December 2nd, 2016
The City & County of San Francisco
Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector
Request for Proposal for Bureau of Delinquent Revenue
Outside Collection Services for Collection of Delinquent Accounts
Question and Answers
RE: Q&A
Please confirm the due date for this procurement is 12/9/2016.12/9/2016 at 5pm is the Deadline for proposal submissions
When is the anticipated contract start date?
TBD
Please describe your level of satisfaction with your current vendor(s), if applicable.
N/A
Can you please provide a greater description of the specific kind of receivables to be placed for collection?
One Receivable base will contain medical delinquent debt from San Francisco General Hospital and Ambulance Debt from the San Francisco Fire Department, and other city and county departments – see types of debt listed.
A second receivable base will contain delinquent business taxes and fees that are owed to the city
To what extent are these accounts owed by private consumers versus commercial businesses?
The Hospital and Ambulance receivables are individuals. There are some Business taxes/fees that are owed by sole proprietors, corporations, partnerships and other types of entities.
What is the total dollar value of accounts available for placement now by category, including any backlog?
Ambulance/Hospital: Approx. 54,000 accounts for approx. $15.9MM
Business/Fees: Approx. 8,239 accounts for approx. $1.6MM (Initial placement only. We will be assigning more Business Taxes and fees, including larger balances up to $10k)
What is the average balance of accounts by category?
Ambulance/Hospital: Approx. $294
Business/Fees: Approx. $195 (Initial only)
What is the average age of accounts at placement (at time of award and/or on a going-forward basis), by category?
2 - 3 years.
What is the monthly or quarterly number of accounts expected to be placed with the vendor(s) by category
Ambulance: Approx 500-600 accounts/month
Hospital: Approx 500 accounts/month
Business/Fees: Approx 300 – 700
What is the monthly or quarterly dollar value of accounts expected to be placed with the vendor(s) by category?
Ambulance: Approx $140k/month
Hospital: Approx $146k/month
Business/Fees: Approx $100,000 - $300,000
What has been the historical rate of return or liquidation rate provided by any incumbent(s), and/or what is anticipated or expected as a result of this procurement?
Ambulance 10%, Hospital 18%
If applicable, will accounts held by any incumbent(s) or any backlog be moved to any new vendor(s) as a one-time placement at contract start up?
No
What computer software system do you use to manage your accounts/inventory?
Currently we are using Columbia Ultimate (CUBS) but we are moving to CSS Impact
Do you have any plans of changing that system in the future, and why/why not?
See above
Do you have a current vendor(s)? If so, please answer:
Yes, Linebarger and Associates
Do you have the same vendor working both portfolios (tax and fees/medical) or are they being worked by two different vendors?
Currently, Linebarger is working only the Business Taxes and Fees
Please confirm that you want our proposal response EMAILED and the signed forms MAILED (Section III. A.).
Yes.
Please expand on the expectations for Court Judgment accounts. Would additional legal work be required or are you just wanting the accounts to be collected through more traditional collection efforts?
Accounts with Judgments will require necessary post-judgment work
Under the references section, the RFP asks for the Total Number of Employees. Can you provide more detail as to which employees should be included in this number?
The Number of employees relative to the reference you are submitting
Please confirm that envelopes containing CMD forms should be marked "RFP for TTX Bureau of Delinquent Revenue Debt Collection Software."
Please use: RFP for TTX Bureau of Delinquent Revenue Outside Debt Collection
Does the City just need access to our secure https: client portal from any city terminal? Or does the city require a specified terminal to access our client portal?
Our client portal is designed for unlimited approved users to access account information, accept direct payments, pull reports 24/7 and much more.
Access is required.
Please clarify the 22 pg maximum response. Will the city permit the response to be written double sided/both sides, thus still consuming only 22 sheets of paper?
one side is counted as a page
The RFP’s Table of Contents refers to Appendix C Agreement for Professional Services. We are unable to locate a document with this name. Does this refer to the Sample Terms and Conditions?
It is the separate Document (Agreement for Professional Services (form P-600))
On page 4, the RFP states: “Remit to BDR, no later than the 10th of each month…” then later states on page 5: “The City requires guaranteed and cleared payments to be electronically remitted on a weekly basis.”
Please clarify if the City wants weekly or monthly remittances.
Weeklyy
Does the City prefer agencies to remit gross collected funds and bill for our commission? Or collected funds net the agency’s commission?
Net submission
On page 4, what is meant by “abandoned records”?
Uncollectable
On page 6, will the Table of Contents count towards the 22-page limit?
No
Appendix A, page B-1, indicates items 1, 2, and 3 must be filed before the City can award a contract. For item #2, Business Tax Declaration,
what action is required if, as a non-local agency without a physical presence in the City of San Francisco, we are exempt from registering with the City of San Francisco Tax Collector?
Since you would be conducting business in the City of San Francisco, you would be required to register (a business does not need a physical presence in the City to meet this requirement).
How will accounts be distributed amongst selected agencies?
Accounts will be distributed according to the business needs of the department.
Does the City add collection costs to accounts? If so, what documentation does the City have authorizing the addition of such costs?
Nothing is added to any healthcare related accounts. Business taxes and Fees can have commissions added
What method(s) does the City use to place accounts with agencies (email, online upload, FTP, etc.)?
FTP
How will the City’s decision to award be announced?
it will be published on the Treasurer and Tax Collector website
Does the City permit settlement?
in Certain instances with prior approval form BDR
Will a large business that JV with a LBE qualify for the 10% bonus? or does the 10% bonus only apply to a JV between small and/or LBE proposers?
10% only applies for JV among LBEs
Will the city please clarify O. Standard Contract Provisions on page 14.
Administrative Code 12B and 12C.
Do these requirementsdiffer if the contractor/employee reside outsidethe San Francisco area or in another state other than California?
As a rule, all firms that contract directly with the city MUST be compliant with Ch. 12B and 12C. There is a way to be exempted from complying with 12B and C nondiscrimination laws by having CMD issue a waiver of the requirements. The firm must contact our equal benefits staff and begin the waiver process.
For more information, call 415-581-2310 and ask to speak with equal benefits staff
If a bidder provides a cover page, cover letter and table of contents, do these count against the 22 page limit
Table of Contents does not count
Does the city consider collection services on educational debt similar to the services provided for this solicitation?
Education Debt is not what the City will be assigning
Do public college and universities count as “public sector” clients?
Yes
Where can bidder find the CMD forms required to be submitted with the proposal?
www.sfgov.org/oca/
Click on “Required Vendor Forms” under the “Information for Vendors and Contractors” banner.
In regards to the Sample Contract, Article 4.3, What does the City consider a subcontractor? Collection agencies often have outside vendors that perform specific
ancillary tasks related to the scope of work (ex. skip trace vendors, letter vendors, etc.) that are utilized across the majority of agency contracts.
Would the City require approval of these ancillary vendors prior to their utilization for the purposes of this contract?
Please confirm that Appendix C is the P-600 Sample contract provided with this solicitation.
Yes
Should the CMD Forms also be included in the email submission or should they just be mailed?
Just mailed
What is the last date of assignments to current vendor?
October 23, 2015
What were the total $ and # of placements for 2015?
24,034 accounts for Approx. $11MM
Page 2, # 4 states initial placements of debts will be up to three (3) years old.
Is this the typical age of placements, or does it include accounts previously assigned (seconds) to another agency/vendor?
The new placements have not been with another agency
To how many vendors are you seeking to award the new contract? Will there be one primary and one secondary agency?
Up to two primary
Please provide detailed information regarding which City/County agencies will be referring accounts, based on current portfolio.
All accounts will be referred by the Bureau of Delinquent Revenue that collects debt for 19 different city departments
Can you please confirm/clarify the page limit for the first three items (company information; letter of introductions; and references)?
Letter of introduction and references can be up to 3 pages
Are the forms provided within Appendix A Standard Forms (items 1-4) provided with the two hard copies of the required forms, or are they to be provided with a bidder’s electronic proposal submission?
Only the Proposals need to be emailed.
What are Proposers supposed to enter in the field for “LBE Goal __%”?
0%
Is there a formal “LBE Subconsultant Participation Goal” for this RFP? If yes, please specify.
No
Will accounts be primary placements, not having been serviced by any other outside collection agency, and/or will you also be referring secondary placements
The department anticipates that they will not have been collected on by another outside collection agency
What collection activities are performed by BDR prior to placing accounts with agencies
Full scope of collection efforts including, but not limited to: Phone calls, letters, Legal Action
From date of service to placement with a collection agency, how much time will elapse
6 months – 2 years
Will BDR require a Better Business Bureau rating as a component of the collection agency evaluation?
A specific point value is not assigned to BBB ratings; however, it is part of the evaluation for that section of the RFP.
Will BDR consider an incentive program for the agencies with a monetary or bonus for the top performing collection agency or agencies?
No
Will BDR award any additional points for an agency proposing cost alternative or add on services that benefit BDR and/or the consumer?
Please refer to the RFP for scoring breakdown
Please clarify what the City is seeking for a client project “budget.”
Approximation of what your firm invests in these projects
Information for items such as “budget” and “average monthly collections” is often deemed proprietary and/or held as confidential between the client and the agency.
Can this information be protected from public disclosure through this procurement?
Bidding and contract information is generally considered public, with some exceptions. For more information about San Francisco public records laws please see: http://www.sfcityattorney.org/good-government/sunshine/sunshine-ordinance/
Under the second bullet of B. Format & Content, 3. Team Qualification, Proposers are encourage to include brief resumes if necessary. If a Proposer includes brief biographical sketches of experience and qualifications here, can they also include full resumes in an Appendix (that would already include any brochures, literature, and demonstrations that do not go against the page maximum) and not have those full resumes go against the page limit?
No
Is the City willing to expand any of the current page limitations for sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 as described on pages 7-8 of the RFP?
No