Request for Proposal

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Santa Clara County Fire Department

Request for Proposal

#RFP-2016-004

Integrated Procurement and

Purchase Order Software

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Section 1: RFP Submission Overview

The Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District (County Fire) is seeking qualified proposals for an integrated procurement and purchase order software system, as well as the implementation, training, and ongoing support services outlined in this document.

Submission Due Date: April 22nd, 2016, at 5 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Submissions must be received, at the mailing address listed below, by the stated deadline, regardless of postmark date, delivery method, or any delay in delivery. Proposals received after the submission date will not be opened or given consideration.

Mailing Address:

Santa Clara County Fire Department RFP Submission/RFP-2016-004 14700 Winchester Blvd

Lost Gatos, CA 95032

Contact Person for RFP Inquiries:

The sole contact person at County Fire for all inquiries regarding this RFP is Jill Hitchman. Except as otherwise directed in this RFP, all inquiries, notices, or other communications from a proposer shall be directed, in writing, to the contact person via email at:

[email protected]. Telephone inquiries related to this RFP will not be accepted.

Refer to Section 6.1 for specific details regarding RFP submission requirements.

Section 2: Organizational Background

Section 2: Organizational Background

Established in 1947, the Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District (County Fire) provides fire services in Santa Clara County, California for the communities of Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, and adjacent county areas. In 1997 the District adopted the “also known as” (aka) name of Santa Clara County Fire Department (County Fire) to more accurately reflect the area served and to avoid confusion between agencies with similar names in adjacent counties. County Fire is an

internationally accredited agency, per the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, one of only 14 in California, and one of only 207 internationally.

Wrapping in an approximately 20 mile arc around the western side of "Silicon Valley," County Fire has grown to include 15 fire stations, an administrative headquarters, Lark Fire Prevention Office, a crafts worker shop, McCormack Training Center, a vehicle maintenance facility and more than 100 vehicles to cover 147 square miles and a population of over 213,000.

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County Fire employs over 300 fire prevention, suppression, investigation, administration, and maintenance personnel; daily emergency response staffing consists of 66 employees. The District’s suppression force is also augmented by approximately 30 volunteer firefighters. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors sits as the Santa Clara County Central Fire

Protection District Board of Directors and governs the District. Funding is provided primarily through property taxes and contracts for fire protection services.

Additional information may be found on our website at: www.sccfd.org

Section 3: Current Technology & Systems

County Fire’s technology runs entirely on Apple hardware; this includes desktops, laptops, iPads, iPhones and other Apple devices. We have a VMWare vSphere 5.5 Architecture that can have over 50 server appliances loaded.

Our Headquarters’ location has a100 MB Comcast EDI Internet connection. Each fire station is connected to County Fire’s headquarters location in Los Gatos, California via a dedicated 50 Mb point-to-point Fiber connection. Your system will either reside as an on-premise install or SaaS (Software as a Service) using these connections.

Currently and for the foreseeable future, our accounts payable, general ledger accounts, and organizational-wide financial management is processed through SAP as part of the County of Santa Clara system.

Section 4: Objectives

County Fire seeks to automate the procurement process, with a fully integrated and

comprehensive purchase order software system. Specifically, in the areas of: purchasing, budget tracking, fixed asset management, and mobile applications. Our desired system will allow us to maintain our existing process of internal controls and workflow, while improving efficiencies and effectiveness, especially in the area of mobile applications. An integrated system that would allow us to electronically store all data, including scanned or uploaded attachments, is highly desirable. We require a system that will be flexible enough to grow with us and expand its capabilities as we change our internal processes. In addition to quality software, we seek a full-service vendor to work with us in seamless implementation, training of staff, and ongoing support.

Section 5: Deliverables & Expectations

5.1: General

In addition to the Objectives outlined in Section 4, we seek a software system that has a procurement process customizable to our workflow processes and requirements for internal controls; provides us with reports, notifications, and data management tools to improve

efficiencies; allows for flexibility with the use of mobile devices or remote access to the system; and ensures a high level of security and protection of all data.

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system, as well as provide ongoing customer support. The one-time and recurring costs, structure, and details of this process must be outlined in your proposal.

Any omission by County Fire of required functionality for the requested system is unintentional, and it is expected that the proposal, and ultimately the contracted system, would address this functionality.

5.2: Purchasing

County Fire seeks an automatic purchasing system that is extremely user friendly, customizable to our workflow and internal control requirements, and adaptable to future needs. The following is a list of many of our desired and/or required capabilities. While it identifies many of our top priorities, this is not an all-inclusive list.

SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS: Required Features:

• A dashboard/user interface that is highly user friendly, intuitive, streamlined, and easy to navigate.

• Ability to specify accounting periods for entries, and work within current year or prior years.

• Ability to establish multiple levels of approval or permissions, customizable to our internal control needs. (For example, an originator, an approver, restrictions on who can edit after approval, a requirement for a second approval if the record is edited, and additional approval requirements based on our internal criteria.)

• Ability to customize status notifications and alerts when purchase order is approved, denied, edited, or other actions are taken, as per our internal processing requirements. Also, the ability to change these parameters based upon future needs.

• Ability to identify originating person and the person(s) providing approval(s) on each purchase entry.

• Ability to override, edit, or void entries with appropriate levels of authority, customizable to our internal control needs.

• Ability to add notes/comments in each purchase entry/record.

• Ability to verify existence of key documents to support the voucher prior to submittal, and ability to attach documents to the entry/record.

• Error identification and deficiency notification: for duplicate entries, when close to or exceeding budget amount, posting in a prior or future budget year, and with incomplete or conflicting information (such as items received exceed items purchase.) The ability to require additional approval (an override) depending on the severity of the error or deficiency, as determined by our process of internal controls. At the same time having safeguards to prevent the use of invalid general ledger or other codes, and not allowing overrides in those areas.

• Ability to change individual fields of purchase order information without having to re-enter purchasing information. (With restrictions on who can edit and approvals required after edits are made, based on our internal controls requirements.)

• Provide an audit trail of all changes, with user comments noting the reason for the change.

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• Ability to note when an invoice has been partially paid, or when one warrant was used to pay multiple invoices, with warnings if transactions do not balance, the amount paid exceeds the amount of the purchase order, or other errors exist.

• Ability to track when an order has been partially received, damaged, returned, shipment was refused, or other such scenarios that would leave an original order incomplete. • Ability to flag and note a record when the amount is not as quoted, the item has changed,

or there are changes from the original order.

• Ability to keep the purchase order open or close it, and to deduct partial usage.

• System controls to identify and prevent duplication of purchase order numbers, invoice numbers, and duplicate entries.

• Ability to run reports of purchase orders that are still open.

• Ability to close out or void a purchase order if it will not be used, with an audit trail of the voided transactions and notation of the reason for the reason it was voided.

• Ability to open annual purchase orders, with annual spending limits, and track all expenditures associated with that purchase order.

• Ability to search for data based on purchase order number, vendor name, amount, date, or other fields to retrieve data.

• Support “wild card” searches on all data fields.

• Ability to view a complete audit trail from origination through payment and closure of purchase orders.

Highly Desirable Features:

• Ability to specify the general ledger account, cost code, site location, and related codes or categories we may designate in separate fields. (And the ability to sort by these individual fields in reports.)

• Customizable “drop down” menus or lists to select recurring vendors, GL accounts, cost codes, originator name.

• Ability to customize vendor list and allow for “one time” or “new” vendors. • Ability to have multiple “ship to” addresses on one requisition.

• Ability to track payments made on CAL Cards (corporate credit cards) rather than paid through the accounts payable system with a check, and the ability to identify the specific CAL Card holder and statement cycle.

• Ability to reconcile monthly CAL Card transactions by user, and ability to establish a specific statement cycle/time period, as well as the GL account and cost center charged for each purchase.

• Ability to require and track appropriate approvals for CAL Card charges.

• Ability to put purchase orders/entries on hold for a designated amount of time, with the ability to note the reason for the hold, and the ability to run reports on all entries on hold. • Ability to note when an invoice has been paid, and document the warrant number used

for payment. (Note: Payments are processed through the SAP system at the County of Santa Clara, as referenced earlier in this document.)

• Ability to track vendor performance, timeliness of delivery, returns and other purchase situations.

• Ability to track inventories by department or user-defined criteria, and to create notifications when supplies reach established minimum levels.

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external purchase order process for the combined internal orders. The “store” would identify and track the internal purchaser, and allow tracking of when the items were received.

• Ability to interface with a bar coding inventory program.

• Ability to track leased equipment and include the date equipment was leased, term of the lease, monthly and annual cost, service agreements, and information related to the lease. (Ability to attach external documents to the record for reference – Word, Excel, .pdf, .jpg, etc.) Tracking will include ability to generate alerts/notifications.

• Ability to automatically close out all annual purchase orders at the end of each fiscal year, and duplicate vendors/amounts for next fiscal year. Ability to edit these entries for adjustments in the next fiscal year.

• Ability to provide for the establishment of discount and payment terms for each vendor. • Ability to establish multiple sales tax rates, as determined by County Fire, based upon

current state, county, and local sales tax rates. Ability to adjust these rates as tax rates change.

• Ability to track recurring payments, whether fixed or variable, and their due dates. • Ability to create and submit requests for proposal to multiple vendors.

• Ability to automatically roll over chart of accounts, cost codes, vendor, and recurring data from one fiscal year to the next.

• Ability to support at least 15 simultaneous users to the system, and at least 75 users in total.

• Real-time interface, with the ability to restrict each record to edits or modifications by only one user at a time.

• Ability to modify and customize the system with changes to internal operations or according to future needs.

INTEGRATION: Required Features:

• Inclusion of documents (scanned, emailed, all formats – Word, Excel, pdf, images, etc.) attached to purchase entries or other financial records.

• Fixed assets tracking.

• Internal ordering to external purchasing. • Budget tracking.

• Fiscal year comparisons.

• Ability to maintain at least 5 yearsof data for both budgetary and actual financial data. This information must be available for both queries for specific data and generating reports.

• Ability to accept invoices through Internet purchases/imports, or other purchasing software.

• Ability to electronically transmit purchase orders to vendors, as needed.

• Ability to upload spreadsheets or product information from supplier catalogs or online purchasing software.

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WORKFLOW: Required Features:

• A workflow process that is customizable to allow for various levels of data entry, approval, review, edits/changes, workflow movement, coding, management,

organizational hierarchy, and report generation. (Including the ability of accounts payable users to re-route records when additional information is required.)

• Work queues with user notification of new entries, entries requiring action, and status information, and the ability to customize these queues.

• Ability to electronically route records into user queues.

• Ability to electronically “approve” or “deny” purchase orders, and note reasons for denial. Where a correctable deficiency is noted, ability to “approve” the purchase order and continue it forward in the process once the deficiency has been corrected.

• The ability to view queues, and send things from one queue to another as necessary. • Authorization levels that can be customized to meet our current and future internal

controls and operational needs.

• Clear status of every purchase entry/record.

• Ability to batch records for routing.

CONTROLS: Required Features:

• Customizable levels of data entry, edits, deletions, workflow approvals, and security. • The system must include provisions to allow multiple invoice processing on a single

purchase order, without the potential for overpayment.

• Ability to store and retrieve data for at least 5 full fiscal years.

REPORTS:

Required Features:

• Ability to run a report of all open and/or closed purchase orders.

• Ability to run reports based on searched criteria such as: vendor number, general ledger account, originator name, approver name, dollar amounts, or other criteria.

• Ability to run exception reports, where there has been an override of an error, an edit to an approved purchase order, or in other scenarios designed by County Fire.

• Budget reports (by originator name, program, or other criteria). • Workflow reports (pending, timeframes, etc.)

• Data should be downloadable into Excel. • Ability to run a report on all new vendors. • Ability to run reports on purchase order aging.

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5.3: Budget Management Highly Desirable Features:

• Ability to establish spending controls related to expenditures at user-defined levels and categories.

• Ability to track budgets at multiple levels, including budget versus actual spending. • Ability to adjust budget categories, including the transfer of funds between budget lines,

with an audit trail and comments to note reason for changes. System should also track original budget, amended budget, and actual expenditures for each fiscal year.

• Ability to check for unauthorized charges against budget line items on a timely basis. • Ability to generate warnings and require additional levels of approval when spending is

close to or exceeds budget categories, in a manner that is customizable to meet our internal control requirements.

• Ability to run “what if” scenarios using actual budget data or adjusted budget data to compare actual expenditure data or adjusted expenditure data in any combination, as well as run projections.

• Ability to create and track individual project budgets.

5.4: Fixed Assets

• Interface with purchasing system, and other modules of the integrated procurement system, to avoid duplicate data entry. (Data should electronically populate from purchasing system.)

• Ability to automatically flag fixed assets at the time the general ledger account is posted in the record, and assign a user-defined fixed asset and asset tag number.

• Prevention of duplicate fixed asset numbering. • Ability to interface with bar coding asset tags.

• Ability to track fixed assets from date placed in service through designated useful life, with annual updating for depreciation, current value, replacement value, and salvage value. (These fields must be customizable to meet GASB requirements, both now and with future changes.)

• Ability to generate depreciation and capitalization calculations.

• Ability to categorize fixed assets into commodity or other groups, and assign an asset life span, as defined by County Fire.

• Ability to identify the location of each asset, the age, current condition, and projected replacement date.

• Ability to maintain detailed property records, including acquisition data, supplier information, make, model, serial number, identification codes, insurance, and final disposition data (including transfer of assets.) Ability to add additional record fields, based on our internal requirements.

• Ability to track asset maintenance, warranty, and insurance information. • Ability to scan documentation and maintain it as an attachment to records.

• Ability to run reports based on search criteria – fixed asset category, aging, amount, replacement date, or categories defined by County Fire.

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5.5: Mobile Applications Required Features:

County Fire seeks a purchase ordering system that is mobile and works on all Apple products – iPhones, iPads, and laptops. The user interface should be intuitive, user friendly, and streamlined for ease of use, while still maintaining appropriate security through password protection and encryption.

Section 6: RFP Submission Requirement Details

6.1: Questions and Clarifications Regarding this RFP

Questions and clarifications regarding this RFP may be made, in writing, as follows:

Direct all questions to: Jill Hitchman at: [email protected]

Questions will be accepted until: April 5th, 2016, at 5 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Oral communication of any kind during this process is not permitted; telephone inquiries related to this RFP will not be accepted or returned. Questions will not be accepted or answered if not submitted in the proper format, or if submitted after the established deadline.

All questions must include the name of the proposer, the contact person, the appropriate email address for a response, and a succinct description of the requested information.

County Fire reserves the right to respond to questions, or not, as it deems appropriate. If a response is generated that clarifies or expands this RFP in any way, or is information not

specifically included in this RFP, the question and answer will be made available for all potential proposers to review on the www.sccfd.org website, using the following link:

http://www.sccfd.org/about-sccfd/request-for-proposals.

All proposed questions and responses will become an addendum to the RFP and become part of the RFP as fully set out therein. It is the proposer’s responsibility to periodically check the County Fire website until the established deadline (listed above), to obtain any issued addenda. County Fire will not respond directly to a proposer regarding this RFP.

County Fire has to right to modify and make any clarifications to this RFP at any time, and will post such modifications and/or clarifications on our website at: www.sccfd.org. Potential proposers are responsible for periodically checking the website for any additional information.

6.2: Legal Requirements and Notifications

Except as noted in this Request for Proposal #RFP-2016-004, there will be no communication of any type regarding this RFP, between a prospective proposer, or anyone affiliated with the prospective proposer, and any employee of County Fire, or any person in a position to influence the decision, until a contract award is announced. (Exceptions include the ability to ask

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demonstrates, according to the parameters outlined in this RFP.) Any communication by a proposer in violation of these terms shall be considered grounds for automatic and immediate disqualification of the proposer.

See Appendix A for additional legal disclosures and information.

6.3: RFP Response Contents and Format

Proposals must include the following information:

6.3.1: Cover Letter

Provide a Cover Letter on company letterhead, signed by a duly authorized officer, employee, or agent of Proposer. The Cover Letter shall include the following information:

• A statement that the proposal is submitted as a response to this RFP.

• An introduction of your Proposer’s organization, including: legal name, address, and telephone number, and type of organization (sole proprietor, partnership, LLC, or corporation).

• Indicate which individual(s), by name, title, address, and telephone number, are authorized to negotiate and execute an Agreement with County Fire on behalf of your organization.

6.3.2: Executive Summary

Provide a concise summary of your proposal. Include a brief discussion of your

qualifications, knowledge, or capabilities that make you best suited to meet the objectives outlined in this RFP.

6.3.3: Company Background

Provide additional information on your company’s background, including, but not limited to: year formed, industries served, geographical location(s), number of employees, and company mission statement. Be sure to include information regarding work performed with the public sector, past and present.

6.3.4: Proposed Software (Including Third Party Applications)

Provide a comprehensive explanation of your proposed software, and any third party applications.

6.3.5: System Requirements (Including Limitations on Number of Users)

Provide system requirements, for on premise and SaaS systems. If the system is on premise, do you have a virtual appliance? Does your system work on VMware? What hardware or IT interfaces are required with your software system? Also explain any limitations, including the number of users.

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6.3.6: Cost Proposal (One Time and Recurring)

Provide a comprehensive explanation of all one-time and recurring costs, and clearly define what level of system capabilities, training, service, and support, is provided with each financial option. Clearly outline any enhancements or upgrades that would increase the financial cost, and provide detailed explanations of those costs. (Note: While price is a consideration, it is not the primary consideration, and transparency will be highly weighted in the rating of proposals.)

6.3.7: Implementation Services (Including Training)

Describe, in detail, the process of seamless implementation, including the training that will be provided to our staff. Be sure to describe the time and knowledge requirements of County Fire employees as an integrated part of the implementation process. Provide a realistic timeframe for implementation.

6.3.8: Support

Describe, in detail, the level of system support and training that will be available during implementation and on an ongoing basis. Include specific information on who will be permitted to make system changes, and at what level; how questions and/or concerns regarding the existing system will be addressed; and how and when upgrades to the software might occur. Paint a picture of how and when County Fire will interact with your organization. Ensure that all costs for this service have been outlined in Section 6.3.6.

6.3.9: Questionnaire

Appendix A contains a Questionnaire that is a requirement of your submission packet. Please provide detailed answers; we want to fully understand how your product and your organization will perform in relation to our organizational needs and technological environment.

6.3.10: References

Provide a list of at least five references. Include: name, address, telephone number, email address(es), and type of industry. It is highly desirable to list references that would allow a site visit should your proposal rate high in our review process.

6.3.11: Sample Documents

Provide us with sample documents, such as: license agreement; implementation

agreement; service agreement; training manual; dash board views; print-outs of how our documents will look; and sample reports. This section is not mandatory, but will be helpful as part of our review process.

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6.4: RFP Submission Instructions and Deadline

Proposers must submit seven (7) hard copies of proposal, and one electronic copy in a .pdf or Word format and on a USB drive, to the following address:

Santa Clara County Fire Department RFP Submission/RFP-2016-004 14700 Winchester Blvd

Lost Gatos, CA 95032

Submission Due Date: April 22nd, 2016, at 5 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Submissions must be received, at the mailing address listed above, by the stated deadline, regardless of postmark date, delivery method, or any delay in delivery. Proposals received after the submission date will not be opened or given consideration. County Fire is not responsible for any lost or delayed mail.

Section 7: Timeline

RFP Phase Due by 5:00 p.m. (PST)

Request for Proposals Posted March 9th_{, 2016}

Deadline for Submitting Questions April 5th_{, 2016}

Response to Questions April 12th, 2016

Deadline to Submit Request For Proposals April 22nd, 2016

Evaluation/Ranking of Proposals Completed May 20th, 2016

Finalist Interviews, Site Visits, Beta Testing (tentative) TBD

Final Vendor Selection/Draft Contract (tentative) TBD

Begin Implementation (tentative) TBD

Section 8: RFP Evaluation Criteria

While cost is definitely a consideration, this is not a low-bid RFP. Cost will be evaluated as a component of overall value, based upon how closely the proposed product and service match our specific needs. We seek a quality product and a quality organization to work with us in this endeavor, to meet both current and future needs.

Systems that are not compliant with the Apple platform (Mac OSX, and iPhone and iPad iOS,) or that require significant patches or work-arounds to be usable in an Apple environment, will not be considered for this RFP.

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Appendix A: Questionnaire

1. How does your system integrate with the Apple platform (Mac OSX, and iPhone and iPad iOS)? Please describe in detail. Is your system installed on premise or SaaS? 2. Describe the level of customization that we will be able to do internally, and which

changes will require the assistance of your organization. For example: adding personnel, changing levels of authority, changing the workflow process, establishing notifications, and adding modules. When your assistance is required, please describe this process and accurately estimate the timeframe in which changes would occur.

3. Describe your system security features.

4. Can you provide us with a full-functioning demo of your software for 60 days?

Appendix B: Legal Disclosures and Information

A. Notice to Respondents

This RFP and the selection process shall in no way be deemed to create a binding contract or agreement of any kind between County Fire and any Respondent submitting a proposal; nor shall any information herein be construed as a representation or warranty on behalf of County Fire or as a statement on which the Respondent may justifiably rely in executing a contract. All legal rights and obligations between the Apparent Successful Respondent and County Fire will come into existence if and only if a contract is approved and the same is fully executed by the parties. The legal rights and obligations of each party shall at that time be only those rights and

obligations which are set forth in such fully executed agreement.

Each Respondent submitting a response to this RFP agrees that the preparation of all materials for submittal to County Fire are at the Respondent’s sole cost and expense and County Fire shall not, under any circumstances, be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by a Respondent in that regard. In addition, each Respondent agrees that all documentation and materials

submitted with a response shall become and remain the sole and exclusive property of County Fire and as such County Fire shall have the right to produce those documents and materials pursuant to a California Public Records Request.

County Fire is a public agency subject to the disclosure requirements of the California Public Records Act (“CPRA”). If trade secret or proprietary information is contained in documents or other information submitted by a Respondent in response to this RFP, and Respondent expressly claims that such information falls within one or more CPRA exemptions, Respondent must clearly mark each page containing such information “CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY” and identify the specific lines containing the confidential information on each document before submitting the information to County Fire. In the event of a CPRA request for such information, County Fire will make reasonable efforts to provide notice to the Respondent prior to such disclosure. If Respondent contends that any documents or information contained therein are exempt from the CPRA and wishes to prevent disclosure, Respondent is required at

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other appropriate remedy from a court of law in Santa Clara County and provide County Fire proper legal notice of same at least two (2) days before the County Fire deadline to respond to the CPRA request. If Respondent fails to obtain such a remedy before County Fire responds to the CPRA request, County Fire, may at County Fire’s sole discretion, disclose the requested information and County Fire shall not be liable or responsible for such disclosure to Respondent or to anyone else. Respondent represents, warrants and agrees that it shall defend, indemnify and hold County Fire harmless for, from and against any and all claims, allegations, costs, expenses, damages, losses, injuries, litigation costs and attorneys’ fees that may or do result from denial by County Fire of a CPRA request for any information provided by Respondent or any of its

representatives, employees, affiliates, contractors, consultants, agents or assigns, or the failure to release any information as a result of or arising out of any representation, action or inaction by Respondent or Respondent’s contractors, consultants, affiliates, assigns, employees, agents or representatives.

In addition, County Fire may require any Respondent, at County Fire’s sole option, to execute an indemnity agreement in favor of County Fire, in a form acceptable to County Fire in its sole and absolute discretion, in which Respondent shall execute said agreement before County Fire responds to a CPRA request. If Respondent fails to sign such indemnity agreement, then County Fire is under no obligation to not disclose Respondent’s information in response to a CPRA request and shall not be liable to Respondent or any third parties for such disclosures

County Fire reserves the right to accept or reject any or all RFP responses, to modify the terms of the RFP (including the bid process), to negotiate with one or more RPF Respondents and/or to issue a new RFP at any time.

B. Protest Process

County Fire will notify Respondents by email, fax or mail of County Fire’s proposed selection or short list results (“Respondent Notice”). Respondents whose proposals were not selected, or shortlisted as the case may be, may file a written protest (“Protesters”) within five (5) business days from the date stated on the Respondent Notice. Failure to file a written protest within this time constitutes a waiver of any and all rights to challenge the decision of County Fire, whether by administrative, judicial or any other legal process or proceeding.

1. Filing a Protest. The protest of a selection or shortlist result must be in writing. The following must be written on the cover of the protest: “Protest Relating to RFP-2016-004.” The written protest must be e-mailed, faxed or mailed to the County Fire’s Point of Contact and received by County Fire’s Point of Contact no later than five (5) business days from the dated stated on the Respondent Notice (the “Protest Deadline Date”). Postmarks will not be considered as evidence of meeting the Protest Deadline Date.

2. Contents of Protest. The written protest must contain the following information: (1) the name, street address, electronic mail address, telephone and facsimile number of the Protester; (2) signature of the Protestor or its authorized representative; (3) clear grounds for the protest; (4) copies of any relevant documents; and (5) the form of relief requested. The written protest must clearly state the grounds for the protest. Protests should be concise and logically arranged. Protests may not be more than two pages in length.

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3. Grounds for Protest. Protests shall be based only on one or more of the following grounds: a. The Protester has a reasonable basis to believe, supported by evidence that County Fire

failed to substantially and materially follow the RFP’s procedures and adhere to requirements set forth in the RFP or any addendum thereto which, as a consequence, materially impacted the selection results.

b. The Protestor has a reasonable basis to believe, supported by evidence, that there was substantial and material misconduct or impropriety by County officials or evaluation team members, which, as a consequence, materially impacted the selection results. c. The Protester has a reasonable basis to believe, supported by evidence, that there was a

substantial and material abuse of process or abuse of discretion by County officials or evaluation team members which, as a consequence, materially impacted the selection results.

d. The Protester has a reasonable basis to believe, supported by evidence, that the selected bid was not the highest bid.

i. Following County Fire’s receipt of a timely and valid protest, County Fire’s Fire

Chief (“Fire Chief”) or designee will conduct an informal hearing no later than ten (10) business days after County Fire’s receipt of the protest. Before initiating the informal hearing process, the Fire Chief or designee shall evaluate the written protest to determine whether the Protestor has complied with all filing requirements, including determining whether the Protestor met the Protest Deadline Date. A failure to comply with the filing procedures and requirements shall be grounds for immediate denial of the protest without consideration of the merits and without a right of protest If the Fire Chief participated in the RFP evaluation process, an alternative County Fire employee will be selected and designated to conduct the informal hearing. At the informal hearing, the Protester will be given the opportunity by the Fire Chief or designee to present (either in writing or in person) their protest of the evaluation results. Within five (5) business days after the conclusion of the informal hearing (which at the Fire Chief’s election may be in person or in writing), the Fire Chief will render his decision in writing and, if applicable, provide Protestor with information on how to protest the informal hearing results, which will include the name and address of the Independent Reviewing Officer (“IRO”) from a different department or agency who will handle the protest.

ii. If the Protester disputes the outcome of the informal hearing, the Protester shall have five (5) business days to file Protestor’s written protest of the informal hearing results to the IRO. At the Fire Chief’s option, a protest may also be forwarded to the IRO if the Fire Chief determines that an informal resolution cannot be achieved. The IRO will be provided with all documents submitted by the Protester related to the RFP that were previously submitted to the Director during the informal hearing process. The Fire Chief or designee may also forward additional documents if it is believed such documents may be relevant to the review of the protest.

iii. The IRO will conduct an independent review of the protest to determine whether

the grounds for the protest have merit, including whether the Protestor has met all procedural requirements. A failure of the Protestor to meet and comply with all

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procedural requirements for a protest shall be grounds for immediate denial of the protest without consideration of the merits. The IRO has the authority to request any additional information from the Protester or from the Fire Chief (or designee) to clarify or confirm information submitted in a timely written protest to assist with the IRO’s review of the protest. All submissions from the Protestor shall be in writing and labeled “Protest of Informal Hearing Relating to RFP-2016-004.”

iv. The IRO will issue a written decision on a timely submitted protest within ten (10)

business days of receiving the protest. The IRO reserves the right to extend the response time. The IRO will render a final resolution in writing and send it by e-mail (if provided by the appellant) or by e-mail. THE DECISION OF THE IRO SHALL BE FINAL WITH NO ADDITIONAL RIGHT OF PROTEST OR APPEAL.

v. Remedies. If the Fire Chief or the IRO sustains a protest in whole or in part, they

shall determine the remedial actions. If the protest is rejected, the proposed agreement with the successful Respondent shall, where appropriate, be presented to the Board of Directors of County Fire for approval, along with a brief description of the RFP process, the protests if any and the protest decisions, if applicable.

C. No Binding Agreement

This RFP and the selection process shall in no way be deemed to create a binding contract or agreement of any kind between County Fire and any Respondent even if selected, nor shall any information herein be construed as a representation or warranty by or on behalf of County Fire or as a statement on which the Respondent may justifiably rely in executing a contract. All legal rights and obligations between the successful Respondent and County Fire will come into existence if and only if a resulting contract is approved by County Fire, where necessary, and the same is fully executed by the parties. The legal rights and obligations of each party shall at that time be only those rights and obligations which are set forth in the applicable fully executed purchase and sale agreement.

D. No Commitment

This RFP does not commit County Fire to award, nor does it commit County Fire to pay any cost incurred in the submission of any bid or response, or in making necessary studies or designs for the preparation thereof, nor procure or contract for services or supplies. Further, no reimbursable cost may be incurred in anticipation of an award of a purchase and sale agreement.

E. No Liability

Neither Respondent nor any of Respondent’s representatives shall have any claims whatsoever against County Fire or any of its respective officials, agents, or employees arising out of or relating to this RFP, a submission, a protest, a bid or response, County Fire’s selection of a Respondent and award or these RFP procedures, terms or conditions, except as otherwise expressly authorized by applicable California law.

(18)

F. Use of Electronic Versions of the RFP

This RFP is being made available by electronic means. If a potential Respondent receives the RFP by such means, then the potential Respondent acknowledges and accepts full responsibility to insure that no changes are made to the RFP. In the event of conflict between a version of the RFP in the potential Respondent’s possession and the version maintained by County Fire, the version maintained by County Fire shall govern and control.

K. Prohibition of Gifts

County Fire officials are subject to several legal and policy limitations regarding receipt of gifts from persons, firms or corporations either engaged in business with County Fire or proposing to do business with County Fire. The offering of any gift may be grounds for disqualification. To avoid even the appearance of impropriety, Respondents submitting a proposal shall not offer any gifts or souvenirs, even of minimal value, to County Fire officers, employees or advisors.

L. Miscellaneous Terms

i. Form of Proposal. No oral, telephone, facsimile, or electronic responses will be accepted;

ii. County Fire Rights. County Fire may, at its sole discretion, do any or all of the following:

a. Reject any or all bids or responses, without indicating any reason for such rejection;

b. Waive or correct any minor or inadvertent defect, irregularity or technical error in any response or bid or the RFP or its process, or as part of any subsequent

agreement negotiation;

c. Request that Respondents supplement or modify all or certain aspects of their bids or responses or other documents or materials submitted;

d. Terminate the RFP at any time (even after Respondent Notice has been issued), and at its option, issue a new RFP or not;

e. Extend a deadline or modify a schedule specified in this RFP, including any of the RFP deadline submission dates;

f. Modify in the final purchase and sale agreement any terms and/or conditions described in this RFP and amend an executed purchase and sale agreement at County Fire Board of Directors discretion;

g. Terminate failed negotiations without liability, and negotiate with other Respondents;

h. Negotiate with any or none of the Respondents;

i. Disqualify any Respondent on the basis of a real or apparent conflict of interest, or evidence of collusion that is disclosed by the response or bid or other data available to County Fire;

j. Eliminate, reject or disqualify a Respondent who is not a responsible Respondent or fails to submit a responsive proposal as determined solely by County Fire; and, k. County Fire may, at its sole election and without liability or obligation, terminate

Request for Proposal

Santa Clara County Fire Department