BOROUGH OF STROUDSBURG

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1 The Borough of Stroudsburg (hereafter Borough ) is soliciting proposals to establish a contract with one (1) qualified and experienced Financial Institution (hereafter Institution ) to handle the banking activities for Stroudsburg Borough. Through this contract, the Borough intends to minimize banking costs, improve operational efficiency within cash management, and maximize investment capabilities. This Request for Proposal (RFP) specifies all required qualifications, banking services required, cash management goals, estimated activity volumes on all accounts, method and terms of compensation, and submission instructions. Proposals will be considered from Institutions regularly licensed in the business of banking and financial services in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Institution shall demonstrate evidence of delivering experienced, reliable banking and financial services with professional staffing and personnel. You can also find The Request for Proposals (RFP) on the Borough of Stroudsburg website homepagewww.stroudsburgborough.com Proposal Submission: Qualified Financial Institutions are invited to submit a proposal nine (9) hard copies and one digital copy) meeting the requirements described herein which must be received no later than 2:00 p.m., Monday, October 31, The electronic file is to be sent to BBond@stroudsburgboro.com with the subject line of: Banking. Mail or deliver hard copy proposals in a sealed envelope to: Borough of Stroudsburg ATTN: Brian S. Bond 700 Sarah Street Stroudsburg, PA Failure to clearly label proposals may result in premature disclosure. It is the responsibility of the Bidder to ensure that proposals are received by the above deadline. Late proposals will not be considered. Questions: Direct all questions regarding this RFP to Interim Borough Manager Brian S. Bond via BBond@stroudsburgboro.com All questions and responses are public. The Borough will not accept questions after Friday, October 21, The Borough reserves the right to reject any and all proposals or accept a proposal in the Borough s best interests. Any institution submitting a proposal waives any claim and has no recourse against the Borough for any costs incurred in submitting such proposal. The Borough reserves the right to accept the proposal that it considers to be in its best interest. All materials submitted to the Borough in response to this RFP become the sole property of the Borough and may be used at its discretion unless the proposer identifies any trademarks or Intellectual property. Selection of the Institution is at the sole discretion of the Stroudsburg Borough Council. Thank you for your interest in working with The Borough of Stroudsburg. Brian S. Bond, Interim Borough Manager 1

2 The Borough of Stroudsburg is soliciting proposals from qualified and experienced Financial Institutions to provide banking, cash management and investment services. Institution must demonstrate the ability to perform the work described in the Scope of Services and have significant experience to perform the outlined work successfully. About the Borough of Stroudsburg: The Borough is a Local Municipal Governing body. The Borough has a population of Governed by a board of 7 Council members. Between checking, savings, money market, and investment accounts, the Borough operates 21 bank accounts. The Borough employs approximately 21 individuals at Three (3) facilities. Response mat: Responses should be concise and include the materials which are requested within this RFP. Generic marketing and promotional materials are neither required nor desired. Responding Institutions should concisely but completely describe the scope of services they feel are appropriate to Stroudsburg Borough. Scope of Service: The Institution selected will be required to provide the services described below. Any dollar amounts and activity volumes provided are estimates. Please see Table A below for estimated monthly activity volumes 1. Funds Deposited Cash and checks received by the Agency are deposited on a daily basis. Deposits may be delivered to the bank branch during business hours or placed in the night drop after hours or deposited remotely or scanned. Some grantor agencies prefer to deposit funds directly to the Borough Account(s). In these cases, the grantor agency has been given the bank account information that allows them to create the electronic transactions through the automatic clearinghouse. Bank-provided software and a scanner are used to create a deposit of checks and money orders which makes funds available by the end of the day. The deposit detail report is reviewed and the approval is submitted by the end of the day by either the Borough Manager or Executive Secretary. 2. Payments Issued Approximately 1000 checks are issued by the Borough monthly in the normal course of business from the three major disbursement accounts. Additionally, approximately 21 employee paychecks are directly deposited to their account monthly (payroll is processed bi-weekly) 2

3 3. Transfers Between Accounts On a weekly basis, funds from the depository accounts are transferred to the disbursement accounts in amounts necessary to cover the payments issued during the week. 4. Fraud Control The Borough currently uses previous day reporting and positive pay services to identify and prevent unauthorized charges from being made on Agency accounts. The treasury accountant works closely with bank representatives to investigate and resolve suspicious transactions. 5. Line of Credit The Borough requests access to an unsecured, revolving line of credit of $250, dollars. 6. Online Banking A robust suite of services is desired including but not limited to: Current day and previous day detail reporting Intra-bank transfers Wire transfer creation ACH Processing Remote deposit service Activity downloads Access to monthly statements Positive Pay services 7. Purchasing card Currently the Agency does not have a purchasing card. The borough is requesting two purchasing cards issued under the Agency s name for specific individuals, but does not require a personal guarantee. These cards are to be provided for the Executive Leadership staff. Please provide a discussion of available options of purchasing cards and any applicable linkage to the various accounts. 8. Bankcard Processing Currently we receive credit/debit card payments but we desire to receive information on the services you can offer in this area, where these services could best fit our operations, and the fees to be charged.. 3

4 Stroudsburg Borough Bank and Investment Accounts Overview: 1. Disbursement / General Accounts The Borough maintains three major checking accounts from which payments to vendors and employees are made. These accounts are designated for servicing Payroll, Accounts Payable, and Health Benefits. These accounts are zero-balance accounts working in conjunction with the Core Account. 2. Imprest Accounts A total of four accounts are designed for lesser volume activity and/or the payment of smaller amounts. These accounts issue checks, are generally funded monthly, and operate in a manner similar to petty cash funds. 3. Investment Accounts The Borough holds compensating assets against large liabilities and our self-funded health benefits plan. These funds are conservatively invested to provide safety, timely access, and income. Specifications: Responses to this RFP should cover the following components: 1. Background Company Name Contact Name and Title Home Office Address Address of the office to provide the services under the contract Contact s address Phone Fax Website 2. Structure and Experience General description of the financial institution Number of branches and size Number of employees Identify key staff and office location that if selected, will work on this account Number of years in existence Local and overall organizational structure Legal and other resources General services you are able to provide Percentage of business by product line 4

5 3. Municipal Government Expertise / Relevant Experience Descriptions / examples of previous experience that may be relevant to servicing the banking needs of Stroudsburg Borough. Provide a list of current clients with a similar Municipal Government structure. 4. Proposed Service Approach Describe your understanding of the Borough s desired services. Discuss your Institution s philosophy on the process of providing banking and investment services, including proposed techniques and methodology to be used for each task. Describe your Institution s technological capabilities and what resources are available as a result. Provide information on resources used for benchmarking. Describe available resources utilized to stay current with, and to forecast, industry trends. Describe any services or portion of services, which will be performed by another Institution, and provide relevant information on said Institution s qualifications and personnel. State any difficulties foreseen in performing the designated tasks. 5. Service Team Describe the proposed account team including name, job title, current responsibilities, and years of experience, number of years with your Institution, professional affiliations, and professional qualifications of the primary staff who will be assigned to the Borough. Provide resumes of these key individuals as an Appendix to this proposal. Include your approach to providing quality customer service and response times on services such as opening new bank accounts and changes to the authorized signers. 6. Value Added Services Describe the value added services you would bring if you were selected (e.g. online access, training, customer support, coin services, payroll services). Due to the significant government funding received by the Agency, please provide details on account structure and cash management options available that would provide insurance above and beyond that offered by FDIC and SIPC. Please list any normal courtesies or benefits that will be provided to the Agency and its employees (e.g. pricing discounts, free services). 7. Implementation Plan Supply an outline of an implementation plan including a timeline, key milestones, work streams, roles and responsibilities. 8. Commitment to Community Describe your institution s community participation/reinvestment program including your Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating, with special emphasis on its impact in the Borough. Please submit a copy of the most recent rating. Please provide details of past partnerships between your institution and the Borough. 5

6 9. Proposed Service Approach Describe your understanding of the Borough s desired services. Discuss your Institution s philosophy on the process of providing banking and investment services, including proposed techniques and methodology to be used for each task. Describe your Institution s technological capabilities and what resources are available as a result. Provide information on resources used for benchmarking. Describe available resources utilized to stay current with, and to forecast, industry trends. Describe any services or portion of services, which will be performed by another Institution, and provide relevant information on said Institution s qualifications and personnel. State any difficulties foreseen in performing the designated tasks. 10. Service Team Describe the proposed account team including name, job title, current responsibilities, and years of experience, number of years with your Institution, professional affiliations, and professional qualifications of the primary staff who will be assigned to the Borough. Provide resumes of these key individuals as an Appendix to this proposal. Include your approach to providing quality customer service and response times on services such as opening new bank accounts and changes to the authorized signers. 11. Value Added Services Describe the value added services you would bring if you were selected (e.g. online access, training, customer support, coin services, payroll services). Due to the significant government funding received by the Agency, please provide details on account structure and cash management options available that would provide insurance above and beyond that offered by FDIC and SIPC. Please list any normal courtesies or benefits that will be provided to the Agency and its employees (e.g. pricing discounts, free services). 12. Implementation Plan Supply an outline of an implementation plan including a timeline, key milestones, work streams, roles and responsibilities. 13. Commitment to Community Describe your institution s community participation/reinvestment program including your Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating, with special emphasis on its impact in the Borough. Please submit a copy of the most recent rating. Please provide details of past partnerships between your institution and the Borough. 14. Client References List three current Municipal Government clients who may be contacted as references. Please also include the number of years you have been working (or worked) with them. 6

7 15. Small, Women, Disabled Veteran, or Minority Owned Business and Diversity Efforts will be made to utilize small businesses, women, disabled veteran, and minority-owned businesses, with the consideration that the primary responsibility is the most favorable return to the Borough. If applicable, provide publically certified documentation or a self-certification statement that is subject to examination. If not applicable, please so state. Please provide details of any efforts towards diversity by your financial institution. 16. Conflict of Interest Provide a statement of conflicts your Institution; associate Institutions and/or key staff may have regarding these services. The statement should not only include actual conflicts, but also any working relationships that may be perceived by disinterested parties as a conflict. If no potential conflicts of interest are identified, state so within your proposal. 17. Proposed Fee Structure / Pricing Please include a copy of your Institution s fee schedule applicable to the services specific to this RFP. Identify whether costs are per transaction, monthly, etc. Please see Table A below for estimated monthly activity volumes If there are minimum fees, provide how it would be determined. Identify any expenses (including initial set up fees) required to fulfill these services which may not be covered in the standard fee schedule. All pricing must be typed or written in ink. No erasures or correction fluid is permitted. Pricing will be reviewed based on reasonableness for services being provided, competitive market rates, and fee structure. The Borough is not obligated to select the Institution with the lowest fee proposal to perform these professional services. Right to Reject The Borough reserves the right to reject any and all proposals received in response to this RFP. An accepted proposal will be based upon the factors described in this RFP. The Borough reserves the right to waive informalities or irregularities in bids. In case of deviation from enclosed specifications, the bidders shall indicate in writing the exception(s) from the specifications. If no exception(s) is noted, it is understood that the specification will be complied within detail as requested WITH NO EXCEPTION. Patent Indemnity The Bidder shall hold the Borough, its officers, agents, and employees, harmless from liabilities of any nature or kind on account of use of any copyrighted or un-copyrighted composition, secret process, patented or unpatented invention, article of appliance furnished or used under this RFP. 7

8 Selection Process All eligible proposals will be reviewed and rated for their qualifications, experience, price, and suitability to complete the Scope of Work for this RFP. A short list of Financial Institutions will be called for oral interviews the Borough, at its discretion, may request presentations or additional information from any or all Bidders to clarify or negotiate modifications to the Bidders proposals. However, the Borough reserves the right to make an award without further discussion of the proposals submitted. Therefore, proposals should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms, from both technical and price standpoints, which the Bidder can propose. All bids are subject to approval by the Stroudsburg Borough Council. Notice to selected bidder to proceed with scope of work is anticipated by December 31, Proposal evaluation shall be based solely on the information provided in the proposal submittal package. Be sure to include all relevant information and evidence of your Institution s record of performance and ability to perform the work. 8