proposal

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REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS TO CONDUCT BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS CITY OF LOS ANGELES, PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT PUBLIC SAFETY

DATE ISSUED: APRIL 24, 2014 TITLE: BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS DESCRIPTION: PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS TERM OF LIST OF ELIGIBLE FIRMS: THREE YEARS PROPOSAL DELIVERY ADDRESS: City of Los Angeles, Personnel Department Public Safety 700 East Temple Street, Room B-23 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Attention: Sam Catalfamo NON-MANDATORY BIDDERS’ CONFERENCE: MAY 7, 2014 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE: MAY 21, 2014 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR: Sam Catalfamo, Background Investigation Manager Phone: (213) 473-9059 E-Mail: [email protected]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 2. GENERAL INFORMATION ........................................................................................... 1 2.1. Proposal Format and Submission Requirements.................................................... 1 2.1.1. Response Requirements ........................................................................... 1 2.1.2. In Writing.................................................................................................... 2 2.1.3. Cover Letter ............................................................................................... 2 2.1.4. Authorized Signatures................................................................................ 3 2.1.5. Number of Copies Required ...................................................................... 3 2.1.6. Information Requested and Not Furnished ............................................... 3 2.1.7. Alternatives ................................................................................................ 3 2.1.8. Proposal Errors .......................................................................................... 3 2.1.9. Waiver of Minor Administrative Irregularities .............................................. 4 2.1.10. Interpretation and Clarifications ................................................................. 4 2.2. Cost of RFQ ............................................................................................................ 4 2.3. Submission Deadline .............................................................................................. 4 2.4. Late Proposals ........................................................................................................ 4 2.5. Withdrawal of Proposals ......................................................................................... 4 2.6. Americans With Disabilities Act .............................................................................. 5 2.7. Award of Contract ................................................................................................... 5 2.8. Rejection of Proposals ............................................................................................ 5 2.9. Proposal Protest ..................................................................................................... 5 3. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS ........................................................................ 6 3.1. Definition of terms ................................................................................................... 6 3.2. Property of City/Proprietary Material ....................................................................... 6 3.3. Addendum(a) .......................................................................................................... 8 3.4. Multiple Proposals .................................................................................................. 8 3.5. Pre-Award Negotiations .......................................................................................... 8 3.6. Execution of Contract ............................................................................................ 8 3.7. Amendments/Modifications/Change Orders ........................................................... 8 3.8. Prime Contractor..................................................................................................... 8 3.9. Subcontractors/Joint Ventures ................................................................................ 9 3.9.1. Copies of Subcontractor Agreements............................................................ 9 3.10. Replacement of Contractor’s Staff ........................................................................ 9 3.11. Contractor’s Address ............................................................................................ 9 4. STATEMENT OF WORK SPECIFICATIONS ................................................................ 9 4.1. Scope of Work Requirements and Description of Materials and Services to Be Provided ....................................................................................... 10 5. SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS ....................................................................... 10 5.1. Term ..................................................................................................................... 10 5.2. Option to Renew ................................................................................................... 10 5.3. Statutory Requirements ........................................................................................ 10 5.4. Governing Law...................................................................................................... 11 5.5. California State Sales Tax ................................................................................... 11 5.6. California State Board of Equalization Permit ....................................................... 11 5.7. Federal Excise Taxes ........................................................................................... 11 5.8. Contractor Evaluation Ordinance .......................................................................... 11 ii

5.9. Campaign Contributions ....................................................................................... 12 5.10. Local Business Preference Program ................................................................. 13 5.11. First Source Hiring Ordinance ............................................................................ 18 5.12. Government Taxation Forms .............................................................................. 19 5.13. On-Line Submission of Required Documents ..................................................... 19 5.13.a. Nondiscrimination, Equal Employment Practices and Affirmative Action Program (Non-Construction) ............................................................................ 19 5.13.b. Equal Benefits Ordinance ....................................................................... 20 5.13.c. Slavery Disclosure Ordinance ................................................................ 20 5.14 Confidentiality ………………………………………………………………………… 21 6. CONTRACT ATTACHMENTS..................................................................................... 21 7. EVALUATION CRITERIA ............................................................................................ 21 7.1. Evaluation Factors ................................................................................................ 22 8. REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) PROCESS .............................................. 22 9. PROPOSER BACKGROUND INFORMATION ........................................................... 23 10. PROPOSER REFERENCES ..................................................................................... 23 10.1. Customer and Bank references: ......................................................................... 23 10.2. Past Failure to Complete Work Awarded ............................................................ 23 10.3. Business Organization ........................................................................................ 24 10.4. Proposed Subcontractor Information .................................................................. 24 11. PROPOSER SIGNATURE DECLARATION PAGE .................................................. 25

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REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS TO CONDUCT PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS

1. INTRODUCTION Public safety is of paramount importance to the City of Los Angeles and is one of the Mayor's top goals. In order to ensure that public safety officers in the City are qualified to protect and serve our residents and visitors, thorough pre-employment background investigations are conducted by the City of Los Angeles Personnel Department. Such investigations are mandated by California Government Code 1031(d) and the California Commission of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) for police officers. In addition, the City's Public Safety Background Standards require that thorough background investigations be completed on police officer and firefighter candidates to ensure that they meet the City's high standards. Given the City's budget situation and the evolving public safety hiring needs of the City's various departments, the Personnel Department must be prepared to respond quickly to temporary increases in demand for public safety officer background investigations. To that end, the Personnel Department is seeking to develop a list of qualified background investigation firms through this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process. The Personnel Department will administer all contracts with selected firms. 2. GENERAL INFORMATION The City of Los Angeles seeks responses from background investigations firms to conduct public safety officer background investigations on a non-exclusive, as needed basis. The purpose of this RFQ is to select firms to include in a new list of qualified background investigations firms that may be used by the City to perform background investigations of public safety officers. Selected firms will have experience conducting pre-employment public safety officer background investigations. The selected firms will be assigned to future public safety officer background investigations on an as needed basis and are not guaranteed a minimum number of investigations. 2.1. Proposal Format and Submission Requirements Proposals shall be based only on the material contained in the RFQ, amendments, addenda and other materials published by the City relating to the RFQ. The Proposer shall disregard any previous draft material and oral representations that may have been obtained by the proposer. Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with the requirements set in this RFQ. 2.1.1. Response Requirements Responses to this RFQ shall include:

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a. A description of the firm’s method of conducting pre-employment public safety officer background investigations including: how the firm gathers employment and residential information; the methods utilized by the firm when interviewing references, developed references, spouses, ex-spouses, significant others and public safety officer references; the resources used by the firm to verify military and education records; and the firm’s quality assurance methods. b. A complete list of the firm’s public safety officer background investigation clients during the past three years (including those in the public sector), sorted by category, supported by a list of references. c. The experience and qualifications of the firm’s investigators who will perform the work, including number of investigators on staff and the methods used to select and train those investigators. d. The firm’s method and staff level of case review/approval. e. An explanation of how total costs for background investigations are determined (e.g., standard price, average cost, travel cost and investigation related follow-up cost, etc.). f. The average time taken to perform a typical public safety officer preemployment background investigation, supported by a typical time line listing typical milestones and their time to completion. g. A list of all City of Los Angeles contracts held within the preceding 10 years. h. A certification stating that the firm will comply with the City of Los Angeles Standard Provisions for City Contracts (Rev. 3/09). Please see Section 5.3 on Page 11 of this RFQ. 2.1.2. In Writing All proposals must be submitted in writing and proposers shall complete and return all applicable documents including forms, appendices, specifications, drawings, schematic diagrams and any technical and/or illustrative literature. The City may deem a Proposer non-responsive if the Proposer fails to provide all required documentation and copies. 2.1.3. Cover Letter Each proposal must include a cover letter limited to one page. The cover letter must include the title, address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the person or persons who will be authorized to represent the Proposer.

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2.1.4. Authorized Signatures Proposals must be signed by a duly authorized officer eligible to sign contract documents and authorized to bind the company to all commitments made in the proposal. Consortiums, joint ventures, or teams submitting proposals will not be considered responsive unless it is established that all contractual responsibility rests solely with one proposer or one legal entity. The proposal must identify the responsible entity. 2.1.5. Number of Copies Required Proposers are required to submit one original proposal with all Standard Provisions Forms signed in ink and five copies of the proposal without these forms. Original and copies should be identified as such. If any proposal contains any trade secrets, or other proprietary information that the proposer claims is exempt from the California Public Records Act (See Section 3.2 of this RFQ), a redacted copy of the proposal must also be submitted. The redacted copy will be used by the City in the event of a request under the Public Records Act. Written proposals must be presented in a sealed envelope. Proposer must enter the title and proposer’s name on the outside of the envelope. Sealed proposals are to be delivered to the address listed in this RFQ no later than the stated proposal submission deadline. 2.1.6. Information Requested and Not Furnished The information requested and the manner of submission is essential to permit prompt evaluation of all proposals. Accordingly, the City reserves the right to declare as non-responsive and reject any proposals in which information is requested and is not furnished or when a direct or complete answer is not provided. 2.1.7. Alternatives The Proposer shall not change any wording in the RFQ or associated documents. Any explanation or alternatives offered shall be submitted in a letter attached to the front of the proposal documents. Alternatives that do not substantially meet the City’s requirements cannot be considered. Proposals offered subject to conditions and/or limitations may be rejected as non-responsive. 2.1.8. Proposal Errors Proposer is liable for all errors or omissions incurred by proposer in preparing the proposal. Proposer will not be allowed to alter proposal documents after the submission deadline. The City reserves the right to make corrections or amendments due to errors identified in proposal by the City or the Proposer. This type of correction or amendment will only be allowed for errors such as typing, transposition or any

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other obvious error. Any changes will be date and time stamped and attached to the proposal. All changes must be coordinated in writing, authorized by and made by Sam Catalfamo or Personnel Department, Public Safety designee. 2.1.9. Waiver of Minor Administrative Irregularities The City reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to waive minor administrative irregularities contained in any proposal. 2.1.10. Interpretation and Clarifications All recommendations or suggestions must be in writing and submitted to the Contract Administrator. The City reserves the right to modify requirements of the RFQ if it is in the best interest of the City. 2.2. Cost of RFQ The City is not responsible for any costs incurred by Proposer while submitting proposals. All Proposers who respond to the RFQ do so solely at their own expense. 2.3. Submission Deadline Sealed proposals are to be delivered by proposers to: City of Los Angeles Personnel Department 700 East Temple Street, Room B-23 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Attention: Sam Catalfamo, Background Investigation Manager Submit proposals as soon as possible. The City will close filing on Wednesday, May 21, 2014.

2.4. Late Proposals Late proposals will not be accepted. Proposers will be notified that they did not meet the deadline and their proposals will be recycled. 2.5. Withdrawal of Proposals Proposers may withdraw submitted proposals in writing at any time prior to the specified submission deadline. Faxed withdrawals will be accepted. A written request, signed by an authorized representative of the company, must be submitted to Sam Catalfamo or Personnel Department, Public Safety Division designee. After withdrawing a previously submitted proposal, the Proposer may submit another proposal at any time up to the due date and time.

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2.6. Americans with Disabilities Act As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its proposals, programs, services and activities. If an individual with a disability requires accommodations to attend a pre-proposal conference, site examination or proposal opening, please contact the Contract Administrator at least five working days prior to the scheduled event. 2.7. Award of Contract As the need for background investigations arises, the Personnel Department will issue a Request for Background Investigations Quotation to selected firms in the cadre of background investigations firms selected pursuant to this RFQ. Firms are selected from the cadre based on a combination of factors, including experience with similar background investigations experience, and experience with the City of Los Angeles background investigations. Award of contracts on an as needed basis will be made to the contractor(s)/consultant(s) with the best combination of price, experience, and quality of service delivery. Awards are not restricted to the lowest offer or bid. The City may award contracts to more than one Proposer. 2.8. Rejection of Proposals The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals; to waive any minor informality in proposals received; to reject any unapproved alternate proposal(s); and reserves the right to reject the proposal of any Proposer who has previously failed to perform competently in any prior business relationship with the City. The rejection of any or all proposals shall not render the City liable for costs or damages. 2.9. Proposal Protest Any protest to a proposal award(s) must be in writing and submitted within 14 calendar days of the dated notification of contract award. Upon receipt of protest, Sam Catalfamo or Personnel Department, Public Safety Division designee will furnish protester with a written statement setting forth the reasons for the proposed award based on the lowest ultimate cost and best overall value to the City and will hold a hearing within five (5) working days after receiving the protest, unless waived by the Proposer. At or prior to the hearing, the protester may present evidence as to why the award should not be made according to the City’s plans. After the close of the hearing the Contract Administrator shall make a final determination with respect to the protest, and shall award the contract accordingly or reject all proposals. The decision shall be final.

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3. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS 3.1. Definition of terms The following terms used in the RFQ documents shall be construed as follows: a. “City” shall mean the City of Los Angeles. b. “Department” shall be considered synonymous with the City’s Personnel Department c. “Agreement” shall be considered synonymous with term “Contract.” d. “Contractor” shall mean the individual, partnership, corporation or other entity to which this agreement is awarded, and shall be synonymous with the term “vendor”. 3.2. Property of City/Proprietary Material All proposals submitted in response to this RFQ shall become the property of the City of Los Angeles and subject to the State of California Public Records Act. Proposers must identify all trade secrets or other proprietary information that the proposers claim are exempt from the California Public Records Act (California Government Code Section 6250 et seq.). Proposals made in response to this RFP may contain technical, financial, or other data whose public disclosure could cause substantial injury to the Proposer’s competitive position or constitute a trade secret. To protect such data from disclosure, the Proposer should specifically identify the pages of the proposal that contain confidential information by properly marking the applicable pages and inserting the following notice in the front of the proposal: “NOTICE” “The data on the pages of this proposal identified by an asterisk (*) or marked along the margin with a vertical line, contain information which are trade secrets and/or whose disclosure would cause substantial injury to the Proposer’s competitive position. The Proposer requests that such data be used only for the evaluation of its proposal, but understands that disclosure will be limited to the extent that the City determines proper under federal, state, and local law.” In proposals containing proprietary information, proprietary paragraphs and/or other data should be clearly marked as noted above. The Proposer must include one additional unbound copy of the proposal with the confidential material totally blacked out or removed from the text so that one copy is available as public material. In accordance with the California Public Records Act, this information may, upon request, be released to the public.

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The City assumes no responsibility for disclosure or use of unmarked data for any purposes. In the event properly marked data are requested, the Proposer may be advised of the request and may expeditiously submit to the City a detailed statement indicating the reasons it has for believing that the information is exempt from disclosure under federal, state, and local law. This statement will be used by the City in making its determination as to whether or not disclosure is proper under federal, state, and local law. The City will exercise care in applying this confidentiality standard, but will not be held liable for any damage or injury that may result from any disclosure that may occur. The Proposer agrees to assume and pay for all costs incurred by the City, including attorneys’ fees awarded by a court, if Proposer requests the City to resist disclosure of material provided to the City by the Proposer, provided the City determines the said materials are exempt under federal, state, and local law. Furthermore, should you request that portions of your proposal remain confidential and not be disclosed, please confirm your assurance to indemnify, defend and hold the City of Los Angeles harmless by including the following statement in your cover letter: “Proposer undertakes and agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City and any of its boards, officers, agents, and employees (collectively, the "City") from and against all suits, claims, and causes of action brought against the City for the City's refusal to disclose trade secrets or other technical, financial or other information to any person making a request pursuant to the State of California Public Records Act (California Government Code Section 6250 et seq.). Proposer's obligations herein include, but are not limited to, all attorney's fees (both in house and outside counsel), costs of litigation incurred by the City or its attorneys (including all actual costs incurred by the City, not merely those costs recoverable by a prevailing party, and specifically including costs of experts and consultants) as well as all damages or liability of any nature whatsoever arising out of any such suits, claims, and causes of action brought against the City, through and including any appellate proceedings. Proposer's obligations to the City under this indemnification provision shall be due and payable on a monthly, on-going basis within thirty (30) days after each submission to Proposer of the City's invoices for all fees and costs incurred by the City, as well as all damages or liability of any nature.” Failure to include such a statement shall constitute a waiver of a Proposer’s right to exemption from disclosure. Note that wholesale use of headers/footers bearing designations such as “confidential”, “proprietary”, or “trade secret” on all or nearly all of a proposal is not acceptable, and may be deemed by the City as a waiver of any exemption claim. The identification of exempt information must be more specific. The City

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Attorney will make an independent determination regarding whether the identified information is disclosable. 3.3. Addendum (a) The Personnel Department reserves the right to submit addendum (a) to this RFQ, which may add additional requirements to be considered responsive. All Proposers must acknowledge any addendum (a) issued as a result of any change in this RFQ on the proposer’s Signature Declaration Page. Failure to indicate receipt of addendum (a) may result in a proposal being rejected as non-responsive. 3.4. Multiple Proposals Proposers interested in submitting more than one proposal may do so, providing each proposal stands alone and independently complies with the instructions, conditions and specifications of the RFQ. 3.5. Pre-Award Negotiations Prior to award of contracts on an as needed basis, the successful Proposer(s) may be required to attend negotiation meetings that will be scheduled at a later date. The intent of the meeting(s) will be to discuss and negotiate contract requirements, prices, service level agreements, detailed scope of work specifications, ordering, invoicing, delivery, receiving and payment procedures, etc. in order to insure successful administration of the contract. 3.6. Execution of Contract A response to this RFQ is an offer to contract with the City on an as needed basis based upon the terms, conditions, service level agreement and specifications contained in the Request for Executive Recruitment Services Quotation issued as needed. A contract will be developed after the City makes an award to the selected proposer(s). 3.7. Amendments/Modifications/Change Orders Any amendments, adjustments, alterations, additions, deletions, or modifications in the terms and/or conditions of resultant agreement must be made by written amendment/change order approved by Sam Catalfamo or Personnel Department, Public Safety designee and the Contractor. If Contractor performs any modification without a written change order, the City shall neither pay for nor be obligated to accept said modification. 3.8. Prime Contractor The Proposer(s) awarded the as needed contracts must be the prime Contractor(s) performing the primary functions of the contract. If any portion of the contract is to be subcontracted, it must be clearly set forth in the proposal document as to what part(s) are to be subcontracted, the reasons for the subcontracting and a listing of subcontractors. The City reserves the right to reject any proposal wherein use of

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subcontractors significantly affects the ability of the Proposer to function as the prime Contractor on the awarded contract. The prime Contractor shall at all times be responsible for the acts and errors or omissions of its subcontractors or joint participants and persons directly or indirectly employed by them. 3.9. Subcontractors/Joint Ventures Acceptance or rejection of a Proposer’s request to use subcontractors is at the sole discretion of the City. With approval of the City, the Contractor may enter into subcontracts and joint participation agreements with others for the performance of portions of the resultant agreement. The provisions of the resultant agreement shall apply to all subcontractors in the same manner as to the Contractor. In particular, the City will not pay, even indirectly, the fees and expenses of subcontractors that do not conform to the limitations and documentation requirements of the resultant agreement. 3.9.1. Copies of Subcontractor Agreements Upon written request from the City, the Contractor shall supply the City with all subcontractor agreements. 3.10. Replacement of Contractor’s Staff The City reserves the right to have the Contractor replace any contract personnel with equally or better qualified staff upon submitting written notice to the Contractor. In addition, the City reserves the right to approve in advance any changes in project personnel or levels of commitment by the Contractor of the project. 3.11. Contractor’s Address The address given in the proposal response shall be considered the legal address of the Contractor and shall be changed only by written notice to the City. The Contractor shall supply an address to which certified mail can be delivered. The delivery of any communication to the Contractor personally, or to such address, or the depositing in the United States mail, registered or certified with postage prepaid, addressed to the Contractor at such address, shall constitute a legal service thereof. Also, telephone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses (if applicable) must be provided. 4. STATEMENT OF WORK SPECIFICATIONS Selected firms should be prepared to perform any and all tasks related to performing a public safety officer background investigation, in accordance with POST and City standards, including but not limited to: a. At the request of the Personnel Department, confer with members of the Los Angeles Personnel Department, LAPD, LAWA, LAPORTD and LAFD regarding the methods and findings of each performed investigation.

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b. Conduct initial candidate background interview. c. Conduct individual in-person employment and residential investigation to include five years of employment and seven years of residency. d. Conduct in-person interviews of references supplied by the candidate. Identify and interview developed references. e. Conduct in-person interviews: candidate’s spouse, ex-spouses or significant others. f. Conduct in-person interviews of public safety officer references supplied by the candidate. g.

Conduct in-person investigations.

reviews

candidate’s

of

other

agency

background

h. Review, evaluate and verify military, educational and credit records supplied by the candidate. i. Provide an investigative summary to include an employment recommendation. 4.1. Scope of Work Requirements and Description of Materials and Services to Be Provided The actual scope of work and description of materials and services to be provided will be dependent upon the specific background investigations requirements. Each contract awarded will clearly state the agreed upon scope of services.

5. SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS 5.1. Term Background Investigative firms selected as a result of this RFQ will be placed on a list of eligible firms for a period of three (3) years. 5.2. Option to Renew The City may, at its option, extend the inclusion of selected firms on the list for two (2) additional years at its discretion. 5.3. Statutory Requirements Attached to this RFQ as Attachment A are the City of Los Angeles Standard Provisions for City Contracts (Rev. 3/09) and Checklist. Please review this information carefully. Compliance with these requirements and submission of

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necessary forms is mandatory prior to award of contract. Proposals shall include a certification stating that the submitting entity can comply with the requirements. Failure to provide this certification will render proposals nonresponsive and eliminate them from consideration. 5.4. Governing Law All matters relating to the formation, validity, construction, interpretation, performance and enforcement of the RFQ and the resultant agreement/contract, shall comply with all applicable laws of the United States of America, the State of California and the City. 5.5. California State Sales Tax Do not include California State sales tax in prices quoted unless otherwise requested. If requested, sales tax must be identified as being included in the pricing. 5.6. California State Board of Equalization Permit Proposers shall enter the company’s State of California Board of Equalization permit number on the proposal form. If the company does not have this permit, the proposer shall sign the proposal form declaring that the company has no California sales tax permit. 5.7. Federal Excise Taxes The City of Los Angeles is exempt from the payment of excise taxes imposed by the Federal Government. Such taxes must not be included in the proposed prices. Federal excise exemption certificates will be furnished by the Department of General Services upon request.

5.8 Contractor Evaluation Ordinance When the term of the contract pursuant to this RFQ has concluded, the City will conduct an evaluation of the Contractor’s performance. The City may also conduct evaluations of the Contractor’s performance during the term of the contract. As required by Section 10.39.2 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code, evaluations will be based on a number of criteria, including the quality of the work product or service performed the timeliness of performance, financial issues, and the expertise of personnel that the Contractor assigns to the contract. A Contractor who receives a “Marginal” or “Unsatisfactory” rating will be provided with a copy of the final City evaluation and allowed 14 calendar days to respond. The City will use the final City evaluation, and any response from the Contractor, to evaluate proposals and to conduct reference checks when awarding other service contracts.

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5.9 Campaign Contributions a) Proposers are subject to Charter Section 470(c) (12) and related ordinances. As a result, Proposers may not make campaign contributions to and/or engage in fundraising for certain elected City officials or candidates for elected City office from the time they submit the Proposal until either the Contract is approved or, for successful Proposers, twelve months after the Contract is signed. The Proposer’s principals and subcontractors performing $100,000 or more in work on the Contract, as well as the principals of those subcontractors, are also subject to the same limitations on campaign contributions and fundraising. b) Proposers must submit CEC Form 55, found in the Standard Provisions for City Contracts (Rev. 03/09) provided in Appendix 12) to the awarding authority at the same time the Proposal is submitted. The Form requires Proposers to identify their principals, their subcontractors performing $100,000 or more in work on the Contract, and the principals of those subcontractors. Proposers must also notify their principals and subcontractors in writing of the restrictions and include the notice in contracts with subcontractors. Proposals submitted without a completed CEC Form 55 shall be deemed non-responsive. Proposers who fail to comply with City law may be subject to penalties, termination of Contract and debarment. Additional information regarding these restrictions and requirements may be obtained from the City Ethics Commission at (213) 978-1960 or http://ethics.lacity.org/

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5.10 Local Business Preference Program

PROPOSAL (Pages LBPP-1 through LBPP-6)

CITY OF LOS ANGELES REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS - LOCAL BUSINESS PREFERENCE PROGRAM (LBPP) City of Los Angeles Ordinance No. 181910, Article 21, Sections 10.47, et esq. of the Los Angeles Administrative Code

Local Business Prime

8% Or

Local Business Subcontractor (s)

Up to 5%

NOTE: Local Business Preference Program information and/or assistance may be obtained through the Personnel Department.

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MANDATORY LOCAL BUSINESS PREFERENCE PROGRAM (LBPP) FOR USE ON CITY-FUNDED CONTRACTS GREATER THAN $150,000.00 General This program is subject to the policies and requirements established by the City Council and the City of Los Angeles (City) Mayor’s Office. The City is committed to maximizing opportunities for local businesses, as well as encouraging local businesses to locate and operate in Los Angeles County (County). It is the policy of the City to prevent unemployment, encourage an increase in local jobs, and create high road economic development. The Local Business Preference Program (LBPP) aims to benefit the City by increasing local jobs and expenditures within the private sector. The LBPP is set forth herein. Bidders should be fully informed of this program. Awarding Authorities shall opt out when the contract is funded by a grant or is federally funded and funding regulations prohibit the funding recipient from implementing the LBPP on the resulting contract. The Awarding Authority can also opt out of the program when full and open competition is limited because of a sole source vendor, provider, or supplier. Finally, the Awarding Authority is entitled to determine at any time before the award of a contract that it is not in the City’s best interest to grant a proposal preference to a qualifying Local Business, Local Subcontractor, or Provisionally Qualified Local Business. Failure to comply with the LBPP shall result in investigations by the Bureau of Contract Administration/ Office of Contract Compliance (BCA/OCC) in its role as the Designated Administrative Agency. Participation Criteria for Local Business Preference Program To be eligible for participation in this program, the BCA/OCC requires that the prospective local business submit an affidavit attesting as such on the Los Angeles Business Assistance Virtual Network (LABAVN) website. An affidavit form is available to be downloaded on the LABAVN website at http://www.labavn.org. Determination of qualification as a local business by any other entities, other than BCA/OCC, or by any other means other than submission of an affidavit on LABAVN shall not be accepted for purposes of participation in the LBPP. Affidavit forms are prioritized according to the date they are received. The local business must be listed on LABAVN as such prior to the proposal deadline in order to participate in the LBPP. In cases where the affidavit was submitted prior to the proposal deadline but has not been verified by BCA/OCC and the local business designation would result in a change of award recommendation, status as a local business will be based on the date it was submitted. Definitions 1. "Awarding Authority" means any Board or Commission of the City, or any employee or officer of the City, except those of departments that control their own funds, authorized to award or enter into any Contract, as defined by Article 21, Section 1 of the Los Angeles Administration Code, on behalf of the City. The Proprietary Departments and the Departments of Recreation and Parks, and Library are strongly encouraged to adopt local preference programs consonant with the provisions of Article 21, Section10.47, et esq.

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2. “Contract” means a written agreement involving consideration in excess of $150,000.00 for the purchase of goods, equipment or services, including construction, by or for the benefit of the City or its residents. 3. “Contractor” means the person, business or entity awarded the Contract by the Awarding Authority. 4. “Bid Price” means the dollar amount after the bidder’s quoted price is adjusted for evaluation in accordance with applicable provisions. 5. "Local Business" means a business entity that occupies work space within the County, is in compliance with all applicable City and County licensing and tax laws, and can demonstrate one of the following: (1) it is headquartered in the County and physically conducts and manages all of its operations from a location in the County; (2) that at least 50 of its full time employees perform work within the boundaries of the County at least 60 percent of their total regular hours worked on an annual basis; or (3) that at least half of the full-time employees (50%) of the business work within the boundaries of the County at a minimum of 60 percent of their total, regular hours worked on an annual basis. a. A business entity with multiple locations within the County, can aggregate 50 of its full time employees working at least 60% of their regular hours from its different locations within the County to qualify as a Local Business. b. A business entity awarded a City contract under the LBPP, must carry out the services of the contract using employees whose exclusive, primary working location is in Los Angeles County. 6. “Local Subcontractor” means a contractor that meets the same qualification as a local business. 7. “Provisionally Qualified Local Business” means a business entity that is yet to establish operations within the County, and does not immediately qualify as a local business under the Los Angeles Administrative Code. However, the business is provisionally qualified as a local business because it is undertaking imminent steps to qualify as a local business as defined by Article 21, Section 10.47.3. No later than 60 days after the date on which the Contract with the City is awarded, but prior to execution of the contract, the Provisionally Qualified Local Business must become a qualified Local Business. Local Business Preference Program Participation Recognition 1. Qualifying contractors who participate in the LBPP by qualifying as a local business will receive 8% of the total possible evaluation points added to their evaluation score provided their bid proposal is in excess of $150,000.00 or in excess of $1,000,000.00 if a Provisionally Qualified Local Business.

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2. Qualifying contractors who participate in the LBPP but do not qualify as a local business, but however are qualified because they identify a qualified local subcontractor to perform the work under the contract will receive up to 5% of the total possible evaluation points added to their evaluation score. a. The Awarding Authority shall provide 1% of the total possible evaluation points credit, up to a maximum of 5%, to the contractor’s evaluation score for every 10% of the total cost of the proposed work to be performed by the local subcontractor. This rule applies to a local subcontractor or local subcontractors; provided that the work performed is of a commercially useful purpose in execution of the contract and/or performed in the subcontractor’s normal course of business. The work performed and all costs of each local subcontractor or subcontractors should be clearly specified in the proposal. 3. Preferences shall only be awarded to a Local Business or Local Subcontractor when the services provided under the contract are directly provided by its employees whose primary work location is in Los Angeles County. Preferences shall only be awarded for equipment, goods or materials when the Local Business or Local Subcontractor acts as a supplier or dealer (not less than two thirds of the time), or designs, manufactures, or assembles the equipment, goods or materials (not less than two thirds of the time), at a business location in the City. 4. A Provisionally Qualified Local Business that participates in the LBPP by qualifying as a local business will receive 8% of the total possible evaluation points credit added to its evaluation score, as long as the proposed contract between the business and the City involves consideration valued at no less than $1,000,000.00 and has a duration of no less than three (3) years. a. To participate in the program, a proposed Provisionally Qualified Local Business must download and complete a Provisionally Qualified Local Business affidavit form at http://bca.lacity.org, which it shall attach and submit with its bid documents to the Awarding Department. 5. Once a Business asserting to be a Provisionally Qualified Local Business is notified by the Awarding Department of its intent to award a contract, the Provisionally Qualified Local Business shall submit all of the following documentation: (1) an enforceable, contractual right to occupy commercial space within the County, which shall commence no later than 60 days after the date of the execution of the contract; (2) a business plan on its ability to become a Local business; (3) any other sufficient documentation required by the Awarding Authority. All required supporting documentation/evidence demonstrating qualification as a Provisionally Qualified Local Business must be submitted to the Awarding Department within 30 days of request.

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a. If an Awarding Department is satisfied with the documentation submitted by the Provisionally Qualified Local Business, and it determines that it shall award the contract to the business, then the Awarding Department, prior to the execution of the contract, shall send BCA a memo stating that the business was able to demonstrate that it qualifies as a Provisionally Qualified Local Business. The memo shall also list the documents received by the Awarding Department, with copies attached, and recommend that BCA determine the business to be a Provisionally Qualified Local Business. 6. A Provisionally Qualified Local Business shall lose its status as such when it fails to fully comply as a local business within 60 days after the date on which the Contract with the City is awarded. The Awarding Department shall notify the Provisionally Qualified Local Business thirty (30) days after contract award that it complies as a local business or contract award will be rescinded. 7. Loss of status as a Provisionally Qualified Local Business is permanent and forbids a business from qualifying as a Provisionally Qualified Local Business in the future for purposes of bidding on City Contracts. 8. The maximum preference for all qualifying local businesses, local subcontractor (s), and provisionally qualified local businesses shall not exceed 8% credit of the total evaluation points for any proposal. 9. In the event where a certified Local Business, bids on a City contract, and is determined by the Awarding Department after the bid deadline to not qualify as a Local Business, the business will be eligible for the Local Subcontractor Preference of up to 5%, if it has identified a qualifying Local Subcontractor(s) to perform work under the contract. a. The above exemption shall only apply where the non-compliance is an error or mistake. It shall not apply to a business that intentionally or fraudulently claims to be a Local Business through misleading or false statements. b. It is the responsibility of the business registered on LABAVN as a certified Local Business to inform BCA via email at [email protected] that it no longer meets the certification criteria within 7days of the change. Failure to do so shall be construed as a misleading and/or false statement. 10. Upon receipt of information believed by the Awarding Authority to be reliable and which indicates that the Local Business no longer qualifies as a Local Business for more than 60 days during the entire time of the Contract, the Awarding Authority shall withhold or recover funds from the Contractor in an amount that represents the value of 8% of the executed contract. 11. If for any reason the Local Subcontractor, providing the basis for a Local Subcontractor Preference, is unable to, or does not, perform the work under the Contract; the Contractor

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shall, within 60 days, replace that Local Subcontractor with another Local Subcontractor. If the Contractor is unable to replace the Local Subcontractor specified in the Contract with another Local Subcontractor within 60 days, the Awarding Authority shall be entitled to withhold or recover funds from the Contractor in an amount that represents the value of the work that was pledged to the Local Subcontractor, not to exceed 8% of the Contractor’s executed contract. 12. Value of the Proposal Preference may be calculated as the difference between the Proposal price between the Contractor’s Proposal and the Proposal of the next most competitive bid. In cases where the value of the awarded Business’s proposal price is lower, the value of the Proposal Preference may be calculated as the product between the proposal preference percentage points provided and the submitted proposal price. 13. In the event that investigations reveal that a business fraudulently represents itself as a Local Business for the purpose of gaining a preference under the LBPP, the business shall not be eligible for the Local Business status for up to five years from the date of disqualification. This will also apply to any business that has received a preference, but failed to maintain its Local Business qualification for a cumulative of 60 days during the entire time of the contract. Complaints and Protests 1. All complaints and/or protests regarding qualifying local businesses, provisionally qualified local businesses, and local subcontractors claiming non-compliance by Awarding Authorities or its failure to maintain certification criteria, shall be made to the BCA/OCC either in writing or by email for further investigations. Complaints must be accompanied by documentation which substantiates complainant’s allegations. 2. Any complaints that meet the criteria of No. 1 shall be investigated by BCA/OCC in its role as the Designated Administrative Agency. Submit complaints to: By Mail

By Email

Bureau of Contract Administration Office of Contract Compliance Department of Public Works 1149 South Broadway, Suite 300 Los Angeles, CA 90015 [email protected]

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5.11 First Source Hiring Ordinance Unless approved for an exemption, contractors under contracts used primarily for the furnishing of services to or for the City and that involve an expenditure in excess of $25,000 and a contract term of at least three (3) months, and certain recipients of City Loans or Grants, shall comply with the provisions of Los Angeles Administrative Code Sections 10.44, et seq., First Source Hiring Ordinance (FSHO). Proposers shall refer to Standard Provisions for City Contracts (Revised 3/09), Attachment 11, “First Source Hiring Ordinance,”) for further information regarding the requirements of the Ordinance. 5.12 Government Taxation Forms Proposers must submit the following three forms found in the Standard Provisions for City Contracts (Rev. 3/09), Attachment 3 to the awarding authority at the same time the Proposal is submitted:   

IRS Request for Taxpayer Identification and Certificate (Form W-9) Evidence of having obtained a tax registration account number (City of L.A. Tax Registration Certificate number and/or Vender Registration number) State of California Withholding Exemption Certificate (Form 590) or Nonresident Withholding Certification (Form 587), if the Proposer is located outside of California.

5.13 On-Line Submission of Required Documents a) Nondiscrimination, Equal Employment Practices and Affirmative Action Program (Non-Construction) Proposers are advised that any contract awarded pursuant to this procurement process shall be subject to the applicable provisions of Los Angeles Administrative Code Section 10.8.2., Non-discrimination Clause. Non-construction services to or for the City for which the consideration is $1,000 or more shall comply with the provisions of Los Angeles Administrative Code Sections 10.8.3., Equal Employment Practices Provisions. All Proposers shall complete and upload the Non-Discrimination/Equal Employment Practices Affidavit (two (2) pages) available on the City of Los Angeles’ Business Assistance Virtual Network (BAVN) residing at www.labavn.org prior to award of a City contract valued at $1,000 or more. Non-construction services to or for the City for which the consideration is $100,000 or more shall comply with the provisions of Los Angeles Administrative Code Sections 10.8.4., Affirmative Action Program Provisions. All Proposers shall complete and upload the City of Los Angeles Affirmative Action Plan (four (4) pages) available on the City of Los Angeles’ Business Assistance Virtual Network (BAVN) residing at www.labavn.org prior to award of a City contract

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valued at $100,000 or more. Proposers opting to submit their own Affirmative Action Plan may do so by uploading their Affirmative Action Plan onto the City’s BAVN. Both the Non-Discrimination/Equal Employment Practices Affidavit and the City of Los Angeles Affirmative Action Plan Affidavit shall be effective for a period of twelve months from the date it is first uploaded onto the City’s BAVN. Proposers seeking additional information regarding the requirements of the City’s Non-Discrimination Clause, Equal Employment Practices and Affirmative Action Program may visit the Bureau of Contract Administration’s web site at http://bca.lacity.org. b) Equal Benefits Ordinance Proposers are advised that any contract awarded pursuant to this procurement process shall be subject to the applicable provisions of Los Angeles Administrative Code Section 10.8.2.1, Equal Benefits Ordinance (EBO). All Proposers shall complete and upload the Equal Benefits Ordinance Affidavit (two (2) pages) available on the City of Los Angeles’ Business Assistance Virtual Network (BAVN) residing at www.labavn.org prior to award of a City contract, the value of which exceeds $5,000. The Equal Benefits Ordinance Affidavit shall be effective for a period of twelve months from the date it is first uploaded onto the City’s BAVN. Proposers do not need to submit supporting documentation with their bids or proposals. However, the City may request supporting documentation to verify that the benefits are provided equally as specified on the Equal Benefits Ordinance Affidavit. Proposers seeking additional information regarding the requirements of the Equal Benefits Ordinance may visit the Bureau of Contract Administration’s web site at http://bca.lacity.org. c) Slavery Disclosure Ordinance Unless otherwise exempt, in accordance with the provisions of the Slavery Disclosure Ordinance, any contract awarded pursuant to this RFQ will be subject to the Slavery Disclosure Ordinance, Section 10.41 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code. All Proposers shall complete and upload the Slavery Disclosure Ordinance Affidavit (one (1) page) available on the City of Los Angeles’ Business Assistance Virtual Network (BAVN) residing at www.labavn.org prior to award of a City contract. Proposers seeking additional information regarding the requirements of the Slavery Disclosure Ordinance may visit the Bureau of Contract Administration’s web site at http://bca.lacity.org.

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5.14 Confidentiality All documents, information and data provided to the Contractor by the City of Los Angeles Personnel Department (City) are deemed as strictly confidential. The Contractor agrees that if one of their employees personally knows either the candidate, a member of their family or any of the candidate's associates, they shall return the case file immediately to City to exchange it for another file of a candidate who is not known by any employee of the Contractor's staff. Furthermore, any and all personal information, documents and/or City testing materials shall be deemed as strictly confidential and the contents thereof shall not be disclosed to any person or entity except designated managerial staff of the City. The Contractor shall immediately notify the City in writing of any attempt by a third party to access any documents or materials. Finally, the Contractor's investigative employee assigned to investigate the background of a candidate shall execute and attach an original signed Confidentiality Agreement for each case assigned and work and this agreement shall be affixed to the background investigation file.

6. CONTRACT ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: City of Los Angeles Standard Provisions for City Contracts (Rev. 3/09) and Checklist 7. EVALUATION CRITERIA All proposals will be initially reviewed to determine if they are responsive to all of the City’s statutory requirements. Those proposals deemed non-responsive will be eliminated from consideration. Those proposals deemed responsive shall be evaluated by a committee selected by the Personnel Department General Manager. The committee may invite the selected firms to present their qualifications in person. The City, at its option may reject any and all proposals submitted in response to this RFQ, or waive any administrative irregularities, or waive any informalities in a proposal when to do so would be to the advantage of the City or its taxpayers.

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7.1. Evaluation Factors Evaluation of submitted proposals will be based on the following factors and the points available for each factor. Evaluation Factors Experience of the Proposer in performing background investigations Public Sector Experience Depth of Resources Past performance of the Firm – References Past Experience with City of Los Angeles Quality and Responsiveness of the Proposal TOTAL

Maximum Points 35 20 15 15 10 5 100

8. REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) PROCESS The following are the steps involved in the RFQ process. The City reserves the right to adjust the process timeline when appropriate.

RFQ PROCESS 1. Release RFQ to potential proposers 2. Begin RFQ evaluations 3. Oral presentations (if requested) 4. Selection or Rejection

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9. PROPOSER BACKGROUND INFORMATION Proposer’s Contact Name: Contact Title: Mailing Address: Location of Business (if different from mailing address):

Telephone Number: Cell Phone Number: 24-Hour Tel. Number: Fax Number: E-mail Address: Remittance Address (if different from mailing address):

10. PROPOSER REFERENCES 10.1 Customer References The Proposer must submit a minimum of three non-proposer owned customer references. Materials and/or services provided to these customers must be of comparable size to the City’s requirements within this proposal. Include the following for each reference: CUSTOMER REFERENCES Company Name Name of Contact Title of Contact Telephone Number Dates and Types of Services Provided: The City may, at its option, contact other known proposer’s customers for references. 10.2 Past Failure to Complete Work Awarded If the Proposer has had a contract terminated for default during the past five years, all such incidents must be described. Termination for default is defined as notice to stop performance due to the proposer’s non-performance or poor performance and the issue was either not litigated; or litigated and such litigation determined the Proposer to be in default. Submit full details of all termination for default experienced by the Proposer during the past five years including the other party’s name, address and telephone number. Present the Proposer’s position on the matter. The City will 23

evaluate the facts and may, at its sole discretion, reject the Proposer’s proposal if the facts discovered indicate that completion of a contract resulting from this RFQ may be jeopardized by selection of the Proposer. If the Proposer has experienced no termination for default in the past five years, so indicate. 10.3 Business Organization Proposer shall provide an overview of the entity submitting this RFQ including the following information. 1. Date entity was established and location of entity when established 2. Location of headquarters 3. Total number of employees 4. Total number of employees in the City of Los Angeles and in Southern California 5. Annual revenues 6. Organization chart indicating the positions and names of the core management team which will undertake this project 7. Resumes for all core team members 8. Brief history and description of entity 10.4 Proposed Subcontractor Information If applicable to proposal, the following information must be provided for each proposed subcontractor. Attach and submit this information with this proposal. If subcontractors will not be utilized, so indicate. 1. Subcontractor’s name, mailing address, phone number 2. Subcontractor’s contact name, title, phone number 3. Subcontractor’s registration # and/or license #, if applicable 4. Description of work to be subcontracted 5. Reason(s) for subcontracting 6. Percentage of total contract to be subcontracted and dollar amount 7. If subcontractor is a MBE, WBE,OBE, DVBE, EBE or LBE

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11. PROPOSER SIGNATURE DECLARATION PAGE The undersigned hereby offers and agrees to furnish the goods and/or routine services in compliance with all the service level requirements, instructions, specifications, and any amendments contained in this RFQ document and any written exceptions in the offer accepted by the City. This proposal is genuine, and not sham or collusive, nor made in the interest or on behalf of any person not herein named. The proposer has not directly or indirectly induced or solicited any other proposer to put in a sham proposal, or any other person, firm or corporation to refrain from submitting a proposal; and the proposer has not in any manner sought by collusion to secure for itself an advantage over any other proposer. Each proposal must be signed on behalf of the proposer by an officer authorized to bind the proposer to the proposal. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct and I agree to the terms and conditions in this proposal. Company Name ____________________________________________________ Signature of Authorized Person _________________________________________ Address ____________________________________________________________ Printed Name _______________________________________________________ Title ________________________________________________________________ City _________________________ State ______________ Zip Code____________ Date__________________________________ The proposer hereby acknowledges receipt of and agrees this submittal is based on the RFQ and the following addenda. Failure to indicate receipt of addenda may result in the proposal being rejected as non-responsive. To constitute a responsive proposal you must return all pages of the proposal forms. ADDENDUM # ______ DATED ___________ ADDENDUM # ______ DATED__________ ADDENDUM # ______ DATED ___________ ADDENDUM # ______ DATED__________ (If additional addenda are issued, attach a complete listing when submitting this proposal.)

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