as to all technical and financial data, and waives any
right of access to such proposals, except as provided for by law. Except as determined by the City's
Finance Division, in its sole discretion, no information will be given regarding any proposals or evaluation
progress until after an award is made, except as provided by law.
SECTION 2 - INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING PROPOSALS
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GENERAL
To aid in the evaluation process, it is required that all responses comply with the items and sequence as
presented in paragraph 2-2, RFP Response Outline. Paragraph 2-2 outlines the minimum requirements
and packaging for the preparation and presentation of a response. Failure to comply may result in
rejection of the response. The proposal should be specific and complete in every detail, prepared in a
simple and straightforward manner.
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Background and History: Describe the company, organization, officers or partners, number of
employees, and operating policies that would affect this Agreement. State the number of years your
organization has been continuously engaged in business. (It is the Citys preference that the proposer
has been in business for a minimum of ten years from the date of this RFP, providing the services
offered in the proposers proposal, to be eligible for participation in this RFP.)
Degree to which the proposal meets the functional and technical requirements of the RFP.
2. Costs
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PROPOSER INVESTIGATION
The City will make such investigations as it considers necessary to obtain full information on the
proposers selected for further consideration, and each proposer is expected to cooperate fully in such
investigations.
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CITY OF WALLA WALLA REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS UTILITY BILLING PRINTING, INSERTION AND MAILING
ATTACHMENT A - PROPOSAL RESPONSE CERTIFICATION
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DATE
The undersigned, as proposer, declares that they have read the Request for Proposals and that the following
proposal is submitted on the basis that the undersigned, the company, and its employees or agents, shall meet,
or agree to, all specifications contained therein. It is further acknowledged that addenda numbers _____ to
_____ have been received and were examined as part of the RFP document.
Name of Proposer
Tax ID Number
Signature of Proposer
Title
Name of Firm
Street Address
City, State, Zip
/
Telephone / Fax Number
E-mail Address
State of Incorporation
Business Classification Type (Please check mark if applicable):
Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)
Women Owned Business Enterprise (WBE)
Small Business Enterprise (SBE)
Veteran Business Enterprise (VBE)
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)
Business Classification Type is used for tracking purposes, not as criteria for award.
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CITY OF WALLA WALLA REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS UTILITY BILLING PRINTING, INSERTION AND MAILING
PRICING SCHEDULE ATTACHMENT B
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DATE
Submit pricing on the basis of a volume of 11,500 bills per month and specifications listed above,
including a statement (perforated) duplex on 8.5x11 white paper, two color printed on one side (one of
the colors being black) and with back printing on the other side with a #10 double window mailing
envelope and #9 single window return envelope included. Price will also include laser imaging,
processing, CASS/PAVE Certification, folding, logic inserting, bar-coding, metering and delivery to USPS.
SERVICE/PRODUCT
VOLUME
UNIT PRICE
MONTLY PRICE
Monthly Volume
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NCOALink
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Additional Impressions
per page/impression
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Programming Changes
per hour
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each
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Inserts
Client Supplied Insert(s)
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