REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS CITY OF CONROE UTILITY BILLING AUTOMATED BILL PAYMENT KIOSK RFP

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS CITY OF CONROE UTILITY BILLING AUTOMATED BILL PAYMENT KIOSK RFP CITY OF CONROE P.O. BOX 3066 CONROE, TEXAS RESPONSES DUE OCTOBER 28, 2014 CITY OF CONROE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT

2 NOTICE TO BIDDERS The City of Conroe will receive sealed proposals in duplicate for City of Conroe Utility Billing Department for an Automated Bill Payment Kiosk. The proposals shall be appropriately marked City of Conroe Automated Bill Payment Kiosk RFP and delivered to the City Secretary 300 West Davis, 3 rd Floor, Conroe Texas Proposals will be publicly opened and read on Tuesday, October 28, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. in the 3 rd Floor conference room at City Hall (300 West Davis). Specifications and bidding documents may be secured from Kristina Colville, Purchasing Buyer, at 401 Sgt. Ed Holcomb Blvd. Conroe Texas (Physical), (936) No proposal may in any way qualify, modify, substitute or change any part of the specifications contained herein. The City of Conroe reserves the right to reject any and all offers, award parts of bids and to waive informalities in submission of proposals. The City of Conroe also reserves the right to award this proposal to the lowest most qualified responsible bidder meeting all the specifications or to the bidder who provides goods or services at the best value for the City. CC 10/9 & 10/16 CITY OF CONROE, TEXAS

3 CITY OF CONROE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR SEALED BIDS Sealed Proposals, in duplicate, shall be clearly marked DO NOT OPEN, BID FOR Automated Bill Payment Kiosk Proposal and mailed to the attention of the City Secretary, Marla Porter, City of Conroe, P. O. Box 3066, Conroe, Texas or Physical Address 300 W. Davis St. Conroe, Texas Date: October 3, 2014 Bids will be received until: 2:00 P.M. on Tuesday October 28, 2014 For: Utility Billing Department INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSER PLEASE READ CAREFULLY 1. The City of Conroe, Tax No is exempt from all Federal Excise Taxes. Do not include tax in your bid price or invoice. Taxable items must be so designated, and the City will supply contractor with Tax Exemption Certificate, properly executed. Prices should be itemized. 2. The City of Conroe will pay for articles or services purchased under this bid within thirty (30) days after due and proper delivery or performance of service is made and accompanied by an invoice. 3. This purchasing contract is subject to the attached Purchasing Terms and General Conditions. 4. In case of discrepancy between the unit price and the extension price, the unit price will be taken. 5. ALL PROPOSALS MUST BE SIGNED BY HAND. The undersigned hereby offers to furnish and deliver the articles or services as specified above at the prices and terms there stated and in strict accordance with the specifications and general conditions of bidding, all of which are made a part of this offer. This offer is not subject to withdrawal. Delivery can be made: Cash Discounts % Days Names of Business: Mailing Address: City State Zip By: Title Phone: Address 1

4 STANDARD PURCHASE TERMS AND GENERAL CONDITONS CITY OF CONROE 1. Preparation of Bids: Unless otherwise directed in the Notice to Bidders, submit proposals in duplicate on the prescribed forms or copies thereof, along with bid bond if required, in a sealed envelope marked "Utility Billing Payment Kiosk RFP. Prepare proposals in accordance with the requirements of the Notice to Bidders, and any instructions on the Proposal or Bid Sheet. 2. Questions and Inquires: Proposer s desiring further information or interpretation must request such information or interpretation from: Sam Masiel, Utility Billing Manager P.O. Box 3066 Conroe, TX Office: Submission of Bids: Two (2) copies of each proposal shall be submitted to the address below by the time and date set fourth. Responses received later than the due date will not be accepted, and returned unopened. Due Date: October 28, 2:00 PM Mail: City of Conroe Physical: City of Conroe Marla Porter, City Secretary Marla Porter, City Secretary P.O. Box W. Davis Conroe, TX Conroe, TX Owner: The City reserves the right to award parts of bids, reject any or all bids and to waive technical irregularities in bidding. Contract award will be made on the basis of the lowest qualified responsible bidder or the bidder who provides the goods and services at the best value for the City, considering the evaluation selection criteria below. No bid may be withdrawn before 90 days after submittal. Best Value Selection Criteria: a) Proposed cost of services. b) Meets all State and Federal qualifications specified herein. c) References from other Cities c) Bidder s principle place of business ( ). b) Bidder s past relationship with the City. 2

5 STANDARD PURCHASE TERMS AND GENERAL CONDITONS 5. Bidders: Bidders desiring Purchasing information or interpretation must request such information or interpretation from the Purchasing Department. Should a Bidder discover a discrepancy or an omission in the plans or specifications, he should at once notify the Purchasing Department so that an addendum can be issued. No explanation or interpretation other than an addendum issued by the City will be considered official or binding. 6. Bid Evaluation and Award: The bid award will be made on the basis of Texas Local Government Code Section This section allows the City of Conroe to develop and apply award evaluation criteria for procurement in order to obtain goods or services that provide the best value to the City. Under these guidelines, a vendor is not automatically awarded a bid simply because they submit the lowest bid response. In the event that the selected bidder fails to enter into agreement to provide the goods or services which are the subject of this invitation the City retains the right to award the bid to the next qualified bidder. 7. Communications: The City of Conroe shall not be responsible for any verbal communication between any representative of the City and any potential firm. All modifications to this solicitation must be made in writing. A proposer s failure to examine relevant documents or specifications will not relieve proposer from any obligation with regard to their response to this invitation. 8. Substitutions: Where materials or equipment are specified by a trade or brand name, it is not the intention of the City to discriminate against an equal product of another manufacturer, but to set a definite standard of quality or performance, and to establish an equal basis for the evaluation of bids. In preparing his bid, each bidder is expected to include in his base bid the cost of the items so specified. 9. Default: The City reserves the right to terminate the contract immediately for failure to meet delivery or completion schedules, or otherwise perform in accordance with the general conditions of this proposal. 10. References: The City of Conroe may request bidders to supply, with this Invitation to Bid, a list of at least five (5) references where like services have been supplied by their firm. Include name of firm, contact person, address, telephone number and fax number. 3

6 STANDARD PURCHASE TERMS AND GENERAL CONDITONS 11. Delivery of Proposals: It is the bidder's responsibility to deliver his proposal at the proper time to the proper place. The fact that a proposal was dispatched will not be considered. The bidder must have the proposal actually delivered before the time set and the start of opening of the bids. Any bids received after the time and date specified in the Notice to Bidders will be returned unopened. 12. Corrections: Erasures or other corrections in the proposal must be noted over with the proposer s initials. 13. Materials and Services: The Bidder warrants that goods, materials or services delivered to the City will meet the minimum specifications set forth therein. Bidder shall furnish all data pertinent to specifications and warranties, which apply to items in the bid. 14. Conditions of Conduct: At all times any agent, officer, or employee of Proposer shall be present upon property owned by the City of Conroe, the terms and conditions of the Drug and Alcohol Policy currently adopted by the City of Conroe, shall be deemed applicable to such persons. Violations of terms and conditions while present on the premises owned by the City of Conroe shall be grounds for termination of any contract between the City and Proposer. A copy of this policy is available for public inspection in the office of the City Secretary and copies may be obtained at a nominal charge. 15. Indemnification: The Proposer shall, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the City of Conroe, their officers, and agents from and against any and all claims, demands, causes of action, orders, decrees, or judgments for injury, death, damage to person or property, loss, damage, or liability of any kind (including without limitation liability under any federal, state, or local environmental law, Compensation and Liability Act; fees and costs (including all costs or settlements and reasonable attorney s fees incurred in defending any claim, demand, or cause of action) occasioned by, growing out of, or arising from (a) the performance of any product or service to be supplied by the Proposer, or (b) by any act, error or omission on the part of the Proposer, its agents, employees, or subcontractors, and or (c) any failure to fully comply with all applicable laws and regulations by the Proposer, its agents, employees, or subcontractors. 4

7 STANDARD PURCHASE TERMS AND GENERAL CONDITONS 16. Insurance Requirements: The Proposer shall procure and maintain, at its expense, during the term of this proposal, at least the following insurance, covering work performed. COVERAGE LIMITS A. Worker s Compensation - As required by Texas Law B. Employer s Liability - $ 500,000 each occurrence C. Public Liability (Bodily injury) - $1,000,000 combined single limit D. Public Liability (Property damage) - $1,000,000 combined single limit E. Automobile Liability (Bodily injury) - $ 200,000 each person F. Automobile Liability (Property damage) - $ 50,000 each occurrence The Proposer agrees to furnish insurance certificates, showing the Proposer s compliance with this section. 17. Independent Contractor Relationship: The Proposer is and shall perform these services as an independent contractor, and as such, shall have and maintain complete control over all of its employees, agents, and operations. Neither the Proposer nor anyone employed by it shall be, represent, act, purport to act or be deemed to be the agent, representative, employee or servant of the City of Conroe. The Proposer selected by this Request for Proposal will be working as an independent contractor and will be required to take out and keep in force all permits, licenses, certifications, other approvals, and or insurance that may be required by the City of Conroe, any local or regional governmental agency, the State of Texas, or the federal government. Failure to comply with any of these items would be grounds for immediate cancellation of the contract. 18. Equal Employment Opportunity: Attention is called to the requirements for ensuring that employees and applicants for employment are not discriminated against because of their age, race, color, creed, sex or national origin. 19. Price of Materials and Sales Tax: Prices for all goods or services shall remain firm for the duration of this contract and shall be stated on the bid sheet. Prices shall be all inclusive. Any price not shown on the bid sheet will not be honored by invoice. No price changes, additions or subsequent qualifications will be honored during the course of this contract. All prices must be written in ink or typewritten. Transportation, freight or other charges are to be prepaid by the bidder and included in the bid price. If there are additional charges of any kind, other than those mentioned above, specified or unspecified, Bidder must indicate both items required and attendant cost or forfeit the right to payment. Invoices must be submitted by the vendor in duplicate to the City of Conroe Purchasing Dept., P.O. Box 3066, Conroe TX This Contract is issued by an organization, which qualifies for exemption pursuant to the provisions of Article (F) of the Texas Limited Sales, Excise and Use Tax Act. 5

8 STANDARD PURCHASE TERMS AND GENERAL CONDITONS 20. Proposal Agreements and Certification The Undersigned Agrees That: A. No Federal, State, County or Municipal taxes have been included in the quoted prices and none will be added. B. Prices in this proposal have not knowingly been disclosed with any other provider and will not be prior to award. C. Prices in this proposal have been arrived at independently, without consultation, communication or agreement for the purpose of restricting competition. D. No attempt has been made nor will be to induce any other person or firm to submit a proposal for the purpose of restricting competition. E. The individual signing this proposal certifies that he/she is a legal agent of the proposer, authorized to represent the proposer and is legally responsible for the offer with regard to supporting documentation and prices provided. (Company Name) (Name of Authorized Agent Printed) (Street Address / P.O. Box) (Authorized Agent Signature) (City / State / Zip Code) (Date) (Phone) ( Address) 6

9 COMPETIIVE SEALED PROPOSAL (CSP) Automated Bill Payment Kiosk(s) CSP Objective and Project Overview The City of Conroe, TX is requesting proposals for the implementation and maintenance of automated bill payment kiosks that fully interface with the cash management and billing system already in place at the City, _Tyler, Incode Proposer will be required to work directly with Tyler, Incode to address any issues relating to interfacing directly with their systems. The primary kiosk must be a through-the-wall application that will enable citizens to drive up or walk up and conduct transactions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The vendor must also be able to provide a similar kiosk that is a free standing kiosk to be placed in an indoor location. Costs to include but not limited to: Project Management System Planning, Development & Integration Software & Licensing Hardware Travel and associated costs Training Annual maintenance beyond warranty period Costs related to meeting requirements set forth below The object of this CSP is to solicit proposals for electronic payment kiosks capable of processing customer utility payments in real time and posting payments to the current Cash Management software and retrieving customer account information required to provide current status of customer accounts. The purpose of this project is to provide additional options to our citizens to conduct routine bill payment transactions electronically, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This product should enhance productivity of staff through the use of technology. At a minimum, it will include payments made by cash, credit card, debit card, scanned electronic checks processing and posting of the payment to an account. I. Introduction The City of _Conroe, TX Department is responsible for the collection of Utility Bill payments on a regular basis. Over the past ten years we have made significant strides in providing added choices for services to our citizens/customers; especially in the area of payment processing. We now receive a substantial amount of payments processed electronically. As this has occurred, the number of manual payments processed has decreased significantly. The kiosks we are seeking to purchase continue our search for new technologies that will provide an equal level of service to our walk-in citizens/customers as cost effective and efficiently as possible. 7

10 Our billing / management systems use Tyler Incode software. Account information retrieval and cash payment postings will be allowed directly to the platform except during times of maintenance or system down times. III. Our Requirements The following are absolute requirements for information and capabilities of the payment kiosks: a. Durability (based on a through-the-wall application with the front exposed to an outdoor environment with an overhang already in place and a free-standing application in an outdoor walkup area) b. Accept and process all payments in real time. c. Accept Credit cards using PCI compliant technologies. d. Provide secure environment for the temporary storage of all payment and customer information. e. Accept paper currency and verify authenticity. f. Accept checks and money orders. g. Create digital image and store payment and account documents passed for payment (not including cash payments). h. Provide the optional ability to dispense change in bills and coins if needed by the City. i. Secure storage device for cash and check payments. j. Provide a bi-lingual interface for users. ( English/Spanish). k. Print a customer payment receipt with current account information included. l. Optionally, provide digital image photography of customer completing transaction for security purposes with time and date recording. m. Allow city marketing logos and informational displays as part of the payment experience on the display screen. n. Provide reporting that complies with good accounting practices for the security and safeguarding of information and city funds. p. Continuing annual maintenance and support plan. q. Operate within the city s communication and server based network. r. Optional ability to add multiple departments in the future. s. Optional ability to electronically deposit checks received to the city s bank IV. Minimum Requirements The following are minimum specifications as provided by the City. a. Minimum 17 Touch LCD or equivalent b. Minimum 18 gauge secure steel cabinet outfacing / rear service for outfacing kiosk and front service front access for indoor kiosk. c. A kiosk PC with minimum 4GB RAM, 120 GB storage. d. Windows 7 OS or better. e. Bill Acceptor with 1000 bill magazine or equivalent f. 2 thermal receipt printer or equivalent g. MICR / Image check / Bill stub reader or equivalent h. Optional - 3DES encrypted pinpad for accepting debit cards or equivalent i. 2 Track credit card reader or equivalent j. Security locks k. Additional 17 LCD and keyboard for rear service on outfacing kiosk. 8

11 V. Customer & Utility Services Desirables The following are optional desired features if they are available through your proposed solution. Please specify if your proposed solution can or cannot complete each as they are listed: a. Expandable to include other departments business transactions with no additional hardware requirements. b. Available Self Diagnostics and ability to electronically notify designated personnel when problems occur that affect the operation of the kiosks. c. Manage power use by shutting down lighted display when the kiosk is unused for an extended period of time. d. Provide all available options for payment acceptance and/or processing (i.e. Check 21, ACH, Credit card, debit card, echeck etc. e. Ability to communicate in multiple languages (written and/or voice communication). f. Describe the ability to scan utility bill scan line (OCR) and/or driver s license and bring up customer account information. g. Describe how your system insures that the customer is accessing the correct account. h. Describe the processing capabilities for credit/debit card processing (Swipe only or insert card, Pin # or no Pin #, zip code verification, etc.) i. Describe the ability to dispense cash or coin change. VI. Special Instructions to the Proposer Cost proposal must include requirements and all costs associated with purchase, implementation, and maintenance of an Automated Bill Payment Kiosk. Provide proposal contents in order Proposer will provide project management services for the entire project. Submit Cost proposal under separate cover. Cost proposal should include annual maintenance cost and support plan. VII. Submittals Your proposal must address the following in the order listed. Any additional services or capabilities need to be listed separately identifying them in as much detail as necessary with the reason it would be better for the city. Proposer Info Provide corporate details, including company name, mailing address, phone number, years in business, location of business (if different than the mailing address), products, and services offered. Provide contact information for primary contact and other appropriate personnel in relation to this project. Furnish a list of references of city and other accounts that you have provided kiosks to. And identify the Software Billing companies that these accounts use, especially the ones that use Tyler Incode. Indicate also, since when have they been using your solution. 9

12 System Information A response to each of the requirements (required and optional) in Section III, Section IV, and Section V above. Provide a description of the back end programming used to develop your interactive solutions. For example: How will kiosk payments interface with our billing / management software to ensure that payments are reflected on customer accounts in real time? Describe security and encryption capabilities General description of internal hardware and software (processor speed, etc.) Describe any reporting tools available to assist in our reconciliation process Describe capability of working within a network environment Describe how your proposed system is designed to be cost-effective and reliable Describe how the system conducts self-diagnostic tests Describe any remote diagnostic capability Describe any experience and relationship in working with our billing and management software companies. Describe the expansion capabilities, if any, to incorporate additional City functions in the future (i.e. accept payment and produce receipts/permits for things like traffic tickets, requests for building permits, etc.) Describe your approach to ensuring that data integrity is maintained within the databases of your proposed solution(s) and also the Jurisdiction s host database Describe how credit card numbers are stored & securely managed? (Currently Master Card, Visa, AMEX, Discover). Provide information on the project implementation plan, including time line, intermediate objectives, tasks, project management details Explain the development/evaluation/acceptance testing periods, including duration. Define the roles and responsibilities of the city staff and your company in the project implementation. Provide a timeline for implementation with intermediate objectives defined. Identify any third party relationships within the project implementation period. Describe the procedure for installing new software releases into a production environment. Describe the capability to upgrade/install/add new internal hardware. Describe the city s ongoing routine maintenance responsibilities. Describe any routine maintenance that requires the Kiosk be out of service. Describe the support options available to the City; include a copy of your standard warranty and maintenance contracts for our review. Identify the documentation, manuals, reference guides available for the kiosk. Describe what training programs are available for implementation of the system. Describe additional costs for follow up training after implementation of the system. Provide additional costs of custom programming after implementation (Hourly Rate). Provide photos, drawings, etc. of possible kiosk solutions. Provide sample reports and system screen shots associated with the support of this application. Provide additional functionality/features of the proposed solution that have not been defined within this RFP. 10