Agenda - Council Work Session - 10/11/2016

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• Cities are not required to follow the competitive bidding process when contracting for professional services such as those provided by doctors, engineers, lawyers, architects, accountants, as well as other services requiring technical, scientific or professional training The city retains outside professional services in the area of: • Legal • Planning • Auditing • Assessing • Engineering • Banking • Towing Those contracts for professional services which are included in the City's General Fund Budget will be approved annually with formal adoption of the City's Budget. 4.5 Request for Proposals (RFP) • RFP's will generally be used to solicit proposals for professional services. • An RFP will automatically be solicited for those services that exceed a City cost of $15,000 or have a value to the solicitor in excess of $15,000 (ex: towing contract). • An RFP will be solicited every three years (for standard city services such services as legal and towing) to five years (for banking and auditing). ( l wccifically extended by City Council. City Council may, at its discretion, formally extend a current standard services contract upon the recommendation of city staff. • Authorization by City Council will be given to staff to issue a RFP. • All RFP's will be advertised in the city's official newspaper and on the city's official website. • City Council must formally approve the proposal. • Typical information to address in RFP's includes: o Background and scope of the project. o The project's budget to ensure that the proposals stay within that range. o Proposal requirements should include adequate information to allow for proper review and evaluation including: • Description of firm and qualifications, including any specialized experience related to the project. • A list of similar projects the firm has completed. • Project timetables including: estimate of hours, breakdown of hours by phase, and the city's expectation for a completion date. • Designation of a firm principal who will be in charge of the project. • Statement that either no subcontractors are allowed or that all subcontractors will be identified and are subject to the city's approval. • Estimate of cost to provide the service, outline of fee schedule and payment schedule. • Description of city's selection process. • City's evaluation criteria which typically may include: • Quality and thoroughness of the proposal. • Similar past experience and/or expertise. • References. • Cost estimate 4