REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 01/18/2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Finance Department
SUBJECT:
Title
Professional Services Agreement with Spicer Consulting Group, LLC for annual tax roll billing and special tax consulting services.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve an Agreement for annual tax roll billing and special tax consulting services with Spicer Consulting Group, LLC. The City utilizes special tax consultants to assist with administrative tasks for the Assessment District, Community Facilities Districts, Lighting and Landscape Maintenance Districts, and County Service Area. This agreement will allow Spicer Consulting Group, LLC to perform these services for the City for an initial three-year term with an option to renew for an additional three-year period.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Award Request for Proposals 23-015AS for annual tax roll billing and special tax consulting services to Spicer Consulting Group, LLC of Murrieta, CA.
b. Approve a Professional Services Agreement with Spicer Consulting Group, LLC for an initial three-year term of January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2025, in the amount of $177,664 per calendar year, with an optional three-year renewal period effective January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028.
c. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Professional Services Agreement with Spicer Consulting Group, LLC., and negotiate and execute non-substantive extensions, change orders, and amendments up to $17,766 per calendar year or 10% of the amended contract amount as authorized in Corona Municipal Code Section 3.08.070(I).
d. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to issue a Purchase Order to Spicer Consulting Group, LLC. in the amount of $177,664 per calendar year for the initial agreement term ending December 31, 2025.
Body
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The City of Corona administers one Assessment District (AD), 13 facility Community Facilities Districts (CFD), 12 maintenance/services CFD’s, three Lighting and Landscape Maintenance Districts (LMD), and one County Service Area (CSA). Each year, special assessments are calculated for each property within these special districts and placed on the property owners’ property tax bill. Throughout the year, financial information is maintained for each district and required reporting is prepared in accordance with various rules, regulations, and laws. Special districts that incurred indebtedness will also require disclosure reporting annually. For new developments, if subject to special assessment, they either annex into one of the existing special districts or form a new district. The City utilizes special tax consultants to assist with these administrative tasks
ANALYSIS:
On September 8, 2022, RFP 23-015AS, titled “Annual Tax Roll Billing and Special Tax Consulting Services” was issued. The RFP was advertised in the Sentinel Weekly News on September 9, 2022 and published on the City’s PlanetBids bidding portal. The City notified vendors registered in PlanetBids and received two proposals by the submission date of November 2, 2022.
Staff performed an evaluation of the proposals submitted. The evaluation was based on the following criteria:
Table 1: RFP Ranking Criteria
|
Criteria |
Max Points |
Rating |
|
Completeness of Response |
0 |
Pass or Fail |
|
Qualification of Firm |
10 |
N/A |
|
Qualifications of Personnel |
40 |
N/A |
|
Work Plan / Project Understanding and Approach |
40 |
N/A |
|
Value |
10 |
N/A |
|
Total |
100 |
|
The review panel carefully evaluated the proposals received according to the criteria noted in Table 1.
A summary of the proposal evaluation rankings is presented below:
|
Company |
Rank |
|
Spicer Consulting Group |
1 |
|
Webb Municipal Finance, LLC |
2 |
The evaluation resulted with Spicer Consulting Group receiving the highest score, primarily due to their work plan/project understanding and approach and qualifications of their personnel. Staff recommends the City Council award the Annual Tax Roll Billing and Special Tax Consulting Agreement to Spicer Consulting Group, LLC.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
For the existing scope of services, the annual cost will not exceed $177,664, and it is included as part of the operating cost of various funds in the adopted Fiscal Year 2023 budget. The fees for each existing district are listed in Exhibit C of the attached Agreement. Future annexations and formations, fees per transaction are listed in the same exhibit. Additional services not specified in the Agreement will be charged based on the established rates and fees stated in Exhibit C of the Agreement. Future fiscal years will be budgeted appropriately through the budget process. Costs for annexation and formation services for future districts or zones will be paid by the developer.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action is for the annual tax billing and special tax services, and there is no possibility that adopting the recommended actions will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required at this time.
PREPARED BY: Erma Montano, Senior Financial Analyst
REVIEWED BY: Kim Sitton, Finance Director
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Professional Services Agreement with Spicer Consulting Group, LLC
2. Exhibit 2 - RFP Summary