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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-03-29 - Request for Qualifications - Tax Administration and Online Filing SystemCITY OF TUKWILA REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS AND PROPOSALS FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION AND ONLINE FILING SYSTEM Due March 29, 2024 by 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) The City of Tukwila is requesting proposals from qualified firms interested in providing an online tax filing system and tax administration software solution to aid in administering business taxes collected by the City of Tukwila. This Request for Proposals (RFP) is not a competitive bid based on price only. The RFP allows the City to select the consultant(s) which, in its sole discretion, best meets the needs of the City, taking into consideration price, qualifications, and service capabilities and other factors relevant to the City's policies, programs, resources, and budget. The successful consultant(s) ("Proposer") will contract with the City as an independent contractor and shall not be entitled to City benefits. The consultant(s) will be responsible for the performance of all of the obligations under the contract in conformance with state and federal law. The work is expected to commence in August of 2024 and be completed no later than November 30, 2024. Please review the full RFP following this notice for details All materials should be submitted by email to: Vicky Carlsen, Finance Director vicky.carlsen@tukwilawa.gov Subject: RFP for Tax Administration and Online Filing System Questions regarding the proposal will be accepted by email to Vicky Carlsen, Finance Director at vicky.carlsen@tukwilawa.gov Materials are due by 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) on March 29, 2024. No submittals will be accepted after this date and time. Published Seattle Times —January 31, 2024 and February 28, 2024 Published Daily Journal of Commerce —January 31, 2024 and February 28, 2024 CITY OF TUKWILA REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS CITY TAXES SOFTWARE SOLUTION DUE: FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2024, 5:00 p.m. (PST) Notice is hereby given that proposals will be received by the City of Tukwila, Washington, for: City Tax Administration Software Solution The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit proposals from software Vendors, systems integrators, and/or Value Added Resellers (VARs) who can demonstrate that they possess the organizational, functional and technical capabilities to provide a Tax Software solution that meets the City's needs. The City is looking for an online tax filing system as well as an internal system of record to aid the City in tax administration. The City's preference is to select and begin implementation of a tax software solution in the third quarter of 2024. Please review the full RFP following this notice The City of Tukwila reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, and to waive irregularities and informalities in the submittal and evaluation process. This RFP does not obligate the City to pay any costs incurred by respondents in the preparation and submission of a proposal, including but not limited to a respondent doing an onsite scripted product demonstrations. Furthermore, the RFP does not obligate the City to accept or contract for any expressed or implied services. A vendor response that indicates that any of the requested information in this RFP will only be provided if and when the supplier is selected as the apparently successful supplier is not acceptable, and, at the City's sole discretion, may disqualify the proposal from consideration. The City of Tukwila assures that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, or sex be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity. The City of Tukwila further assures that every effort will be made to ensure non- discrimination in all of its programs and activities, whether those programs are federally funded or not. In addition to nondiscrimination compliance requirements, the Supplier(s) ultimately awarded a contract shall comply with federal, state, and local laws, statutes, and ordinances relative to the execution of the work. This requirement includes, but is not limited to, protection of public and employee safety and health; environmental protection; waste reduction and recycling; the protection of natural resources; permits; fees; taxes; and similar subjects. The Supplier(s) ultimately awarded a contract will be required to sign a Non -Disclosure Agreement. Responses and questions regarding the proposal should be submitted via email to Vicky Carlsen, Finance Director, vicky.carlsen@tukwilawa.gov. Proposals received later than 5:00 p.m. March 29, 2024, will not be considered. Published Seattle Times: January 31, 2024 and February 28, 2024 Published Daily Journal of Commerce: January 31, 2024 and February 28, 2024 City of Tukwila Request for Proposal Tax Administration Software Solution and Online Tax Filing Software Solution Issue Date: January 31, 2024 Due Date: March 29, 2024 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1: GENERAL RFP INFORMATION 4 1.1 RFP PURPOSE 4 1.2 INTRODUCTION 4 1.3 CURRENT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS 4 1.4 OBJECTIVES 4 1.5 CITY BUSINESS GOALS 5 1.6 SCOPE OF WORK 6 1.7 CURRENT ENVIRONMENT 7 1.8 OFFICIAL CONTACT AND PROPOSAL SUBMISSION ADDRESS 7 1.9 PROCUREMENT SCHEDULE 7 1.10 EVALUATION PROCEDURES 8 1.11 TERMS AND CONDITIONS 8 SECTION 2: VENDOR INSTRUCTIONS 11 2.1 LETTER OF INTENT 11 2.2 VENDOR QUESTIONS 11 2.3 RFP RESPONSE FORMAT 11 2.4 KEY FUNCTIONAL AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS 11 SECTION 3: EXHIBITS 12 EXHIBIT A - ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF RFP 13 EXHIBIT B - NON -COLLUSION CERTIFICATE 15 EXHIBIT C - FUNCTIONAL AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS 16 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software SECTION 1: GENERAL RFP INFORMATION 1_1 RFP PURPOSE The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit proposals from software Vendors, systems integrators, and/or Value Added Resellers (VARs) who can demonstrate that they possess the organizational, functional and technical capabilities to provide a flexible, scalable, and configurable Tax Administration Software solution that meets the City's needs. The functions include, but are not limited to, a system of record to aid City staff with efficiently administering and tracking city -imposed business taxes, and an online filing system to allow businesses to file tax returns online. The City's preference is to select a tax administration software solution in the second quarter of 2024, and to begin implementation of the tax software solution in the third quarter of 2024. 1_2 INTRODUCTION Tukwila business community includes heavy and light manufacturing, service -oriented companies, as well as the Northwest's largest concentration of retail businesses. The City prides itself in its well- established economic base, low debt burden, and strong financial management. The City is a 115-year old community that incorporated in 1908 and now encompasses an area of 9.7 square miles, with a population of just under 22,000. It has approximately 5,000 licensed businesses, of which approximately 2,200 businesses have a commercial business location or residential business within City limits. The City currently imposes a utility tax, admissions tax, parking tax, and gambling tax on certain business activities. Beginning January 1, 2024, the City is also imposing a business and occupation (B&O) tax. Based on current taxable threshold levels, the City anticipates having approximately 1,800 businesses filing B&O tax returns. In addition, 200 business are filing tax returns for admissions, gambling, parking, or utility taxes. The City is a Mayor -Council form of government, administered by a full-time Mayor, a seven -member City Council, and a City Administrator. The City is located in the heart of the Puget Sound region, approximately 12 miles south of downtown Seattle, 17 miles north of Tacoma, and just east of Seattle -Tacoma International Airport. A full community profile can be found at www.Tukwilawa.gov. La CURRENT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS The City currently uses CentralSquare - Finance Enterprise for its financial accounting solution. Community Development and Public Works uses CentralSquare's Community Development (TRAKiT) for permit activity. The City does not currently have software for administering its City -imposed taxes, and it does not have an online tax filing or payment option. The City's list of businesses that are licensed with the City and potentially subject to tax is obtained from the Washington State Department of Revenue's online portal, for which access is granted to City staff upon executing a confidentiality agreement. This list is currently stored in Microsoft Excel, and the City is presently migrating this data into Microsoft Access. ti4 OBJECTIVES The City is seeking an integrated "commercial off the shelf', configurable, packaged solution(s) that will meet its core requirements with minimal modifications. The City expects the Vendor to perform the related professional services (e.g. best practices guidance, training, project management, implementation, integration and report development) in a timely and professional manner. Services should be provided by experienced tax software experts who have successfully implemented the proposed solution(s) at comparable municipalities with similar requirements. Page 14 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software The City is willing to consider a "best of breed" approach and will consider proposals from single Vendors or from multiple Vendors working as a team. In the event multiple Vendors submit a proposal together, the City expects that there will be one primary contact that will be responsible for the whole project and for coordinating the work of the other Vendors. The ideal Vendor shall have experience in successfully implementing the proposed solutions at local government agencies of similar size to the City and/or in larger agencies. The successful Vendor shall be responsible for the final City approved design, installation, implementation and commissioning of the tax administration system, including development of user acceptance testing, system integration and connectivity to existing resources. This RFP process seeks to find the best overall solution(s) for the City for this investment. The award shall be made to the qualified Vendor whose proposal is most advantageous to the City with price and other factors considered. Other factors that may contribute to the selection process include but are not limited to the following: • Project approach and understanding of the City's objectives and requirements • Supplier's implementation methodology and implementation success • Feedback from customer references • Compliance with the City's terms and conditions • Ability to meet the City's requirements including software modules, functionality, usability, performance, flexibility, integration and technology • Supplier's installed base and experience with similar municipalities in and out of the State of Washington • Ability to integrate with other City systems • Cost and quality of ongoing maintenance and support Overall the tax administration system must provide the following: • Compatibility with the City's Technology strategic objectives. • A commercial off -the -shelf solution that has been successfully implemented in the last 18 months for public agencies of comparable size and that follows best practices offered by the software. • Alignment with the functional requirements as defined in this RFP. • A solution that requires no modification to base code but is configurable to meet the needs of the City now and into the future. • An intuitive interface and an easy learning curve to facilitate rapid adoption and minimize the need for external on -going training services. • A system that is stable, secure, and accessible and supports business processes and service delivery. • Vendor must have an ongoing and sustainable product and corporate strategy to avoid obsolescence. • Comprehensive library of standard reports and tools for end user ad hoc reporting and queries. • Foster collaboration and process efficiencies between work groups. • Easy integration with other systems. • Compliance with State of Washington requirements including BARS reporting. LI CITY BUSINESS GOALS The City requires a tax administration solution so as to enable the City to meet the following business goals: • Establish a technical foundation for the tax administration solution that is reliable and accommodates the City's changing business needs. • Ensure City staff has a comprehensive, functional database of business information and tax tracking. • Implement a customer -friendly online tax filing portal to maximize the number of tax returns filed and paid online, thereby increasing efficiency for City staff and the business community. • Streamline the City's tax administration processes by enabling the automation of delinquency notices, balance due or credit notices, including electronic noticing abilities, and decreasing errors that result in manual data correction and processes. • Reduce the effort required to convert data to actionable information, including the ability to easily extract database information for use by the City, and thereby increase the accuracy and timeliness Page 15 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software of information to enable the City to optimize resources and make informed decisions. • Provide seamless transition between the point -of -sale system, the online portal, the general ledger, and the tax administration system. • A solution that protects the privacy and security of tax information. tfi SCOPE OF WORK The City is seeking a cloud -based, integrated solution that will meet its core requirements out of the box with minimal modifications. The goal is to optimize system utilization for all users, improve response times, reduce errors, reduce manual efforts, improve analytical capabilities and improve customer service. The City intends to minimize its total cost of ownership without any degradation in performance and level of service and to implement a system which can remain on the upgrade path with minimal cost and business impact. The proposed software solution(s) should meet these minimum requirements: • Delivery of a tax administration system that supports multiple business classifications and multiple tax schedules which involve calculations based on a variety of inputs. • Ability to import/update business license data effectively and efficiently, including registration numbers, addresses, business open dates, license expiration dates, NAICS codes, business activity descriptions, estimated annual gross income amounts, and phone and email contact information. • Ability to interface or integrate with other software solutions which include but are not limited to the State of Washington's business license database administered through the Department of Revenue, and CentralSquare Finance Enterprise (the City's accounting system) utilizing Application Programming interfaces (API's). • Ability to utilize API's for integration with reporting systems • Ability to allow businesses to file tax returns online using a secure, user-friendly portal, including validation during initial registration to ensure the business is set up in the City's accounting system. • Ability to record tax return information reported to the City, including multiple classifications, rates, schedules, calculations based on a variety of inputs, payment amounts, and payment received dates. • Ability to assign various tax filing frequencies to businesses (e.g. quarterly or annual), including the ability to change filing frequencies from one year to another or to assign a nonreporting status. • Ability to manage user access, security, and track changes entered into the system by the user. • Ability to add notes regarding a business account and/or tax returns filed, and to require notes when a user makes edits to defined fields of a business record or tax return. • Full security, audit trail, reconciliation, archival, and retrieval capabilities following industry best practices. • Flexible search capabilities, including capability which allows users to search by registration number, business name, trade name, address, business classification/tax type, and/or NAICS code. • Flexible reporting and managerial tools, including capability which allows users to produce reports with the following information: o Listing of delinquent/past due tax returns o Listing of underpaid or overpaid tax returns o Cash receipt detail and summary by batch and payment activity o Delinquent balance due / aging report o Mail merge export o Ability to export and email reports o Adhoc reporting to include reports by gross income amounts, deductions, and credits reported on tax returns filed for a given date range or reporting period(s) For a detailed list of functional requirements, refer to Exhibit C. The City has identified individuals that will be assigned to the implementation of tax administration system(s). The City requests Vendor to indicate level of staffing needed for implementation as well as ongoing support. Vendor should estimate hours required for implementation for IT staff and business users by functional area. Page 16 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software 1_7 CURRENT ENVIRONMENT The City anticipates that it will have up to 5 employees primarily assigned to tax administration duties who work in a hybrid environment, partly telecommuting and partly working at a primary location in the City. Voice and data needs for this site are served by fiber. The City's standard network operating system is Windows Server 2012/2016/2019. The standard desktop operating system is Windows 11. The City is currently using applications in Office 365 and Azure. SharePoint is used to generate dashboard views for some Management data outside of the financial system. The data backbone is Ruckus/Cisco 10/100/1000 and10 gigabit switches, firewalls, and routers. La OFFICIAL CONTACT AND PROPOSAL SUBMISSION ADDRESS Upon release of this RFP, all Vendor communications concerning the RFP should be directed to the City's Finance Director listed below. Unauthorized contact regarding this RFP with any other City employees may result in disqualification. Any oral communications will be considered unofficial and non -binding on the City. Vendors should rely only on written statements issued by the Finance Director. The City's Finance Director is: Name: Vicky Carlsen Address: 6200 Southcenter Blvd, Tukwila, WA 98188 E-mail: vicky.carlsen@tukwilawa.gov Phone: 206.433.1839 Proposals must be received at the email address above no later than 5:00 pm PST on March 29, 2024. Respondents must title their email "Tax Administration Software Solution RFP" and submit their proposal via email attachment to: Vicky Carlsen, Finance Director Vicky.carlsen@tukwilawa.gov LQ PROCUREMENT SCHEDULE The procurement schedule for this project is provided in the following table. The City reserves the right to adjust this schedule as necessary: Milestone RFP Issue Date Submit Questions Regarding RFP City Response to Questions Proposals Due from Participating Vendors Vendor Short List Identified Vendor Notification and Delivery of Short List Software Demos Contract Negotiations Implementation Kick-off Deadline January 31, 2024 February 29, 2024, by 5:00 p.m. March 7, 2024 March 29, 2024, by 5:00 p.m. April 15, 2024 April 22, 2024 May 13 through June 14, 2024 July 1 through August 9, 2024 August 15, 2024 Page 17 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software j Q EVALUATION PROCEDURES The Finance Director and other implementation team staff will evaluate the submitted proposals. The initial technical and functional evaluation will be based on written responses to this RFP. It is important that the responses be clear, concise, and complete so that the evaluators can adequately understand all aspects of the proposal. The City is not interested in unnecessary sales verbiage. The evaluators will consider the completeness of the proposal, how well the Vendor complied with the response requirements, responsiveness of Vendor to requests, the number and nature of exceptions (if any) the Vendor takes to the terms and conditions, the total cost of ownership, and how well the Vendor's proposed solution meets the needs of the City as described in the Vendor's response to each requirement and form. As part of the evaluation, the City reserves the right to request additional information, ask for a Web or onsite demo, conduct conference calls to review the response, or take any other action necessary to perform a thorough and objective evaluation of each Vendor's response. This evaluation includes, but is not limited to conducting customer reference checks, visiting Vendor headquarters and reviewing any other information about the Vendor and its solution (e.g. performance, viability, technology, mergers and acquisitions, organizational changes, litigation, industry analyses, etc.) The evaluation process is intended to help the City select the Vendor with the best combination of attributes, including but not limited to total cost of ownership, ease -of -use, performance, reliability, vision, flexibility, stability, sustainability, Vendor viability and Vendor capacity to successfully implement the selected applications. The City also reserves the right to require that a subset of finalist Vendors make a presentation and conduct a scripted product demonstration to its selection team at a location and time chosen by the City. 1.11 TERMS AND CONDITIONS RFP Amendments The City reserves the right to change the schedule or issue amendments to the RFP at any time. The City also reserves the right to cancel or reissue the RFP. Any changes to the schedule or amendments to the RFP will be posted on the City's website in the Digital Records Center. Good Faith Statement All information provided by the City in this RFP is offered in good faith. Individual items are subject to change at any time. The City makes no certification that any item is without error. The City is not responsible or liable for any use of the information or for any claims asserted therefrom. Proposal Acceptance The City reserves the right to accept the bid, bids or parts of a bid deemed most advantageous to the City. If applicable, the City reserves the right to request from the software Vendor a different implementation provider, and/or Value Added Reseller than the one proposed, or, at its sole discretion, select a different implementation provider, and/or Value Added Reseller on its own. Cooperative Purchasing RCW 39.34 allows cooperative purchasing between public agencies (political subdivisions) in the State of Washington. Public agencies which have filed an Intergovernmental Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with the City of Tukwila may purchase from City of Tukwila contracts, provided that the supplier agrees to participate. The City of Tukwila does not accept any responsibility for purchase orders issued by other public agencies. Recordings The City reserves the right to record and/or videotape all Webinars, demos, conference calls, demos or other communications relative to this RFP. Page 18 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software Vendor's Cost to Develop Proposal Costs for developing proposals in response to the RFP are entirely the obligation of the vendor and shall not be chargeable in any manner to the City. Vendor's Understanding of the RFP In responding to this RFP, the vendor accepts full responsibility to understand the RFP in its entirety, and in detail, including making any inquiries to the City as necessary to gain such understanding. The City reserves the right to disqualify any vendor who demonstrates less than such understanding. Further, the City reserves the right to determine, at its sole discretion, whether the vendor has demonstrated such understanding. That right extends to cancellation of award, if award has been made. Such disqualification and/or cancellation shall be at no fault, cost, or liability whatsoever to the Client. Proposed Costs for ERP Software Solution All costs related to implementation, training, configuration, data conversion, annual support, or any other component related to the proposed solution must be fully disclosed in the RFP response. The City will not be responsible to pay for any element that is not clearly identified and quantified in the RFP response. Withdrawal of Proposals Proposals may be withdrawn at any time prior to the submission time specified in this RFP, provided notification is received in writing. Proposals cannot be changed or withdrawn after the time designated for receipt. Rejection of Proposals — Waiver of Informalities or Irregularities The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any minor informalities or irregularities contained in any proposal, and to accept any proposal deemed to be in the best interest of the City. Proposal Validity Period Submission of the proposal will signify the Vendor's agreement that its proposal and the content thereof are valid for 180 days following the submission deadline and will become part of the contract that is negotiated between the City and the successful Vendor. City License The Vendor awarded said contract will be required to purchase a City Business License if the Vendor engages in business within the City, as defined in TMC 5.04.010. Public Disclosure Notice Under Washington State law, the documents (including but not limited to written, printed, graphic, electronic, photographic or voice mail materials and/or transcriptions, recordings or reproductions thereof) submitted in response to this request for proposals (the "documents") become a public record upon submission to the City, subject to mandatory disclosure upon request by any person, unless the documents are exempted from public disclosure by a specific provision of law. Documents identified as confidential or proprietary will not be treated as such if public disclosure laws take precedence. If the City receives a request for inspection or copying of any documents provided by a Vendor marked as confidential in response to this RFP, it will promptly notify the Vendor at the address given in response to this RFP that it has received such a request. Such notice will inform the Vendor of the date the City intends to disclose the documents requested and affording the Vendor a reasonable opportunity to obtain a court order prohibiting or conditioning the release of the documents. The City assumes no contractual obligation to enforce any exemption. Any information contained in the proposal that the Vendor desires to claim as proprietary or confidential, and exempt from disclosure must be clearly designated, including identifying the page and particular exception(s) from disclosure. The City will try to respect all material identified by the Supplier as being Proprietary or Confidential, but requests that Vendors be highly selective of what they mark as Confidential. The City will make a decision predicated upon applicable laws and can choose to disclose information despite its being marked as Page 19 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software confidential or proprietary. Marking the entire proposal as proprietary or confidential, and therefore, exempt from disclosure will NOT be accepted or honored and may result in disclosure of the entire proposal or disqualification of the proposal solely at the discretion of the City. Documents identified as confidential or proprietary will not be treated as such if public disclosure laws take precedence, the information is publicly available, the information is already in the City's possession, the information is obtained from third parties without restrictions on disclosure or the information was independently developed without reference to the Confidential information. Acquisition Authority This RFP and acquisition are authorized pursuant RCW 39.04.270. Contract Award and Execution • The City reserves the right to make an award without further discussion of the proposal submitted. Therefore, the proposal should be initially submitted on the most favorable terms the Vendors can offer. It is understood that the proposal will become a part of the official file on this matter without obligation to the City. • The Vendor selected as the apparently successful Vendor will be expected to enter into a negotiated contract with the City ("Negotiated Contract"). • The general conditions and specifications of this RFP as proposed by the City and the successful Vendor's response, as amended by agreements between the City and the Vendor, will become part of the Negotiated contract's documents. Additionally, the City will verify Vendor representations that appear in the proposal. Failure of the Vendor's products to meet the mandatory specifications may result in elimination of the Vendor from competition or in contract cancellation or termination. • The Vendor agrees that this RFP, the Vendor's response to this RFP (proposal) and a mutually agreed upon Statement of Work will be included as part of the executed Negotiated Contract. • If the selected Vendor fails to sign a Negotiated Contract with the City within five (5) business days of delivery of the final contract, the City may elect to cancel the award and award the contract to the next - highest -ranked Vendor. • No cost chargeable to the proposed contract may be incurred before receipt of a fully executed Negotiated Contract or unless otherwise agreed to in writing by both parties. • If mutually agreed upon terms cannot be negotiated, the City, at its sole discretion, may terminate negotiations and begin contract negotiations with the next highest scored RFP response. Other Compliance Requirements In addition to nondiscrimination and equal opportunity compliance requirements, the Vendor awarded a contract shall comply with federal, state and local laws, statutes, and ordinances relative to the execution of the work. This requirement includes, but is not limited to, protection of public and employee safety and health; environmental protection; waste reduction and recycling; the protection of natural resources; permits; fees; taxes; and similar subjects. Ownership of Documents Any reports, studies, conclusions, and summaries prepared by the Proposer shall become the property of the City. Confidentiality of Information All information and data furnished to the Vendor by the City, and all other documents to which the Vendor's employees have access during the term of the contract, shall be treated as confidential to the City. Any oral or written disclosure to unauthorized individuals is prohibited. Page 110 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software SECTION 2: VENDOR INSTRUCTIONS 2_1 LETTER OF INTENT Vendors wishing to submit proposals are encouraged (but not required) to provide a written Letter of Intent to propose by February 29, 2024. An email attachment sent to vicky.carlsen@Tukwilawa.gov is acceptable. Please identify the name, address, phone and email address of the person who will serve as the key contact for all correspondence regarding this RFP. A Letter of Intent is required if a Vendor would like to be directly notified, and receive, a list of the questions and answers that will be generated from the pre -proposal process. 2_2 VENDOR QUESTIONS Suppliers who request a clarification of the RFP requirements must submit written questions to the Finance Director by 5 p.m. on February 29, 2024, via email to: vicky.carlsen@tukwilawa.gov. 2,2 RFP RESPONSE FORMAT Proposals shall be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of the proposer's capabilities to satisfy the requirements of this RFP. Emphasis should be on completeness and clarity of content, cost effectiveness of the proposal, and adherence to the presentation structure required by this RFP and not on volume. All proposals and accompanying documentation will become the property of the City and will not be returned. Proposals must be emailed by the date and time indicated in Section 1.8 to the Finance Director noted in this RFP. Vendors wishing to respond to only select functionality (e.g. online tax filing system vs. tax administration system) should clearly indicate which functionalities are included as a formal response. Failure to address all items will impact the evaluation and may classify the response as non- responsive and preclude it from further consideration. Late proposals will be kept but not considered for award. 2,4 KEY FUNCTIONAL AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS This section includes the Requirements to be evaluated in this RFP. Use the electronic format provided with this RFP package (Exhibit C). This is not a comprehensive list of all the City's requirements but includes the key requirements that will be used to evaluate the RFP responses and will be included as part of the signed contracts. Software applications that are missing a significant number of required features and technology preferences may be eliminated from consideration. Vendors must provide a response for every item for all core functionality they are bidding on. If the requirement does not pertain to the proposal being submitted, enter "N/A". In addition, each line item should include a brief explanation of how the required item is supported. Do not modify the format, font, numbering, etc. of this section. If a submitted RFP includes blank responses the document may be considered in violation and rejected. If the submitted RFP response includes changes, modifications, or deletions of line items, the document may be considered in violation and rejected. Vendors are encouraged to respond by either providing a response to requirements based on Vendor -offered solutions, or by identifying third party partnership solutions. Page 111 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software SECTION 3: EXHIBITS Exhibit A — Acceptance of Terms and Conditions of RFP Exhibit B — Non -Collusion Certificate Exhibit C — Functional and Technical Requirements 12 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software EXHIBIT A — ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF RFP ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS It is the intent of the City to contract with a private Vendor. All Vendor representations, whether verbal, graphical or written, will be relied on by the City in the evaluation of the responses to this Request for Proposal. This reliance on the Vendor's represented expertise is to be considered as incorporated into any, and all, formal Agreements between the parties. Print the words "NO EXCEPTIONS" here if there are no exceptions taken to any of the terms, conditions, or specifications of these request for proposal documents: If there are exceptions to any of these terms, conditions, or specifications of these request for proposal documents, they must be clearly stated in the table below ("RFP EXCEPTIONS") and returned with your proposal in the appropriate section. If you provided a sample copy of your contract(s), you still need to identify in this document ("RFP EXCEPTIONS") any and all exceptions you have to the City's Terms and Conditions. Company Authorized Individual Name and Title Telephone Email Address AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE DATE OTHER NOTES: Page 113 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software RFP EXCEPTIONS Add any additional line items for exceptions as necessary and reference any explanatory attachments within the line item to which it refers. 1 Reference Exception Reason Alternate Approach 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Page 114 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software EXHIBIT B — NON -COLLUSION CERTIFICATE NON -COLLUSION CERTIFICATE STATE OF COUNTY OF The undersigned, being duly sworn, deposes and says that the person, firm, association, co -partnership or corporation herein named, has not, either directly or indirectly, entered into any agreement, participated in any collusion, or otherwise taken any action in restraint of free competitive bidding in the preparation and submission of a proposal to the City of Tukwila for consideration in the award of a contract on the improvement described as follows: (Name of Firm) By: (Authorized Signature) Title: SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me on this day of Notary Public My Commission expires: SEAL: 15 City of Tukwila Request for Proposals for Tax Administration Software EXHIBIT C — FUNCTIONAL AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS Functional and technical requirements are contained in the following spreadsheet (see next page). Page 116 City of Tukwila Tax Administration System Requirements for RFP General Functional Components Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Ability to maintain a list of businesses, including, but not limited to, the legal entity name, firm name, registration number, Washington UBI number, mailing address, physical address(es), NAICS code, business activity description, open date, license expiration date, and closed date. 2 Ability to search by various criteria including tax type, tax reporting period, tax return filing date range, registration number, name (legal name or firm name), business address, NAICS code, or open/closed status. 3 Ability to export search results in formats such as .csv, pdf, excel, etc. 4 The ability to edit account information in a business record, such as the firm name, address, license expiration date, open/closed date, etc. Changes may be based on an import/upload from the Department of Revenue's database or adjustments made manually by city staff. 5 Ability to record tax return information reported by businesses to the City, including multiple classifications, rates, schedules, calculations based on a variety of inputs, payment amounts, and payment received dates. 6 Supports multiple filing frequencies (monthly, quarterly, annual, or nonreporting), and the ability for staff to change filing frequencies from one year to another. Supports multiple tax return types for a single account (e.g. monthly utility tax return and annual B&O tax return). 8 Supports schedules that involve calculating tax due based on a variety of factors involving ratios of income and payroll costs. 9 Supports schedules that involve calculating tax credits based on income amounts and the amount of tax paid to other cities (as reported by the business) 10 Automatic calculation of tax due based on the fields on the tax return form (i.e. gross income less deductions and credits; and service apportionment calculation based on a variety of ratios involving income and payroll costs). 11 Automatic calculations of penalties and interest for returns filed/paid after the tax return due date. 12 Ability for staff to manually override auto -calculated penalty and interest calculations (e.g. waive penalties, add additional penalties, adjust interest calculations), including an audit trail of changes made. 13 Automatically detects over- or under -payments based on the amount of tax, penalty, and interest due calculated on the tax return. 14 Ability for staff to manually adjust the gross income, deductions, or other amounts reported on a tax return to issue a balance due notice or refund, including an audit trail of changes made. _ 15 Automatic calculation of tax, penalties, and interest on adjustments made to a tax return (i.e. tax under- or over -payments). 16 Automatic communication between the system of record and the financial accounting system regarding payments received, payments dates, and refunds or invoices issued. Ability to intergrate with Finance Enterprise. _ 17 Ability to route approvals electronically based on defined criteria (e.g. balance due adjustments, penalty waivers) 18 A user-friendly interface and reports that allow staff to identify unfiled/delinquent tax returns and over- or under -paid tax returns. 19 Ability to automatically identify potential reporting errors and flags for staff to review (e.g. manufacturing NAICS but no manufacturing tax reported; expired license). 20 User-friendly ability to view historical tax return details on an account "at -a -glance" (e.g. gross income, tax classification, deductions), without requiring each tax return to be pulled up individually. Online Tax Filing & Payment Portal Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 User-friendly portal that allows businesses to file and pay tax returns online in a secure environment. 2 User-friendly and secure registration and login process, which ensures that only authorized users may gain access to an account. 3 Initial registration of an account includes an approval or verification process by City staff, to ensure the business is set up in Finance Enterprise. 4 Ability for multiple authorized users to access a single account using their own unique login id and password, including permission -based limitations on access rights (e.g. file and pay, pay only, or read-only). S Ability for the user to access multiple accounts using a single login id and password (e.g. tax preparer filing for multiple companies). 6 Ability for the user to see a record of tax returns previously filed, payments made, any oustanding tax returns, balances due, or credits. 7 Ability for the user to print tax returns previously filed in a user-friendly format. 8 Supports multiple business classifications/tax rates and multiple schedules that may involve a variety of inputs and factors to compute the tax amount due (e.g. apportionment factor involving a ratio of income and payroll costs, multiple activities tax credit, deductions). 9 Supports multiple filing frequencies (monthly, quarterly, or annual), and limits the ability to change the assigned filing frequency (i.e. internal staff only). 10 Displays a list of outstanding/delinquent returns to be filed for up to the previous four calendar years plus the current calendar year, based on the business start date. 11 Displays help text and/or instructions to assist the user with understanding which fields to complete on the tax return. 12 Has a story -board -style tax filing process (similar to TurboTax) to assist customers in completing the tax return forms completely and correctly. 13 Automatically performs error checks within the tax return fields during the filing process (e.g. the amount reported in a defined field of the return can't exceed the amount reported in another defined field). 14 Allows for file uploads, accommodating single page and multipage files and allowing the user to attach multiple files at a time. 15 Allows payments to be made using various methods (cash or check payment by mail, ACH, credit/debit card, etc.). 16 Shopping cart functionality for multiple tax payments. 17 Allows the user to amend a previously filed tax return and submit payment for additional amounts due. 18 Allows the user to initiate account updates/changes that are routed to the city for approval and/or processing (e.g. mailing address changes, closing the account). 19 Allow digital signatures to be recorded based on federal & state law requirements. 20 Provides secure messaging ability for users to receive assistance from city staff. Document Management Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Upload and manage documents of various types (PDF, MSG, JPG, etc.). 2 Collaborative document review with mark-up, annotations, comments, digital signatures, and customizable stamps. 3 Digital document storage, retrieval, and sharing. 4 Must allow for creation of document subfolders (tree structure) for documents stored on the records. 5 Ability to generate documents and autofill them from a record/account based on criteria. 6 Vendor proposals should identify the size of documents their system can accept through the online portal and application. Configure document retention to archive supplemental docs after a certain time while retaining final document? Data Integration Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Integration with the City's accounting system (CentralSquare Finance Enterprise). 2 Integration with the State of Washington's business license database (Department of Revenue). Access Controls and Security Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Configurable access controls based on roles. 2 Robust security measures to protect sensitive data and comply with regulations. 3 Access for City IT to read/write/delete data. Financial Transaction Handling Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Process payments using various methods (cash/check, ACH, credit/debit cards). 2 Ability to handle refunds, balance dues, write-offs, and fee allocation. 3 Provide end of day reconciliation reporting functionalities. 4 Audit trail of all monetary transactions, including payments amounts, payment method, payment dates, and status changes (e.g. non -sufficient funds). Reporting and Dashboard Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Customizable reports with integration to Excel, Power BI, or similar tools with API integration abilities 2 Single dashboard for all departments with access based on user role. 3 Print and/or email reports from network printers on -demand and through scheduling. 4 IT must have the ability to create batch reports and event scripting. 5 Retain and use old reports. 6 Well documented data model of backend database for query and reporting, including access to the backend if this is a hosted solution 7 Support standard database protocols (e.g. ODBC, SQL) to access database from reporting query tools (e.g. Crystal Reports, SQL Server Report Server, Cognos BI, etc.) Training and Documentation Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Comprehensive training for initial system usage. 2 Additional training on an as -needed basis 3 Robust documentation for data analysts, administrators and end -users. Miscellaneous Features Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Must be able to add new licenses/tax records and to delete/void records, as well as enter comments, including standard comments. 2 Ability to add comments regarding a particular tax return on an account, and to add comments at the account level as a whole, including the date the note is entered. 3 Ability to cut and paste and utilize keyboard shortcuts in all screens and tasks. 4 Comments, description & notes should easily include RTF (e.g., Word Wrap, Bold, Italics, Underline & Colored text). 5 Various alerts/flags for customers or staff (e.g., account in collections, account under audit, bankruptcy). 6 Ability to hold historical accounting information (e.g., retain what tax rates were at a certain point in time). 7 Ability to only see what is specific to your job/department. 8 City Registration and State UBI Numbers need to be configurable to match current departmental nomenclatures. 9 Automates billing and aging process for invoices to include assessment of penalty and interest fees and assigning to collection agencies based on the age of delinquency. 10 System allows for several windows of the application to be open at the same time (Allow user to check on something else when interrupted). 11 Provide ability to assign workflow tasks and establish due dates for those tasks. 12 Provide API and data integration capabilities. 13 Print all documents and attachments from the online portal, the mobile app and the desktop app. 14 Must have the ability to produce automatic, customizable emails and/or mail merge files using triggers that are based on numerous criteria. 15 Ability to attach emails and attachment files from Outlook. 16 Must include a separate test environment for use in training and development of enhancements or modifications. 17 IT must have the ability for simple creation and configuration of record types and must be able to import/copy record types from a different system. Mobile Application Integration Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Compatible with major operating systems (Android, Apple, etc.). 2 Field capabilities including, searching, creating, and updating records. 3 Retain information entered in the field when not in data service range and have it automatically updated when in range again. Questions Response Comments 1 If self -hosted, do you foresee moving to a cloud -hosted system in the future? 2 Can we use your API? 3 Does your system provide the ability to integrate with other systems' API's (SOAP, REST, etc.)? 4 How are upgrades handled? How often, and can we do it ourselves? 5 Will we have the ability to interface with source control (preferably Git)? General Firm Credentials Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Firm has significant Public Sector market presence - provide number of customer implementations. 2 Provide customer contacts for reference for whom the firm has implemented a solution with similar requirements. 3 Firm has a service support center (support and implementation personnel only) dedicated to the proposed product? 4 Firm has a service support center to assist external customers with logging in to the online portal (i.e. forgotten username or password)? Licensing Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Describe your licensing (user, application and database) for Hosted, SaaS or On Premises. Project Implementation and Training Plan Response I Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 The Firm shall include a typical timeline with this proposal including major milestones for tasks and subtasks, dates and both Firm and customer resources. 2 Include a description of your overall approach to each of the following task areas (if applicable): a) System Installation b) System configuration c) Data Conversion d) Training (A sample of training materials & documentation should be included) e) Test planning and execution f) System interface design and support g) System roll -out, procedures, and support 3 Please describe your current project management methodology. Support Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 The City expects that annual support will include all updates, enhancements and training to the proposed solution. Describe how your solution meets this requirement. 2 Describe your ongoing user support, including whether you provide a service call desk, procedures for handling different types of calls, ability to prioritize critical calls, and ability to respond to calls within a reasonable time period. 3 Describe your escalation process for issues that are not resolved during initial call. 4 The City prefers a response from the service desk to non -emergency calls within four (4) hours and a response to critical calls (delay in work or loss of data due to system failure) within 1 hour. Provide validation of this capacity. 5 Describe how problems and/or bugs are reported, fixes developed, and status tracked for the proposed system. 6 Describe your process for receiving, evaluating, and implementing requests for enhancements to the proposed system post implementation. Live support is available for any issues Monday — Friday, 8am — 5pm (PST), or other reasonable timeframe during typical business hours. Please provide SLA agreements. 8 Describe customer communications processes that announce service outages, bug fixes, updates, known issues, EOL dates, etc. 9 Describe account and support management methodology if provided such as dedicated resources included in cost or available at extra cost, onsite vs. remote meetings, regularly scheduled meetings vs. as needed, etc. General System Specifications Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 City staff does not have administrative rights to install or upgrade applications and plug -ins on their computers. Describe any and all components that must be installed locally on a client machine, including Internet browser and Office plug -ins. Describe your support for packaging these components, if any, for automated installation. 2 Internally, the City has standardized on a Microsoft desktop platform: Windows operating system, Office suite, and Edge browser. The selected application Firm is expected to support all features and functionality within this environment. List versions currently supported by your product and describe your policy for adopting new versions of these products. 3 City requires the solution be compatible with multiple modern internet browsers for customer access via various platforms such as smart phones, tablets, desktops, etc. List the browsers and their versions(s) that your system currently supports and describe any functionality restrictions and limitations with your solution. 4 Any on premise components of the proposed solution must work in the city's current technical environment. If proposal includes an on premise technology component, please describe the components that would be on premise and the environments supported/required. Include networking components and configurations required to support the proposed solution. If applicable, also describe any remote access to the city's network that your staff requires for implementation and/or ongoing support. 5 Role Based Access Control (RBAC) allows the System Administrator to create user "profiles" that allow and grant user security rights to various functions of the system. Individuals or groups can also be given read/write or read-only access to the function, where applicable. Each user can be attached to a specific profile that gives them all the rights of the particular group. Describe how your system provides RBAC management and the level of granularity. 6 Tell us what programming language(s) the application(s) is/are written in. Database Management Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 List any limits to data storage provided as part of your proposed solution. 2 What database platforms does your product support? 3 Estimated database size and memory requirements. 4 Specific database configuration requirements, if any. 5 Is your environment Single or Multi -Tenant? If multi -tenant, how do you ensure segregation of client data? 6 Is data available and accessible in native format to City's data management team (data extracts) on a regular basis? Servers and Operating System Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Specify if system will be physical, virtual or an appliance. 2 Supported virtualization platforms 3 Supported Operating Systems 4 Number of virtual servers required 5 Recommended drive space requirements 6 Recommended RAM (GB) 7 Recommended # of CPU 8 Recommended # of NICs 9 Will any servers need to be public facing or located in the DMZ (demilitarized zone) for any on premises components? 10 Does your software require any Anti -Virus exclusions? If so, do you have a published document outlining exclusions? Network Requirements Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Specify maximum allowed latency requirements 2 Specify the typical amount of network traffic generated by this application in Mbps 3 Specify the minimum network bandwidth required for each client installation in Mbps 4 Specify all network ports that will need to be opened for both clients and network firewalls. 5 Specify all public IP addresses that will need to be accessed by clients or servers. 6 Specify any special IP address or protocol requirements for server or client PCs 7 Specify remote access requirements and identify remote access users/equipment 8 Specify physical switch port count requirements and port speed 9 Specify any special network design requirements 10 Specify if there are any QOS requirements 11 Specify any telephony requirements analog and or IP 12 Specify any wireless access requirements 13 Specify fiber or ethernet cabling requirements 14 Specify power requirements for all new equipment 15 Identify any certificate requirements Third Party Contracting Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Identify any/all 3rd party subcontractors and/or cloud service providers you contract with for your solution. 2 If using 3rd party subcontractors and/or cloud service providers describe the agreements you have with them for system security, business continuance, backup and restoration services, system availability, maintenance windows, hours of support, and for violating uptime. penalties prescribed Upgrades Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Describe your typical average upgrade schedule (frequency of version releases, patches, length of time to implement, notification process) and documentation provided. 2 Describe your notification practices for: a) Planned outages b) Changes to the application and/or database c) Unplanned outages d) Product sunset 3 Describe any test or "sandbox" environments you would provide to the City. 4 Describe typical upgrade effort (downtime, level of difficulty, length of time to upgrade/update) Access / Authentication Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Application must require users to enter a User ID and a Password to gain access. User Ds and Passwords must be encrypted while in transit and at rest. Passwords must support configurable password complexity, age, and reuse limitations. 2 Are passwords required to access systems processing, storing, or transmitting City data? 3 Are user access paths set up on a predefined role -based need -to -know basis (e.g., only the operators working on City project have access to City information and systems)? 4 Does the vendor support advanced authentication methods such as multifactor authentication, and utilize native Azure Active Directory Single Sign On? 5 Does the system include hidden user access accounts and/or default vendor accounts. What type of access does the vendor and its employees have or expect to have? 6 Application must allow for the limiting of access to functionality and data through the use of security roles. Security roles should be configurable around processes/functions, data types, or job classifications. 7 Does application have an auto-logout function and, if so, is that configurable? Breaches Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Vendor should notify users of any system/data breach within applicable state and federal law. Communications and Operations Management Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Is there a formal operational change management / change control process? 2 Are separate environments for development, staging, testing/QA, and production supported and maintained? 3 Are system resources reviewed to ensure adequate capacity is maintained? 4 Are suitable tests of systems and applications carried out during development and prior to acceptance? S Is City data isolated from other customer systems/data and secured to prevent unauthorized logical or physical access? 6 Are there documented procedures for securing and hardening IT infrastructure components (e.g. network devices, servers, operating systems, databases, etc.)? 7 Are audit trails and logs maintained for network/system/application events to support monitoring or incident research and, if so, for what length of time? 8 Is there a vulnerability management program, which includes security patches or updates being regularly reviewed and applied to IT infrastructure components (e.g. network devices, servers, operating systems, databases, etc.)? 9 Is traffic to/from the Internet (e.g. e-mail, web browsing) subject to malicious code scanning and data leakage prevention? 10 Is there a Network Intrusion Detection/Prevention System with 24x7 monitoring, alerting, and handling? 11 Is all City data encrypted while in storage and in transit (over the Internet or unsecure networks)? 12 Is City data ever stored on non -company managed equipment? Data Security and Ownership Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Is there an information security policy? 2 Have information security policies been reviewed in the last 12 months? 3 Is there an individual or group responsible for security within the organization? 4 What is the geographic location and/or legal jurisdiction of customer data storage? Are commercial and government customer data managed differently? S City retains ownership of all city data. Any contractual issues associated with this requirement? 6 What rights does the vendor gain with respect to use of customer data? 7 What methods are available to export customer data should the contract terminate? 8 Is data encrypted at rest? In transit? If so, to what standard? 9 Is access to City data (or the processing facilities hosting such data) provided to external parties? 10 What does the vendor log and how long are logs retained? What methods exist to extract data for auditing and reporting? Disaster Recovery Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 What is the data retention configuration and data recovery methods for customer data? How often are data/systems replicated between sites? 2 What is the vendor's service/business continuity plan? Disaster recovery plan? How often are these plans tested? 3 How far back can a record/application/virtual machine be recovered? 4 Does the Business Continuity and/or Disaster Recovery plan address notification to City when incidents occur? 5 Are alternate facilities (e.g. data centers, office locations, etc.) used? 6 Please provide SLAs as it relates to the service offered. Physical and Environment Security Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Is there a documented physical security policy? 2 Do systems and applications hosting City data reside in a data center? 3 Is the data center shared with other tenants? 4 'What technology is used to secure and monitor the datacenter (e.g. badge access, video or camera surveillance, etc.)? Public Records Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 What is the procedure to retrieve bulk data in response to a PRR? Standards Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Does the solution include documentation to support secure configuration, installation and operation (SA-5 NIST 800-53(4)) 2 What security frameworks/standards has the vendor adopted and how is compliance with these frameworks/standards ensured/verified? Vendor Risk Assessment Response Comments/Questions/Clarification 1 Does vendor require software developers to attend and complete regular security training? 2 1Does vendor use a secure code repository? 3 Vendor should certify the use of accredited third party entities to conduct a vulnerability test and a penetration test not less than once per year. 4 Does the application have a documented software development lifecycle that complies with NIST SP 800-64 5 Does the vendor have a documented security testing plan? 6 How does the vendor develop and manage custom code for its customers? How often does the vendor perform periodic vulnerability scans of development 'environments? 8 What priority is given to client identified security vulnerabilities? 9 What is the mean time to patch or remediation of identified security vulnerabilities? 10 Has the vendor engaged in SSAE 16 efforts? 11 Has the vendor had any breaches, compliance findings, or other security incidents in the last three years? 12 Is vendor datacenter/infrastructure located in a natural hazard area (e.g., flood plain, earthquake)? 13 Has the vendor engaged in SOC 2, Type 2 Report on Controls at a Service Organization Relevant to Security, Availability, Processing, Integrity, Confidentiality or Privacy efforts? And are these reports available for review?