JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMISSION
PURCHASING DIVISION
ROOM 830 COURTHOUSE
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA 35203-0009
OFFICE: (205) 325-5381 / FAX (205) 325-5221
PRINCIPAL BUYER: ANNIE WARD April 23, 2013
PURCHASING AGENT: MICHAEL MATTHEWS RFP # 97-13
TO: / Prospective OfferorsREQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: / 97-13 (Full document available by contacting Annie Ward at )
SEALED PROPOSAL FOR: / Motor Vehicle Registration System
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL RESPONSES WILL BE RECEIVED BY: / Annie Ward, Principal Buyer
Room 830, 716 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North
Birmingham, AL 35203
***IMPORTANT SOLICITATION DATES***
MANDATORY PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE: / RFP DUE DATE:
May 1, 2013 AT 10:00 A.M., Central Standard Time (CST)
Room 700A
Jefferson County Commission
716 Richard Arrington Jr Blvd N
Birmingham, AL 35203
:00 PM Central Standard Time (CST) / May 7, 2013 BY 5:00 PM,
Central Standard Time (CST)
Return responses to this Request For Proposal in a sealed envelope marked:
RFP # 97-13 MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION SYSTEM
Jefferson County Courthouse, Purchasing Department, Room 830
716 Richard Arrington Jr., Blvd. North, Birmingham, Alabama 35203-0009
NOTIFICATION OF INTENT: All recipients of this solicitation notice must indicate intent to submit a response by May 3, 2013, (page 35). Those vendors submitting a Notification of Intent will be sent a complete copy of the solicitation, any related addendum, answers to inquires, etc. pertaining to this RFP. Notification of intent must be faxed to (205) 214-4034 or e-mailed to Annie Ward at .
TELEPHONE INQUIRES – NOT ACCEPTED
Telephone inquiries with questions regarding clarification of any all specifications of the RFP will not be accepted. All questions must be written and faxed to (205) 214-4034 or e-mailed to Annie Ward at by 5:00 PM (CST) May 1, 2013.
Submissions may be withdrawn, modified, and resubmitted prior to the formal bid opening due date. Any submission modification(s) submitted after the “Proposal Due Date” will not be considered, subject to the needs of the Jefferson County Commission.
The Jefferson County Commission of Jefferson County (Jefferson County Commission) reserves the right to accept or reject any or all responses, or any part of any response, and to waive any informalities or irregularities in the response.
All costs incurred by the company to respond to this solicitation will be wholly the responsibility of the Offeror. All copies and contents of the Offeror’s response, attachments, and explanations thereto submitted in response to this RFP, except copyrighted material, shall become the property of the Jefferson County Commission regardless of the vendor selected. Responses to this solicitation do not constitute an agreement between the bidder and the Jefferson County Commission or the County.
The Jefferson County Commission is not responsible for delays occasioned by the U.S. Postal Service, the internal mail delivery system of the Jefferson County Commission, or any other means of delivery employed by the bidder. Similarly, the Jefferson County Commission is not responsible for, and will not open, any bid responses which are received later than the date and time indicated above. Late bid responses will be retained in the bid file, unopened.
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Released By:
MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION SYSTEM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT / 32.0 PURPOSE / 3
3.0 BACKGROUND / 4
4.0 SCOPE OF WORK / 4
5.0 GOALS / 4-5
6.0 CURRENT REGISTRATION / 6-7
7.0 OTHER FUNCTIONS OF REVENUE DEPT / 7-8
8.0 HARDWARE / SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS / 9-12
9.0 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS / 12
10.0 REQUIREMENTS / 13
11.0 PROPOSAL FORMAT / 14-19
12.0 EVALUATION / 19
13.0 AUDIT AND RECORDS / 19-20
14.0 PROJECT MANAGEMENT / 20-22
15.0 GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS / 22-31
REQUIRED FORMS / 32-36
APPENDIX A / 37
APPENDIX B / 38-58
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
1.0 SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT
The Jefferson County Commission has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) via Jefferson County Purchasing Department, RFP # 97-13 to obtain responses from qualified firms for consideration to provide a Motor Vehicle Registration System for the Jefferson County Commission.
Sealed proposals marked “RFP 97-13 for Jefferson County Commission – Motor Vehicle Registration Software” will be received by Jefferson County’s Purchasing Buyer, located at 716 Richard Arrington Jr., Blvd. North, Room 830 Courthouse, Birmingham, Alabama 35203.
Proposal Due Date and Time: By May 6, 2013 at 5:00 PM CST
Submission may be withdrawn, modified, and resubmitted prior to the formal proposal due date. Any submission modification submitted after the “Proposal Due Date” will be subject to the needs of the Jefferson County Commission and may not be considered.
The Jefferson County Commission reserves the right to accept or reject any or all responses, or any part of any response, and to waive any informalities or irregularities in the response.
All costs incurred by the company to respond to this solicitation will be wholly the responsibility of the Offeror. All copies and contents of the proposals, attachments, and explanations thereto submitted in response to this RFP, except copyrighted material, shall become the property of the Jefferson County Commission regardless of the Firm selected. Any materials submitted in response to this solicitation shall not be returned.
Response to this solicitation does not constitute an agreement between the Offeror and the Jefferson County Commission or the County.
The Jefferson County Commission and the County are not responsible for delays occasioned by the U.S. Postal Service, the internal mail delivery system of the County, or any other means of delivery employed by the bidder. Similarly, the Jefferson County Commission or the County are not responsible for, and will not open, any bid responses which are received later than the date and time indicated above. Late bid/proposal file, unopened.
2.0 PURPOSE
The County Commission desires a turn-key solution in which the successful vendor handles all aspects of a Motor Vehicle Registration system and interfaces with existing financial software and communicates with external systems such as the State of Alabama Department of Public Safety, State of Alabama Department of Revenue hosted systems such as MVTrip, ETAPS, and others as identified in this RFP.
Overall system design shall leverage existing systems, current industry standards, and any tool which will increase customer satisfaction, reduce physical effort of team members and reduce number of decision points in a transaction.,
The system sought to be replaced handles in excess of $90 million dollars in collections and the same amount is distributed to many entities. The proposed system will provide audit ability, reports, graphs, trial balance, statement of cash flows, ability to notify user of exceptions/discrepancies in the reconciliation process and other requirements as identified in Appendix B.
3.0 BACKGROUND
The Jefferson County Commission is composed of five elected commissioners. The Commission provides a full range of governmental services for the 660,000 citizens of Jefferson County, Alabama. Included among these services are police protection, emergency management, public works, health care, community development, and environmental services. The County employs approximately 2,600 people to deliver these services. The JCRS serves the Jefferson County community, via three (3) locations (Birmingham, Bessemer and Centerpoint) and on the WEB. Jefferson County maintains two courthouses, Birmingham and Bessemer, and one full function satellite in Centerpoint. A common Registration System serves each of these operations.
4.0 SCOPE OF WORK
The project will replace an in-house system which has matured with special attributes, features, rules and processes which meet the requirements of federal and state law, state regulations, Jefferson County Commission resolutions and municipal ordinances in the issuance of controlled instruments (tags, decals, and etcetera) and the calculation and collection of fees, taxes, penalties and interest.
The project is to build on the intellectual property invested in the current system and the advancement in software/hardware tools to transfer the capabilities of the current system to a new environment with the aim of gaining efficiencies and accountability in processing, maintenance, telephone service, face-to-face service demands, a reduction in down (or off-line) time and an increase in customer traffic to the internet to satisfy their information and product demands.
Financials: The cashiering, collection, refund, distribution financial functions shall meet, or exceed, the functionality of the current financial system. It shall integrate with the existing financial software FundWare. Appendix B identifies the reporting needs of the system.
Queue/Customer Flow Management System: The project shall leverage technology and other systems to provide a metrics application for identifying walk-in customer needs in a timely fashion and electronically direct them to the next vacant (correct) window. The tools shall allow for monitoring by management to allow work load shifts in real time.
It is the desire of the Jefferson County Commission that the solution is fully implemented and functional on Monday, July 1, 2013.
5.0 GOALS
The primary goals of a new registration system include the following.
5.1 Provide the ability to process vehicle, vessel, manufactured home and title registration.
5.2 Primary Objectives: Jefferson County (the County) desires a turn-key solution in which the successful vendor handles all aspects of a Motor Vehicle Registration system and interfaces with existing financial software and communicates with external systems such as the State of Alabama Department of Public Safety, State of Alabama Department of Revenue hosted systems such as MVTrip, ETAPS, and others as identified in the Scope of Work.
5.3 Operational Goals
The Jefferson County Revenue Department team members and leadership have further outlined operational goals that define how these functions should be executed. The new system must enhance and increase the effectiveness of Jefferson County Revenue Department team members. The system should emphasize the following goals:
· Timeliness – Customers should experience no unnecessary waiting for service to start or complete and service is available when and where possible.
· Well Documented – Jefferson County Revenue Department records must be complete, clear and auditable. Jefferson County Revenue Department must know the history of its interactions with our customers and document its actions.
· Accurate – Errors must be minimized as inaccurate records cause problems for all parties. Financial transactions must be fully auditable.
· Efficient – Jefferson County Revenue Department processes should have no wasted or unnecessary effort.
· Secure – Fraud must be minimized. Sensitive systems and transactions must be protected.
· Easily Communicated – Jefferson County Revenue Department partners & customers must understand the process for working with Jefferson County Revenue Department and have access to appropriate information.
The system will address the business requirements of the seven operational areas of the Jefferson County Revenue Department as follows:
· Vehicle Title & Registration – All activities associated with the processing of vehicles of commercial and personal vehicles including inspections and leases.
· Vessel Registration - All activities associated with the processing of vessels of commercial and personal use.
· Manufactured Homes - All activities associated with the processing of titles and registrations of commercial and personal manufactured homes – including title surrender and notification to the Jefferson County Tax Assessor and the Jefferson County Board of Equalization.
· Third Party Interaction – All activities associated with information sharing that occurs with numerous third parties including insurance companies, transportation companies, State of Alabama Department of Revenue, University of Alabama, financial (credit/debit card) providers and the government sector.
· Financial Management – All activities associated with finance and accounting operations.
· Business Licensing – allow for inquiry/verification in existing business license system to verify corporate status of registration for proper classification of any vehicle registration function. Future could include the issuance of business licenses including applications, inspections, approvals, tracking of requirements, and follow-up activities.
· Driver History – All activities suspensions and restorations as part of the valid DL/ID requirement of the Mandatory Liability Insurance statutes.
6.0 CURRENT REGISTRATION SYSTEM
6.1. Registration is processed through three physical locations
· Birmingham Courthouse
· Bessemer Courthouse
· Centerpoint
The current Registration Systems is based on a UNISYS Mainframe written in COBOL.
6.2 Remote Access System
This system is designed to allow the general public to register their vehicle via the Internet.
6.3 Primary Functions of the Department
Jefferson County Revenue Department has three primary functions that are fundamental to all operations. The vision for the new computer system is based on supporting these functions. They are:
· Manage Revenue
o Fee Collection/Distribution
o Supplementary Services
· Issue Controlled Instruments
o Provide registrations for motor vehicles, vessels and manufactured homes;
o Provide receipts for collection of taxes – ad valorem, sales and use
o Provide commitment-to-purchase, parking disability placards, temporary tags, et cetera;
o Affidavits;
o Miscellaneous as identified in the statement of work
· Customer Service
o Jefferson County Revenue Department must serve its customers in a professional manner. This approach fosters cooperation and allows Jefferson County Revenue Department to better execute its operations.
6.4 The Jefferson County Revenue Department Business Model includes:
· The issuance of vehicle registrations for personal and business vehicles within Jefferson County, Alabama with certain out-of-State exceptions
· The issuance of title applications for vehicles registered in Alabama with certain out-of-State exceptions
· The collection of revenues associated with the above businesses and the application of business rules for forwarding such revenues to any one of hundreds of entities as identified by the Code of Alabama and various legislative Acts
· The administration of various programs including the accounting and transfer of funds for various State, federal and international programs
· The exchange of information with business partners such as federal authorities, law and public safety authorities, other entities for registrations and traffic violations, insurance companies, voter registration authorities, and the like Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
The system shall be in compliance with current motor vehicle registration laws as identified in the Code of Alabama, 1975 including but not limited to Title 32 and Title 40; comply with the ad valorem tax (including property tax requirements), sales tax and use taxes; shall be configurable to meet any Regulation promulgated by an appropriately authorized entity of the Federal, State, County or local government or any sub-division thereof. In addition, the proposed system is to be configurable to satisfy the needs of the County Revenue Department in terms of identified efficiencies to be gained and to satisfy changes to policy, work flow or other reasons.