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Pre-Proposal Teleconference . A non-mandatory pre-proposal meeting will be held 5/2/2023 9:00 a.m. via teleconference. To attend, call 907-713-2140 Participation ID Code 748914. Contractors interested in submitting proposals should email CBJ Purchasing at purchasing@juneau. gov a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours prior to the scheduled meeting to provide notice of participation and submit any questions. Contact & Questions . CBJ Purchasing Division of Finance is the sole point of contact for all matters pertaining to this solicitation. No oral interpretations will be made. Submit any interpretation requests in writing, noting issuing buyer, solicitation number and title, via email to purchasing@juneau. gov or Fax to (907) 586-4561. Requests must be received a minimum of seven (7) business days prior to the solicitation deadline . Submission Instructions . Timely responses are accepted via Electronic Submission * at Public Purchase www.publicpurchase.com the CBJ’s eProcurement Provider. Late responses will not be accepted. To respond complete the free online registration. Registered Contractors can submit a response by completing the following: Acknowledgements* of the Terms & Conditions (ATTACHMENT A), Insurance Requirements (ATTACHMENT B) and the CBJ’s Standard Contract Sample (ATTACHMENT C), CBJ’s Business Associate Agreement (ATTACHMENT D). **Contractors must acknowledge or acknowledge with exceptions. (Exceptions may not qualify for award.) Load their PDF RFP Response as specified. About Juneau . Located in the panhandle of southeastern Alaska, on the traditional land of the Tlingit people, the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ or City) consists of 3,250 square miles and is only accessible by air or sea. Juneau is Alaska’s capital and has a population of approximately 31,000 people. Juneau is a temperate rain forest and receives around 92 inches of annual precipitation. For more information on Juneau, visit CBJ’s Website at: https://juneau.org/manager/visitor-information Purpose & Overview . The City and Borough of Juneau (City or CBJ) is seeking proposals from professional and experienced Contractors who perform and/or specialize in Collection Agency Services for Municipalities or Governmental Agencies. CBJ intends to enter into a term contract with the awarded Contractor to manage the collection of unpaid accounts assigned by the CBJ’s Finance Department, Revenue Collections Office (Collections). The awarded Contractor must provide wide ranging collection efforts on assigned outstanding CBJ unpaid and past due accounts, which includes all types of revenues due the CBJ. Collections will review and assign accounts when it’s been determined that internal collection efforts have been exhausted. The transfer of delinquent CBJ accounts will generally be done on a monthly basis and will be approximately 300-400 accounts annually, however, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic the CBJ anticipates at least a double in accounts transferred. The objective of contracting out some of the delinquent accounts is to enhance the collection effort performed within the Revenue Collections office and increase the collection of accounts that might otherwise go uncollected. The City only transfers tax debt on those accounts where the individuals/businesses are not locatable and/or the business is defunct. Expected collection actions would include skip tracing, letters, phone contact, and court action when deemed appropriate. The City does not anticipate incurring any costs related to this contract. The selected Contractor will receive a structured commission as payment for its collection services based on actual collections from debtors. GENERAL INFORMATION Contract Term . The initial contract period will be from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, with an automatic annual renewal period for four (4) additional years, with the final expiration date of June 30, 2028. Contract Administration & Compliance . In an effort to maintain the expected level of services and ensure that the Contractor is fulfilling all duties CBJ will assign Nicole Tragis, Revenue Collector (or upon notification another designee) as Contract Administrator for this project. Review of General Terms & Conditions, Insurance & Contract . Attached to this RFP are documents required for this project (ATTACHMENTS A, B, C) Also Attachment D (if required). Contractors should carefully review all these attachments. Awarded Consultant is expected to comply with these requirements and will be required to sign the CBJ’s contract. Minimum Qualifications . Acceptable Contractors must have the following minimum qualifications: Based in North America and is available to provide services and consultation during CBJ work hours. Is a licensed and bonded collection agency that is approved and licensed to perform work within the State of Alaska and has documented experience that shows they comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Has substantial documented experience that demonstrates capabilities to create productive and goal centric performance doing similar work for like-sized cities, municipalities, or governmental organizations. Have an online portal for electronic payments from debtors, inquiry access for CBJ Collections Office. Contract Changes, Assignment and/or Subcontracting . CBJ does not anticipate changes to the scope of work for the completion of the project; however, unforeseen issues necessitate changes, the contract may be adjusted by mutual agreement. Changes that do not change the primary intent of the scope of work will be considered and documented by a written contract amendment. If the two parties do not agree, the contract will be terminated and awarded to the next lowest responsive, responsible bidder or rebid. Any changes or work performed without such approval, even if approved by a contract user, will be at the Contractor's expense and will not be binding. If applicable, any extensions to the contract will be negotiated, mutually agreed upon and documented by contract amendment. The Contractor may not assign or subcontract any part of the contract without the prior written consent of the CBJ Purchasing Division and CBJ. NOTE: The Purchasing Division must review and approve any contractual changes. Compensation . The City does not anticipate incurring any costs related to this contract.All monies paid to the Contractor will come from the fee schedule based on collections. Performance Expectations . The Contractor must meet an acceptable level of performance by providing skilled work, proficient project management and essential communication. Communication must include regular and timely status updates on all approved work. Any delays, whether planned or unplanned, must be communicated to the CBJ Contract Manager. Failure by the Contractor to meet required performance expectations may be cause for contract cancellation. If terminated, the contract may be offered to the next responsible, responsive proposer or re-solicited. Travel Expenses . There is no expectation of Contractor travel for this contract. All work is expected to be done using technology and/or virtual resources. PROJECT INFORMATION Historical Information . A total of 352 accounts were sent to the Contracted Collection Agency in 2022. As the CBJ increases collection efforts since recovering from COVID-19 pandemic, the anticipated amount of accounts sent out for outside collections is expected to double from the 2022 totals. There were zero Harbor, Real Property Tax, or Sales Tax accounts transferred in 2022. The CBJ Collections Office will resume transferring those accounts for outside collection. The CBJ may also be adding parking citations to the account type for outside collections. See chart for data. Acct Type Number of Accts Assigned During 2022 $$ Amount Assigned $$ Amount Collected Sales Tax 0 0 $0 Real Property Tax 0 0 0 Impounds 66 $67,314.50 $1,791.73 Ambulance 272 $116,957.82 $6,677.50 Returned Checks 0 $00 $00 Library 0 $00 $00 Accounts Receivable 2 $574.60 $0 Totals 352 $190,315.61 $8,469.23 Scope of Work . The Contractor will promptly undertake, through thorough, ethical, and lawful means, the collection of all accounts referred by the City’s Revenue Collections Office. The Contractor shall implement collection procedures using current technology to achieve maximum recovery of debts. Upon transfer of a City account (any type), the Collection Agency Contractor will be expected to work on behalf of the City. Example: Letterhead, Payment, & Contact Information will be the Contracted Collection Agencies. When debt is identified in the letter it will be listed as a City & Borough of Juneau account type debt. The CBJ account types that will be transferred for collection include, but are not limited to: Returned Checks, Business Personal and Real Property Taxes, Sales Taxes, Ambulance Accounts, Harbor Accounts, Library Accounts, Airport Accounts, General Accounts Receivable Accounts, Impound Accounts, Utility (Water, Sewer & Waste Management) Accounts, Police Citations & Fines. Contractor Requirements . The Contractor must: Be a licensed and bonded collection agency that is approved and licensed to perform work within the State of Alaska and comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and current Alaska Statutes. Comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rules when providing collection services to the City for Ambulance Accounts. Prior to award and as part of the contractual agreement, the Contractor must review and agree to comply by executing a CBJ HIPAA Business Associate Agreement. Provide inclusive collection services that have online account inquiry and reporting services at no additional cost. Online services must be available and operational at the start of the contract. (Portal services must allow the CBJ Collection Office to perform inquires debtor balances, identify type of debt, check payment statuses, and have various reporting features.) A demonstration of the online services may be required prior to contract award. Demonstrate satisfactory record keeping and file maintenance procedures and policies throughout their entire operations. Provide the City, upon request, a copy of contractor’s office policies and procedures. Indicate their firm’s financial capacity, by showing, working capital, technical and management resources, ability to maintain an office and staff sufficient to manage the number of City accounts referred, as well as manage the legal expenses associated with court actions. The successful proposer should address financial capacity and may be asked to provide their latest financial statement. Maintain office hours from minimum of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Alaska Time, Monday thru Friday, unless otherwise approved by the City. Additionally, the Contractor will provide a toll-free telephone number for contact by debtors and the City. Have an online portal where electronic payments may be submitted by debtors, as well as online access for the CBJ Collections office to inquire on accounts and balances due. Have business cards or other material that can be provided to the debtor by the CBJ Collection’s Office with contact and payment information. Technical Contractor Requirements and Responsibilities . To ensure a successful operation of the contract, the Contractor is obligated, but not necessarily limited to, provide the following: Collection Services . Collection services will include the following: a) locating the debtor and/or debtor’s assets, using skip-tracing and/or internet research b) sending collection letters (certified, when necessary), emails or faxes c) telephone contact d) payment agreements e) legal action, if necessary f) post-judgment debt collection g) execution on debtor’s assets if judgment h) credit bureau or agency reporting Account Maintenance . The Contractor shall establish and maintain separate receivable accounts for all different account types where the Account Type is the type of debt (e.g., Property Tax, Sales Tax, Harbors, Utilities, Ambulance, General Accounts Receivable, NSF, etc.). If one debtor owes for different types of debt, the City prefers that the separate receivable accounts be sorted by type and linked to one debtor summary. The Contractor shall add any fees and/or costs incurred, as well as any additional interest accrued, to the respective account(s). Suspension of Collection Efforts . The Contractor shall suspend collection efforts on any accounts referred for collection upon written notice to do so by the City’s Revenue Collector. The Revenue Collector may recall any or all referred accounts at no cost to the City. Note: Typically, an account would only be recalled by CBJ if it were sent to the Contractor in error. Reduction of Account Balances . Contractor shall not negotiate to reduce amounts owed in order to settle on any outstanding balance on debtors’ accounts nor offer a waiver of any penalty charge or assess collection fees without written approval from the City. All requests for special considerations must be provided to the City in writing. If a reduction of an account balance is approved by the City, or the City requests an account balance be reduced, it shall be at no cost to the City. Confidential and Secure Records . The Contractor shall ensure the confidentiality, security and safety of all City accounts referred and shall maintain adequate records of the accounts referred, collection efforts made, revenues collected, and amounts remitted to the City. The Contractor shall not use information obtained in the course of this contract for any other purpose than to fulfill the contractual obligations. The City may request to review the Contractor’s files upon twenty-four (24) hour notification. All records will be made available for review and/or audit by the City and/or the City’s Auditors. Accounts . Accounts assigned to the City’s current providers prior to award of the new contract will remain with that provider and the new contractor will not be responsible for those accounts. At the end of the contract period, accounts managed under this contract shall remain with that provider and retained in accordance with Alaska State Statutes. If the contract is terminated due to non-performance, all records are to be returned to the City within thirty (30) calendar days of termination. Costs for returning the records will be at the Contractor’s expense. Records Retention . Contractor shall retain financial and other records relating to the performance of this contract in accordance with State Statutes, which are currently as follows: a) for those accounts with no legal action taken: 6 years after the original transaction date, or 3 years after account is fully collected, whichever is shorter. b) for those accounts with legal action taken: 3 years after account is fully collected. All records that have met the retention requirements may be removed from the Contractor’s outstanding receivables. Any account removed shall be listed on a “removal of records” form and given to the Revenue Collector for approval. Once removed, all account records are to be returned to the City, at the City’s expense, unless the City and the Contractor, by mutual agreement, agree upon another acceptable form of disposal of the confidential records. Records shall be reviewed for removal, at a minimum, annually. Legal Action of Accounts . The CBJ does not track exactly how many accounts go on to legal action when transferred to the vendor; however; it appears to be only very few annually, if any. Legal recommendations and/or request for authorization of suit will be made where all other efforts fail, and the cost does not exceed the amount recoverable from the debtor. When legal action is taken, the action shall be initiated in Juneau District Court, Juneau, Alaska. Other Alaska Courts would be satisfactory, as long as they can be attended telephonically. The CBJ does not want 3rd party collection agencies involved for lower 48 court collections or collections litigated outside of Alaska. The City will not be liable for any fees assessed by an attorney for collection of an account. In the event an attorney’s fees and/or other litigation costs are necessary for the collection of an account not paid when due, said fees shall be charged to the debtor. Any court cost, counter suit cost, or other legal cost must be paid up front by the Contractor and charged to the debtor. Contractor will provide the City with a status report for all legal accounts on a quarterly basis. The report must include the following: a) name on account b) account number c) name and address of attorney d) amount in litigation e) court costs f) attorney fees g) date judgment was awarded and filed h) current status of account, including outstanding balance Reporting . The Contractor will be required to provide the City with the following reports for each receivable type. The Contractor shall document how they intend to provide this information. a) Annual Reports : A list of accounts deleted for Statute of Limitations each year - to be submitted by January 31 st each year b) Quarterly Reports : A list of accounts with legal actions against them - see section 2.5.8 for reporting requirements - to be submitted by the 15 th of the month following the quarter. c) Monthly Reports : Payments Received - A list of all payments received during the month, including the following: i. account name, in alphabetical order by last name; ii. account type; iii. account number; iv. amount received on each account; v. date payment was received on each account; vi. total amount collected for the month; vii. total amount and % allocated to the Contractor for the month; viii. total amount and % allocated to the City for the month; Collection Success Rate - a summary report of the payments received as a percentage of the outstanding debt at the beginning of the month. New Accounts - A list of all new accounts referred to the Contractor by the City for the month, including the following: i. account name, in alphabetical order by last name; ii. account type; iii. account number; iv. amount for each account; v. total amount referred for month. Account Balances - A list of all outstanding accounts, including the following: i. account name, in alphabetical order by last name; ii. account type; iii. account number; iv. prior month’s outstanding balance by account; v. payments, cancellations and/or adjustments on each account; vi. amount outstanding on each account; vii. total amount outstanding at end of month. Closed Accounts - A list of all accounts closed during the month with explanation as to why the account was closed. Funds Collected . The Contractor shall remit in full to the City the net total of all funds collected less the collection fees owed to the Contractor by the tenth (10 th ) day of each month. Each remittance should be submitted with the “Payments Received” monthly report. The Contractor must apply debtor payments to the accounts in the following order: 1 st ) Collection costs 2 nd ) Penalties 3 rd ) Past due interest 4 th ) Current interest 5 th ) Past due principal 6 th ) Current principal Costs Incurred . The Contractor shall be solely responsible for all costs incurred by the Contractor in the collection of the referred accounts. Contractor Contact . Prior to award, the Contractor shall provide the name of the Contractor’s representative who will be responsible for the City’s accounts. This representative must be available for telephone contact during City business hours, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Alaska Time. The Contractor shall provide a toll-free telephone number for contact by debtors and the City. Meetings . The Contractor’s representative assigned to the City’s accounts shall meet with City staff on an annual basis, at minimum, to discuss the City’s accounts and the Contractor’s services provided to those accounts. A teleconference would satisfy this requirement. City Responsibilities . Direct Payments . When the Contractor is given an account, it will show principal and accrued interest while under CBJ control; however, at the point that the Contractor takes over collection efforts CBJ stops collecting interest and that is up to the Contractor to address. Disputes . If, after beginning collection activities on an account, the debtor disputes the amount owed, the Contractor shall refer the case back to the City for resolution of the dispute. The City shall refer the account back to the Contractor upon resolution of the dispute. The Contractor shall adjust account balances, as directed by the City. The Contractor’s fee shall be based on the adjusted amount. If an account remains unresolved, the Revenue Collector will recall the account. If legal action on the disputed collection begins litigation and the dispute still cannot be resolved, the CBJ Collection Office staff will appear for the court trial and allow the judge to determine the outcome of the case. Legal Action . When required, the City will provide witnesses, certified copies of official records, and other documentation needed for prosecution. The Contractor is to provide five (5) business days advance notice, in writing, of all records and information needed. Email notification is acceptable as long as the City has verified receipt of the email. CBJ Technology Environment . Currently CBJ Collections Office uses MS Excel and ‘Harris’ Govern on a daily basis to complete the collection tasks for the CBJ. Currently there are not any plans to replace these programs. AWARD, EVALUATION CRITERIA & PROPOSAL CONTENT Award . Following the posting of evaluations and scoring, the successful Proposer will be required to accept the City’s contract. If needed, any changes to the scope, schedule, or compensation as lined out in the RFP document may be discussed and must be mutually agreed upon. Changes will be documented in the Contact. Note: Any agreed adjustments cannot have an effect on the ranking of proposals. If agreement cannot be reached, with the apparent best Proposer, the CBJ will discontinue the discussion and the next highest ranked Proposer will be offered the project. Upon receipt of a fully executed contract, the CBJ will issue a purchase order that will serve as the notice to proceed. Evaluation Criteria . To determine the most advantageous proposal for the CBJ, an evaluation committee will review, evaluate, score and rank proposals in accordance with criteria and categories identified below and as stated in the Proposal Evaluation Form. Clarification of submitted material may be requested during the evaluation process. Interviews by telephone or in-person with top ranked Proposers may be conducted at the discretion of the evaluation committee. If interviews are held, finalists will be notified of any interview requirements. Submittal, Title Page & Letter of Transmittal . Proposals are to be prepared in such a way as to provide a concise delineation of the Vendor’s capabilities to satisfy the requirements of this RFP. Emphasis should be concentrated on conformance to the RFP instructions, responsiveness to the RFP requirements or scope of work and on completeness. The clarity of content should be identified by a table of contents that includes page numbers and follows a defined sequence for deliverables as requested in the RFP. The page limit for this RFP is 20 pages and excludes CV’s or resumes, copies of required business or professional licenses, and professional references. Include a Transmittal Letter that is less than two pages and includes all the following: a. The RFP number and title b. Proposer’s name (legal name of entity) c. Complete mailing address d. Telephone number(s) and Fax number(s) e. Email addresses for all parties involved in the project f. Web site address (if available) g. Briefly describe your understanding of project and summarize qualifications and capabilities to meet RFP requirements. Identify any challenges associated with implementing the work. h. Identify person(s) authorized to represent the company during contract negotiations and the term of the contract. Include their title(s) and contact information. i. Acknowledge receipt of any addenda issued for this RFP. j. Provide notice that you DO or DO NOT qualify as a “Juneau Proposer ” k. The transmittal letter must be signed by the person who has authority to bind the company. The name and title of the individual signing the proposal must be clearly shown immediately below the signature. Understanding & Methodology . (Weight 30%) Points will be awarded based on the provided comprehensive narrative that illustrates your understanding of the purpose of the scope of work, the contract objectives, and requirements of the project, including the project schedule and deliverables. Identify any challenges associated with implementing the work and what your solution to those problems would be. a. Include your firm’s philosophy on debt collection. b. Include information on your percentage of successful collections. c. Indicate what percentage of your portfolio is in legal process/judgment. d. Include what type of collection software you use, what type of access is available online to both the debtors and the City. e. Include samples of letters that will be sent to clients during the collection process f. Includes samples of the required reports and their delivery method. g. Include your firm’s disaster recovery plan as it relates to the account data and related records. Workload, Management Plan, Experience & Qualifications . (Weight 45%) Points will be awarded based on your proposed project team’s specialized experience, capabilities, and unique qualifications for the performance of the work. The City anticipates referring approximately 700 accounts annually. Discuss the incorporation of this project into the firm’s current workload. Provide a workforce schedule, identifying primary personnel and their proposed work schedule. Describe how this project fits into the firm’s overall organization. Describe how much priority this project will be given. If subcontractors are to be used, provide background information. Include the following: a. Proposer’s Background. Provide general background information on the firm including specialized experience, capabilities, and unique qualifications in the field. b. Relevant Work Experience/References. Identify the unique experiences, abilities, and perspectives that the Contractor will bring to the project. Include a narrative of projects within the last five years that demonstrate the proposer’s experience with projects of similar scope and size, and other experience related to the project. Include current contact names, addresses and telephone numbers (and email addresses, if possible) for three (3) references. c. Staff Experience and Assignments. Include resumes for each of proposer’s professional staff to be assigned work in the project. The resumes must describe each individual’s education, specialized training or certification, and experience in the area to which he/she will be assigned. The proposal must identify the personnel assigned to the project. d. Licenses. Copies of State of Alaska License(s) may be required of the top ranked proposer. The proposal must include a statement indicating that all other necessary business, corporate, and professional occupational licenses are currently held. e. Compliance with the Law. Contractor must comply with all required federal, state and city codes, statues, ordinances, and regulations (including safety, environmental, and immigration enactments) and must obtain all required licenses, permits, and registrations regulating the conduct of business within the State of Alaska and the City. f. Subcontractors. Subcontracting is allowed only with the prior written consent of the City’s Purchasing Division. Fee Schedule (Proposal) . (Weight 20%) CBJ intends to award this contract to the Contractor that it deems most responsive and will provide the most comprehensive and high-quality service for the City. CBJ reserves the right to accept any proposal that best meets the needs of the CBJ and not necessarily only the best fees offer. Fee proposals will be reviewed, and points will be assessed by the overall value of the services offered. Contractors must submit a fee (commission) schedule for completing the deliverables by including a flat percentage rate for performing all services described in the RFP. EXHIBIT A, is to be used as the Fee Schedule, and must be submitted with the proposal. The fee schedule shall be all inclusive of overhead, fringe benefits, profits, insurance, etc. Include detailed information on your proposed compensation structure. NOTE: If some services described in the Scope of Services or in your proposal are not included in your primary pricing, please provide a separate fee amount or hourly employee compensation rates. If your proposal envisions separate charges for any reason, those separate charges should be specifically identified along with the proposed fees. Juneau Proposer Preference (JPP) . Points equal to 5% of the 81356527 3279691 3 66932146 510692250 smne C5YBB Yw 73364 WfY hTdfTq QXtT 3350264 xRYzBNc 28468 hUxkDz qilUJ 6 654200 Xqk 73rP ViZoGG2Y tK total evaluation points will be given to any Proposer who submits a statement and demonstrates how they qualify and/or meet the criteria outlined in the City Ordinance 53.50.010 and 53.50.050 . You must be qualified as described by the ordinance at the time of submittal of your proposal to receive preference points. (JPP Points are determined by verification through the CBJ Finance Office by the Purchasing Division. If you DO NOT QUALIFY it is helpful to identify this in your Transmittal or Introduction letter so we can avoid wasting staff time on the verification process.) SAMPLE Evaluation Form . Evaluator No.____ Proposer________________ Maximum Score Achievable = 1,000 points CRITERIA Weight % Score (0 – 10*) Total Points = (Numerical Score X Weight) Understanding & Methodology 30 Workload, Management Plan, Experience & Qualifications 45 Fee Schedule (Proposal): 20 Juneau Proposer Preference 5 Determined by Purchasing Rank __________ Grand Total *Point Guide : Outstanding (10 points)Adequate to Good (6 to 8 points) Marginally Acceptable (3 or 4 points)Unacceptable (0 or 1 point)No scores using numbers 2, 5 or 9

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