REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FINANCIAL SERVICES ADVISOR

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FINANCIAL SERVICES ADVISOR The Tehachapi Unified School District is seeking the services of a responsible financial services firm to provide assistance in the development and potential issuance of a General Obligation Bond Issue and other School District Debt Instruments along with Continuing Disclosure Reporting, for both new construction and modernization projects that may arise for a period of three years beginning July 1, 2015 through June 30, If your firm is interested in being considered for this project by the Tehachapi Unified School District, please submit your completed Statement of Qualifications in electronic form Microsoft Word or PDF format to: Nick Heinlein, Chief Administrator, Business Services Tehachapi Unified School District 300 S. Robinson Street Tehachapi, CA nheinlein@teh.k12.ca.us A completed Statement of Qualifications must be received no later than 1:00 p.m. on June 12, Submittals received after this time and date will not be accepted by the Tehachapi Unified School District. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Statement of Qualifications, to negotiate with any or all responsible firms, and to waive any informality in the process. The Tehachapi Unified School District is not responsible for any expenses related to the preparation or presentation of the Statement of Qualification, including travel costs. In order to manage information disseminated regarding this Request for Statement of Qualifications, firms interested in submitting Statement of Qualifications are directed not to make personal contact with members of the Governing Board or Administration with the exception of the individual listed above. Pursuant to Government Code Section 4526, the Tehachapi Unified School District is required to prohibit practices which might result in unlawful activity including, but not limited to, rebates, kickbacks, or other unlawful consideration. Employees of the Tehachapi Unified School District are prohibited from participating in the selection process when those employees have a relationship with a person or business entity seeking a contract within the Tehachapi Unified School District which would subject those employees to the prohibition of Government Code Section All firms are required to disclose any and all relationships with the Tehachapi Unified School District that would violate Government Code Section 1090 or the Conflict of Interest provisions set forth in Government Code and following. Due to inherent conflicts of interest, the firm selected as financial advisor will not be allowed to resign in order to serve as underwriter for the proposed transaction. Firms are prohibited from engaging in activities on behalf of the District that produce a direct or indirect financial gain for the firm, other than the agreed-upon compensation, without the District s informed consent. Joint proposals with other firms are not acceptable. The District reserves the right to select more than one financial advisor or to form a financial advisory team. Page 1 of 8

2 The attached documents outline the required submittal information as well as the selection criteria to be used by the Tehachapi Unified School District. If you have any questions, please contact Nick Heinlein, Chief Administrator, Business Services, or Page 2 of 8

3 ATTACHMENT A SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS The Statement of Qualifications shall respond to each item noted below, within the specific format described. Please limit response information to relative information only. 1. COVER LETTER/LETTER OF INTEREST Must include name of firm, address, telephone number, fax number, type of firm (i.e., corporation), California and/or SEC Registration Number and name of Principal to contact. Letter must be signed by representative of firm with authorization to bind firm by contract. 2. FIRM ORGANIZATION, CREDENTIALS, BACKGROUND Provide a brief history of the firm including the following information: o Number of years in business. o Senior member and length of association. o Location of office which will perform the work. o List of basic services provided by firm. o List of additional services provided by the firm under basic agreement. o List of completed school financing projects specifically involving Tax Revenue Anticipation Notes, Lease Purchase, General Obligation Bond Issues, Certificates of Participation, and Bond Anticipation Notes. o Total number of projects completed by your firm and dollar value of those projects. o Total number of projects of all kinds in progress in your office at this time and current dollar value. o The firm s fee structure. o The firm s agreements for finder s fees, fee splitting, payments to consultants, or other contractual arrangements of the firm that could present a real or perceived conflict of interest? If so, please explain. o The firm s familiarity with, and utilization of, the GFOA Best Practices. o The firm s affiliation or relationship with any broker/dealers? Please describe. o The firm s access to sources of current market information to assist in pricing of negotiated sales and information to assist the District in planning and executing competitive sales. 3. PROJECT TEAM AND EXPERIENCE o Identify the key team members and provide their qualifications (personnel identified are expected to be involved throughout the life of the project). o Given your current and planned workload, does your firm have the capacity to handle this project in an expedient manner? o Does the team have the financial advisory experience necessary to assist issuers with either competitive or negotiated sales? o Does the team have an understanding of the District s financial situation, including ideas on how the District should approach financing issues such as bond structures, credit rating strategies and investor marketing strategies? o Does the team have knowledge of local political, economic, legal or other issues that may affect the proposed financing? o Please describe the team s knowledge, experience and adherence to Continuing Disclosure requirements for issued bonds. o Please describe the team s experience with working with districts of our size and similar Assessed Valuation. Response should also include items from attached EXHIBIT I. 4. FINANCIAL RESOURCES o Provide credit references. o Provide the name of the firm s errors and omissions insurance carrier. o Provide amount of errors and omissions insurance carried by your firm. o Provide the name of the firm s liability insurance carrier. o Provide amount of liability insurance carried by your firm. Note: Under the terms of the engagement contract The Tehachapi Unified School District will be named as additional Insured under the firms insurance. The district must be provided 60 prior notice of any change in carrier of policy limits. The district must be provided verification of insurance coverage at least annually. Page 3 of 8

4 5. CLIENT SATISFACTION/REFERENCES o Has your firm ever been fired / replaced by another financial firm? If so, explain. o Has your firm ever been sued? o Has your firm ever been involved in litigation? If so, the general nature of the litigation, and what was the outcome of the case(s), if settled. o List your last four education clients for whom your firm has performed similar financial services (References must include: School District Name, Address. Contact Name, Phone Number, Project). Page 4 of 8

5 ATTACHMENT B ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF DISTRICT POLICIES/REGULATIONS Signature Date ENCLOSED BOARD POLICY/REGULATION: BP #7210 Facilities Financing BP #7212 Mello Roos Districts BP #7214 General Obligation Bonds AR #7214 General Obligation Bonds Page 5 of 8

6 ATTACHMENT C SELECTION PROCESS All Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) received by the specified deadline will be reviewed by the Tehachapi Unified School District for content, completeness, experience and qualifications. After those firms deemed the most qualified are selected, further evaluation and interviews of the selected firms may be conducted as part of the final selection process. The Tehachapi Unified School District may also contact references and client lists provided by the firms selected to be interviewed. The Tehachapi Unified School District reserves the right to complete the selection process without proceeding to an interview process and may choose to select a firm based on the information supplied in the Statement of Qualifications. The Tehachapi Unified School District reserves the right to select the Statement of Qualifications, which, in its sole judgment, best meets the needs of the Tehachapi Unified School District. SELECTION CRITERIA Firms submitting a Statement of Qualifications are advised that all proposals will be evaluated to determine the firm deemed most qualified to meet the needs of the District. The evaluation criteria will include, but not be limited to, the items listed below: A. Responsiveness to Request for Statement of Qualifications breadth and depth of response. B. Professional reputation of firm and personnel named in SOQ. C. Satisfaction of current/prior clients (References). D. Completeness and cost effectiveness of firm s work. E. Fees. Page 6 of 8

7 ATTACHMENT D SUMMARY OF UPCOMING PROJECTS PROJECTS The Tehachapi Unified School District has not identified a specific financing project that will comprise the scope of services for which the selected financial advising firm will provide services. The possible project(s) are as follows: Modernization of existing school sites Construction of possible new school buildings The District also reserves the right to extend the scope of services upon mutual agreement to include other projects of similar size and scope for projects not yet determined but that may arise over the course of the next 3 years. Page 7 of 8

8 EXHIBIT I 1. Number of financing projects of all kinds in progress by this office at this time: 2. These projects represent financings approximately in the amount of: $ 3. List the school financing projects, any level, in production, under construction or completed. Date* Project Location Cost Group Job Status *Actual or estimated date for the start of construction Cost Group I $100,000 to $500,000 Cost Group II $500,000 to $1,000,000 Cost Group III $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 Cost Group IV $5,000,000 and up Page 8 of 8