REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) BID NUMBER: ISSUE DATE: Friday, March 16, 2018

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1 County of Georgetown, South Carolina 129 Screven Street, Suite 239 Georgetown, SC Post Office Box , Georgetown, SC (843) Fax (843) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) BID NUMBER: ISSUE DATE: Friday, March 16, 2018 OPENING DATE: Wednesday, April 11, 2018 OPENING TIME: 3:30 PM (NIST Eastern) Bid Opening Location: Georgetown County Historic Courthouse, Suite #239 (Purchasing) Pre-Bid Conference/Site Inspection: None PROCUREMENT FOR: Banking Services for Georgetown County Commodity Code(s): Subject to the conditions, provisions and the enclosed specifications, sealed bids will be received at the location and time stated herein and will be publicly opened and read. MAILING ADDRESS: STREET ADDRESS: County of Georgetown Georgetown County Historic Courthouse Post Office Drawer Screven Street, Suite 239 Georgetown SC Georgetown SC Attn: Purchasing Attn: Purchasing IMPORTANT OFFEROR NOTES: 1) Bid Number & Title must be shown on the OUTSIDE of the delivery package. 2) Federal Express does not guarantee delivery to Georgetown, SC before 4:30 PM Eastern Time on Primary Overnight Service. 3) United Parcel Service (UPS) does guarantee delivery to Georgetown, SC before 10:30 AM Eastern Time on Next Day Early AM Service. 4) You must register a contact name, company name, fax and/or with the Purchasing Office as below to ensure your name will be added to the contact list for future amendments and addenda. Purchasing Contacts: Nancy Silver Kyle Prufer Phone (843) (843) Fax: (843) (843) nsilver@gtcounty.org kprufer@gtcounty.org This solicitation does not commit Georgetown County to award a contract, to pay any cost incurred in the preparation of the bid, or to procure or contract for goods or services. It is the responsibility of each bidder to see that the Georgetown County Purchasing Office receives bids on, or before, the date and time specified for the bid opening. No bid will be accepted thereafter. The County assumes no responsibility for delivery of bids that are mailed. Georgetown County reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive any informalities and technicalities in the bid process. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 1 of 66

2 Intent to Respond Ref: RFP #17-042, Banking Services for Georgetown County If your company intends to respond to this solicitation, please complete and promptly return this form to assure that you can be included on the mailing list to receive all addenda regarding this project. It is not necessary to return any other portion of the bid documents if you are not bidding. Failure to return the Intent to Respond shall not be sufficient cause to rule a submittal as non-responsive; nor does the return of the form obligate an interested party to submit a response. Georgetown County s efforts to directly provide interested parties with addenda or additional information are provided as a courtesy only, and do not alleviate the respondent from their obligation to verify they have received and considered all addenda. All addenda are published and available on the county website at select Quick Links, Bid Opportunities and Current Bids. Our firm does intend on responding to this solicitation. Our firm does not intend on responding to this solicitation. Company Name: Address: Contact Person: Telephone: FAX: Reason if not responding: Please return this completed form to Nancy Silver, Senior Buyer by to purch@gtcounty.org or by FAX to (843) [End of Intent to Respond] RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 2 of 66

3 Time Line: Request for Proposal # Item Date Time Location Date of Issue: Friday, March 16, 2018 n/a n/a Pre-Bid Conference: n/a Inquiry Cut-Off Time: Wednesday, April 4, :30 PM ET Suite 239 Bids Must Be Received On/Before: Wednesday, April 11, :30 PM ET Suite 239 Public Bid Opening and Tabulation: Wednesday, April 11, :30 PM ET Suite 239 *All locations in the Old County Courthouse, 129 Screven Street, Georgetown, SC unless otherwise stated. RFP # Banking Services for Georgetown County 1. INTRODUCTION AND PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS: The County of Georgetown is seeking Request for Proposals (RFP) for banking services for Georgetown County to include depository services, armored truck pick-up services or equivalent, account reconciliation services, disbursements, wire transfers, automatic clearing house (ACH) services, information services, and consulting services. The County is seeking lockbox services as an optional Add/Alternate #1. The County currently holds a separate contract for municipal lease/purchase financing, therefore those items shall be excluded from this bid. 1.1 BACKGROUND a. The County s current banking services are with Wells Fargo Bank, lockbox services are with TD Bank, installments payments are with First Citizens Bank, and credit card processing and e-check payment services are currently through OPC. b. The County Treasurer and other elected officials, and the Director of Finance utilize banking services. c. Only the Treasurer and those she designates may engage in banking activities on behalf of the County, e.g., establish and close accounts, authorize the movement of funds, approve wire transfer/trading agents for the County. 1.2 OBJECTIVES While specific requirements are provided within the respective service sections of this document, the County s overall objectives for this RFP are to: a. Select a provider who offers efficient and effective service and product solutions that will support the County s current and future banking needs. b. Choose an institution that employs advanced technology in their own processes and who will help the County apply that technology to improve its business processes. c. Select a provider who offers superior customer service, timely implementation, support and responsive problem resolution. d. Select a provider who offers innovative products and services by continuously employing banking industry technology enhancements on this contract, while adhering to the highest compliance standards in safekeeping County assets. e. The resulting contract shall be for a period of one (1) calendar year, effective from date of contract award. The County reserves the right, at its sole option, to renew the contract RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 3 of 66

4 for four (4) additional consecutive terms, contingent upon satisfactory performance in the prior period, not to exceed a maximum term of five (5) years total. 1.3 The award will be made to the Offeror deemed to be the best qualified and best suited among those submitting proposals on the basis of the evaluation factors included in the RFP. Georgetown County may cancel the Request for Proposals or reject proposals at any time prior to an award, and is not required to furnish a statement of the reason why a particular proposal was not deemed to be the most advantageous. The award document will be a contract incorporating all the requirements, items and conditions of the solicitation. 1.4 Questions Any questions must be received in writing, which includes s, no later than the date and time specified in the Time Line table on page three (3) of this document. Questions that arise shall be submitted in writing to: Nancy Silver, Senior Buyer Post Office Box , Georgetown, SC Fax: (843) nsilver@gtcounty.org All correspondence and discussions with regards to this solicitation shall be made with Mrs. Silver. There should be no contact with other county employees, management, or officials unless authorized by Mrs. Silver during this proposal and evaluation phase. Offerors may be disqualified for violations. 1.5 PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS Proposal Format Proposals must be submitted in the format outlined in section 1.6 Proposal Content. No attachments or appendixes other than those requested are allowed. Offerors shall use the prescribed format to clearly indicate their experience and qualifications and describe their technical approach. Proposals will be evaluated in light of the material and substantiating evidence presented in the proposal, and not on the basis of what is inferred References and Proprietary Information Submission of a response grants permission to Georgetown County to make inquiries concerning the offeror and its officers to any persons or firms deemed appropriate by Georgetown County. Any proprietary information that the contractor does not want disclosed to the public shall be so identified on each page in which it is found. Data or information so identified will be used by Georgetown County solely for the purpose of evaluation and contract negotiations Proposal Instructions Offeror shall submit one (1) original, reproducible & unbound, hard copy proposal, and one (1) electronic copy on a USB flash drive, not to exceed 100 pages (may be fewer). Original shall be presented on 8 ½ x 11 paper, single-spaced, with a minimum 12-point font size. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 4 of 66

5 Expensive bindings, color display, promotional material, etc., are not necessary, nor desired. All parts, pages, figures, and tables should be numbered and labeled clearly. Proposal contents shall be arranged in the same order and identified with headings as presented below. Proposals should be prepared as simply as possible and provide a straightforward, concise description of the Offeror's capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the RFP. EMPHASIS SHOULD BE CONCENTRATED ON ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, AND CLARITY OF CONTENT. Each Offeror must provide the following information about their firm in order for the County to evaluate the Offeror's stability and ability to support the commitments of a contract resulting from this RFP. The County reserves the right to require additional documentation to support and/or clarify information provided PROPOSAL CONTENTS Executive Summary 1. List contact name, phone number, address, physical address, and mailing address (if different) for contact person for bid inquires/contract. 2. List name of firm, when organized; if a corporation, when and where incorporated; and any appropriate Federal, State, and County registration numbers. List any certifications/licenses/accreditations your firm holds. Firm should be willing and able to provide proof of all items upon request of the County. This summary should not exceed three (3) pages Past Performance 1. Discuss how long the firm has been in business, your firm s size and organization. Provide a brief description of the firm, including past history, present status, future plans, etc. 2. Include a summary of key personnel with resumes and listing of current & past projects/clients. 3. Offerors must provide a list of five (5) clients for whom the offeror has provided similar services for an environment comparable to the County within the past 5 years. Provide a brief description of each project. Municipal and County government references are a plus. Contact information should include at a minimum, the name of organization, contact name and position, address, and contact telephone number. 4. Disclose any history of defaults, contract terminations, and bankruptcies. 5. Provide an annual report or financial statement for your firm Methodology 1. Statement and discussion of the requirements as they are analyzed by the Offeror. 2. Offeror's proposed definitive Scope of Work with explanation of technical approaches and a detailed outline of the proposed program for executing the requirements of the technical scope and achieving project objectives. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 5 of 66

6 3. Preliminary layouts, sketches, diagrams, other graphic representations, calculations, and other data as may be necessary for presentation, substantiation, justification or understanding of the proposed approaches and program. 4. Offeror should demonstrate an awareness of difficulties in the completion of this undertaking, and a plan for surmounting them. Special attention should be given to methodological issues that will be encountered in such a project. 5. This section should include the Offeror s response to Section 2-Tasks to be Performed- General and the Offeror s response to Section 3-Tasks to be Performed-Management & Industry Standards. 6. Offeror shall include their responses to standard AFP Questionnaire (Appendix B) Technological Innovation & Supplemental Agreements 1. Offeror shall describe their commitment to and discussion of implementing Technological Innovation on products and services delivered to Georgetown County. 2. Provide copies of any supplemental agreements that need to be incorporated in this Agreement (e.g. direct deposit agreement, wire transfer agreement, etc.). These agreements are an integral part of the resulting contract and must be reviewed by the County Attorney. Changes will be negotiated prior to award of contract Customer Service & Problem Resolution 1. Offeror shall discuss their normal policies and procedures regarding customer service and problem resolution. Show examples of the exemplary customer service experience. Describe a few situations (minimum of three) where problems arose and explain what your firm did to resolve these issues. Explain past issues your firm has had in regards to implementation of a new client. Forecast any possible implementation or customer issues (minimum of three) you foresee with undertaking Georgetown County as a new client and how you would overcome those issues (i.e. remote location for deposits, size, obtaining necessary data, etc.) Price Proposal The proposal shall state cost of services in terms of compensating balance arrangement wherein the bank retains a stated balance in order to cover the cost of services for the period. The target balance determined would show the precise calculations, all variables, and individual prices as well as lump sum total for the period. The compensating balance amount will be reviewed at least monthly in order to adjust it to the actual cost of services. 1. Proposals must include 6 months of Earnings Credit Rate (ECR) history and the basis (including the published source for the underlying rate) for determining the rate. The basis for the rate used for the County must be readily verifiable by the County. The ECR and the collected balances shall be used to determine the earnings credit. The method of calculation shall not change during the term of the contract without the prior consent of the Georgetown County Treasurer. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 6 of 66

7 The method of calculation must be such that it can be duplicated with a personal computer spreadsheet program. In addition, the average collected aggregate balances must be verifiable to the daily balances reported by the contractor. Any discrepancies shall be fully explained and reconciled by the Offeror s bank officer. If any items remain unreconciled, the Offeror shall write off the amount(s) in question. Offeror to confirm if account analysis system is capable of incorporating non-bank vendor invoices within the monthly analysis charges. 2. NSF/Overdraft Compensation Offeror shall discuss in their proposal how they would handle any very rare overdraft on the part of the County. 3. Line of Credit Though the County does not anticipate needing a line of credit, the County may have a requirement for a line of credit at some point in time. The Offeror shall disclose the process your Bank has available to fund short-term cash needs, in excess of deposits, in the event of major catastrophic emergencies (e.g., hurricanes, earthquakes, other natural disaster). Offeror shall describe their preferred application process. 4. Price Proposal Worksheet MANDATORY Bid Submission Form In order to obtain a comparable cost analysis between vendors, all Offeror s must complete and submit the Price Proposal Worksheet as part of their proposal. For ease of use by the Offeror, this form is being attached as a separate Excel Worksheet. All boxes highlighted in yellow (column C) shall be completed by the Offeror. Total Price will automatically calculate based on the monthly volume listed. If there are any discrepancies such as with formulas, totals, etc., unit prices shall prevail. Offeror shall print & sign a copy of their completed Price Proposal Worksheet and attach to the compensation section of their hard copy original bid proposal. Offeror shall also include their Price Proposal Worksheet (in Excel format) as part of their electronic USB submittal. While unlikely, if discrepancies occur between the signed, printed Price Proposal Worksheet and the electronic Price Proposal Worksheet submitted, the signed original proposal shall prevail. 5. Additional Compensation If applicable, please submit any additional items that would be charged for the Base Bid services or Add/Alternate #1 services under this section. The County is also interested in obtaining compensation information for additional bank-related services provided by the Offeror such as but not limited to credit card processing and e-check/online payment processing services, e-payables, and procurement card programs. Offeror shall clearly label each additional compensation as Additional Base Bid Compensation, Additional Add/Alternate #1 Compensation or Compensation for Other Services Offered. The County may elect to add on additional services upon award or throughout the life of the Contract Required Forms RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 7 of 66

8 Submit all mandatory bid submission forms other than the Price Proposal Worksheet in this section as listed below: 1. Non-Collusion Oath 2. Resident Certification for Local Preference 3. Substitute for Form W-9 4. Mandatory Bid Submittal Form 5. Exceptions Page 1.7 EVALUATION Evaluation Process A technical evaluation panel will formally evaluate each response. The evaluation process will objectively grade the responses on their merit and responsiveness to the needs of Georgetown County. Responses will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria specified in paragraph Your proposal should be formatted so that it corresponds to the evaluation criteria specified in Paragraph The evaluation process may include verification of references, confirmation of financial information and may also include site visits or other information as directed by Georgetown County. Georgetown County may also choose to conduct formal interviews Grading Format The panel will reach a consensus total score. The maximum possible total score for the RFP response is 100 points Point Values: Total of 100 points available as discussed below The following Criteria, with their assigned relative weightings, will be considered in the award of this contract: Past Performance: Review of history of the firm, key personnel, 20 references, and annual report/financial statements. Methodology: Response to Sections 2 and 3 of the RFP and 20 response to Appendix B AFP Questions Technological Innovation & Supplemental Agreements: 20 Commitment to and discussion of implementing Technological Innovation on products and services delivered to the County. Also, review of Offeror s supplemental agreements. Customer Service and problem resolution 20 Price Proposal-ECR History, NSF/Overdraft Compensation, 20 Line of Credit, Price Proposal Worksheet, & any additional costs. TOTAL SCORE Contract Negotiations The County will begin negotiations with the responsive, responsible offeror receiving the highest overall evaluation score. Negotiations will consist of finalizing the project RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 8 of 66

9 methodology, timeline, and insuring the offeror's approach will meet our objectives. In the event negations are unsuccessful, the County will begin negotiations with the next responsive, responsible offeror receiving the next highest overall evaluation score, and so on until an acceptable contract is finalized Final Selection The offeror who is deemed by Georgetown County to provide the best overall program and provides the greatest value to the County will be selected for award. Georgetown County is not required to furnish a statement of the reason why a particular proposal was not deemed to be the most advantageous. 2. SCOPE OF SERVICES & SPECIFICATIONS-BASE BID TASKS TO BE PERFORMED - GENERAL: 2.1. Offerors must assure that none of the following actions will be taken unless authorized in writing by the County Treasurer: a. Open and close bank accounts b. Change authorized signatories c. Delegate funds transfer authority d. Establish or modify funds transfer instructions e. Execute agreements as provided for under the provisions of this contract Upon reasonable notice, Offeror will allow the County to visit processing sites to observe all or specific parts of processing for banking and related services acquired through this contract After award, Offeror shall provide product manuals/procedures and training for products and services offered under this contract Offeror shall provide a project manager with five or more years experience in banking to serve as the County s principal contact for all operational aspects of banking services. This individual must have sufficient authority to solve routine problems and command the resources necessary to address complex problems. The project manager will be expected to have at least monthly contact with the County to discuss ongoing issues and be on-site at least quarterly to review bank performance and provide information on new services or products of potential interest to the County Offeror shall demonstrate how response times to issues and/or problems will be addressed and monitored for each service Offeror shall describe its approach to assuring delivery of agreed upon service levels including fee credits, if any, for failing to achieve mutually agreed upon service levels Offerors shall describe any additional services over and above those specified in this RFP that they would provide to the County, and how those services would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the county s financial management program Offeror shall make available examples of all reports referred to in its proposal. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 9 of 66

10 2.9. Offeror shall describe any incentive programs available to County personnel to promote participation in County initiatives such as direct deposit of payroll and vendor enrollment in ACH payment acceptance DEPOSITORY SERVICES The County manages its cash on a pooled cash basis with several zero balance accounts (ZBA). Revenue collections are deposited to deposit accounts and then transferred to a concentration account. Proceeds from investment activity are transferred into the concentration account daily. The concentration account funds the County s disbursement accounts. County departments make deposits by various methods, including deposits at branches, and utilization of vault services. County departments utilize serially-encoded deposit tickets to identify their deposits for reconciliation purposes. The County maintains banking relationships with other financial institutions for Pay-at-Bank Tax payment services. The County collects funds in the form of check, currency, coin and credit card payments at numerous locations. These locations include but are not limited to: The County Courthouse Parks and Leisure Centers Four (4) Libraries Landfill The County collects large amounts of tax and other revenue at the County Courthouse. Other revenues are collected at sites across the county. Some County departments make night and/or weekend deposits Mandatory Requirements a. Offeror shall provide convenient deposit locations to all County agencies through a branch network or other secure means of collection, such as armored car services. b. Offeror shall list the number and locations of branches, cash vaults or affiliated banks in and around Georgetown County. c. Offeror shall provide daily armored courier services or other form of acceptable service to the Court House. In the future, there may be additional locations requiring service. d. Offeror to redeposit all checks once before classifying a check as Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF). e. Offeror shall provide notification of NSF check information to County agencies in electronic format. f. Offeror shall provide on-line information on returned checks. g. Offeror must accommodate night depository services and weekend deposits by County agencies as needed. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 10 of 66

11 h. Offeror must accept low-volume walk-in deposits at all branches that may occur on an infrequent basis. i. Offeror shall describe an efficient and effective approach to low-volume check deposits from multiple locations (e.g., remote deposit) and opportunities for other applications, such as ARC and POP. j. Offeror shall provide deposit tickets, secure deposit bags, coin wrappers and night depository bags for all deposits. k. Offeror shall provide official checks as needed from local branch locations. l. Offeror must provide a robust web-based service that enables the County to: 1. Monitor both ledger and available balances daily. 2. Access all previous and current day transaction detail and summary reporting. 3. Access real-time ACH and wire transaction detail. 4. Positive Pay 5. Cleared checks m. Offeror shall have the capacity to assure two authorized signatures for check processing on accounts designated by the County for Grant accounts. n. Offeror shall provide a monthly bank statement with a last day of the month cutoff for all accounts regardless of account activity, either by access to the Offeror s web-based service or by reporting in an electronic format. o. Offeror shall provide monthly bank statements, with images of cancelled checks, for accounts specified by the County. These statements shall be mailed to the attention of the parties listed on the signature cards. p. Offeror shall return verified deposit tickets or make available on-line to the County the business day following the date of the deposit. q. Offeror shall have merchant services operations for processing credit and debit card payments. r. Offeror shall accept and process ACH files (containing e-check data) from the County s electronic payments provider for the purpose of posting to the County s account Custodial Credit Risk - Deposits The County s deposits are exposed to custodial credit risk if they are not covered by depository insurance and the deposits are: a. Uncollateralized. b. Collateralized with securities held by the pledging financial institution, or c. Collateralized with securities held by the pledging financial institution s trust department or agent, but not in the County s name. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 11 of 66

12 The County requires that all deposits in excess of FDIC insurance limits at any given time be collateralized with securities allowed by state statutes for public funds with a market value of not less than 102% of the uninsured balance. The County further requires all collateral be held by the financial institution s trust department, or an agent of the financial institution or the County, in the County s name. The County would expect to approve the selection of any third party custodians of securities and releases of collateral. Offerors shall provide in their proposals procedures you will implement to eliminate or minimize potential custodial credit risk exposure on County deposits that are uninsured Custodial Credit Risk - Investments County investment securities are exposed to custodial credit risk if the securities are uninsured, are not registered in the name of the County, and are held by either: a. The counterparty. b. The counterparty s trust department or agent but not in the County s name. The County requires that all investments be held by the counterparty s trust department, or an agent of the counterparty or the County, in the County s name. Offerors shall provide in their proposals procedures you will implement to reduce or eliminate the potential custodial credit risk exposure on County investments Investment of Excess County Funds The County is exploring the possibility of making deposits with a bank that is a member of the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS) special network. Through CDARS the County can access FDIC coverage for our deposits and investments from many banks, while working with just one. In your proposals, offerors shall discuss the feasibility of participating in the CDARS network under this contract CASH DEPOSITS The County receives quantities of coins from several programs such as Parks and Leisure facilities and libraries Mandatory Requirements a. Offeror shall provide currency for change at branch offices as needed. b. During peak tax collection periods, Offeror shall make larger quantities of change available at a branch convenient to the Historic County Courthouse located at 129 Screven St., Georgetown, SC Peak dates are December 31 March 16. c. Offeror shall describe an efficient and effective approach for collection sorting and depositing coins from the various locations in a manner such that the County receives same-day availability ACCOUNT RECONCILIATION RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 12 of 66

13 Current Practices and Structure The County utilizes both full and partial deposit and disbursement account reconciliation services. The County electronically transmits files to the bank with information on all checks issued. The file consists of the account number, payee name, check number, check amount, and issue date. Pre-encoded deposit tickets are utilized by the County for all deposit accounts to facilitate reconciliation. A unique eight-digit number, defined by the County, appears on each deposit slip for certain accounts designated by the County. The first four digits are agency identifiers and remain the same on each deposit ticket. The last four digits identify the deposit number and are sequentially numbered. The entire eight-digit number associated with each deposit is shown on the deposit detail report Mandatory Requirements a. Offeror shall provide full reconciliation services for disbursement accounts, including tax account. Within five business days of receipt of the input file or at month-end for accounts without input file transmissions. Offeror shall provide the following : 1. File transmission of paid checks for all accounts. 2. For full reconciliation accounts, a report listing all checks in ascending check serial number sequence reflecting the amounts and status as follows: a. Checks issued by the County b. Paid c. Outstanding d. Voided e. Stopped Payment f. Paid No notice of issue received from the County g. Missing check number 3. A monthly electronic file transmission showing debit/credit transactions in collection accounts for the prior month. 4. The Offeror will not run the reconciliation before receiving the check-issue file. 5. Files that are electronically transmitted between the Offeror and the County (sent or received) must be transmitted using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and PGP encryption. The County and the Offeror will provide the required I.P. addresses, user id s, passwords, file layouts and destinations for all electronically transmitted files. b. Offeror shall provide electronic copies of all debit and credit memos for all adjusting entries to the account(s). Backup must include the deposit ticket number. Copies must be sent to the County via no later than the business day following the account activity. c. Offeror shall provide an online deposit detail report of all deposits, by account. The report will reflect: 1. Agency location RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 13 of 66

14 2.13. DISBURSEMENT 2. Deposit ticket number (unique eight-digit number specified by County) 3. Date 4. Amount This report should be available via secure web-based product. d. For certain depository accounts, Offeror shall transmit an electronic file identifying the account by number, reporting for each deposit the serial number (assigned by the County) the dollar amounts and date of each deposit. This file will be transmitted monthly by the 5 th business day after close of the month. e. Offeror shall provide partial reconciliation services for accounts as specified by the County. Current Practices and Structure The County uses secure check stock, digitized signatures and a laser-check printing system for the issuance of checks. - General Disbursing Account: County vendor check payments - County Payroll Account: bi-weekly County payroll for all employees Mandatory Requirements a. Offeror shall provide controlled disbursement accounts for the County that are funded by debiting the County s Concentration account. b. Offeror shall provide summary-level first and second controlled disbursement data in Bank Administration Institute (BAI) standard format and a readable electronic format via web-based banking product. The first report shall be available by 8:15 am ET. The second report shall be available no later than 9:40 am ET. No presentments are to be posted on any day following the second presentment. c. Offeror must provide an on-line stop payment system capable of confirming the placement of a stop payment. Please specify response time. The stop payments must stay in effect for a minimum of 6 months. d. Offeror will provide images of the front and back of all paid disbursement checks through a secure web-based banking product, no later than five business days following the end of the processing period. The online product must be accessible from various locations by multiple simultaneous users. e. Offeror must provide fee-free check cashing for all County-issued checks to a County official (e.g., a petty cash custodian) for the purpose of conducting County business. f. The County requires a web-based account management system. System capabilities should include but not be limited to: 1. View exception items RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 14 of 66

15 2. Review status of items 3. Ability to add manual checks to issue file 4. Ability to add cancelled checks to issue file 5. Notification of exception items no later than 10 am ET 6. Ability to receive decision from County within the established time period 7. Ability to export cleared check files. g. Offeror shall provide monthly statements of all account activity with a last day of the month cutoff no later than five business days following the end of the processed period. The statement(s) will include a stop payment listing WIRE TRANSFER Mandatory Requirements a. Offeror shall provide 24-hour access to a secure Internet site provided by the Offeror to execute electronic funds transfers. If necessary, the Offeror shall provide on-site training on the use of its system. b. Offeror s web-based product must have the capability to provide intra-day wire transfer activity reports. c. Offeror must designate the County Treasurer as the system administrator for managing system user access and wire transfer templates. d. Offeror s web-based product must have the capability of accepting and creating Fed Wire transfer instructions initiated by the County, either on a repetitive or non-repetitive basis, and provide an automated confirmation of the funds transfer and Fed Wire reference number. e. Offeror s product shall provide for dual release of wires. Describe the capabilities of the system to segregate user authority by function (e.g., access account information, initiate, approve and release transactions). f. Offeror shall provide reasonable indemnification if there is unauthorized access to or fraudulent transfers of funds from County accounts not attributed to an action or inaction on the part of an authorized County official. g. Offeror shall provide, as needed, a complete listing of all County-authorized users of the bank s wire transfer system for which the County is not a system administrator (e.g., telephonic authorizations.) h. Offeror shall provide one or more alternative methods of initiation should the County be unable to access the bank s system in the usual manner. The alternative methods will also require dual-release security and provide complete audit reports. i. Offeror shall provide future-value date capabilities up to 10 business days. j. The County must have the ability to cancel future dated wires. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 15 of 66

16 2.15. AUTOMATED CLEARING HOUSE SERVICES (ACH) Current Practices and Structure Payroll Account: The County is on a biweekly payroll basis, paying an average of 725 employees every other Friday. The net payroll amounts to approximately $645, per pay period. Direct deposit participation for County employees is 95%. The County will not deposit funds to the payroll account. Instead, the bank will operate a zero balance account, to which funds are automatically transferred from the main operating account as payroll checks are presented to the bank for payment. The County mandates that all full time employees be on the direct deposit payroll system. Temporary employees have an option. The County offers employees the maximum of three direct deposit transactions. The Bank must have the capability of processing this direct deposit payroll whether the employees accounts are at the bank or at other banking institutions Mandatory Requirements a. Offeror to allow ACH credits to all County accounts and provide all available payer information. b. Offeror must be able to receive and send FTP files with PGP encryption method, containing account information to create and transmit ACH transactions. Offeror is encouraged to suggest other secure processes. c. Offeror shall provide PC-based software to initiate electronic payment files (payment or collection) through the ACH network. The product must work across all ACH platforms. d. Offeror shall act as an originating/receiving bank for credit/debit entries initiated by the County. e. Offeror shall provide emergency backup plan to receive payment information. The County currently provides payment information to the originating/receiving bank via secured internet transmission. The emergency backup plan must be available to initiate payment by magnetic tape formatted in the NACHA pre-arranged payment and deposit format (PPD). This is the County s preference. f. Offeror shall provide a courier to pick up the direct deposit file from the County for payroll processing two business days prior to payroll in the event the emergency backup plan is instituted. There is no exception to this requirement. For security reasons a courier MUST be provided. g. Offeror shall transmit the payroll credit information to the ACH two business days prior to the County pay date. The Offeror shall not debit the County's payroll accounts until 12:01 am ET payday. h. Offeror shall assume responsibility and liability for the correct release of funds to the County-designated accounts, upon transfer of funds and account information to be credited for posting from the County, on the scheduled payment dates and in compliance with NACHA rules and regulations. i. Offeror shall provide the County the ability to place ACH debit blocks and filters on all disbursement accounts. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 16 of 66

17 (Items j. to l. deal specifically with Pre-Notes) j. Offeror to process pre-notes included in the ACH file generated by the County. k. Offeror shall send to the County all pre-notification returns from the receiving institutions via secure web-based reporting product or facsimile by the next banking day following the rejection. l. Offeror shall conform to NACHA rules and regulations with regard to notification to the County about returned pre-notes from NACHA prior to sending monies. (Items m. to o. deal specifically with Return Items) m. Offeror shall actively monitor live-dollar ACH transmission to member banks one day prior to payday in conformance with NACHA rules and regulations. Credit entries returned to the originating bank because of the inability of the receiving bank to post the entry to the indicated account, or for any other reason, shall be credited back to the County on a same-day basis upon notification. n. Offeror shall notify the County via secure web-based reporting product or facsimile no later than 2pm ET the banking day following the return of the credit entry. o. Offeror shall compensate the County at the daily effective U.S. Federal Funds Rate for any lost availability of funds for each day of the error, in the event that the County determines that originating bank erred in relation to actual dollar ACH transmission of payroll credits to employees or that the Offeror failed to notify the County on a timely basis of a returned actual dollar rejection by the receiving bank. (Items p. to t. deal specifically with County requested deletions/reversals) p. Offeror shall accept online authorization to credit/debit an account or to delete/reverse entries. If the Offeror so wishes, any online transmission can be confirmed verbally with the original of the authorization to follow by mail. All instructions received by authorized online shall be posted on a same-day basis. The Offeror shall not charge for deletions or reversals. Once instructed, all corrections and adjustments to direct deposit accounts shall become the sole responsibility of the Offeror. q. Offeror shall notify the County via secure web-based reporting product or online no later than 2 pm ET the next banking day following the return of credit entries for deletions or reversals. r. Should the Offeror fail to act on any such request, the County shall be compensated at the daily effective U.S. Federal Funds rate for any lost availability of funds for each day of the failure. s. Offeror shall credit such accounts on payday by Fed Wire at no cost to the County should it be determined that due to the Offeror s error, an employee or a group of employees from the County are unable to receive payroll credits to their accounts on payday. Wire instructions and payment amounts shall be accepted in electronic format or by secure web based source from individuals authorized by the County to initiate payments. t. Offeror will provide to the County a daily report by secure web based source of all ACH debit and credit activity in the payroll disbursement accounts. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 17 of 66

18 u. Offeror will be capable of furnishing the County a daily-delimited text file showing all ACH debits. v. Offeror will be expected to work with County staff to test and implement new electronic payment methods as they become available Desirable Service Requirements a. Offeror shall provide the County with a procedure whereby an ACH transaction will replace a second presentment of a returned check. b. Offeror shall provide payroll cards for employees who do not have access to bank accounts. Please provide the fee structure for this product in the included Price Proposal. c. Offeror shall provide County the ability to make vendors payments via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or by other automated means. Creative solutions that foster increased conversion of paper-based payments to electronic payments are encouraged INFORMATION SERVICES Current Practices and Structure The County utilizes a web-based product to access all daily balance reporting and banking activity. The County obtains previous and current day activity and balance information and, ACH and Fed Wire debits and credits. The product provides a consolidated data exchange report with other deposit banks balances. The County administers the systems users access and profiles FINANCE DEPARTMENT and TAX ADMINISTRATION Current Practices and Structure The County employs lockbox processing for Real Estate Tax and Personal Property Tax. Real Estate taxes - Over two-thirds of the County's approximately 70,000 real estate tax accounts are paid through an automated system whereby the mortgage company, or tax service, communicates with the County. The remaining accounts are billed individually. Vehicles are monthly billings. All other Personal Property taxes are yearly billings. Current Practices and Structure of Non Real Estate tax and Non-Personal Property Taxes handled by the Finance Department Local Accommodation and Hospitality Taxes Paid Directly to Georgetown County These are taxes imposed on the purchase of prepared or modified food and/or beverages intended for immediate consumption and on the charges for accommodations furnished to transients. The business establishment is responsible for collecting the tax from patrons and required to remit collections along with a tax return to the County. Taxes are to be remitted monthly unless set up as a quarterly or yearly filer by the 20 th of each month for the prior month and/or period total collections. There is a penalty for late filing of 5% per month, charged on the original amount of taxes due, up to a maximum of 100%. An invoice is created after the return is received since the County has no way of knowing the sales of the business establishments ahead of time. All RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 18 of 66

19 returns and envelopes are examined to determine if a business is delinquent and subject to penalty. Miscellaneous Accounts Receivable Numerous invoices are created for such things as health insurance for retirees, property rentals, shared services, grant reimbursements, etc. Most are done on a monthly basis, but some are done quarterly or yearly. Some of these invoices are subject to penalty if not paid by a certain date. Envelopes are examined to determine when the payment was mailed. Payment is posted to the appropriate customer s account and invoice. Non-Accounts Receivable Revenue Non-invoice payments are recorded for such things as State Accommodation taxes, vehicle and/or property losses, commissions, etc. These payments are entered through the County s Accounting Revenue module with the appropriate accounts being credited. Many of these payments come in especially from the State of South Carolina with little or no backup so a search must be done to determine what the funds are for and what account needs to be credited. Landfill Payments There are cash and credit customers for landfill payments. Each day the landfill brings over the cash collected at the Scale house and Landfill office for noncredit customers. Finance records these cash payments in the Finance software and prepares the deposit for the Treasurer s office. Most credit customer payments are received by Finance through the mail. Finance applies these credit payments against the customer s account in the Landfill software and then prepares a deposit by the Treasurer s office. Credit payments received late are subject to interest charges and late fees. Remittance Document - All County bills are printed on 8 1/2" X 11" paper, perforated at the lower third. The portion that contains the scan line is returned with the payment. Transaction - One envelope and its contents. Rejects - Transactions that the bank provider cannot process. Send entire transaction back to the County Treasurer s Office (CTO). Sort - Open envelope, remove contents and review contents for suitability for processing. Process - Using processing steps, deposit check into County's account. Installment type - Applies to real estate and denotes the semiannual installment period, i.e., 1 = First Installment and 2 = Second Installment. Date Code - Which includes bank operator number; bank machine number; collection date, MMDDYY, (this is the date the deposit will be made); credit date (MMDDYY, this will be the same date as the collection date UNLESS SPECIFICALLY NOTIFIED by County Treasurer to use some other date); item number in batch, and document account number. Batch - A processing group containing no more than 200 transactions. Automated Transmission - The County uses electronic transmission of data, e.g., mainframe to mainframe. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 19 of 66

20 In the future, the County will use new file transmission methods as developed and deemed secure. Should automated transmission methods not be available, the Offeror will provide information in online web based source within the same time parameters as the automated transmission Mandatory Requirements General a. Offeror shall provide same-day processing of all work picked up from the post office and same-day deposit of all non-rejected transaction checks. b. The County will be compensated at the daily effective U.S. Federal Funds rate for any failure to comply with a management standard that affects the County's availability of funds. The amount of lost availability shall be calculated based on the dollar amount of receipts unprocessed according to the standard. c. Offeror to return rejected items to County Treasurer s Office (CTO). d. Offeror to process all payments on a first-in, first-out (FIFO) basis. e. Offeror s courier shall deliver to the CTO the previous day s work, all rejected payments and, for late payments, the remittance envelopes. These returns shall be made, no later than 1:00 pm ET each day, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays when the CTO and/or the bank is closed. See Appendix A for a current list of County Holidays. f. Offeror s courier shall pick up mail from both CTO and the U.S. Post Office utilized by CTO and deliver it to the lockbox processing site. Mail must be picked up daily or more frequently as determined by the CTO. CTO shall be responsible for notifying the Post Office and lockbox processing site, via letter, as to start-up and stop dates for pick up. g. If mail is not delivered directly to the lockbox processor s site, Offeror shall describe each delivery phase, the associated time delay, and internal controls. h. Offeror is to ensure that the courier is bonded and insured. i. Offeror shall provide courier services for special runs to and from their processing locations. j. Offeror shall provide to the County a online image of the processed work within five business days of processing. Alternative secure file transmission will be considered. k. Offeror shall have the ability to image the remittance document and the payment check. The audit trail must also be available on the image. This record should be available to view via the Internet. l. The Offeror shall keep a record for five (5) years of all payments processed. This record must be in format such that an entire processing period, e.g., 30 days, can be retrieved for a particular account number. m. The Offeror shall have qualified personnel, e.g. a computer programmer, on site to prepare specialized reports as needed by the CTO, as well as assist in developing new processes. n. Offeror must be able to provide an electronic listing for tax bills returned by the post office as Moved, Left No Address, to assist in the County s research. o. The Offeror must comply with the County's data security procedures, currently Resource Access Control Facility (RACF) and SECURID for data protection. p. The Offeror must acquire a Userid and a SECURID Badge prior to any data transmittals (first badge supplied by County at no cost). q. The Offeror will be held responsible for the safekeeping of badges and will be charged a replacement fee for lost badges. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 20 of 66

21 Mandatory Requirements - Specific a. Offeror to process items via OCR scanning or bar coding manually in CODE 3 of 9 (CODE 39). b. Offeror to produce electronic transmission for each tax type processed, separated by delinquent and current payments. c. Offeror to accept checks made payable to County of Georgetown, Georgetown County, Treasurer including abbreviations and variations thereof. d. Offeror to reject checks that are drawn on banks outside the United States or in currency other than in U.S. dollars. e. Offeror to accept multiple checks with one document. f. Offeror to accept multiple like documents with one check. g. Offeror to accept multiple like documents with multiple checks. h. Offeror to accept one day post dated checks. i. Offeror to accept checks not dated by affixing deposit date on check. j. Offeror to accept checks stale dated by no more than 90 days. k. Offeror to accept checks when the written amount in the body of the check agrees with the document and the courtesy line is incorrect or incomplete. l. Offeror to process work in batches of no more than 200 items each. m. Offeror to print document audit trail information on back of each remittance document. n. Offeror to print audit trail on back of each check. o. Offeror to produce a report of all check deposited by batch. p. Offeror to produce a report by batch, of all documents included on daily transmission showing any difference between the scan amount and check amount, using the payment type indicator as described in text. Transmission is to be sent to the County no later than 12:00 PM ET the morning after the work is processed. q. Offeror shall provide Guarantee Endorsement - ("Credited to the account of the within named payee, absence of endorsement guaranteed"). r. Offeror shall include the following record types on the payment transmission media for each day s work processed: - One cashier summary record per credit/collection date. - Batch header record per 200 transactions, maximum. - Automated payment transaction record. 1 = Payment in Full - Scanned amount of document equals the check amount. s. The Offeror shall follow the transaction procedures as listed below for Real Estate and Personal Property payments. 1) Place transactions in batches of 200 maximum, assign a batch number. 2) Separate checks and documents. Be sure to keep checks and documents in order. 3) Capture map reference number(s) for Real Estate, property number(s) for Personal Property and account number(s) for Business Licenses. 4) Run a report to balance checks to receipts and return to the Treasurer. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 21 of 66

22 5) Deposit checks into the County's account. 6) Return reports and receipts to the Treasurer. t. The Offeror shall process late payments for Real Estate and Personal Property. In addition to, the Offeror must: 1) Record property numbers and the amounts being applied to each property number. 2) Save the remittance envelope(s). Saving 911 envelopes is critical to the Treasurer s operation and they must be returned with the daily work. u. The Offeror shall adhere to the following payment type processing specifications 1) Real Estate a) Include the Remittance Document description b) Forward correspondence c) Forward payments by credit card Processing Specifications: 2) Personal Property a) Include the Remittance Document description b) Record any writing on the bill c) Forward any correspondence d) Forward payments by credit card Acceptable Payees: Opex Sort: Rejected Items: Category DUE 0 W/C DUE 0 W/O C WRONG DOC W/C WRONG DOC W/O C MIXED W/C MIXED W/O C MTGE W/C MTGE W/O C CREDIT CARD Allison Sippel Peteet, Treasurer Allison S. Peteet, Treasurer Allison Peteet, Treasurer County of Georgetown Georgetown County Georgetown County Treasurer Any reasonable abbreviation or variation of above. 1st & 2nd installment Single multi Note category on batch ticket Check only's Sort Type Amount due is zero with checks Amount due is zero without checks Wrong doc with checks Wrong doc without checks Mixed taxes with checks Mixed taxes without checks SD/SC partial, multis from a bank, lawyer, or mortgage company SD/SC partial, multis from a bank, lawyer, or mortgage company Credit card payments RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 22 of 66

23 CORR W/O C FOREIGN Special Handling: Transmission Deadline: Remittance Package Documents: Reports: Rejects: Correspondence without checks - any writing on document Foreign checks Envelopes-Discard (except when specified by customer) Written and figure difference, stamp checks and write the amount to be keyed. 12 pm (noon) ET Prepare three different bags, trays or clearly marked bundles Processed docs in batch number order( only for those with writing or with correspondence). Reports are obtained via a secure web based format. All unprocessable items including correspondence FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT (FRD) EMS TRANSPORT Current Practice and Structure: Deposits are delivered directly to the bank by contractor managing collections for the County Mandatory Requirements a. Offeror shall provide physical, technical and administrative safeguards applied to the handling of confidential information such as protected health information from patient correspondence. b. Offeror to return daily processed receipts via overnight carrier to the Treasurer s Office. c. Offeror to open envelopes at the top. d. Offeror to accept checks post-dated by 2 calendar days or less. e. Offeror to process all items with restrictive endorsements. f. Offeror to process according to written amount when discrepancy exists between numerical and written check amount. g. Offeror to accept checks made payable to Georgetown County Fire and Rescue, Georgetown County, and any reasonable abbreviation or variation thereof. Additional listing of acceptable payees will be provided upon contract award. h. Offeror to contact FRD staff for guidance on processing checks made payable to other payees. i. Offeror to make one photocopy of each check or money order received, regardless of whether accompanied by remittance advice or coupon. Photocopy assembly: Attach coupon or remittance advice, if any, to back of the check photocopy. Attach the envelope to the back of these documents; staple all in upper left hand corner. j. Offeror to correct erroneously deposited payments and to fax a copy of the debit/credit memo to FRD within 48 hours of identification. k. Offeror to automatically resubmit for payment, checks returned for non-sufficient funds the first time. l. Offeror to fax copy of NSF notification to FRD for checks returned a second time ADD/ALTERNATE #1: Lockbox Services The County is seeking lockbox services as an optional add/alternate item. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 23 of 66

24 Current Practices and Structure The County presently utilizes retail lockbox services to process a variety of payments, including tax payments. All lockbox payments are deposited to designated deposit accounts (zero balance) and are swept daily into the County s concentration account. The County is currently using RACF and SECURID for data protection Mandatory Requirements Offeror shall provide wholesale and retail lockbox services either directly or through a subcontractor. In any event, all funds must be deposited on the day of receipt in a South Carolina Qualified Public Depository. Offeror must be able to process all lockbox receipts for all programs per the specifications outlined. Offeror guarantees same-day processing of all checks picked up from the post office and same day-deposit of all non-rejected transactions. Offeror shall provide information on a state-of -the-art lockbox operations that includes, but is not limited to, Point of Sale (POS) check conversion, imaging document(s) and related check(s), secure web based source for receipt detail and FTP for payment file transmittal to the County. Offeror shall provide the County next-day imaging of processed work at the lockbox. Lockbox courier service shall be forwarded to Georgetown County by 1 pm ET. Offeror to return daily processed and deposited lockbox receipts via overnight carrier to the Treasurer s Office. Offeror to include the following items in the lockbox packet for Fire & Rescue Department and mail via overnight carrier to Diversified Ambulance Billing: - Hardcopy reports / deposit advice with audit tape - Check photocopies - Envelopes - Coupons or other remittance advice - All correspondence - Unprocessable items Offeror shall provide a monthly report identifying individual lockbox transactions in a sequential format of dollar amount of daily lockbox deposits. Report to be received by the 10th of the following month to FRD. 3. TASKS TO BE PERFORMED Management and Industry Standards-Base Bid In all its responses, the Offeror is strongly encouraged to identify best-practices it shares with the banking and finance industry and its governmental clients. The Offeror is also encouraged to specify all applicable regulations. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 24 of 66

25 3.1 Internal Control Reporting Offeror shall provide, on an annual basis, a SAS 70 report or substitute that reviews its organizational control activities and processes. 3.2 Data Communications Data Formats For purposes of information exchange, Offeror shall identify their preferred data formats. The County has a preference for adopting non-proprietary formats associated with standards commonly used in the Banking and Finance industry. The County maintains discretion to not adopt formats suggested by the Offeror Data Transmission Offeror shall identify data transmission techniques used to transfer information securely between (i.e., 2-way) their Information Systems and the County s. The System Security procedures and practices, which protect the data during and after the transmission shall be submitted for evaluation. All standards and regulations followed by the Offeror for compliance must be listed. Details such as supported transmission protocols, transmission rates, access and availability must be provided with sufficient technical details for evaluating compatibility and capability. This includes standards followed to protect the content during transmissions such as authentication, encryption, audit and non-repudiation. Process automation is important to the County. Offeror is encouraged to identify the work process that is initiated upon receipt of data transmissions from the County Notifications - Systems and Data Offeror shall identify its ability to acknowledge County transmissions. Upon further processing of the contents of the transmission, its ability to communicate status updates and/or handle exceptions and errors shall be identified. This may be included in the same section that identifies the workflow associated with the County s data. Offeror shall identify the operational aspects of its data handling. This includes the County s ability to receive notifications upon the occurrence of systems and application errors/exceptions or updates on progress/status. The timeliness of the notification with its severity must be identified. Offeror shall submit an Operations Guide for the County to reference to identify and fix the erroneous condition. The Guide must elaborate on means to overcome the error in a timely and automated manner. 3.3 Preliminary Implementation Plan RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 25 of 66

26 Offeror must include a detailed implementation/conversion plan. The plan should list the dates, specific actions required of all parties and costs to the County. The implementation/conversion plan should identify the training to be provided to the County. 3.4 Compensation Account Analysis The Offeror will provide the County, within 10 days after month-end, a monthly account analysis statement, electronically and hard copy, showing both a group summary and an individual account analysis. The analysis statement must include, but is not limited to, the following: The average collected balance and average investable balance, if different, for all accounts under the County s Group Relationship. The earnings credit rate and earnings amount. The applicable monthly service charges (itemized with volume numbers and unit prices). The compensation position for the month and calendar year-to-date. Proposals must include 6 months of Earnings Credit Rate (ECR) history and the basis (including the published source for the underlying rate) for determining the rate. The basis for the rate used for the County must be readily verifiable by the County. The ECR and the collected balances shall be used to determine the earnings credit. The method of calculation shall not change during the term of the contract without the prior consent of the Georgetown County Treasurer. The method of calculation must be such that it can be duplicated with a personal computer spreadsheet program. In addition, the average collected aggregate balances must be verifiable to the daily balances reported by the contractor. Any discrepancies shall be fully explained and reconciled by the Offeror s bank officer. If any items remain unreconciled, the Offeror shall write off the amount(s) in question. Offeror to confirm if account analysis system is capable of incorporating non-bank vendor invoices within the monthly analysis charges. 4. CONSULTING SERVICES: The Offeror s staff must be available for consultation with County staff on an as-needed basis between 8 am and 5 pm ET, Monday through Friday. 5. CONTACT FOR CONTRACTUAL MATTERS: 5.1. The person to contact concerning contractual matters pertaining to this Request for Proposal is: Nancy Silver, Senior Buyer Telephone: (843) nsilver@gtcounty.org or purch@gtcounty.org 5.2. Offerors are cautioned not to contact members of the Selection Advisory Committee (SAC). SAC members will not consider information other than the materials provided by the Contract RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 26 of 66

27 Administrator, e.g., proposals. If a SAC member is approached by anyone outside the SAC who may have a material interest in this procurement, it will be immediately reported to the Purchasing Office By submitting a proposal, Offeror acknowledges that they have read this Request for Proposal, understand it, and agree to be bound by its terms and conditions. Proposals may be submitted by mail or delivered in person. 6. LATE PROPOSALS: Proposals received in the Purchasing Office after the date and time prescribed shall not be considered for contract award and shall be returned to the Offeror. 7. RECORDS MAINTENANCE: 8. CHANGES: The Contractor must maintain all records in compliance with federal and state regulations. The Contractor(s) must submit to each program administrator, monthly statistical reports and an annual tabulated report Georgetown County may, at any time, by written order, require changes in the services to be performed by the Contractor. If such changes cause an increase or decrease in the Contractors cost of, or time required for, performance of any services under this contract, an equitable adjustment shall be made and the contract shall be modified in writing accordingly. The Treasurer or the County s Designated Representative must approve all work that is beyond the scope of this Request for Proposal No services for which an additional cost or fee will be charged by the Contractor shall be furnished without the prior written authorization from the Treasurer or the County s Designated Representative. 9. DELAYS AND SUSPENSIONS: 9.1. The Contractor must give both the Treasurer and the Purchasing Office written notice if Georgetown County fails to provide data or services that are required for contract completion by the Contractor. If, after giving the County written notice, the Contractor elects to stop work because the County does not supply data or services, the County will extend the Contractor's time of completion by a period of time reasonably suited for completion of work The County will pay the Contractor for all work completed to the date of suspension. The Contractor may continue its work on the other phases of the project with an appropriate extension of time of performance upon delivery of the data or services to be provided by Georgetown County. If the Contractor decides to proceed without the data and services that were to be provided by the County, any error or omission of the Contractor that resulted from the County s omission will not constitute default by the Contractor. 10. ACCESS TO AND INSPECTION OF WORK: RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 27 of 66

28 The Georgetown County Treasurer, Purchasing Office, and using agencies will, at all times, have access to the work being performed under this contract wherever it may be in progress or preparation. 11. PROJECT AUDITS: The Contractor shall maintain books, records and documents of all costs and data in support of the services provided. Georgetown County or its authorized representative shall have the right to audit the books, records and documents of the Contractor under the following conditions: a. If the contract is terminated for any reason in accordance with the provisions of these contract documents in order to arrive at equitable termination costs; b. In the event of a disagreement between the Contractor and the County on the amount due the Contractor under the terms of this contract; c. To check or substantiate any amounts invoiced or paid which are required to reflect the costs of services, or the Contractor's efficiency or effectiveness under this contract; and, d. If it becomes necessary to determine the County's rights and the Contractor's obligations under the Contract or to ascertain facts relative to any claim against the Contractor that may result in a charge against the County These provisions for an audit shall give Georgetown County unlimited access during normal working hours to the Contractor's books and records under the conditions stated above Unless otherwise provided by applicable statute, the Contractor, from the effective date of final payment or termination hereunder, shall preserve and make available to Georgetown County for a period of three years thereafter, at all reasonable times at the office of the Contractor but without direct charge to the County, all its books, records documents and other evidence bearing on the costs and expenses of the services relating to the work hereunder Georgetown County's right to audit and the preservation of records shall terminate at the end of three years as stated herein. The Contractor shall include this "Right of Audit and Preservation of Records" clause in all subcontracts issued by it and they shall require same to be inserted by all lower tier subcontractors in their subcontracts, for any portion of the work Should the Contractor fail to include this clause in any such contract or lower tier contract, or otherwise fail to insure Georgetown County's rights hereunder, the Contractor shall be liable to Georgetown County for all reasonable costs, expenses and attorney's fees which Georgetown County may have to incur in order to obtain an audit or inspection of or the restoration of records which would have otherwise been available to Georgetown County from said persons under this clause. Such audit may be conducted by Georgetown County or its authorized representative. 12. OTHER SERVICES: The Contractor must establish formal evaluation and quality control procedures to monitor each facet of the final contract. The evaluation and quality control procedures must provide sufficient information to allow the County's administrators to monitor the program's progress and effectiveness. The County's administrators will use the quality control report to evaluate the effectiveness of the program on an annual basis. The Contractor will submit the quality control report to the Contract Administrator identified in the final contract not later than June 1 of each contract year. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 28 of 66

29 13. DATA SOURCES: The County will provide the Contractor all available data possessed by the County that relates to this contract. However, the Contractor is responsible for all costs for acquiring other data or processing, analyzing or evaluating County data. 14. SAFEGUARDS OF INFORMATION: Unless approved in writing by the County Senior Buyer, the Contractor may not sell or give to any individual or organization any information, reports, or other materials given to, prepared or assembled by the Contractor under the contract. [THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.] RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 29 of 66

30 APPENDIX A COUNTY HOLIDAYS FY 2018 INDEPENDENCE DAY Tuesday, July 4, 2017 LABOR DAY Monday, September 4, 2017 VETERANS' DAY Friday, November 10, 2017 THANKSGIVING Thursday, November 23, 2017 Friday, November 24, 2017 CHRISTMAS Friday, December 22, 2017 Monday, December 25, 2017 Tuesday, December 26, 2017 NEW YEAR'S DAY Monday, January 1, 2018 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY Monday, January 15, 2018 PRESIDENTS'DAY Monday, February 19, 2018 GOOD FRIDAY Friday, March 30, 2018 MEMORIAL DAY Monday, May 28, 2018 **All County holidays are subject to approval by County Council each year. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 30 of 66

31 APPENDIX B ASSOCIATION OF FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS (AFP) QUESTIONS OFFEROR MUST PROVIDE WITH THEIR PROPOSAL A RESPONSE TO EACH OF THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS DEPOSITORY SERVICES: 1. Do all your branches accept immediate and post-verification deposits at the teller line? 2. Does the branch provide a validated deposit slip and provisional credit with post-verification at the time the deposit is handed to a teller? If provisional credit is given, when does verification take place? 3. How many business days is data stored on the reporting system and available for customer access? 4. Is the bank able to turn off the paper deposit reconciliation report without jeopardizing the integrity of electronic deposit location reporting? WIRE TRANSFERS: 1. Describe your process for recalling a wire when requested by the customer. What additional charges are involved? 2. What are the opening hours and the cut-off times in Eastern Standard Time for initiating wire transfers to ensure same-day execution? List by type of transfer and method of communication. 3. What is the cut-off time for incoming domestic wire transfers to receive same day credit? 4. How and when is the customer notified of wire transfer that is rejected by the receiving bank? 5. Can the system be programmed to automatically dial out to collect prior day information? If so, can the system also be programmed to automatically print previous day reports? Describe. AUTOMATED CLEARING HOUSE (ACH): 1. Describe your company s current electronic payment capabilities. Does your company initiate and receive CTX transactions? 2. Does the bank currently offer any Web-based service that would help the County use EDI with its non-edi capable vendors and customers? If yes, describe the service. 3. Describe the controls the bank has in place (e.g., editing, audits) to protect data integrity, ensure that payment files are not duplicated or lost, verify data syntax, etc. INFORMATION REPORTING: 1. Describe the electronic banking systems and access methods that may be used to access account information. 2. At what time is previous day information available for access? RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 31 of 66

32 3. How frequently is current day information updated throughout the day? If the information is delayed, how and when will the County be notified? 4. Does the system provide image delivery for deposit, disbursement and/or adjusting items? If so, describe. 5. Can data be exported to Excel and other software packages? Discuss. 6. Discuss the ability of the electronic banking system to interface directly with an accounting system and the benefits of such an interface. 7. Discuss the type and level of authentication and encryption methodology used for communicating with customers. CUSTOMER SERVICE 1. For how many other accounts is this representative the primary contact? 2. How does the bank ensure continuity of service when the primary customer service representative is unavailable? 3 Describe the bank s customer satisfaction program. How do you measure customer satisfaction? DISASTER RECOVERY Offeror shall describe available disaster recovery services that can be provided if the County cannot operate from its own facilities. Please include test schedule, location of backup facilities, instance where the backup facilities were utilized, and any other pertinent information. ADD/ALTERNATE #1 AFP QUESTIONS LOCKBOX SERVICES (RETAIL/WHOLESALE): 1. Does the bank process both wholesale and retail payments on the same equipment in the lockbox department? If yes, how are payments prioritized for processing? 2. What controls do you have in place to ensure accurate processing per customer specifications? What controls are in place to insure all payments received are processed the same day received? 3. Can your bank combine lockbox check and electronic payments into a single report format or a single data transmission? 4. What is the bank s ledger cut-off time for lockbox deposits? Include weekends and holidays. What is the latest mail pickup to be included in the last deposit? Will the bank process and deposit all of the customer s payments on the same ledger day as received? If not, when are these items deposited? 5. For a given day s lockbox activity, at what time of day can you report the total amount that will be credited to the County s account? If multiple deposits are made during the day, do you report these deposits same day or is there a reporting cut-off during the day? RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 32 of 66

33 6. What is the distance to the post office and the average length of time between the pickup of items at the post office and delivery to your processing area? 7. Have you closed or opened any network sites in the last twelve months? If you are planning on adding or closing sites, where will these sites be and when will they be opened or closed? If any network sites where closed, explain why. 8. Provide the most current lockbox availability schedule for each site in the network. 9. List your procedures for the control and processing of cash received in remittance envelopes. Is there dual control? Do you have security equipment within the lockbox area? 10. When are your peak processing periods and what arrangements are made to handle the increased volume? Do you staff for peak or average volume processing? 11. Describe the receipt and handling of remittances delivered by private services (e.g., FedEX, UPS) to the lockbox for processing. 12. Can your bank accept payments at the local branches in Georgetown County and into Horry County (Murrells Inlet, Garden City, Surfside Beach)? [THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.] RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 33 of 66

34 Instructions for Providers Bid # Banking Services for Georgetown County These are general instructions and conditions that accompany each bid package. If more specific instructions are given in the individual bid package, those instructions should prevail. 1. Submission of Questions Questions must be submitted in writing via electronic mail, facsimile or postal mail to the Issuing Officer no later than the Deadline for Questions cutoff identified in the Bid Timeline on page three (3) in order to generate an official answer. All written questions will receive an official written response from the Georgetown County Purchasing Office (GCPO) and will become addenda to the solicitation. GCPO reserves the right to reject or deny any requests made by the provider. Impromptu, unwritten questions are permitted and verbal answers may be provided, but are only intended as general direction and will not represent the official GCPO position. The only official position of GCPO is that which is stated in writing and issued in the solicitation as addenda thereto. No other means of communication, whether oral or written, shall be construed as a formal or official response/statement and may not be relied upon. SEND QUESTIONS TO: Nancy Silver, Senior Buyer Post Office Box , Georgetown, SC Fax: (843) nsilver@gtcounty.org 2. Written sealed public bids for a Term Contract to provide Banking Services for Georgetown County shall be received in the Purchasing Office, Second Floor, Suite 239, 129 Screven Street, Georgetown, SC until the cut-off time shown in the bid timeline on page three (3) of this document. Bids will then be publicly and promptly opened at the designated time by the Purchasing Officer. Bids that are not in the Purchasing Officer s possession prior to the stated opening date and time will be considered NON- RESPONSIVE and returned unopened. An official authorized to bind the offer must sign all proposals submitted. 3. IMPORTANT OFFEROR NOTES: a) Bid Number & Title must be shown on the OUTSIDE of the delivery package. b) Federal Express does NOT guarantee delivery to Georgetown, SC before 4:30 PM Eastern Time on Next Day Service. c) UPS WILL guarantee delivery to Georgetown, SC before 10:30 AM Eastern Time on Next Day Early AM Service. 4. Inclement Weather/Closure of County Courthouse If the County Courthouse is closed for business at the time scheduled for bid opening, for whatever reason, sealed bids will be accepted and opened on the next scheduled business day, at the originally scheduled time. 5. This solicitation does not commit Georgetown County to award a contract, to pay any cost incurred in the preparation of the bid, or to procure or contract for goods or services. It is the responsibility of each RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 34 of 66

35 bidder to see that the Georgetown County Purchasing Office receives bids on, or before, the date and time specified for the bid opening. No bid will be accepted thereafter. The County assumes no responsibility for delivery of bids that are mailed. Georgetown County reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive any informalities and technicalities in the bid process. 6. NON EXCLUSIVITY Nothing herein is intended nor shall be construed as creating any exclusive arrangement with Contractor. Any resulting contract shall not restrict the County from acquiring similar, equal or like goods and/or services from other entities or sources, when Staff determines internally that this resulting action is in the best interest of Georgetown County. 7. One (1) unbound, reproducible ORIGINAL of your proposal must be submitted in a sealed envelope and clearly marked on the outermost container as follows: OFFEROR S NAME BID ITEM NAME BID NUMBER 8. No Bidder may submit more than one bid. Multiple bids for different manufacturers but represented by the same firm will not be accepted. Bids offered directly from manufacturers shall indicate if a local dealer/representative will be involved. 9. Definitions: a) The terms Proposer, Offeror, or Bidder refer to those parties who are submitting sealed responses for the work set forth in this document to the OWNER, as distinct from a sub-bidder who provides a bid to the Bidder. The term Contractor refers to the successful Bidder. b) The term Banking Services for Georgetown County or Service refers to the complete set of services as specified in this document, in every aspect. c) The terms Owner and County refer to the County of Georgetown, South Carolina. d) Where the words shall or must are used, it signifies an absolute minimum function or capacity that, if not satisfied, may result in disqualification. e) Where the words should, may, or is desirable are used, it signifies desirable, but not mandatory functions or capacities. Bidders who are able to provide these functions or capacities may be evaluated more favorably that those who cannot. 10. Correction or Withdrawal of Bids; Cancellation of Awards An offeror must submit in writing a request to either correct or withdraw a bid to the Procurement Officer. Each written request must document the fact that the offeror s mistake is clearly an error that will cause him substantial loss. a) Correction of awards : An offeror shall not be permitted to correct a bid mistake after bid opening that would cause such offeror to have the low bid unless the mistake in the judgment of the Procurement Officer is clearly evident from examining the bid document; for example, extension of unit prices or errors in addition. b) Cancellation of awards prior to performance: When it is determined after an award has been issued but before performance has begun that Georgetown County s requirements for the goods or services have changed or have not been met, the award or contract may be canceled and either reawarded or RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 35 of 66

36 a new solicitation issued. 11. Faxed or ed bids will not be accepted by Georgetown County. 12. If you need any reasonable accommodation for any type of disability in order to participate in this procurement, please contact the purchasing office as soon as possible. 13. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Georgetown County hereby gives public notice that it is the policy of the agency to assure full compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, Executive Order on Environmental Justice, and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. Title VI requires that no person in the United States of America shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity for which Georgetown County receives federal financial assistance. Any person who believes they have been aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice under Title VI has a right to file a formal complaint with Georgetown County. Any such complaint must be in writing and filed with Georgetown County s Title VI Coordinator within one hundred and eighty (180) days following the date of the alleged discriminatory occurrence. For more information, or to obtain a Title VI Discriminatory Complaint Form, please see our website at Any deviations from the specifications or modification of this bid and any extra or incidental work or reductions in work shall be set forth in writing and signed by both parties prior to making such change. Any increase or decrease in the bid price resulting from such change shall be included in writing. 15. Exceptions: The bidder shall list on a separate sheet of paper any variations from, or exceptions to, the conditions and specifications of this bid. This sheet shall be labeled Exception(s) to Bid Conditions and Specifications, and shall be attached to the bid. When Proposers find instances where they must take exception with certain requirements or specifications of the bid, all exceptions shall be clearly identified. Written explanations shall include the scope of the exceptions, the ramifications of the exceptions for the County of Georgetown, and a description of the advantage to be gained or disadvantages to be incurred by the County as a result of these exceptions. If none, write NONE. 16. Georgetown County reserves the right to reject any or all bids, and to waive as an informality any irregularities contained in any bid as may be deemed in the best interest of the County. Georgetown County further reserves the right to reject any bid submitted, at its sole option, that the vendor may not be able to meet the service requirements of the bid. 17. Publicity releases: contractor agrees not to refer to award of any resulting contract in commercial advertising in such a manner as to state or imply that the products or services provided are endorsed or preferred by the user. 18. Material Safety Data Sheets: The County of Georgetown will not receive any materials, products, or chemicals which may be hazardous to an employee's health unless accompanied by a Material Data Sheet when received. 19. Ownership of Copyright: All right, title and interest in all copyrightable materials which vendor shall create in the performance of its obligations hereunder shall be the property of the procurer. Vendor agrees to assign and hereby does assign any and all interest it has in and to such material to procurer. Vendor agrees, upon the request of procurer to execute all papers and perform all other such acts RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 36 of 66

37 necessary to assist procurer to obtain and register copyrights on such materials. Where applicable, works of authorship created by the vendor in the performance of its obligations hereunder, shall be considered works for hire as defined in the U.S. Copyright Act. 20. Ownership of Documents: Any reports, studies, photographs, negatives or other documents prepared by vendor in the performance of its obligations shall be the exclusive property of the procurer and all such material shall be remitted to the procurer by the vendor upon completion, termination or cancellation of this order. Vendor shall not use, willingly allow or cause to have such material used for any purpose other than performance of its obligations under this order without the prior written consent of the procurer. 21. Affirmative Action: The contractor will take affirmative action in complying with all Federal and State requirements concerning fair employment and employment of the handicapped, and concerning the treatment of all employees, without regard or discrimination by reason of age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin or physical handicap. The following are incorporated herein by reference: 41 C.F.R , and Inclusion and participation of disadvantaged, small, and local business entities is strongly encouraged, but minimum participation standards are not in effect for this project. 23. All Construction Contracts Over $2,000: a) Davis-Bacon Requirements. These contracts need to include a provision for compliance with the Davis-Bacon Act (40 USC 276a to a 7) and the Department of Labor implementing regulations (29 CFR Part 5). Under this Act, Contractors are required to include the contract provisions in Section 5.5 (a) of 29 CFR Part 5, and to pay wages to laborers and mechanics at a rate not less than the minimum wages specified in the wage determination made by the Secretary of Labor. In addition, Contractors shall be required to pay wages not less than the minimum wages specified in the wage determination made by the Secretary of Labor. In addition, Contractors shall be required to pay wages not less often than once a week. Current Wage Determination for Georgetown County in South Carolina is available on-line at: b) Contract Work Hours and Safety Standard Act Requirements. The contracts must include a provision for compliance with Sections 103 and 107 of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (40 USC ) as supplemented by the Department of Labor regulations (29 CFR Part 5). Under Section 103 of the Act, each Contractor shall be required to compute the wages of every mechanic and laborer on the basis of a standard workweek of 40 hours. Work in excess of the standard workweek is permissible provided that the worker is compensated at a rate not less than one times the basic rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in the workweek. Section 107 of the Act is applicable to construction work and provides that no laborer of mechanic shall be required to work in surroundings or under working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to health and safety as determined under construction, safety and health standards promulgated by the Secretary of Labor. These requirements do not apply to the purchases of supplies, materials, or articles ordinarily available on the open market, or contracts for transportation or transmission of intelligence. c) Copeland Anti-Kickback Act Requirements. All construction contracts over $2, must include a provision for compliance with the Copeland Anti-Kickback Act (18 U.S.C. 874) as supplemented in Department of Labor regulations (29 CFR Part 3). This act provides that each Contractor shall be prohibited from inducing, by any means, persons employed in the construction, completion, or repaid of public work to give up any part of their compensation. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 37 of 66

38 24. Bidders must clearly mark as "confidential" each part of their bid which they consider to be proprietary information that could be exempt from disclosure under section , Code of Laws of South Carolina 1976, as amended (Freedom of Information Act). If any part is designated as confidential, there must be attached to that part an explanation of how this information fits within one or more categories listed in section The County reserves the right to determine whether this information should be exempt from disclosure and no legal action may be brought against the County or its agents for its determination in this regard. 25. CERTIFICATION REGARDING DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE: The contractor certifies that the vendor(s) will provide a drug-free workplace as that term is defined in Section of the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, as amended, by the complying with the requirements set forth in title 44, Chapter Certification of Non-Segregated Facilities The federally-assisted construction contractor certifies that he does not maintain or provide, for his employees, any segregated facilities at any of his establishments and that he does not permit his employees to perform their services at any location, under his control, where segregated facilities are maintained. The federally-assisted construction contractor certifies that he will not maintain or provide, for his employees, segregated facilities at any of his establishments and that he will not permit his employees to perform their services at any location under his control where segregated facilities are maintained. The federally-assisted construction contractor agrees that a breach of this certification is a violation of the Equal Opportunity Clause in this Contract. As used in this certification, the term "segregated facilities" means any waiting rooms, work areas, restrooms, and washrooms, restaurants and other eating areas, time clocks, locker rooms and other storage or dressing areas, parking lots, drinking fountains, recreation or entertainment areas, transportation, and housing facilities provided for employees which are segregated on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin because of habit, local custom, or any other reason. The federally assisted construction contractor agrees that (except where he has obtained identical certifications from proposed subcontractors for specific time periods) he will obtain identical certifications from proposed subcontractor s prior to the award of subcontracts exceeding $10,000 which are not exempt from the provisions of the Equal Opportunity Clause and that he will retain such certifications in his files. 27. Nothing herein is intended to exclude any responsible vendor, his product or service or in any way restrain or restrict competition. On the contrary, all responsible vendors are encouraged to bid and their bids are solicited. 28. Acknowledgement of Addenda Each contractor is responsible to verify the number of total addenda issued prior to bid. Failure to acknowledge all addenda may disqualify the bidder. All addenda are posted by the County at the website located at select Purchasing and Current Bids. It is each proposer s responsibility to verify that all addenda have been received and acknowledged. 29. This Invitation for Bid covers the estimated requirements to provide Banking Services for Georgetown County. The purpose is to establish a Term Contract with firm pricing and delivery under which the department may place orders as needed. The right is reserved to extend the use of this contract to any County Department. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 38 of 66

39 30. TERMS OF AGREEMENT / RENEWAL The initial term of any resulting contract shall be for a period of one (1) calendar year, effective from date of contract award. The County reserves the right to negotiate with the successful bidder, after contract award, for an additional discount should available funds permit the purchase of additional units within the fiscal year. The County reserves the right, at its sole option, to renew the contract for four (4) additional consecutive terms, contingent upon satisfactory performance in the prior period, not to exceed a maximum term of five (5) years total. 31. PRICE ESCALATION/DE-ESCALATION: Prices are to remain firm for the first contract period. In subsequent terms, the contractor may request, in writing at least sixty (60) days in advance of the contract ending date, an increase/decrease. Should the County elect to exercise the option to renew the contract for additional year(s), the contract prices for the additional years shall not exceed the percentage increase/decrease of the "Services" category of the CPI- W SECTION OF THE COMSUMER PRICE INDEX of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for the latest twelve month for which statistics are available. Should the price change be granted and the County elects to renew the contract, the purchase order will reflect the changes. 32. Bids must be made on Proposal or Bid Form furnished or will be rejected. Proposals shall be typewritten or written in ink on the form prepared by the County. The person signing the bid shall initial all corrections or erasures. 33. Insurance The successful bidder shall procure, maintain, and provide proof of, insurance coverage for injuries to persons and/or property damage as may arise from or in conjunction with, the work performed on behalf of the County by the bidder, his agents, representatives, employees or subcontractors. Proof of coverage as contained herein shall be submitted fifteen (15) days prior to the commencement of work and such coverage shall be maintained by the bidder for the duration of the contract period; for occurrence policies. a. General Liability Coverage shall be as broad as: Comprehensive General Liability endorsed to include Broad Form, Commercial General Liability form including Products/Completed Operations. 1. Minimum Limits b. Automobile Liability General Liability: $1,000,000 General Aggregate Limit $1,000,000 Products & Completed Operations $1,000,000 Personal and Advertising Injury $1,000,000 Each Occurrence Limit $50,000 Fire Damage Limit $5,000 Medical Expense Limit Coverage sufficient to cover all vehicles owned, used, or hired by the bidder, his agents, representatives, employees or subcontractors. 1. Minimum Limits Automobile Liability: $1,000,000 Combined Single Limit $1,000,000 Each Occurrence Limit $5,000 Medical Expense Limit RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 39 of 66

40 c. Workers' Compensation Limits as required by the Workers' Compensation Act of SC. Employers Liability, $1,000,000. d. Owners' & Contractors' Protective Liability Policy will be in name of County. Minimum limits required are $1,000,000. e. Professional Liability (a/k/a Errors and Omissions) Minimum limits are $1,000,000 per occurrence. f. Coverage Provisions 1. All deductibles or self-insured retention shall appear on the certificate(s). 2. The County of Georgetown, its officers/ officials, employees, agents and volunteers shall be added as "additional insured" as their interests may appear. This provision does not apply to Professional Liability or Workers' Compensation/Employers' Liability. 3. The offeror's insurance shall be primary over any applicable insurance or self-insurance maintained by the County. 4. Shall provide 30 days written notice to the County before any cancellation, suspension, or void of coverage in whole or part, where such provision is reasonable. 5. All coverage for subcontractors of the bidder shall be subject to all of the requirements stated herein. 6. All deductibles or self-insured retention shall appear on the certificate(s) and shall be subject to approval by the County. At the option of the County, either; the insurer shall reduce or eliminate such deductible or self-insured retention; or the bidder shall be required to procure a bond guaranteeing payment of losses and related claims expenses. 7. Failure to comply with any reporting provisions of the policy(s) shall not affect coverage provided the County, its officers/officials, agents, employees and volunteers. 8. The insurer shall agree to waive all rights of subrogation against the County, its' officers/officials, agents, employees or volunteers for any act, omission or condition of premises which the parties may be held liable by reason of negligence. 9. The bidder shall furnish the County certificates of insurance including endorsements affecting coverage. The certificates are to be signed by a person authorized by the insurance company(s) to bind coverage on its' behalf, if executed by a broker, notarized copy of authorization to bind, or certify coverage must be attached. 10. All insurance shall be placed with insurers maintaining an A.M. Best rating of no less than an A:VII. If A.M. Best rating is less than A:VII, approval must be received from County's Risk Officer. 34. Workman s Compensation Coverage Georgetown County, SC will require each contractor and service provider to maintain on file with the purchasing officer, a current Certificate of Insurance showing limits as required by the Workers' Compensation Act of SC: Employers Liability, $1,000,000. The law also recognizes "statutory employees." These are employees who work for a subcontractor who may be working for a business or another contractor. Employers should inquire whether or not a subcontractor working for them has workers' compensation insurance, regardless of the number of employees employed by the subcontractor. If the subcontractor does not, the subcontractor's injured RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 40 of 66

41 employees would be covered under the employer's workers' compensation insurance. If the subcontractor does not carry workers' compensation insurance, then the owner or the principal contractor would be liable just as if the subcontractor's employee was one of their employees. For answers to additional questions, visit the SC Worker s Compensation Commission website, at: 35. Hold Harmless Clause The Contractor shall, during the term of the contract including any warranty period, indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the County, its officials, employees, agents, and representatives thereof from all suits, actions, or claims of any kind, including attorney's fees, brought on account of any personal injuries, damages, or violations of rights, sustained by any person or property in consequence of any neglect in safeguarding contract work or on account of any act or omission by the contractor or his employees, or from any claims or amounts arising from violation of any law, bylaw, ordinance, regulation or decree. The vendor agrees that this clause shall include claims involving infringement of patent or copyright. 36. Condition of Items All items shall be new, in first class condition, including containers suitable for shipment and storage, unless otherwise indicated herein. Verbal agreements to the contrary will not be recognized. 37. Workmanship and Inspection All work under this contract shall be performed in a skillful and workmanlike manner. The County may, in writing, require the Contractor to remove any employee from work that the County deems incompetent or careless. Further, the County may, from time to time, make inspections of the work performed under this contract. Any inspection by the County does not relieve the Contractor from any responsibility regarding defects or other failures to meet the contract requirements. 38. Invoicing and Payment The firm shall submit invoices on a frequency to be determined, as agreed upon by the County, for each payment requested. Such invoice shall also include a detailed breakdown of all charges. All such invoices will be paid within thirty (30) days unless any items thereon are questioned, in which event payment will be withheld pending verification of the amount claimed and the validity of the claim. The firm shall provide complete cooperation during any such investigation. All invoices shall be forwarded to the following address: County of Georgetown Accounts Payable P.O. Box Georgetown, SC Individual contractors shall provide their social security numbers, and proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations shall provide their federal employer identification number on the pricing form. 39. South Carolina Sales Tax The County of Georgetown, SC is not exempt and pays the appropriate SC sales tax on all applicable purchases. Effective May 01, 2015, the sales tax rate increased from 6% to 7% which includes a VAT for Georgetown County. 40. Assignment of Contract RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 41 of 66

42 This contract may not be assigned in whole or part without the written consent of the Purchasing Officer. 41. Termination Subject to the provisions below, the contract may be terminated by the County upon sixty (60) days advance written notice to the other party; but if any work or service hereunder is in progress, but not completed as of the date of termination, then this contract may be extended upon written approval of the County until said work or services are completed and accepted. a. Termination for Convenience In the event that this contract is terminated or canceled upon request and for the convenience of the County, without the required sixty (60) days advance written notice, then the County shall negotiate reasonable termination costs, if applicable. b. Termination for Cause Termination by the County for cause, default or negligence on the part of the contractor shall be excluded from the foregoing provision; termination costs, if any, shall not apply. The sixty (60) days advance notice requirement is waived in the event of Termination for Cause. c. Non-Appropriation: It is understood and agreed by the parties that in the event funds are not appropriated in the current fiscal year or any subsequent fiscal years, this contract will become null and void and the County will only be required to pay for services completed to the satisfaction of the County. 42. Default In case of default by the contractor, for any reason whatsoever, the County may procure the goods or services from another source and hold the contractor responsible for any resulting excess cost and may seek other remedies under law 43. Severability In the event that any provision shall be adjudged or decreed to be invalid, such ruling shall not invalidate the entire Agreement but shall pertain only to the provision in question and the remaining provisions shall continue to be valid, binding and in full force and effect. 44. Applicable Laws This Agreement sha1l be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of South Carolina, U.S.A. 45. Claims and Disputes: All claims, disputes and other matters in question between parties arising out of, or relating to, this Agreement, or the breach thereof, shall be decided in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial circuit in Georgetown County, South Carolina. By executing this Agreement, all parties specifically consent to venue and jurisdiction in Georgetown County, South Carolina and waive any right to contest jurisdiction and venue in said Court. 46. Rights of County The County reserves the right to reject all or any part of any bid, waive informalities and award the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder to best serve the interest of the County. 47. Award of Bid In determining the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, in addition to price, there shall be considered the following: (a) The ability, capacity and skill of the bidder to perform the contract. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 42 of 66

43 (b) Whether the bidder can perform the contract within the time specified, without delay of interference. (c) The character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience and efficiency of the bidder. (d) The quality of performance on previous contracts. (e) The previous and existing compliance by the bidder with laws and ordinances relating to the contract. (f) The sufficiency of the financial resources to perform the contract to provide the service. (g) The quality, availability and adaptability of the supplies or contractual services to the particular use required. (h) The ability of the bidder to provide future maintenance and service. (i) The discount terms and conditions of the bid. (j) Delivery time. 48. Notice of Award A Notice of Intent to Award will be mailed to all respondents. 49. Protest Bidders may refer to Sections 2-67, 2-73, and 2-74 of Ordinance # , also known as the Georgetown County, South Carolina Purchasing Policy to determine their remedies concerning this competitive process. The failure to be awarded a bid shall not be valid grounds for protest. 50. Debarment By submitting a bid, the offeror certifies to the best of its knowledge and belief, that it and its principals, sub-contractors and assigns are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any Federal, State or local department or agency A copy of the County's debarment procedure in accordance with Section 2-68 of Ordinance # , also known as the Georgetown County, South Carolina Purchasing Policy is available upon request. 51. Firm Pricing for County Acceptance Bid price must be firm for County acceptance for 90 days from bid opening date. "Discount from list, bids are not acceptable unless specifically requested. 52. Quotations to be F.O.B.: Destination Quote F.O.B.: Destination for this competitive sealed bid. As an alternate, show exact cost for delivery. 53. Unit Prices and Extension Bid unit price on quantity specified -- extend and show total. In case of errors in extension, unit prices shall govern. Bids subject to unlimited price increases will not be considered. 54. Use of Brand Names (If Appropriate) Unless otherwise stated in an Invitation for Bid, the name of a certain brand, make or manufacturer does not restrict bidders to the specific brand, make or manufacturer named; it conveys the general style, type, character, and quality of the article desired, and any article which the County in its sole discretion determines to be the equal of that specified, considering quality, workmanship, economy of operation, and suitability for the purpose intended, shall be accepted. Any catalog, brand name or manufacturer's reference used in bid invitation is descriptive - NOT restrictive - it is to indicate type and quality desired. Bids on brands of like nature and quality will be considered. If bidding on other than reference or specifications, bid must show manufacturer, brand or trade name, catalog number, etc. of article offered. If other than brand(s) specified is offered, illustrations and complete description must be submitted with bid. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 43 of 66

44 Samples may be required. If bidder makes no other bid and takes no exception to specifications or reference data, he will be required to furnish brand names, numbers, etc., as specified. Bidders must certify that item(s) bid upon meet and/or exceed specifications. 55. Delivery After Receipt of Order (ARO) Bid must show the number of days required to place material in using agency's receiving room under normal conditions. Failure to state delivery time obligates bidder to complete delivery in fourteen (14) calendar days. Unrealistically short or long delivery promised may cause bid to be disregarded. Consistent failure to meet delivery promises without valid reason may cause removal from bid list. Delivery shall be made during normal working hours only, 9 to 5, unless prior approval has been obtained from the County. 56. Permits The successful Offeror must be responsible for obtaining all necessary city, county, and state permits/licenses and must comply with all local codes and ordinances. Copies of such permits/licenses shall be made available to the County upon request. Building contractors working within Georgetown County must also secure a Contractor s License from the Building Department. Work within the Georgetown City Limits may require a City Business License. For additional information, please review the Forms and Fees section of the Building and Planning web page at the link below: Environmental Management: Vendor/Supplier/Contractor will be responsible for complying with all federal, state and local environmental regulations relating to transportation, handling, storage, spillage and any other aspect of providing the services specified herein, as applicable. 58. Bid Tabulation Results Vendors wishing to view the bid tabulation results may visit the Georgetown County, SC web-site at: Select Bid Opportunities from the Quick Links box, then Bids Under Review and double click the link under the individual bid listing. 59. The Bidder hereby certifies that he or she has carefully examined all of the Documents for the project, has carefully and thoroughly reviewed this Request for Bid/Quotation, has inspected the location of the project (if applicable), and understands the nature and scope of the work to be done; and that this Bid is based upon the terms, specifications, requirements, and conditions of the Request for Bid/ Documents. The Bidder further agrees that the performance time specified is a reasonable time, having carefully considered the nature and scope of the project as aforesaid. 60. Any attempt by the vendor to influence the opinion of County Staff or County Council by discussion, promotion, advertising, misrepresentation of the submittal or purchasing process or any procedure to promote their offer will constitute a violation of the vendor submittal conditions and will cause the vendor s submittal to be declared null and void. 61. Apparent omission of a detailed description concerning any point, shall be regarded as meaning the best commercial practice is to prevail and that only material and workmanship of the finest quality are to be used. 62. Response Clarification Georgetown County reserves the right to request additional written or oral information from Bidders in order to obtain clarification of their Responses. 63. Georgetown County, SC has a Local Vendor Preference Option by ordinance: RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 44 of 66

45 Sec Local Preference Option 1. A vendor shall be deemed a Local Georgetown County vendor for the purposes of this Section if such vendor is an individual, partnership, association or corporation that is authorized to transact business within the State, maintains an office in Georgetown County, and maintains a representative inventory or commodities within the County on which the bid is submitted, and has paid all taxes duly assessed. 2. This option allows the lowest local Bidder whose bid is within five-percent (5%) of the lowest nonlocal Bidder to match the bid submitted by the non-local Bidder and thereby be awarded the contract. This preference shall apply only when (a) the total dollar purchase is $10,000 or more; (b) the vendor has a physical business address located and operating within the limits of Georgetown County and has been doing business in the County for a period of twelve (12) months or more; and (c) the vendor provides proof of payment of all applicable Georgetown County taxes and fees if so requested. 3. Should the lowest responsible and responsive Georgetown County bidder not exercise its right to match the bid as granted herein, the next lowest qualified Georgetown County bidder shall have that right and so on. The right to exercise the right to match the bid shall be exercised within 24 hours of notification of the right to match the non-georgetown County bidder's bid. 4. In order to qualify for the local preference authorized by this Section, the vendor seeking same shall be required to submit with its bid a statement containing relevant information which demonstrates compliance with the provisions of this Section. This statement shall be on a form provided by the County purchasing department and shall be signed under penalty of perjury. Failure to provide such affidavit at the time the bidder submits its bid shall constitute a waiver of any claim for preference. 5. For all contracts for architecture, professional engineering, or other professional services governed by 2-56, Architect-Engineer and Land Surveying Services Public Announcement and Selection Process, the county shall include the local business status of a firm among the factors considered when selecting which firms are most highly qualified. In determining which firm is the most qualified for purposes of negotiating a satisfactory contract, preference shall be given to a local business where all other relevant factors are equal. 6. Local preference shall not apply to the following categories of contracts: (a) Goods or services provided under a cooperative purchasing agreement or similar piggyback contract; (b) Contracts for professional services except as provided for in section five ( 5) above; (c) Purchases or contracts which are funded, in whole or in part, by a governmental or other funding entity, where the terms and conditions of receipt of the funds prohibit the preference; (d) Purchases or contracts made pursuant to a noncompetitive award process, unless otherwise provided by this section; or (e)any bid announcement which specifically provides that the general local preference policies set forth in this section are suspended due to the unique nature of the goods or services sought, the existence of an emergency as found by either the county council or county administrator, or where such suspension is, in the opinion of the county attorney, required by law. See the RESIDENCE CERTIFICATION FOR LOCAL PREFERENCE form attached for details. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 45 of 66

46 64. Vendor Checklist The items indicated below must be completed & returned as a part of your Bid Submission package. Failure to provide the mandatory bid submission forms may result in your bid package being marked as Non-Responsive. Offeror s RFP Proposal Non-Collusion Oath Resident Certification for Local Preference Substitute for Form W-9 Mandatory Bid Submittal Form Exceptions Page Price Proposal Worksheet (In Excel & Signed Printed Copy) The successful proposer will be required to provide a Certificate of Insurance naming Georgetown County, SC as an additional insured. This must be on file prior to any final award. [THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.] RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 46 of 66

47 NON-COLLUSION OATH ) COUNTY OF: ) STATE OF: ) Before me, the Undersigned, a Notary Public, for and in the County and State aforesaid, personally appeared and made oath that the Offeror Herein, his agents, servants, and/or employees, to the best of his knowledge and belief have not in any way colluded with anyone for and on behalf of the Offeror, or themselves, to obtain information that would give the Offeror an unfair advantage over others, not have they colluded with anyone for and on behalf of the Offeror, or themselves, to gain any favoritism in the award of the contract herein. SWORN TO BEFORE ME THIS DAY OF, 2018 Authorized Signature of Offeror NOTARY PUBLIC FOR THE STATE OF: My Commission Expires: Print Name: Address: Phone Number: (Note: Notary seal required for out-of-state offeror) RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 47 of 66

48 RESIDENCE CERTIFICATION FOR LOCAL PREFERENCE MANDATORY VENDOR SUBMITTAL FORM WHEREAS, Georgetown County Council desires to further its support of local businesses when awarding contracts for the provision of supplies and construction services to the County through its established procurement procedures. THEREFOR pursuant to Georgetown County, SC Ordinance # as adopted, 2-50 Local Preference Option, the Georgetown County Purchasing Officer requests each offeror provide Residence Certification. The Local Preference Option provides some restrictions on the awarding of governmental contracts; provisions of which are stated below: Sec Local Preference Option 1. A vendor shall be deemed a Local Georgetown County vendor for the purposes of this Section if such vendor is an individual, partnership, association or corporation that is authorized to transact business within the State, maintains an office in Georgetown County, and maintains a representative inventory or commodities within the County on which the bid is submitted, and has paid all taxes duly assessed. 2. This option allows the lowest local Bidder whose bid is within five-percent (5%) of the lowest nonlocal Bidder to match the bid submitted by the non-local Bidder and thereby be awarded the contract. This preference shall apply only when (a) the total dollar purchase is $10,000 or more; (b) the vendor has a physical business address located and operating within the limits of Georgetown County and has been doing business in the County for a period of twelve (12) months or more; and (c) the vendor provides proof of payment of all applicable Georgetown County taxes and fees if so requested. 3. Should the lowest responsible and responsive Georgetown County bidder not exercise its right to match the bid as granted herein, the next lowest qualified Georgetown County bidder shall have that right and so on. The right to exercise the right to match the bid shall be exercised within 24 hours of notification of the right to match the non-georgetown County bidder's bid. 4. In order to qualify for the local preference authorized by this Section, the vendor seeking same shall be required to submit with its bid a statement containing relevant information which demonstrates compliance with the provisions of this Section. This statement shall be on a form provided by the County purchasing department and shall be signed under penalty of perjury. Failure to provide such affidavit at the time the bidder submits its bid shall constitute a waiver of any claim for preference. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 48 of 66

49 5. For all contracts for architecture, professional engineering, or other professional services governed by 2-56, Architect-Engineer and Land Surveying Services Public Announcement and Selection Process, the county shall include the local business status of a firm among the factors considered when selecting which firms are most highly qualified. In determining which firm is the most qualified for purposes of negotiating a satisfactory contract, preference shall be given to a local business where all other relevant factors are equal. 6. Local preference shall not apply to the following categories of contracts: (a) Goods or services provided under a cooperative purchasing agreement or similar piggyback contract; (b) Contracts for professional services except as provided for in section five ( 5) above; (c) Purchases or contracts which are funded, in whole or in part, by a governmental or other funding entity, where the terms and conditions of receipt of the funds prohibit the preference; (d) Purchases or contracts made pursuant to a noncompetitive award process, unless otherwise provided by this section; or (e) Any bid announcement which specifically provides that the general local preference policies set forth in this section are suspended due to the unique nature of the goods or services sought, the existence of an emergency as found by either the county council or county administrator, or where such suspension is, in the opinion of the county attorney, required by law. I certify that [Company Name] is a Resident Bidder of Georgetown County as defined in Ordinance # , (see 1. above) and our local place of business within Georgetown County is: I certify that [Company Name] is a Non-Resident Bidder of Georgetown County as defined in Ordinance # , and our principal place of business is [City and State]. (X) Signature of Company Officer RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 49 of 66

50 SUBSTITUTE FOR FORM W-9 MANDATORY BID SUBMISSION FORM Pursuant to Internal Revenue Service Regulations, you must furnish your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) to Georgetown County. If this number is not provided, you may be subject to a 28% withholding on each payment. INDIVIDUAL OR OWNER S NAME (Sole Proprietor Must Provide Individual Name along with Business Name) LEGAL BUSINESS NAME (d/b/a): ADDRESS: ( ( ( 9 DIGIT TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (TIN) (Individual Must Provide SS#; Sole Proprietorship may provide SS# or EIN#) Social Security Number Employer Identification Number BUSINESS DESIGNATION Individual, Sole Proprietor, or Single-Member LLC C-Corporation S-Corporation Partnership Trust/Estate Governmental Entity Non-Profit Organization/501(a) Other: Limited Liability Company: C = Corporation S = S Corporation P = Partnership (Must Circle the appropriate Tax Classification Exempt Payee Code (if any): (Exemption codes apply only to certain entities, not individuals; IRS W-9 instructions, page 3): PRINCIPAL BUSINESS ACTIVITY (List Type of Service or Product Provided): MEDICAL SERVICES PROVIDER ATTORNEY/LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDER CERTIFICATION Under penalties of perjury, I certify that: 1. The number shown on this form is my correct taxpayer identification number (or I am waiting for a number to be issued to me); and 2. I am not subject to backup withholding because: (a) I am exempt from backup withholding, or (b) I have not been notified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that I am subject to backup withholding as a result of a failure to report all interest or dividends, or (c) the IRS has notified me that I am no longer subject to backup withholding; and 3. I am a U.S. citizen or other U.S. person; and 4. The FATCA code(s) entered on this form (if any) indicating that I am exempt from FATCA reporting is correct. Certification instructions. You must cross out item 2 above if you have been notified by the IRS that you are currently subject to backup withholding because you have failed to report all interest and dividends on your tax return. For real estate transactions, item 2 does not apply. For mortgage interest paid, acquisition or abandonment of secured property, cancellation of debt, contributions to an individual retirement arrangement (IRA), and generally, payments other than interest and dividends, you are not required to sign the certification, but you must provide your correct TIN. The Internal Revenue Service does not require your consent to any provision of this document other than the certifications required to avoid back-up withholding. Signature: Date RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 50 of 66

51 MANDATORY BID SUBMITTAL FORM Banking Services for Georgetown County Bid # The undersigned, on behalf of the vendor, certifies that: (1) this bid is made without previous understanding, agreement or connection with any person, firm or corporation making a bid on the same project; (2) is in all respects fair and without collusion or fraud;(3) the person whose signature appears below is legally empowered to bind the firm in whose name the bid is entered (4) they have read the complete Request for Bid and understands all provisions: (5) if accepted by the County, this bid is guaranteed as written and amended and will be implemented as stated; and (6) mistakes in writing of the submitted bid will be their responsibility. 1. Name of Company submitting bid 2. Have you submitted all RFP requirements and mandatory submission bid forms as listed under the vendor checklist on page 46? Yes No 3. Contact Address: 4. Contact Person 5. Telephone Number Fax Number 6. address 7. Remittance Address: 8. Accounting Contact 9. Telephone Number Fax Number 10. address 11. FEIN or Social Security Number: 12. List five (5) Customer References for similar size and scope of services: Entity Name: Contact: Title: RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 51 of 66

52 Street: City, State & Zip: Primary Telephone: Primary FAX: Address: Brief Explanation of Relationship: Entity Name: Contact: Title: Street: City, State & Zip: Primary Telephone: Primary FAX: Address: Brief Explanation of Relationship: Entity Name: Contact: Title: Street: City, State & Zip: Primary Telephone: Primary FAX: Address: Brief Explanation of Relationship: RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 52 of 66

53 Entity Name: Contact: Title: Street: City, State & Zip: Primary Telephone: Primary FAX: Address: Brief Explanation of Relationship: Entity Name: Contact: Title: Street: City, State & Zip: Primary Telephone: Primary FAX: Address: Brief Explanation of Relationship: 13. SUSPENSION AND DEBARMENT Federal guidelines require grant recipients to obtain sufficient assurance that vendors are not suspended or debarred from participating in federal programs when contracts exceed $25,000. By signing below you verify that no party to this agreement is excluded from receiving Federal contracts, certain subcontracts, and certain Federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits, pursuant to the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 6101, note, E.O , E.O , 48 CFR 9.404, and each agency's RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 53 of 66

54 codification of the Common Rule for Non-procurement suspension and debarment. [See for additional information.] 14. If the bid is accepted, the required Contract must be executed within fifteen (15) days after receipt of written notice of formal award of Contract. 15. Will you honor the submitted prices and terms for purchase by other departments within Georgetown County and/or by other government entities who participate in cooperative purchasing with Georgetown County, South Carolina? Yes No 16. ACCEPTANCE OF REQUST FOR PROPOSAL CONTENT: The contents of the successful IFB/RFP are included as if fully reproduced herein. Therefore, the selected contractor must be prepared to be bound by his/her proposal as submitted. 17. RENEWAL OF CONTRACT The continuation of the terms, conditions, and provisions of any resulting contract beyond the fiscal year is subject to approval and ratification by the Georgetown County Council and appropriation by them of the necessary money to fund said contract for each succeeding year. 18. CERTIFICATION REGARDING DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE: The undersigned certifies that the vendor listed below will provide a drug-free workplace as that term is defined in Section of the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, as amended, by the complying with the requirements set forth in title 44, Chapter 107. Yes No 19. Any attempt by the vendor to influence the opinion of County Staff or County Council by discussion, promotion, advertising, misrepresentation of the submittal or purchasing process or any procedure to promote their offer will constitute a violation of the vendor submittal conditions and will cause the vendor s submittal to be declared null and void. 20. The lowest or any proposal will not necessarily be accepted and the County reserves the right to award any portion thereof. I/We, the undersigned, hereby confirm that all the above noted documents for Bid/Request for Proposal No were received. 21. MINORITY PARTICIPATION [INFORMATION ONLY] (a) Is the bidder a South Carolina Certified Minority Business? Yes No (b) Is the bidder a Minority Business certified by another governmental entity? Yes No If so, please list the certifying governmental entity: (c) Will any of the work under this contract be performed by a SC certified Minority Business as a subcontractor? RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 54 of 66

55 Yes No If so, what percentage of the total value of the contract will be performed by a SC certified Minority Business as a subcontractor? % (d) Will any of the work under this contract be performed by a minority business certified by another governmental entity as a subcontractor? Yes No If so, what percentage of the total value of the contract will be performed by a minority business certified by another governmental entity as a subcontractor? % (e) If a certified Minority Business is participating in this contract, please indicate all categories for which the Business is certified: Traditional minority Traditional minority, but female Women (Caucasian females) Hispanic minorities DOT referral (Traditional minority) DOT referral (Caucasian female) Temporary certification SBA 8 (a) certification referral Other minorities (Native American, Asian, etc.) (If more than one minority contractor will be utilized in the performance of this contract, please provide the information above for each minority business.) 22. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: Non-Construction (NOV. 2008): (An overview is available at By signing your offer, you certify that you will comply with the applicable requirements of Title 8, Chapter 14 of the South Carolina Code of Laws and agree to provide to the State upon request any documentation required to establish either: (a) that Title 8, Chapter 14 is inapplicable to you and your subcontractors or sub-subcontractors; or (b) that you and your subcontractors or sub-subcontractors are in compliance with Title 8, Chapter 14. Pursuant to Section , "A person who knowingly makes or files any false, fictitious, or fraudulent document, statement, or report pursuant to this chapter is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction, must be fined within the discretion of the court or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both." You agree to include in any contracts with your subcontractors language requiring your subcontractors to (a) comply with the applicable requirements of Title 8, Chapter 14, and (b) include in their contracts with the sub-subcontractors language requiring the sub-subcontractors to comply with the applicable requirements of Title 8, Chapter 14. [07-7B097-1] RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 55 of 66

56 23. INFORMATION ONLY: Our company accepts VISA government procurement cards. If yes, list any upcharge for P-Card Payment? Our company does not accept VISA government procurement cards. 24. Printed Name of person binding bid 25. Signature (X) 26. Date NOTE: THE ENTIRE BID PACKET NEED NOT BE RETURNED. Please be sure to provide the requested number of copies of all offeror provided attachments. Thank you. [THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.] RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 56 of 66

57 EXCEPTIONS PAGE MANDATORY BID SUBMISSION FORM List any areas where you cannot or will not comply with the specifications or terms contained within the bid documentation. If none, write NONE. RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 57 of 66

58 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA ) ) SERVICES GEORGETOWN COUNTY ) CONTRACT This AGREEMENT is made and entered into between the COUNTY OF GEORGETOWN, a political subdivision of the State of South Carolina, whose Administrative Office is located at 129 Screven Street, Georgetown, S.C ( County ), and whose Administrative Office is located at. This Contract for SERVICES ( Contract ) is dated this day of 2018 and shall have an Effective Date of the day of 2018, (the Effective Date ). 1. GENERAL TERMS OF CONTRACT 1.1. Headings: Headings to paragraphs in this Contract shall not interpret or alter the meaning of the words in the respective paragraph, nor any other provision of this Contract Time of Performance: The timely performance by Contractor of the services described in this Contract is of the essence, and shall commence on the Effective Date. Failure to perform timely, except for cause occasioned by Act of God, shall permit County to declare this Contract voided and of no further effect Arbitration: This contract is not subject to arbitration Dispute Resolution: If the parties hereto cannot settle any difference arising between them without litigation, any such litigation shall take place in the South Carolina Circuit Court in Georgetown, South Carolina Merger, Amendment, and Waiver: This Contract contains all the terms of all agreements, oral or written, between the parties, and is the only document containing all such terms. This Contract merges all prior contracts, agreements, and understandings between County and Contractor concerning the scope of work described herein. The Scope of Services described in this Contract, and all other terms of this Contract, shall not be amended or varied except by a written instrument signed by a duly authorized signatory of County and Contractor. Forbearance by County from enforcing the strict terms of this Contract shall not be a waiver of any other term of this Contract, nor shall such forbearance entitle Contractor to rely upon such forbearance in the event of another similar breach by Contractor of the terms of this Contract. Any variance to the terms of this Contract shall be attached as an Exhibit hereto, and shall have effect as from the effective date thereof as set forth on such Exhibit Compliance with EEOC and other State and Federal Laws: To the extent set forth in the respective statutes, Contractor shall comply with the provisions of: RFP # Georgetown County, South Carolina Page 58 of 66