HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-2012-097 Statement Printing and Mail Processing Contract with The Master's Touch, LLCRESOLUTION NO. R-2012-97
A RESOLUTION approving a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a
contract for Statement Printing and Mail Processing with The Master's
Touch LLC.
WHEREAS, the City of Yakima is responsible for processing and mailing various types
and volumes of information, statements and invoices to the general public, property owners and
businesses; and
WHEREAS, it is possible for the city to gain more reliable and economical mail services
by contracting with an experienced provider of volume statement processing and mailing
services; and
WHEREAS, The Master's Touch LLC has a contract in good standing with Yakima
County that may be utilized by the City of Yakima for statement printing and mail processing
under a one year contract; and
WHEREAS; savings that will be achieved with the first year of the contract are expected
to increase as the city works with The Master's Touch to improve the functionality of our
customer database; and
WHEREAS, if the City of Yakima is satisfied with the performance of The Master's
Touch there is an option to extend the contract for multiple years; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF YAKIMA:
The City Manager of the City of Yakima is hereby authorized and directed to execute all
applicable contracts to hire The Master's Touch LLC for statement printing and mail processing.
The one year contract cost is estimated at $142,400 (the actual total amount will be determined
by the number of statements processed and mailed).
ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL this 17th day of July, 2012.
Micah CawI , Mayor
ATTEST.
AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is entered into between CITY OF YAKIMA, Washington, herein referred
to as the "City" whose address is 129 N. 2nd St. Yakima, Washington, 98901 and The Master's
Touch, LLC whose address is 1405 N Ash Street, Spokane, WA 99201 hereinafter referred to as
the "Contractor".
WITNESSETH:
In consideration of the terms and conditions contained herein and the attached RFP documents
C11108 -P, which are made part of this contract by this reference, the parties agree as follows:
1. The City of Yakima intends to utilize Yakima County contract C11108 -P, which allows
for the expansion to provide additional services normally offered by the Contractor, and
for Intergovernmental Purchasing per Washington State Interlocal Cooperative Act RCW
39.34.
2. The Contractor shall do all work and furnish all materials necessary for performing the
work in accordance with and as described in the attached RFP documents and
Contractor's Proposal dated May 28, 2012 (Attachment A) and Addendum #1 dated July
2012 for City of Yakima.
3. The City agrees to pay for the work as set forth in the RFP documents at the time and in
the manner and upon the conditions provided.
4. This Agreement contains all terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties. No change
or addition to this Agreement shall be valid or binding upon either party unless such
change or addition is in writing and executed by both parties. All terms of the attached
RFP documents, Contractor's Proposal, Attachment A, and Addendum #1 are
incorporated herein by this reference.
5. The parties agree that the Contractor is an independent contractor and not an agent or
employee of the City. Agents, employees, servants, or representatives of the Contractor
shall not be deemed to be employees, servants, or representatives of the City for any
purpose. Employees of the Contractor are not entitled to any benefits the City provides
for City employees.
6. The contractor agrees that is shall not discriminate against any person on the grounds of
race, creed, color, religion;, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status,
political affiliation or belief, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical handicap
in violation of the Washington State Law Against Discrimination (RCW chapter 49.60)
or the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 USC 12101 et seq.). In the event the
Contractor violates this provision, the City may terminate this Agreement immediately
and bar the Contractor from performing services for the City in the future.
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7. The Contractor shall not assign or subcontract any portion of the contracted activities
without obtaining prior written approval from the City.
8. The Contractor shall indemnify and hold harmless the City, its officers, agents and
employees, from all liability, loss of damage, including costs of defense they may suffer
as a result of claims, demands, actions, damages, costs or judgments which result from
the activities to be performed by the Contractor, its agents, employees, or subcontractors
pursuant to this Agreement.
9. The Contractor shall provide to the City proof of insurance. City of Yakima shall be
named as an additional insured with Additional Insured Endorsement on said insurance
policies.
10. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Washington. Any action,
suit, or judicial proceeding for the enforcement of this Agreement shall be brought in the
Superior Court for the State of Washington in Yakima County, Washington.
11. The period of this agreement shall be from the date of execution through December 31,
2017. Prices shall remain firm, as proposed, for the first year of the contract unless an
exception is stated in the proposal. The City may, at its option, extend the contract on an
annual basis, subject to a successful price agreement. Any changes to U.S. Postal
regulations or other laws or regulations affecting tax statement production and mailing
that are enacted or in force in subsequent contract years, shall be negotiated a the time of
renewal.
12. Either party may terminate this contract for convenience upon (60) sixty days written
notice sent by certified mail to the addresses listed above, per the terms and conditions of
the RFP documents.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties have executed this Agreement the day and year first above
written.
CITY OF YAKIMA
Sonya Claar Tee,
By.
(NAME OF CONTRACTOR)
Itsv r^ "� .NJT 60er„,,z-er)
CITY CONTRAC i NO:
RESOLUTION N0:
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Page 2 of 2
THE MASTER'S TOUCH, LLC
Proposal for:
City of Yakima
Utility Accounts Division
Statement Printing and Mail Processing
Services for Utility Bills — Once per week
- CASS Certify, NCOA and presort customer data file.
- Laser print variable statement data to 8 %a"x 11".
-Letter fold statement and insert into #10 window along with #9 reply.
- Seal and tray for best automation postage rates.
- Deliver to USPS bulk mail facility along with all necessary paperwork.
-Mail first class at barcode automation rates.
Printed Materials (12 month supply): No charge for Storage
192,000 Laser Bills, 8 1/2 x 11 printed
a. 2 ink colors face only on 60# white with perf —1.97 cents each
b. Black face only on 60# white with perf only —1.7 cents each
192,000 -- #10 Special Window Envelope — 2 color on 24# white — 2.8 cents each
192,000 — #9 Return Envelopes — Black ink face on 24# white —2.3 cents each
Mail Services & Automation Postage:
A. 192,000 Utility bills mailed once/week
a. Price —11.5 cents per bill + Automation Postage*
B. 33,000 Delinquent notices mailed approximately twice per month
a. Price —11.5 cents per bill + Automation Postage*
C. 10,000 Business and Dog License Renewals — one mailing
a. Price —10.5 cents per notice + Automation Postage*
D. 2,500 Business and Dog License Reminders — one mailing
a. Price —17 cents per notice + Automation Postage*
E. 3,500 Water Department Notices — Two 8 1/2 x 1 l's printed 4 color process two sides
a. Price —19 cents per set of notices
* Automation postage will range from 35 cents to 40.4 cents each depending on the presort
** We can and will also combine two or more statements into a single mailing envelope when the name
and address are identical between statements.
** One time programming setup fee is approximate $800.00, but will be waived with an agreement prior
to July 31, 2012.
Jim Cote
President
June 6, 2012
a-4-7
1405 N ASH STREET SPOKANE, WA 99201-2805
TELEPHONE (509) 326-7475 OR 1-800-301-1347 FAX (509) 326-7214
THE MASTER'S TOUCH, LLC
Addendum #2 for City of Yakima
RE: City of Yakima Bulk Printing and Mailing —July 2012
This addendum is an attempt to clarify our proposal and supersedes any inconsistencies that
may be interpreted from it. Where the Yakima County Contract is mentioned, the reference is
specific to Contract #C11108 -P
• The terms and conditions noted in the Yakima County Contract will apply where
applicable. The additional terms and conditions included with our original proposal is
withdrawn.
✓ The pricing methodology used for the City of Yakima proposal is the same in every
respect to the Yakima County Contract when the costs to profit margin are compared.
• A performance bond and certificate as outlined in the County Contract will be provided
to the City of Yakima based on the estimated annual value of the City contract.
o The basis for any future price increases and contract extensions will be per the same
conditions outlined in the County contract, except that a review of paper pricing will be
entertained after the first year of contract. The City of Yakima will have the option to
decline any requested increase in paper prices and the City may elect to terminate their
contract due to any increase.
• The term of this agreement, including options to extend and/or terminate, will remain
the same as that which is noted in the County contract.
1405 N ASH STREET SPOKANE, WA 99201-2805
TELEPHONE (509) 326-7475 OR 1-800-301-1347 FAX (509) 326-7214
THE MASTER'S TOUCH, LLC
May 28, 2012
Tammy Regimbal
City of Yakima
Utility Accounts Division
129 N 2nd St.
Yakima, WA 98901
RE: City of Yakima Bulk Printing and Mailing
Good Morning Tarruny,
Thank you for your request for a proposal from The Master's Touch, LLC for the printing and
mailing of your utility bills, delinquent notices and various other bulk mailing requirements. We
trust you will fmd our approach and pricing to provide sound and compelling reasons for
utilizing our services.
We have laid out our proposal in a format that we believe answers the basic questions the City of
Yakima needs answered in order to arrive at a positive conclusion to enter into an agreement
with The Master's Touch, LLC. Still, with a complex project such as this, there often can be a
need for further clarification and explanation. We stand ready to provide you with any additional
information you may need should it be necessary.
Thank you again for this opportunity.
Sincerely,
Jim Cote
President
Enclosure: Proposal for bulk printing and mailing services
1405 N ASH STREET SPOKANE, WA 99201-2805
TELEPHONE (509) 326-7475 OR 1-800-301-1347 FAX (509) 326-7214
www.themasterstouch.coan
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Executive Summary
The Master's Touch, LLC (TMT) was founded in May of 1994 by Jim Cote. Starting with just a
few regional customers, some small tabletop equipment, and a few hand -stuffing employees,
The Master's Touch, LLC has grown from a 1,500 square foot office and warehouse facility into its
current 36,000 square foot headquarters with the newest state of the art high speed equipment and
twenty-four full time, highly skilled employees serving private and public organizations in twelve
states. In 2011, TMT produced over 12 mullion pieces of mail and exceeded $3.5 million in postage,
qualifying the organization as a "Premier" customer of the U.S. Postal Service for the 6th consecutive year.
Our area of special expertise and the lion's share of our mail volume is First Class mail as opposed to
direct mail. This is a difference worth noting, since the process for handling First Class mail is much
more difficult and requires a much higher degree of precision than that required for Standard A and
Non-profit mail. This specialized mailing approach gives us a breadth of knowledge and thorough
understanding for this class of mail that clearly qualifies TMT as an excellent partner for the City of
Yakima mailings. TMT understands the importance for accurate and timely mailings and can provide
assurance to the City of Yakima that we have never mixed up personal invoices nor have we ever
failed to meet a promised First Class mail date.
TMT is neither too large to treat customers impersonally nor too small to be able to take advantage of
the economies of scale that come with processing large volumes of mail. Nearly all the printing and
mailing equipment TMT uses for processing your mailings has been purchased within the past 3 years.
This helps to insure minimal downtimes while providing the highest quality in the industry.
With the decision by the US Postal Service to phase out the Postnet barcode and require the new
Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) for all mail receiving postage discounts, TMT has already completed
USPS certification so that our customers can be assured there will be no loss of postal discounts when
this transition occurs January 28, 2013, just a few months away.TMT has even further invested the
time and energy to become "Full Service IMB" certified, which means TMT is already in compliance
with the requirements the USPS has announced it will begin to enforce for those who wish to qualify
for postage discounts starting January 2014.
TMT already has an e -bill solution and is looking to improve and expand the options we are able to
make available to our customers. Currently TMT is able to provide a PDF of the actual statement as if
it were mailed while also providing email notificationthat the bill is ready. A further option includes
receiving and payment of the bill while utilizing a smart phone through our partner — doxo.
It is understood that the City of Yakima will require the printing and mailing of utility bills, delinquent
notices, business and dog licenses, planning department notices, water department notices and senior
newsletters. TMT is able to provide the complete solution for all of these mailings, from graphic
design to printing on press, to imaging with variable data, to sorting for maximum postage discounts
to mailing to tracking that mail to the mail box — all without any subcontracting.
TMT truly is a "full service" partner, capable of coordinating your entire mailing project seamlessly.
What is the Master's Difference? Why Choose The Master's Touch, LLC?
1. The Master's Touch, LLC is a Washington based business located in Spokane, Washington.
Postal consolidation of USPS facilities has targeted the sectional center processing facility in
Yakima for eventual closure --- some time after February 2013. At that time, mail that was sorted
and processed in Yakima will be sent to Spokane, where the latest high speed automation
equipment will rapidly sort and return that mail to Yakima. Since The Master's Touch, LLC will
induct City of Yakima mail at the Spokane facility, it will insure the most expedited mail
processing and delivery.
2. The Master's Touch, LLC has voluntarily completed a SAS 70 Type II audit in March of 2011
and will soon complete the new SSAE 16 audit in July 2012. Although this audit is quite costly,
it helps demonstrate our commitment to insuring our processes meet your need for data security.
A confidential copy of our audit is available for your review.
3. The Master's Touch, LLC is financially stable. We are debt -free. We own our building. There is
no mortgage on it. We own all of our printing and processing equipment. None of it is leased.
We do not pay a click charge on our laser printers, since we own all of those as well. All of our
bills are paid on time or early in order to secure early pay discounts. TMT is in a solid fmancial
position to remain your vendor without interruption of service for the duration of this agreement.
An added benefit of our debt free position is that it allows us to be very price competitive as you
will discover in our proposal.
4. At the most recent National Postal Forum in Orlando, the USPS announced the final sunset of
the Postnet barcode on January 28, 2013. After that date, only the Intelligent Mail Barcode will
receive postal discounts. Additionally, in January 2014 only "Full Service" Intelligent Mail
Barcode (IMB) mailings will be eligible for postal discounts. The Master's Touch, LLC is
already utilizing the IMB and has been certified by the USPS as a "Full Service" IMB mail
vendor. The certification process is extensive and requires a significant amount of time to
successfully accomplish. The City of Yakima will be relieved to know that our certification will
qualify your mail for continued postage discounts without any worry for potential
disqualification.
5. The Master's Touch, LLC has three staff members who have been USPS certified as Mail Piece
Design Professionals (MDP). This can be extremely valuable since MDPs have a unique ability
to assist customers in the design of their mail pieces in order to avoid a possible violation of
USPS requirements that might cost unintended additional postage. For instance, did you know
that mailing a 41/4 x 6 1/8 postcard will cost you 45 cents, while mailing a 4 % x 6 postcard will
cost just 32 cents? Your MDP will know that and will advise you accordingly.
6. The Master's Touch, LLC will combine statements into a single envelope when two or more
statements are addressed to the same name and address. Using 2d barcode technology,
The Master's Touch, LLC can insure the City of Yakima that our statement matching technology
is accurate 100% of the time. 2d has the highest integrity for high speed inserting of any barcode
type on the market today. The information included in this barcode type makes pulling two
different bill notices and including them in the same envelope an impossibility.
7. The Master's Touch, LLC will offer to provide OneCode Confirm Service to the City of Yakima.
This USPS service which is only available in conjunction with the Intelligent Mail Barcode, will
provide with the ability to track nearly every piece of mail from the time of induction into the
USPS to the date it is delivered by the carrier. There is a small extra charge for this service.
8. When attempting to insure uninterrupted service, some firms provide redundancy, others provide
"disaster recovery" but The Master's Touch, LLC provides both. The Master's Touch, LLC has
multiple machines for every portion of the print and mail process. It is not if a machine breaks,
but when it breaks. Our redundant equipment in every area helps us move a job from one piece
of equipment to another when there is an equipment mal-function, thus avoiding any delays in
the mail date. Our disaster recovery facility in Portland, OR provides added backup should the
Spokane facility experience an extended disruption of service of any sort.
9. The Master's Touch, LLC has never missed a promised First Class mail date. We guarantee to
keep our promises or the mail service portion of the mailing will be free!
Our Process for Setup and Implementation
I. Set un
Initial Meeting and Orientation:
Upon contract initiation, the TMT project team will request a time to meet with key staff from the City
of Yakima so that introductions on both sides can be made and the groundwork can be laid for how the
project will move forward, who will be responsible for the various elements of setup and ongoing
implementation, and a timetable established with milestones for each step in the process.
TMT will request the City of Yakima provide several key items that will be used during the setup
process:
® Sample data. This could be a small subset of records, but preferably a complete data file so that
every possible record type can be accounted for. A secure ftp login and password will be generated
for data transfer prior to this initiation meeting.
• A data definition file that identifies what each field type represents such as which field contains the
account number, billing address, service address, current due, past due, etc.
• A data layout map that shows on the form we will print, where each piece of data is meant to print.
In lieu of this mapping, the City of Yakima may provide several printed statements from the actual
sample data provided so we can correctly determine where each field will print.
® It is highly recommended that the City of Yakima include in the sample data records that
exemplify the minimum and maximum limits of every field that will print in order to insure
complete and accurate printing of all data elements.
® Physical samples of envelopes, forms, inserts and any other printed pieces that will be included in
the mailings. If possible, electronic art files for each of these documents will allow us to proof
and/or modify what is currently being used to produce your printed documents.
Setup of Printed forms:
Within 7 —10 days after orientation meeting and securing the above mentioned items, TMT will provide
the City of Yakima with PDF proofs for each of the preprinted forms and envelopes that will be used in
the mailings. Adjustments and corrections will be made until the City of Yakima is 100% satisfied. Once
final approval is received, TMT will produce an approximate 6 month supply of the preprinted items
which will be billed upon completion and after added to inventory but will be warehoused without
storage charges.
Setup of Variable Imaging Data:
After receipt of sample data and instructions, TMT will process data and provide the City of Yakima
with the following items:
• TMT will CASS validate customer addresses and will return to the City those addresses that do
not validate, providing the City with the opportunity to correct them prior to any mailings.
® TMT will process addresses through the NCOA (National Change of Address) database to
determine which customers have moved and to comply with the USPS move update
requirement that mandates all mail pieces submitted for postage discounts comply with their
move update requirement. Records that indicate a move will be returned to the City for
updating in original database.
6 Within 2 weeks TMT will produce PDF proofs of actual imaged statements utilizing the sample
data the City provided. PDFs will be placed on TMT's secure ftp site for review, modification
and correction. These proofs will be modified and corrected at the direction of the City until the
City is 100% satisfied with data accuracy and layout.
Once approved, TMT will be ready for the "live" production file(s). At this point, it is customary
that we provide hard copy proofs for a final review and approval. This can be done at this stage
or upon approval of the final production file or at both times, whichever the City may choose.
Implementation and On -Going Production Process
1. Once ready, the City will upload the production file to TMT's secure ftp. The day and
approximate time will be prearranged so that TMT can be expecting the file. Once received,
TMT will process the City production file and upload PDF proofs back to the secure ftp for City
review and approval. In addition, the City and TMT will predetermine at least two other
validation criteria that will be used to confirm that the entire production file was accurately
communicated to TMT.
2. Once approved, the City will email an approval that instructs TMT to begin actual print
production.
3. After receipt of final proof approvals, TMT will laser print statements. Statements will be
checked after each lift of paper has been laser printed in order to insure laser quality. After laser
printing is completed, statements will be folded and inserted in zip sort order, sealed and
enclosed in USPS mailing trays.
4. TMT proposes to combine statements bearing an identical name and address, mailing all that
meet these criteria in the same envelope, thus saving the County postage and envelope costs.
Statements will be letter -folded and mailed in a #10 envelope unless the thickness of the folded
statements and inserts exceeds the 1/4 inch maximum allowed by the US Postal Service for the
letter rate category. Once thickness exceeds 1A inch, all grouped statements mailing to an
identical name and address will be enclosed in a catalog size envelope.
5. A final quality check will be made to insure all envelopes are properly sealed with complete
addresses showing through the windows of the envelopes.
6_ Within 48 hours of final proof approval or upon any other agreed upon time table, TMT will
deliver all City of Yakima mail to the USPS bulk mail unit in Spokane. The postal permit used
will be "The Master's Touch, LLC," giving no indication where mail was processed.
7. An exact copy of the paperwork used and accepted by the USPS will be provided to the City of
Yakima along with invoicing for the mail services performed within 48 hours of mailing. This
official paperwork will provide the City with the total number of mail pieces entered as well as
the postage paid, not only for the entire mailing, but also broken out by the rate each mail piece
received, giving the City a clear and accurate picture of what was mailed and the postage
incurred.
References
We have attempted to provide an array of different clients in order to give you a broad scope of the kind
of services we provide. In addition, we are enclosing samples of our work and reference letters from
some of those satisfied clients.
Reference #1
Spokane County Utilities — Maureen Ades
1026 W Broadway Ave, Spokane, WA 99260
mades@spokanecounty.org
(509) 477-3604
Reference #2
Lake Stevens Sewer District — Tonya Christoffersen
1106 Vernon Rd, Ste A, Lake Stevens, WA 98258
tchristoffersen@lkstevenssewer.org
(425) 334-8588
Reference 143
Yakima County Treasurer — Ilene Thomson
PO Box 22530, Yakima, WA 98907
ilene.thomson@co.yakima.wa. us
(509) 574-2800
Additional References available upon request.
Statement Processing Contract For
City of Yakima
This contract is entered into between The Master's Touch, LLC (hereinafter referred to as TMT) and the City of
Yakima (hereinafter referred to as the City)
Overview
The Master's Touch, LLC will act as a full service vendor to print and mail monthly statements for the City.
Included in this contract will be the preprinting of the statement stock, envelopes and any additional insert(s)
required. All mailing addresses will be CASS certified, NCOA updated and PAVE presorted using the most
current USPS provided address data. Single page and multiple page statements will be sealed and teetered with
appropriate postage and delivered to the United States Postal Service bulk mail facility with all necessary
documentation and will be mailed at the lowest postage rates eligible for class and weight. All of the described
services will be completed by TMT. There will be no subcontracting of any portion of the work performed.
1. Timing
Definition: For the purpose of this contract, it will be noted that work days do not include weekends or
postal holidays. TMT hours of operation (which implies valid notification times) will be from 8:00 am to
5:00 pm PST.
Understanding that mail dates are critical, TMT will make every effort to meet or exceed the mailing
expectations of the City. As of this date, The Master's Touch, LLC has never missed a mail drop date,
except for data errors outside the control of TMT. In every case our customers were grateful for the delay
in order to insure data integrity. Therefore, TMT abides by the policy that, if ever TMT determines the
integrity of a mailing may be at stake, all the City mail will be held until the City can verify accuracy.
This is a very ram occurrence, but it does happen. For this reason, TMT will provide a random sampling
of statements to be proofed by the City prior to production of each month's mailing. Proofing is simple
and quick, yet a very important part of the verification process. Therefore, production promises are based
upon proof approval times rather than receipt of data times.
After receipt of your production data through our secure ftp, the City data will be processed and random
PDF proofs of at least.ten statements will be placed on TMT's secure ftp site for the City to review and
approve. Every effort will be made to provide proofs on the same day data is received by TMT, but will
occur no later than 24 hours after receipt of data. Notification of proof arrivals to the secure ftp site will
be made by email to the City's designated email address. Should this address change, it is critical that the
City notify TMT by email at mailsve@themasterstouch.com immediately so that a new email address can
be set up for proofing. The City will have 24 hours to review and approve these PDF proofs. After 24
hours, if no objection or correction is received by TMT, we will assume that proofs are approved and
ready for production. It is highly encouraged and much preferred that the City email an approval every
statement cycle. Within 48 hours of approval, or the 24 hour proof approval window, all the City mail
will be printed, folded, inserted and delivered to the USPS bulk mail facility in Spokane, Washington.
NOTE: Should The Master's Touch, LLC ever fail to meet these promised timetables, the extent of TMT
liability will be limited to mail processing fees. Specifically, statement stock, envelopes, inserts and
postage will remain due and payable as outlined in this contract. The snail service, however, will either be
discounted or waived entirely, based upon mutual agreement between TMT and the City. It will also be
grounds for immediate termination of contract by the City.
2. Preprinted Statement and Envelope Stock
TMT will need the City to supply a high resolution electronic logo to be used for print copy on the City
forms and envelopes. In addition, TMT will need to know the mailing address the City would like printed
for their return address. Up to a six month supply of printed stock will be produced and stored at TMT's
warehouse. Stock replenishment will be initiated 45 days prior to the depletion of the City inventory. The
City will be notified at the time of replenishment with an opportunity to request a change in print copy. If
a change is required, TMT will revise art and provide the City with a new proof prior to print production.
New art should be initiated by the City as soon as practical so that PDF approval of revised art can be
completed at least 3 weeks prior to mail date. If this time frame cannot be achieved, it may be necessary
to produce a small supply of stock using existing art so that statements can be printed and mailed on time.
Once printed all inventory is owned by the City and will be billed based on actual quantities printed and
put into storage. Should the City cancel contract with TMT for any reason, all remaining inventory TMT
has in storage will become immediately due and payable. The remaining stock will be shipped to the
City's designated address. Freight and any handling charges will be the responsibility of the City.
3. Optional Inserts
* * The City may add up to six additional inserts ***
® First and second insert—no additional processing fee*
® Third and fourth insert — add .005 cent each per piece for processing*
® Fifth and sixth inserts — add .075 cent each per piece for processing*
A. It is highly recommended that all inserts be printed by The Master's Touch, LLC. In so doing, TMT
accepts full responsibility for having your inserts completed on time so that your mail is not delayed.
Provided TMT has PDF proof approval by the 20`;' of the month, we will guarantee on-time
completion and insertion into your mailing or the insert is FREE. Quite often, TMT can prepare the
printed insert in less time than this, but our "FREE" guarantee will no longer apply if PDF proof
approval is received later than the 20th of the month.
B. *Inserts must meet the following requirements or receive prior approval from TMT.
a. Final finished or folded minimum size 3 'A" x 5 1/2".
b. Final finished or folded maximum size 3 7/8 x 9"
c. Minimum thickness — 60# text
d. Maximum thickness — 12 PT gloss or 100# cover
e. All finished inserts (folded or not) must be uniform in size and thickness, per insert: (i.e.
insert A must be all same size and weight. Insert B must all be same size and weight, but does
not have to be same as insert A).
f. Exceptions to the above specifications may be permitted, but may require additional
processing, which may necessitate an additional inserting fee.
4. Set Up and Programming
The Master's Touch, LLC will require sample data of no less than 100 statements, a data definition file,
and a data layout map (indicating what fields print where), prior to beginning software setup. We request
this information as soon as practical after signing of this contract. In addition, it is highly recommended
that the City include in the sample data, records that exemplify the minimum and maximum limits of
every field (i.e. largest dollar amount, smallest dollar amount, longest field, longest address, any
exceptions or unique fields, etc.). TMT will have initial PDF proofs ready within 2-3 weeks of receiving
this information, unless otherwise agreed.
Sample PDFs will be provided to the City via TMT's secure ftp for review and approval. It will be the
responsibility of the City to carefully review the PDF file to verify data accuracy and fornatting. When
satisfied, the City will email approval to mailsvci`dthemasterstouch.com. Once this "test data" has been
approved by the City and preprinted envelopes and statement stock is completed, TMT will be ready for
the City's next cycle of "live" production data for contracted printing and mailing.
5. Address Updates
Only certified addresses are eligible for discounted automation postage. Non -certified mail pieces will
either be returned to the City for mailing or will bear full fare first class postage based upon the weight of
each piece. (By default, all non -certified pieces will be mailed, unless the City instructs TMT in writing to
do otherwise). Foreign addresses must bear the name of the country in the address block or will be
considered "undeliverable" and will be returned to the City.
In order to obtain and pass along automation postage discounts, the USPS requires that TMT certify to the
best of our ability that the City's mail file has been processed through a move update service within 95
days immediately prior to mailing. There are several methods that can be used to comply with this
requirement. The most effective and efficient service that TMT offers is NCOA (National Change of
Address) service. Using this service satisfies the USPS requirement and enables the City to keep their
address list up to date.
If the City chooses NCOA as their method of compliance, then at least once every 90 days, the City's
address file will be processed through NCOA. Once NCOA is completed, all updated addresses will be
provided back to the City via electronic format and placed on TMT secure ftp site for retrieval. Address
updates will be returned to the City within 7 days of receipt of this information. It is the responsibility of
the City to review and update addresses based on the information provided through NCOA. TMT will not
monitor, nor be responsible if address changes are identified, but are not updated by the City. TMT can
assist the City with this address update process, should the City so choose.
6. Production
When TMT and the City are ready to "go live" with production, the following procedures will be adhered
to. Within 24 hours of receipt of your production file, random PDF proofs from the City file will be placed
on the TMT secure ftp site. An email will be sent to the City notifying you of opportunity to review and
approve production file proofs. TMT will assume approval if not otherwise notified within 24 hours but, in
every case, would prefer written approval. Once approval is received, or ager the 24 hour approval period is
concluded without the City correction, all statements will be printed, folded, inserted and delivered to the
USPS bulk mail facility in Spokane, Washington, within 48 hours. This time table is valid for approvals that
occur between 8.00 AM and 5:00 PM PST, otherwise an additional 24 hours may be required. Also note
that the time frame noted is for business hours only and specifically excludes weekends and postal holidays.
NOTE: If the City is providing one or more inserts, TMT cannot properly presort the data file without an
accurate sample weight. Therefore, regardless of when the City data is received, TMT cannot process and
proof the City data until after receipt of the City insert(s). Therefore, processing and proofing times will
begin after receipt of insert(s) stock or the City production data, whichever is later. This is a chief reason
to strongly consider using TMT for printing any inserts the City may want to include, since it becomes a
TMT responsibility to have inserts completed on time. Still, every effort will always be made by TMT to
prioritize the City's job regardless of a tardy insert delivery.
7. Postage and Documentation
Every effort will be made by TMT to obtain the lowest first class rates available. TMT takes
responsibility for preparing all mail according to the current USPS regulations in force at the time of
mailing. In the event a mailing is refused by the USPS for automation compatibility, TMT will make
every effort to correct the discrepancy to the satisfaction of the USPS and resubmit the mailing to them at
the earliest possible time at no additional cost to the City for any additional mail preparation. TMT will
not be held responsible for any other additional costs.
After completion of your mailing and within 72 hours of the mail date, TMT will provide the City with a
copy of the #3602 postage statements presented to and accepted by the USPS bulk mail facility. In
addition, a complete accounting will be provided of every piece mailed and the postage rate at which they
were charged by the USPS.
8. Security
TMT recognizes and understands the importance of security and protecting the City information. All the
City data will always be transferred via secure methods, typically through our secure ftp site. The City
will be given a login and password. All data proofs will be uploaded to the City folder and will be the
City's responsibility to review and approve. An email notification will be sent to the City when files have
been uploaded.
TMT is a secure facility with access obtained only through locked doors. Any guests invited into our
facility are required to sign in and are escorted through our production area by TMT personnel. All TMT
employees are required to have a background check and have all signed a copy of the TMT security
policy.
All the City data is encrypted on our server and will remain on our server for one extra statement cycle.
This allows TMT to review and troubleshoot should a problem be discovered. Once the next production
file is received and approved, the previous production file will be immediately deleted. in this way, the
City data should not remain on TMT server for more than 30-35 days, depending on statement cycle.
10. Payment
Payment for snail services will be billed monthly at the conclusion of each mailing and will be due on a
net 30 basis. A separate invoice for postage will also be sent to the City. At least two days prior to each
mailing, a deposit equivalent to the estimated postage for one mailing will be required by The Master's
Touch, LLC and used for that mailing. Any postage costs not covered by your deposit will be due upon
receipt of TMT postage invoice.
11. Term
The term of this agreement will be for one year from date of initial mailing and can be extended by
mutual agreement of both parties in one year increments. If intent to discontinue service is not received at
least 30 days prior to the end of each term, it will be assumed the agreement will be extended for another
12 months.
Termination of this agreement can be made by the City with 30 days written notice. Any unused stock
remaining in storage or on order will be the responsibility of the City. Stock will be immediately
delivered to the City and will be billed on a net 30 basis. Freight and any handling charge to the City will
also be the City responsibility.
12. Pricing and services per attached addendum:
411103Cote
President
The Master's Touch, LLC
ei/A
Dat
Date
Meet the kev person el that will be assigned to this proweet
Jim Cote — President — will be the project manager and the
team leader through setup and implementation. Jim will be
responsible for coordinating the printed forms and
envelopes and will be designated as the one for questions
and trouble shooting at all times. Jim is the founder of
The Master's Touch, LLC and has twenty-six years of
experience in the printing industry with seventeen of those
in the mailing industry. Jim is a USPS certified Mail Piece
Design Professional, and is invited to teach at conferences
around the country on the topics of reducing undeliverable
mail and reducing postage expenses. He is well qualified to
coordinate your mailing project.
masters@themasterstouch.com
Ven Artemov — Data Processing Manager — will handle all
data set-up and proofing for your mail. Ven has 6 years'
experience in setting up some of the most difficult jobs in
the industry. We have yet to see a data file that has stumped
Ven and defied him to set up. Equal in importance is Ven's
firm grasp of what is required to comply with USPS
regulations while accommodating the preferences of our
customers and meeting the requirements of our printing and
mailing equipment. This unique talent insures a coordinated
and trouble-free print and mail process.
PM@themasterstouch.com
James Cote — Mail Service Manager — will handle the
actual insertion, sorting, and all mail processing up to and
including delivery to the US Postal Service. James has
worked in the production area eleven years. He is tireless in
his commitment to insure on-time mailings, arranging staff
and hours so that all personnel and resources needed to
complete mailings on time are always available. This is a
primary reason why we have never missed a promised first
class mail date. James has a great team of highly qualified
and experienced mail service personnel who work in a
coordinated effort to make sure mail is processed quickly,
with an eye on total accuracy.
MailSvc@themasterstouch.com
Security
The Master's Touch, LLC will be the only contractor processing City of Yakima data. All of our
employees have signed non-disclosure and privacy agreements, assuring the City that its data will
remain private.
In addition, the TMT headquarters where County statements will be processed is a completely
secure facility and has successfully completed a SAS 70 Type II audit by an independent
accounting firm. This audit is among the most stringent used in the mailing and financial industry
and covers physical, environmental, procedural, and data security. A confidential copy of this
report will be provided upon request.
Backup and Disaster Recovery
TMT is committed to redundancy and backup capabilities and has thoroughly prepared for both. We
believe the most important backup plan is, in fact, redundancy, since the most common failure is that of
a plant's primary processing equipment. For that reason, every major piece of processing equipment is
backed up by at least one duplicate model in order to insure 100% redundancy throughout the entire
production process. Our belief is "when" not "if' a machine fails, TMT will always have a backup
machine ready and available to complete the job.
In addition, TMT has a remote backup facility at the manufacturing plant of Ennis/Block Graphics in
Portland, Oregon. If our Spokane facility were rendered inoperable, TMT personnel will travel to
Portland and will utilize TMT-owned backup inserting and laser printing equipment that is immediately
accessible and fully powered on 24 hour standby. Ennis/Block Graphics also manufactures and prints
forms and envelopes, serving as a backup for those preprinted items as well.
TMT also has a reciprocal agreement with Enhanced Software Products (ESP) in Spokane, Washington
to utilize their equipment and facility in case of an event that would render our primary facility
inoperable. ESP is within 15 minutes of our main headquarters. ESP uses the same make and model
equipment we use, which allows for a seamless transition to utilize their backup equipment.
Our data is backed up every day to a secure remote facility and a duplicate backup of all customer
unique setups is stored off-site, as well so that in the event of a disaster a return to production could be
accomplished within 24 hours.
Yakima County
o SERVICE e
Proposal Documents & Specifications
Request for Proposals
No. C11108 -P
PREPARATION AND MAILING OF
ANNUAL PROPERTY TAX STATEMENTS —
TAX YEARS 2012 & 2013
WITH POSSIBLE EXTENSION
FOR
YAKIMA COUNTY TREASURER
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY:
11:00 a.m. on July 21, 2011
Yakima City/County Purchasing Division
June 28, 2011
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 1 of 25
BOARD OF YAKIMA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
NOTICE TO PROPOSERS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the undersigned that sealed proposals will be accepted for
consideration on Thursday, July 21, 2011 @ 11:00 a.m., in the Yakima County
Commissioners Office, 128 North Second Street, Room 232, Yakima, Washington for:
PREPARATION AND MAILING OF ANNUAL PROPERTY TAX STATEMENTS
- Tax Years 2012 & 2013 with possible extension
Proposals shall be:
(1) Sealed.
(2) Plainly marked: Proposal No. C11108 -P
Yakima County Treasurer's Annual Tax Statements
(3) Addressed:
Yakima County Courthouse
Board of Yakima County Commissioners
Attn: Tiera Girard, Clerk of the Board
128 North Second Street, Room 232
Yakima, Washington 98901
(4) Proposals must be in the Office of the Yakima County Commissioners on or before the
time of 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 21, 2011.
Specifications may be seen at the office of the Purchasing Manager, City of Yakima, 129 North
Second Street, Yakima WA and/or the office of Clerk of the Board of Yakima County
Commissioners, Yakima County Courthouse, 128 North Second Street, Room 232, Yakima,
WA.
Specifications may be obtained online at:
www.ci.yakima.wa.us/services/purchasing Click on Bid Openings.
The Board reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, or parts thereof.
DONE this 24th day of June, 2011.
(Seal)
Tiera Girard, Clerk of the Board
Publish: Yakima Herald -Republic. Day. June 28, 2011
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 2 of 25
YAKIMA COUNTY TREASURER
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS C11108 -P
ANNUAL PROPERTY TAX STATEMENTS — Tax Years 2012 & 2013
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of the following specifications is to describe the products and services required to
provide the Yakima County Treasurer's Office with approximately 110,000 annual property tax
statements and their mailing for Tax Years 2012 and 2013 Provision will be made within the
contractual documents that a two-year extension may be granted by the County Treasurer
during Tax Year 2013 for the two ensuing years if pricing agreement can be reached by June
30, 2013 Further, the contract may be extended for an additional two-year term, at the option
of the County, subject to a successful price agreement.
Any changes to U S. Postal regulations or other laws or regulations affecting tax statement
production and mailing that are enacted or in force in subsequent contract years, shall be
negotiated at the time of renewal. The County for any reason may cancel this contract with 60
days advance written notification
II. DEFINITIONS
Definitions for the purposes of this RFP include'
Contractor— Individual or company who's Proposal has been accepted by the County
and is awarded a fully executed, written contract.
Proposal — A formal offer submitted in response to this solicitation.
Proposer — Individual or company submitting a Proposal in order to attain a contract
with the County.
Request for Proposals (RFP) — Formal procurement document in which a service or
need is identified but no specific method to achieve it has been chosen The purpose of
an RFP is to permit proposers to suggest various approaches to meet the need at a
given price.
III. SCOPE OF WORK
The minimum proposal specifications for the annual property tax statements are set forth
below. The Contractor agrees to provide to the County services and any materials set forth in
the project specifications The County will not furnish any material, labor, or facilities, unless
otherwise provided for in this RFP. The County will not reimburse the Contractor for any costs
or expenses incurred by the Contractor in the performance of this Contract outside of the
proposal unless approved in advance by the County Treasurer in writing.
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 3 of 25
1. Annual Statement Production and Mailing. The annual property tax statement packet
shall consist of the annual statement, an informational insert, and two No. 9 security envelopes
enclosed in a mailing envelope (No. 10 window envelope).
a. Statement Form: This is an 8 '/2 inch by 14 inch form, using 24 -Ib. laser -
compatible bond, printed front and back (see example attached). Colors will be selected by
the County Treasurer's Office with Contractor input so that our equipment can read the OCR -
scannable fields. The back of the form will be standard printed information provided by the
County Treasurer's Office, and the face of the form shall be variable information interspersed
with some standard text. Two detachable payment stubs must be included as part of each
form, and all necessary perforations must be micro -perforated, not dimpled or tented. The
perforation and folding is required on the same measurement of the paper The perforation
must be strong enough to not allow the paper to become separated on the fold, however the
perforation needs to be able to tear clean and straight. We process the payment stubs through
a scanner and the bottom of each of the payment stubs is critical that the tear is clean with no
jagged edges. The type of fold to be used will be negotiated with and approved by the County
Treasurer. Forms must be free of dust and surface particles. All paper and perforations must
be compatible with high-speed laser printers so as not to impede the printing speed or
processing of statements at any point during production. All inks used in form production must
be heat resistant, high-speed laser compatible ink.
There shall be seven fields on the remittance stubs that shall be printed using a bold OCR
scannable font to be negotiated ,with the Contractor. All data fields printed from the electronic
medium shall be in black ink, unless otherwise approved by the County Treasurer's Office in
advance of production. Laser -quality printing is required for all data fields on the statement.
A data map for each of the printed fields will be provided by the County Treasurer's Office
referencing the field in the data file to the placement on the pre-printed form.
Note: Requirements for OCR scannable fields shall be as follows: OCR "A" font
(P080AA.FNT) or Windows font OCR A Extended (OCRAEXT.TTF), bold, formatted with
parcel numbers (i.e. 6 digits -5 digits or xxxxxx-xxxxx); amounts must be stated in currency
format with appropriate dollar signs, commas and decimal.
Property Tax Statement Breakout — All of the data for each parcel will be printed on a single
tax statement.
b. Remittance Envelopes: There shall be two remittance envelopes enclosed with
the statement. These envelopes shall be No. 9 security white -wove 24 -ib paper. Each
envelope shall have the pre-printed name and title of the Yakima County Treasurer with a
window for the address that is pre-printed on the tax statement form, with applicable bar code
to expedite delivery, and shall be in the color designated by the County Treasurer's Office.
c. Mailing: The mailing envelope shall be a No. 10 white -wove 24 -Ib. paper with
window (see enclosed example). Color of ink used shall be determined by the County
Treasurer's Office. This envelope shall carry the return address of the Yakima County
Treasurer's Office. The windowplacement and size are shown in the enclosed example. The
window will allow for the name and address fields on the tax statement to be used for mail
delivery, along with the corresponding address bar code, and accommodates all required
formats and quality materials to meet the First -Class Presort Mail rate for bulk mail processing.
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 4 of 25
House -holding Options — The Yakima County Treasurer's Office uses the house -holding option
in the mailing of the annual property tax statements.
For house -holding purposes, the mailing envelope of multiple taxstatements sent to an
identical address/taxpayer combination will be determined by the number of sheets and
thickness of the mailing. The smallest appropriate sized envelope or carton that will ensure
preservation of the product to the point of delivery will be used.
Contractor will prepare raw data addresses to be imaged onto the tax statement. This
information varies with each property owner.
Contractor will comply with the U S. Postal requirements for Move Update in order to obtain
first class, reduced rate, for bulk mailings. The Contractor will identify what services will be
used to satisfy the Move Update requirement and will provide the County Treasurer's Office an
electronic file detailing the feedback and/or changes resulting from these services. Contractor
will keep up-to-date with any U.S. Postal standards changes and keep the Yakima County
Treasurer's Office informed of these changes and the impact these changes can have to the
mailing.
d. Informational Insert: We will also have an informational insert for this mailing, a
two-sided form using 24 -Ib. laser -compatible bond paper. The County Treasurer's Office will
provide the Contractor with a MS Word document file containing the text of the insert (a single
MS Word document for each side of the insert); which the Contractor will print, fold and include
with the annual tax bill mailing. The County Treasurer will determine the format, size, color
and other details.
e. Production of Paper Stock Items. The County Treasurer will work with the
Contractor to determine appropriate levels of "over -production" of tax statement, informational
insert and envelope stock to avoid undue costs and, yet, to protect the timeliness of the
mailing. At the completion of the mailing, the County Treasurer would like for surplus mailing
envelopes (No 10 window), return envelopes (No. 9 security), and informational inserts
returned to our Office. The quantity will be negotiated at the completion of each mailing.
2. Services.
a. Design: A sample form design is provided by the County Treasurer to show
required standard and variable information in the required format. Any design modifications
proposed by the Contractor will be subject to the County Treasurer's approval. Postage,
including any overnight delivery charges, incurred by the Contractor to satisfactorily correct
any design changes submitted by the Treasurer's Office as indicated in the proposed schedule
of events, will be the responsibility of the Contractor. There shall be no charge to the County
for this service.
b Computer Printing: Contractor shall print from electronic medium data file
supplied by the County Treasurer's Office all pertinent tax statement information directly onto
the form. The data format for this text file is pipe delimited ("I") with variable field and record
length. Fields in column order will be provided to the Contractor for all table layouts within the
document. All data formats will be specified and reviewed with the Contractor no later than
November 15 of each year
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 5 of 25
Contractor shall have the ability to print a legend of distribution that will show detail by taxing
district, the percentage and dollar amount for the parcel represented on the property tax bill.
Other variable data includes (but is not limited to) both ' labels and values for Property
Description, Location, assessed values, total taxable value, current year tax, prior year tax,
current year levy rate, prior year levy rate, TCA, and voter approved amount. The County
Treasurer, however, reserves the right to make the final decision based upon analysis of data.
c Sorting Services for Mailing: The Contractor shall prepare statement packets
including folding and inserting statements with an informational sheet and remittance
envelopes, sorting by zip code and carrier route, and mailing from Contractor's location. There
must be sufficient quality control standards and checkpoints throughout the production and
mail preparation processes to insure accuracy and to document numbers of statements
produced as well as number of packets mailed.
Property tax statements shall be merged into a single outgoing mail piece whenever a property
taxpayer has two (2) or more tax statements with the same outgoing address. The primary
sort criteria shall be the "mail to" address, with a secondary sort by taxpayer name.
Statements shall be combined into appropriately sized envelopes or cartons, labeled (including
the Yakima County Treasurer return address information), and mailed using the most cost
effective means, i.e. USPS, UPS, airfreight. Each mail packet shall include two (2) remittance
envelopes to be used by taxpayer to return payment(s).
The cost for merging multiple parcels into single mail pieces shall include all data processing
costs necessary to sort, merge and label the multiple parcel/single taxpayer statements into
single mail packets.
Contractor shall provide a report indicating number of statements for each of those counts, and
the total number of mail pieces for each count, i.e. 2 statements: # of mail pieces.
Contractor will mail statements insuring all are mailed by February 14 of the current year
unless mutually agreeable alternate arrangements are made between both parties.
Contractor will arrange for the County "Company Permit Imprint. Indicia" or may use metered
mail, whichever will be most cost effective for the County Treasurer's Office, but final
agreement of postage method must be approved by the County Treasurer's Office before the
Contractor's request for postage is submitted to the County The identification on the permit
imprint indicia (USPS) used by the vendor should not reveal the location of the vendor unless
specifically allowed by the Treasurer.
All mail preparation shall meet current U.S. Post Office standards, including an Intelligent Mail
Barcode when required on each mail piece, and Contractor shall meet requirements for any
postage reductions for first class mailing, as directed by the County Treasurer.
International pieces are to be mailed with the appropriate international postage affixed.
Contractor may utilize air bills or UPS for sending merged parcels where the cost is less than
USPS delivery cost, but insuring a timely delivery.
C1110B-P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 6 of 25
Reports must be generated to show parcel number, address, city, state, and zip code changes
that may result from the services used in order to meet the USPS Move Update requirements.
Invalids, No -Mails and County pull -requests, if applicable, are to be promptly returned to the
County.
Postage amount shall be requested from the County Treasurer's Office according to the
schedule included within this packet and must be supported with appropriate documentation
required for payment. Any minor adjustments to actual mailing costs will be resolved following
the mailing and after the Contractor provides the statement of mailing from the U.S. Post Office
location.
Postage amount should not be included within the proposal amount as a response to this
Request for Proposals
IV. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
1. Use of Subcontractor or Assignment. The Contractor for the County Treasurer's annual
tax statement production and mailing may not assign or subcontract to any other individual,
firm or entity any portion of this Contract, including stock production, without the County
Treasurer's prior written consent. Any of the Contractor's subcontractors must be
appropriately licensed and bondable. The Contractor serving as Contractor will be expected to
comply with all requirements of this RFP, whether or not a sub -contractor is used. The
Contractor will be the interface with the County Treasurer for all discussion regarding the
Contract, proofs and schedules.
2 Performance Bond. A performance bond, in the amount of the total proposal, will be
required each year by the successful Proposer, with the first year due immediately following
Contract signing The performance bond shall be filed with the Yakima County Treasurer and
will be released by April 1 if no significant problems with tax statement production and mailing
have been detected.
Yakima County reserves the right to assess reasonable interest based on historical collection
patterns and withhold interest from the performance bond in the event that annual tax
statements are not mailed by February 14 unless mutually agreeable alternate arrangements
are made between both parties.
3. Production/Quality Control and Scheduling. The Contractor shall provide the names of
contact persons, including back-up's, their telephone and fax numbers as well as e-mail
addresses for those people so that coordinated efforts can be made during production. We
prefer that our accounting and systems staff work with the Contractor's production staff to
confirm any data or audit issues. This is especially important when contact is required during
non -business hours. If the production staff is available only during normal business hours
(daytime), the Proposer shall specify the days of the week and hours that we may contact
those people.
The County Treasurer will provide the Contractor with a listing of personnel, telephone
numbers, fax number and e-mail addresses for her staff in order to expedite responses to
schedules and issues
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 7 of 25
4. Timeline .of Events. The following schedule is to be used for the Tax Year 2012 Annual
Tax Statement production and mailing. The County reserves the right to revise the
schedule as needed.
• June 28, 2011 — Request for Proposals available to prospective Participants.
• July 21, 2011 — Proposals due by 11:00 a.m. in Room 232 of the County Courthouse and
proposal opening immediately thereafter.
August 9, 2011 — Contract awarded by Board of Commissioners and available to
Contractor with signatures.
• August 26, 2011 — Copy of statement, envelope, insert and payment envelopes with all
proposed texts and choice of colors submitted to Contractor. Sample test data file based
on 2011 information created and submitted to Contractor through file transfer protocol
capabilities to process, to verify record layout, total record count and total dollar amount
prior to submission of the production data file. An on-site informational meeting will also be
scheduled.
• November 14, 2011 — Form proof provided to County Treasurer by Contractor for approval.
• November 21, 2011 — Form proof corrections and/or approval returned to Contractor.
County Treasurer and Contractor determine quantities of stock for statements, envelopes,
inserts and payment envelopes.
• December 5, 2011 — Provide County Treasurer's Office with print proof of form(s), total
record count and total dollar amount from sample test data.
• December 8, 2011 — If necessary, any additional corrections to print proof of form(s) by
County Treasurer returned to Contractor. Provide Contractor with verification of total
record count and total dollar amount.
• December 20, 2011 — If necessary, corrected print proof of form(s) and any adjustments to
verification of total record count, and total dollar amount resubmitted to County Treasurer's
Office. NCOA file made available to Contractor via e-mail.
• January 6, 2012 — Test proof with data printed on actual production weight and designed
paper provided to County Treasurer by Contractor for verification that printing process is
set up properly. The County Treasurer will test scan tolerances on these proofs using the
County Treasurer's OCR scanning equipment to insure 99.9% readability on the first pass.
County Treasurer will also test perforation tears to ensure that bottom of each payment
stub will have a clean and easy tear. Test remittance advices will be samples of all
statement types; for example, current year taxes only and those that have delinquent tax
years, and minimum and maximum values for each data field. County Treasurer will
provide a list of specific parcels for these sample statements.
• January 13, 2012 — Contractor shall supply invoice for estimated postage and County
Treasurer shall prepare for the forwarding of payment of estimated postage to Contractor
by January 31, 2012.
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 8 of 25
• January 25, 2012 — County Treasurer's production data file made available to Contractor
through file transfer protocol capabilities.
• January 31, 2012 — Contractor to verify total record count and total dollar amount of
production data with the County Treasurer's Office.
• February 3, 2012 — Print proof with production data returned to County Treasurer as last
point of verification prior to production of statements.
• February 14, 2012 (or earlier if approved by County Treasurer) — Statements mailed by
Contractor. Any Invalids, No -Mails and County pull -requests, as previously discussed with
Treasurer, shall be promptly returned to the County Treasurer.
• February 29, 2012 — Final statement of proof of mailing and adjustment in postage
submitted to the County Treasurer. This verification will include the following: number of
statements printed, documentation showing that all parcels from the County's production
file are accounted for in either the mail merge process, or statements being returned to the
County.
Contractor will provide USPS mailing reports to the County confirming mailing details and
costs. Such reports will be signed by the USPS employee who accepted the mailing and must
detail the cost of each mailing by postal sort levels.
Contractor will provide USPS mailing reports for merged (multiple statements) mail packets
detailing the number of packets, the respective weight and cost of each piece contained in the
mailing for the specific date.
Copies of air bills or UPS invoices for any merged statement mail packets, which are sent via
air shipment or UPS, containing the number of mail packages, cost of shipment, and the
destination addressee will also be provided to the County Treasurer.
5. Notes to Production Schedule.
a. The above production/quality control requirements represent the minimum
amount of production control and verification required by the County Treasurer's Office. The
production schedule is of critical importance and shall be adhered to in all cases, unless
specifically negotiated with, and approved by, the County Treasurer.
Printouts of test data shall be supplied at appropriate intervals so that the County Treasurer's
Office may verify accuracy of statement printing. Those printouts shall include the same
records each time to facilitate verification. The County Treasurer's Office will authorize
production based upon verification of proofs of form, data, and reconciling the number of tax
parcels as well as total dollar amount of complete job. During production Contractor will
examine a sampling of statements after every 500 live records to monitor image quality and its
conformance to strict legibility parameters (ensuring that OCR scannable fields have no
"broken" numbers), and that perforations are on the fold and will produce a clean tear, with
destruction by shredding into contained waste bins of these samplings after a retention period
sufficient to allow for the mutual agreement that all services were met and final payment
received by the Contractor.
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 9 of 25
b. Because tax certification to the County Treasurer's Office may be delayed as a
result of other jurisdictions' delays or State Legislative decisions and because the County
Treasurer believes optimal notice to our customers is important, it is the desire of the County
Treasurer to expedite the production of statements. To meet this goal, the successful
Proposer will accommodate the schedule as presented previously. Namely, the Proposer will
work with the County Treasurer from the date the production data file is sent to build in the
time increments specified within the production schedule to mail statement packets as close to
February 14 as possible or earlier if approved by the County Treasurer. For tax years 2010
and 2011, the tax statements were mailed out to the taxpayers on February 8th of each year.
c. Invoicing Requirements — All transactions for goods and services provided under
the Contract shall be recorded on one invoice and mailed to:
Yakima County Treasurer's Office
Attn: Ilene Thomson
PO Box 22530
Yakima, WA 98907-2530
The invoice must be accompanied by a report detailing the items being billed. The invoice
must also include confirmation reports from USPS with total mailing pieces and costs.
Invoices will not be paid unless the invoice amount and total items agree with reports provided
to the County.
d. Yakima County shall issue a warrant for payment of this Contract thirty days after
completion of production and mailing and after receipt, review and approval of the billing
invoice with appropriate documentation.
Failure to comply with any aspect of the controls or schedule may result in immediate
cancellation of the Contract.
6. Backup and Contingency Planning. Contractor must specify what contingency and/or
backup plans are in place in the event of equipment breakdown, natural disaster, personnel or
labor issues, or any other event which may impact the contractor's ability to meet the
production schedule detailed as part of this Request for Proposal.
7 Additional Provisions. Substantially the following additional provisions will be incorporated
into any negotiated Contract resulting from the RFP:
a. No Guarantee of Employment: The performance of all or part of this Contract by
the Contractor shall not operate to vest any employment rights whatsoever with Yakima
County.
b. Termination for Default: If the Contractor defaults by failing to perform any of the
obligations of the Contractor becomes insolvent or is declared bankrupt or commits any act of
bankruptcy or insolvency or makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors, the County
may, by depositing written notice to the Contractor in the U.S. mail, postage prepaid,
terminate the Contract, and at the County's option, obtain performance of the work elsewhere.
If the Contract is terminated for default, the Contractor shall not be entitled to receive any
further payments under the Contract until all work called for has been fully performed. Any
extra cost or damage to the County resulting from such default(s) shall be deducted from any
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 10 of 25
money .due or coming due to the Contractor. The Contractor shall bear any extra expenses
incurred by the County in completing the work, including all increased costs for completing the
work, and all damage sustained, or which may be sustained by the County by reason of such
default.
If a notice of termination for default has been issued and it is later determined for any reason
that the Contractor was not in default, the rights and obligations of the parties shall be the
same as if the notice of termination had been issued pursuant to the Termination for Public
Convenience paragraph hereof.
c. Termination for Public Convenience: The County may terminate the Contract in
whole or in part whenever the County determines, in its sole discretion that such termination
is in the interests of the County. Whenever the Contract is terminated in accordance with this
paragraph, the Contractor shall be entitled to payment for actual work performed at unit
Contract prices for completed items of work. An equitable adjustment in the Contract price for
partially completed items of work will be made, but such adjustment shall not include provision
for loss of anticipated profit on deleted or uncompleted work. Termination of this Contract by
the County at any time during the term, whether for default or convenience, shall not
constitute a breach of Contract by the County.
d. Independent Contractor: The Contractor's services shall be furnished by the
Contractor as an independent Contractor and nothing herein contained shall be construed to
create a relationship of employer-employee or master -servant, but all payments made
hereunder and all services performed shall be made and performed pursuant to the Contract
by the Contractor as an independent Contractor. The Contractor is responsible for the acts of
its officers, agents, employees, and subcontractors
Contractor will defend, indemnify and hold harmless the County, its officers, agents or
employees from any loss or expense, including but not limited to settlements, judgments,
setoffs, attorneys' fees or costs incurred by reason of claims or demands because of breach of
the provisions of this paragraph.
e. Taxes: The County will pay sales and use taxes imposed on goods or services
acquired hereunder as required by law. The County is exempt from Federal Excise Tax.
f. Right to Review: This Contract shall be subject to all laws, rules, and regulations
of the United States of America and the State of Washington. This Contract is also subject to
review by any Federal or State auditor. The Contractor shall preserve and maintain all
financial records and records relating to the •performance of work under this Contract for 3
years after Contract termination, and shall make them available for review, within Yakima
County, State of Washington, upon request of the County Treasurer Either party may request
changes in the Contract. Any and all agreed modifications shall be in writing, signed by each
of the parties
g. Professional Liability: The Contractor shall provide evidence of Professional
Liability insurance covering professional errors and omissions. Such policy must provide the
following minimum limits: $1,000,000 per Claim
If insurance is on a claim made form, its retroactive date and that of all subsequent renewals,
shall be no later than the effective date of this Contract. (sample certificate attached)
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 11 of 25
h. Industrial Insurance Waiver: With respect to the performance of this agreement
and as to claims against the County, its officers, agents and employees, the Contractor
expressly waives its immunity under Title 51 of the Revised Code of Washington, the Industrial
Insurance Act, for injuries to its employees and agrees that the obligations to indemnify,
defend and hold harmless provided in this Contract extend to any claim brought by or on
behalf of any employee of the Contractor. This waiver is mutually negotiated by the parties to
this Contract.
i. Withholding Payment: In the event the County Treasurer determines that the
Contractor has failed to perform any obligation under this Contract within the times or quality
levels expected as set forth in this Contract, then the County may withhold from amounts
otherwise due and payable to Contractor the amount determined by the County as necessary
to cure the default, until the County Treasurer determines that such failure to perform has
been cured. Withholding under this clause shall not be deemed a breach entitling Contractor
to termination or damages, provided that the County promptly gives notice in writing to the
Contractor of the nature of the default or failure to perform, and in no case more than 10 days
after it determines to withhold amounts otherwise due. A determination by the County
Treasurer set forth in a notice to the Contractor of the action required and/or the amount
required to cure any alleged failure to perform shall be deemed conclusive, except to the
extent that the Contractor acts within the times and in strict accord with the provisions of the
Disputes clause of this Contract. The County may act in accordance with any determination
of the County Treasurer which has become conclusive under this clause, without prejudice to
any other remedy under the Contract, to take all or any of the following actions: (1) cure any
failure or default, (2) to pay any amount so required to be paid and to charge the same to the
account of the Contractor, thereby effectively reducing the amount of the supplied
performance bond to be returned to the Contractor by said amount (3) to set off any amount
so paid or incurred from amounts due or to become due the Contractor. In the event the
Contractor obtains relief upon a claim under the Disputes clause, no penalty or damages shall
accrue to Contractor by reason of good faith withholding by the County under this clause.
Disputes:
i) General: Differences between the Contractor and the County, arising under and
by virtue of the Contract documents shall be brought to the attention of the County at the
earliest possible time in order that such matters may be settled or other appropriate action
promptly taken. Except for such objections as are made of record in the manner hereinafter
specified and within the time limits stated, the records, orders, rulings, instructions, and
decisions of the County Treasurer, shall be final and conclusive.
ii) Notice of Potential, Claims: The Contractor shall not be entitled to additional
compensation which otherwise may be payable, or to extension of time for (1) any act or failure
to act by the County Treasurer or the County, or (2) the happening of any event or occurrence,
unless the Contractor has given the County a written Notice of Potential Claim within 10 days
of the commencement of the act, failure, or event giving rise to the claim, and before final
payment by the County. The written Notice of Potential Claim shall set forth the reasons for
which the Contractor believes additional compensation or extension of time is due, the nature
of the cost involved, and insofar as possible, .the amount of the potential claim. Contractor
shall keep full and complete daily records of the work performed, labor and material used, and
all costs and additional time claimed to be additional.
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 12 of 25
iii) Detailed Claim: The Contractor shall not be entitled to claim any such additional
compensation, or extension of time, unless within 30 days of the accomplishment of the portion
of the work from which the claim arose, and before final payment by the County, the Contractor
has given the County a detailed written statement of each element of cost or other
compensation requested and of all elements of additional time required, and copies of any
supporting documents evidencing the amount or the extension of time claimed to be due.
k. Ownership of Items Produced: All writings, programs, data, public records or
other materials prepared by the Contractor and/or its consultants or subcontractors, in
connection to the performance of this Contract shall be the sole and absolute property of
Yakima County.
I. Confidentiality: The Contractor, its employees, subcontractors, and their
employees shall maintain the confidentiality of all information provided by the County or
acquired by the Contractor in performance of this Contract, except upon the prior written
consent of the Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney or an order entered by a court after
having acquired jurisdiction over the County. Contractor shall immediately give to the County
notice of any judicial proceeding seeking disclosure of such information. Contractor shall
indemnify and hold harmless the County, its officials, agents or employees from all loss or
expense, including, but not limited to settlements, judgments, setoffs, attorneys' fees and
costs resulting from Contractor's breach of this provision.
m. Notice: Except as set forth elsewhere in the Contract, for all purposes under this
Contract, notice shall be given by the Contractor to the County Treasurer at P.O. Box 22530,
Yakima, WA 98907-2530 Notice to the Contractor for all purposes under this Contract shall
be given to the address reflected on the signed proposal form. Notice may be given by
delivery or be depositing in the U S. mail, first class, postage prepaid. Federally marked
cancellation postmarks will be used to determine compliance to time sensitive deadline dates
as applicable.
n. Survival: The provisions of paragraphs b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, and k, shall survive,
notwithstanding the termination of this Contract for any reason.
o. Entire Contract: This written document, when properly signed, represents the
entire Contract between the parties and supersedes any prior oral statements, discussions or
understandings between the parties The Contractor, without written consent of the County
Treasurer, shall not make any changes, alterations, or variations in the terms. No terms
stated by Contractor in accepting or acknowledging this order shall be binding upon the
County unless accepted in writing by the County Treasurer.
p. Expansion Clause: Any resultant contract may be further expanded by the
Purchasing Buyer in writing to include any other related service(s) normally offered by the
Contractor, as long as the price of such additional service(s) is based on the same cost/profit
formula as the listed item.
Any new services accepted by the County may be added to this contract and/or substituted for
discontinued services. New services shall meet or exceed all proposal specifications of
original award.
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 13 of 25
V. PROPOSAL SUBMITTALS
Proposal packets must contain Proposal Forms with applicable signatures and information
requested on the management overview summary. Failure to comply may be cause for
proposal rejection. If you plan to use a subcontractor, please see page 7 of the Request for
Proposals and please note the intent by providing name and address of subcontractor.
1. Signed Letter of Submittal. The Letter of Submittal shall be signed and dated by a
person authorized to legally bind the Operator to a contractual relationship, e.g., the
president or executive director if a corporation, the managing partner if a partnership, or the
proprietor if a sole proprietorship. Along with introductory remarks, the Letter of Submittal is to
include the following information about the Operator and any proposed subcontractors:
Name, address, principal place of business, telephone number, and fax number/e-mail
address of legal entity or individual with whom Agreement would be written.
a. Legal status of the Operator (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, etc )
b. Location of the facility from which the Operator would operate
c. Acknowledgement that the Operator will comply with all terms and conditions set
forth in the Request for Proposals, unless otherwise agreed by the County.
d. Proposal shall remain in effect for sixty (60) days.
2. References. The Proposer will provide references from three other Washington State
counties or other public entities successfully using their services for similar size and time -
sensitive production. References shall include the name of the county or entity, contact person
and title, address, telephone number and a fax number, and a brief description of product
produced. The Proposer shall grant permission to the County to contact the references. The
County may evaluate references at the County's discretion.
3. Additional Services. Any additional services or procedures of benefit to the County not
specifically required in the RFP, but which the Contractor offers to provide, may be outlined on
a separate sheet of paper and included with the proposal form.
4. Qualifications. Special attention will be directed to the qualifications of the Proposer when
considering the award of this proposal. Yakima County expressly reserves the right to base
awards with due regard to quality of services, experience, compliance with specifications, and
other such factors as may be necessary in the circumstances and in the best interest of the
County.
5. Due Date and. Time. Proposals must be sealed and plainly marked, "Proposal No.
C11108 -P - Yakima County Treasurer's Annual Tax Statements" and addressed to the
Board of Yakima County Commissioners, Attn: Tiera Girard, Clerk of the Board, Yakima
County Courthouse, Room 232, 128 N. Second Street, Yakima, WA 98901. Proposals must
be in the hands of the Yakima County Clerk of the Board on or before Friday, July 21, at 11:00
a.m.
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 14 of 25
NOTE: Proposals will not be accepted by fax or e-mail
It shall be the duty of the Proposer to submit their proposal before the hour and date specified
Yakima County shall assume no responsibility for the delay in the U S. Postal service or other
delivery service resulting in a proposal being received late. Any proposal or modification
received after the hour and date specified may be returned unopened.
6. Property Rights. All documents, reports, proposals, submittals, working papers, or other
materials prepared by the Contractor pursuant to this proposal shall become the sole and
exclusive property of the County, and the public domain, and not the property of the
Contractor. The Contractor shall not copyright, or cause to be copyrighted, any portion of said
items submitted to the County because of this solicitation.
7. Withdrawal/Supplement of Proposals. Proposers may withdraw or supplement their
responses at any time prior to the response closing date and time.
8. Proprietary Information/Public Disclosure. Materials submitted in response to this
competitive procurement shall become the property of the County. Thereafter, the Proposals
shall be deemed public records as defined in RCW 42.56, "Public Records."
Any information in the Proposal that the Proposer desires to claim as proprietary and exempt
from disclosure under the provisions of state law shall be clearly designated. Each page
claimed to be exempt from disclosure must be clearly identified by the word "Confidential"
printed on it. Marking the entire Proposal exempt from disclosure will not be honored and the
County will deem the proposal non-responsive.
The County will consider a Proposer's request for exemption from disclosure, however, the
County will make a decision predicated upon state law and regulations. If any information is
marked as proprietary in the Proposal, it will not be made available until the affected Proposer
has been given an opportunity to seek a court injunction against the requested disclosure. All
requests for information should be directed to the Purchasing Division
9. Revisions to the RFP. In the event it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFP,
addenda will be provided to all who receive the RFP.
The County also reserves the right to cancel or to reissue the RFP in whole or in part, prior to
final award of a contract.
10. Minority and Women -Owned Business Participation. The County encourages
participation in all of its contracts by firms. certified by the Washington State Office of Minority
and Women's Business Enterprises (OMWBE). Proposers may contact OMWBE at 360-753-
9693 to obtain information on certified firms
11. Exceptions. Specifications of the services proposed shall be equal to or better than the
specifications stated herein and all exceptions to these specifications/Scope of Work shall be
so listed on a separate sheet headed "EXCEPTIONS TO THE SPECIFICATIONS". Any
Proposal submitted without exceptions will be required to meet every detail of these
specifications regardless of cost to the successful proposer.
12. Responsiveness. The Proposer is specifically notified that failure to comply with any part
of the RFP may result in rejection of the Proposal as non-responsive.
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A Proposal may be rejected if it is conditional or incomplete, or if it contains any alterations of
form or other irregularities of any kind. A Proposal shall be rejected if any such conditions,
incompleteness, alterations, or irregularities constitute a material deviation from the RFP
requirements.
The County also reserves the right, however, at its sole discretion to waive minor
administrative irregularities. ,
Responsive Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the requirements stated in this
solicitation and any addenda issued. Evaluation of Proposals shall be accomplished by an
evaluation team, to be designated by the County, which will determine the ranking of the
Proposals.
13. Most Favorable Terms. The County reserves the right to make an award without further
discussion of the Proposal submitted. Therefore, the Proposal should be submitted initially on
the most favorable terms which the Proposer can propose. There will be no best and final
offer procedure. The County reserves the right to contact a Proposer for clarification of its
Proposal.
14. Costs to Propose. The County will not be liable for any costs incurred by the Proposer in
preparation of a Proposal submitted in response to this RFP, in conduct of a presentation, or
any other activities related to responding to this RFP.
15. Right to Reject/Accept. The County reserves the right at its sole discretion to reject any
and all Proposals received without penalty and to not issue a contract as a result of this RFP.
Yakima County reserves the right to accept any Proposals, which meet or exceed these
specifications, and which would be in the best interest of the County.
This RFP does not obligate the County to contract for services specified herein.
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VI. MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW SUMMARY
Management Overview Summary: The Proposal should contain a summary of the proposed
services, which highlights the key features and distinctive merits of the Proposer. This section
should summarize the unique reasons why the proposed solution is the best choice for Yakima
County. This Management Overview Summary shall contain information which will be used
during the evaluation of the Proposal. The proposal will be evaluated on the following criteria:
1. Capabilities (30 points)
a Performance bond
b. Insurance requirements
c. Sufficient staff levels
d. Location of production and mailing
e. Contingency plans
2. Key Personnel Experience (25 points)
a Contact names and phone numbers for this proposal
b. Experience of staff
c. Training of staff in this specific service
3. Presentation (20 points)
a. Cost
b. Quality control procedures
4. Relevant Experience (15 points)
a. Years providing this specific service
b. Any certifications
c. Defaults on past contracts
5. References (10 points)
a Included three Washington State Counties or other public entities references with
required information
b. Have performed/provided like service for reference(s)
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 17 of 25
Yakima County Treasurer's Office
PROPOSAL FORM
Request for Proposals C11108 -P
Annual Property Tax Statements for
Yakima County Treasurer
Board of Yakima County Commissioners
Attn: Tiera Girard, Clerk of the Board
Yakima County Courthouse
128 N. 2nd Street, Room 232
Yakima, WA 98901
The undersigned hereby certifies that the attached Request for Proposals specifications have
been carefully read for the Yakima County Treasurer's Annual Property Tax Statements and
submits for your consideration the following pricing proposals and required documentation:
Tax Years 2012 & 2013 Annual Property Tax Statements totaling approximately 110,000
annually including design, construction, printing, sorting and mailing services (including house -
holding) as outlined in this RFP. All cost estimates must include sales tax and any freight
charges.
Tax Year 2012 Tax Year 2013
Production Costs -
Initial Start Up Costs: $ $
Software Changes if needed
Production. Costs $ $
USPS Move Update $ $
Requirements
Paper Stock $ $
Sub -Total $ $
Washington State Sales Tax $ $
TOTAL PROPOSAL $ $
*Note: The Yakima County Treasurer reserves the right to accept the proposal for Tax Year
2012 and 2013 with the total cost of Tax Year 2013 to be determined by the current cost of
paper stock certified to and agreed upon by the Yakima County Treasurer.
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 18 of 25
SIGNATURE SHEET
Request for Proposal No. C11108 -P
The bidder is hereby advised that by signing this signature sheet he/she is deemed
to have acknowledged all requirements contained herein.
PROMPT PAYMENT DISCOUNT TERMS OFFERED % net
Receipt is hereby acknowledged of addendum(s) No. (s) 8�
QPopoSpV
SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED OFFICIAL(S)
Firm Name
Address
Sign Name
Print Name
Date Signed
Phone Number
Fax Number
E -Mail Address
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 19 of 25
YAKIMA COUNTY
GENERAL PROVISIONS
(A PART OF ALL INVITATION TO BID DOCUMENTS)
These General Provisions, the Specifications, the Invitation to Bid/Quote form and any attachments, constitutes the bid
document, and will be considered as one document.
1. Laws and Re¢ulations
The contractor shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations pertaining to this contract. In addition, the contractor shall ensure that any
subcontractor performing this contract shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations pertaining to this contract.
2. Acceptance
The County reserves the right to reject any or all quotations, to waive any technicalities and informalities, and to accept or reject all or any part of this
quotation at prices shown.
All bids/quotes must remain open for acceptance by the County for a period of at least 60 calendar days from the date of opening of the bids/quotes, unless
otherwise stated.
3. Bid/Quote Submittals
Bids and quotes shall be submitted on the attached forms only Extra pages and literature may be added to this package; however, the package shall be
returned intact as received
All prices and notations must be typewntten or written in ink, with no erasures permitted. Mistakes may be crossed out and corrections written adjacent
thereto, and must be initialed in ink by person signing quotation. Verify your quotations before submission, as they cannot be withdrawn or corrected after
being opened.
If applicable, unit prices. for all items, all extensions, and the total amount of bid or quote must be shown. In the instance of a discrepancy between the unit
price and the total price, the unit price shall govern. Any pricing, configuration, or other errors discovered after bid/quote opening or quotation due date
must remain and cannot be adjusted.
4. Chance Orders
Change Orders for material or services will be without effect unless issued and authorized in writing by the Purchasing Manager.
5. Ouality Standards
The brand names listed indicate the standard of quality. required. Brands of equal quality, performance and use will be considered, provided the offeror
specifies the brand; model and other data for comparison with their bid/quote. Yakima County will be the sole judge for approving other brands offered as
equals to the brand specified. Bidders shall indicate if they are offering alternate brands in the space below each item and must provide descriptive
specifications explaining the merits of the substitute item.
6. Delivery
Time is of the essence and this order is subject to cancellation by Yakima County for Vendor's failure to deliver on time. For any exception to the delivery
date specified in this order, Vendor shall give prior written notification and obtain written approval from the City/County Purchasing Manager The
acceptance by the County of later performance with or without objection or reservation shall neither waive the County's right to claim damages for such
breach nor constitute a waiver of the requirements for the timely performance of any obligation remaining to be performed by
Vendor All quotations shall include delivery F.O.B. destination, freight pre -paid, unless otherwise stated in this "Bid Call" or "Invitation to Quote" at the
designated address set forth in the proposal given to each bidder. When shipping addresses specify room identification, Vendor shall make such delivery
thereto without additional charge. If the County grants specific authorization to ship goods F O.B. Shipping Point, Vendor agrees to prepay all shipping
charges, route the goods by cheapest common carrier, and bill the County as a separate item on the invoice for said charges. It is also agreed the County
reserves the right, at its sole option, to refuse COD Shipments
7. Identification
The purchase order number shall appear on all invoices, packing lists, packages, shipping notices and other written documents relating to this order Packing
lists shall be enclosed in each and every box or package shipped pursuant to this order, indicating the content therein.
8. Payment
Vendor is to submit properly completed invoice(s) and mail to address specified at the time of order
To insure prompt payment, each invoice should cite purchase order number, bid/quote number, description of item purchased, unit and total price, discount
terms and include the vendor's name and return remittance address. Payment will be mailed within thirty (30) days of (a) the receipt and acceptance of the
product or service and (b) a properly completed invoice.
9. Risk of Loss
Regardless of the F O.B. Point specified above, Vendor agrees to bear all risk of loss, injury, or destruction of goods ordered herein which occur prior to
actual physical delivery to the County, and such loss, injury, or destruction shall not release Vendor from any obligation hereunder.
10. Force Majeure
Vendor will not be responsible for delays in delivery due to acts of God, fire, Strikes, epidemics, war, riot, delay in transportation or railcar transport
shortages, provided vendor notifies the Purchasing Manager immediately in writing of such pending or actual delay Normally, in the event or any such
delays (acts or God, etc.) the date of delivery will be extended for a period equal to the time lost due to the reason for delay
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 20 of 25
11. Resection
All goods and any services purchased in this order are subject to approval by the County Rejection of goods or services, resulting because of nonconformity
to the terms, conditions, and specifications of this order, whether held by the County or returned, will be at Vendor's risk and expense.
12. Approximate Ouantitv
The quantities listed are the County's current approximate requirements. Yakima County will neither be obligated by, nor restricted to, these quantities and
may increase or decrease any item(s) ordered under this contract and pay according to the unit prices quoted in the Bid/Quote. If it is agreeable to both
parties and prices have not changed and the same unit/materials are still available, additional units/materials may be ordered within 12 months of the signing
of the original agreement.
13. Cooperative'Purchasing
The Washington State Interlocal Cooperative Act RCW 39,34 provides that other governmental agencies may purchase goods and services on this
solicitation or contract in accordance with the terms and prices indicated therein if all parties are willing.
14. Samples
Samples of items, when required, must be furnished free of expense to the County, and if not destroyed by tests will, upon request, be returned at the bidders
expense.
15. Inspection
Cost of inspection on deliveries or offers for delivery, which do not meet specifications, will be for the account of the vendor
16. Hazardous Materials
If this order covers goods, which include hazardous chemicals, Vendor shall, at the time of product delivery, provide the County with copies of Material
Safety Data Sheets for such chemicals. These sheets shall be in the form then required by applicable law or regulation (See WAC 296-62-05413). This
requirement shall be in addition to whatever other requirements are imposed by law or regulation.
17. Public Disclosure
Proposals shall become the property of Yakima County All proposals shall be deemed a public record as defined in RCW 42.56 "Public Records." Any
proposal containing language which copyrights the proposal, declares the entire proposal to be confidential, declares that the document is the exclusive
property of the Vendor, or is any way contrary to state public disclosure laws or this RFP will be declared non responsive and removed from consideration.
Any information in the proposal that the successful Vendor desires to claim as proprietary and exempt from disclosure under the provisions of RCW 42.56
must be clearly designated as described in Section Proprietary Information. The particular exception from disclosure upon which the Vendor is making the
claim and the RFP page it is found on must be identified. RFP's will not be disclosed prior to release to potential respondents. With the exception of lists of
prospective Vendors, Yakima County will not disclose RFP records until execution of the contract(s). At that time, all information about the competitive
procurement will be available with the exception of: Proprietary/confidential portion(s) of the successful proposal(s), until the Vendor has an adequate
opportunity to seek a court order preventing disclosure. Yakima County will consider a Vendor's request for exemption from disclosure; however, Yakima
County will make a decision predicated upon RCW 42.56.
18. Warranties
Vendor warrants that all goods and services furnished under this order are new, conform strictly to the specifications herein, are merchantable, good
workmanship, free from defect, are fit for the intended purpose of which such goods and services are ordinarily employed and if a particular purpose is
stated in a Special Condition, the goods are then warranted as for that particular purpose. Vendor further warrants that no violation of any federal, state or
local law, statute, rule, regulation, ordinance or order will result from the manufacturer, production, sale, shipment, installation or use of any other goods.
Vendor's warranties (and any more favorable warranties, service policies, or similar undertaking of Vendor) shall survive delivery, inspection, and
acceptance of the goods or services.
19. Re -Award
When the contract is terminated by the vendor upon 30 days notice as herein provided, the County may re -award the contract to the next most responsible
bidder
When a vendor is unable to supply goods and/or services to the County and is in breach of the contract, or when the contract is terminated by the County for
cause as herein provided, the County reserves the right to re -award the contract to the next most responsible bidder
20. Errors and Omissions
The County reserves the right to correct obvious ambiguities and errors in the Bidder's proposal and to waive non -material irregularities and/or omissions.
In this regard, if the unit price does not compute to the extended total price, the unit price shall govern.
21. Late Receipt of Bid/Quote Documents
Bids and/or quotations and modifications received after the exact hour and date specified for receipt of bids and/or quotations will not be considered (i.e. if
bid was due by 2:00 PM, any bids received after 2:00:00 PM will be rejected).
22. Licenses
If applicable, successful vendor shall have a valid and current business license per Chapter 5.02 Section 5 02.010 of the Yakima Municipal Code covering
this type of business and shall satisfy all applicable City Code provisions. Said license shall be obtained prior to the award of any contract. Inquiries as to
fees, etc., should be made to the Office of Code Administration, telephone (509) 575-6121
In addition, Contractors are required to be registered by the State per Chapter 18.27 of the Revised Code of Washington and their registration number must
be listed on the bid/quote.
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer
Page 21 of 25
23. Delivery of Unapproved Substitutions
Vendors are authorized to ship only those items ordered covered by the contract. If a review of orders placed by the County reveals that an item other than
those covered by and specified in the contract have been ordered and delivered, the Purchasing Manager will take such steps as are necessary to have the
item(s) returned to the contractor at no cost to the County regardless of the time lapsed between the date of delivery and discovery of the violation. Violation
of this clause may result in the removal of the offending vendor's name from the County mailing list for a period of up to three (3) years.
24. "No Bids"
Vendors who are unable to or do not wish to submit a bid and are encouraged to respond by notating their bid "NO BID" on page one of the "BID CALL"
and mailing it to the City of Yakima Clerk's Office, 129 North 2nd Street, Yakima, Washington, 98901, with the Bid/Quote due date and time written on the
face of the envelope. It is the County's practice that if no response to a bid is received by a vendor after two consecutive mailings, the vendor will be deleted
from our vendor's mailing list for that type of commodity item.
25. Non -Collusion
The Bidder represents, by the submission of their Proposal, that the prices in this bid/quote are neither directly nor indirectly the result of any formal or
informal agreement with another bidder
26. Evaluation of Bid/Ouote
In the evaluation of otherwise responsible bids/quotes, the Bidder's experience, delivery time and responsibility in performing other contracts will be
considered. In addition to price, the following may be' considered:
I. The ability, capacity and skill of the bidder to perform the contract and provide the services required.
II. Whether the bidder can perform the contract or provide the service promptly, or within the time specified, without delay or interference.
III. The character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience and efficiency of the bidder.
IV The quality of performance of previous contracts or service.
V The previous and existing compliance by the bidder with laws and ordinances relating to contracts or services.
VI. The sufficiency of the financial resources and ability of the bidder to perform the contract or provide the service.
VII The quality, availability, and adaptability of the supplies or contractual services to the particular use required.
VIII. The ability of the bidder to provide future maintenance and service for the use of the subject of the contract.
27. Taxes
The County will pay sales and use taxes imposed on goods or services acquired hereunder as required by law The County is exempt from Federal Excise
Tax. Where applicable, the County shall furnish a Federal Excise Tax Exemption certificate.
28. Non -Discrimination
During the performance of this contract, the contractor agrees as follows:
A. The contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, creed, color, religion, age, marital status,
disability, sex, sexual orientation or national origin. Such action shall include, but not be limited to, the following: employment, upgrading,
demotion or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other forms of compensation; and selection for
training, including apprenticeship. The contractor agrees to post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants for employment,
notices to be provided by the contracting officer setting forth the provisions of this non-discrimination clause.
B. The contractor will, in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of the contractor, state that all qualified applicants
will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, religion, age, mantal status, disability, sex, or national origin.
C The contractor will send to each labor union or representative of workers with which he has a collective bargaining agreement or other contract or
understanding, a notice, advising the labor 'union or workers' representative of the contractor's commitment to non-discrimination, and shall post
copies of the notice in conspicuous places available to employees and applicants for employment.
D The contractor will furnish all information and reports required by Yakima County and will provide on request evidence to substantiate
compliance with non-discrimination clauses of this contract.
E. In the event of the contractor's noncompliance with the non-discrimination clauses of this contract or with any of such rules, regulations, or
orders, this contract may be canceled, terminated, or suspended in whole or in part and the contractor may be declared ineligible for any future
Yakima County contracts.
29. Termination - Convenience
This contract may be terminated by either party by giving thirty (30) days written notice of such intent and will become effective thirty (30) days from the
date such written notice is delivered to the applicable party to the contract.
30. Termination - Cause
The County reserves the right to terminate this contract at any time, upon written notice, in the event that the services of the Contractor are deemed by the
County to be unsatisfactory, or upon failure to perform any of the terms and conditions contained in this agreement. In addition to the foregoing right of
termination, the County may terminate this contract, with or without cause, upon thirty (30) days written notice to Contractor.
31. Delay of an Award
If, after bid/quote opening, administration problems threaten to delay award beyond the bidder's acceptance period, bidders shall be requested to extend the
bid/quote acceptance period. This request must be made and confirmed in writing prior to the expiration date of their bids/quotes (with consent of sureties, if
any) to avoid the need to re -advertise.
32. Venue
In the event that any litigation should arise concerning the construction or interpretation of any of the terms of the Agreement, the venue of such action of
litigation shall be in the Courts of the State of Washington in and for Yakima County This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of
Washington.
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 22 of 25
33. Defense and Indemnity Agreement
The vendor agrees to defend, indemnify and save harmless Yakima County, its appointed and elective officers and employees, from and against all loss or
expense, including but not limited to judgments, settlements, attorney's fees and costs by reason of any and all claims and demands upon the County, its
elected or appointed officials or employees for damages because of personal or bodily injury, including death at any time resulting therefrom, sustained by
any person or persons and on account to damage to property including loss of use thereof, whether such injury to persons or damage to property is due to'the
negligence of the Vendor, his/her subcontractors, it successor or assigns, or its or their agent, servants, or employees, the County, its appointed or elected
officers, employees or their agents, except only such injury or damage as shall have been occasioned by the sole negligence of the County, its appointed or
elected officials or employees. It is further provided that no liability shall attach to the County by reason of entering into this contract, except as expressly
provided herein.
34. Permits
The vendor shall procure and pay for all permits and licenses necessary for the completion of the Contract, including those permits required by Yakima
County In the event a necessary permit is not obtained, the Vendor will not be permitted to work on items subject to said permit and any delays caused
thereby will not be subject to extra compensation or extension.
35. Severability
If any term or condition of this contract or the application thereof to any person(s) or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other
terms, conditions or applications which can be given effect without the invalid term, condition or application. To this end, the terms and conditions of this
contract are declared severable.
36. Waiver
Waiver of any breach or condition of this contract shall not be deemed a waiver of any prior or subsequent breach. No term or condition of this contract
shall be held to be waived, modified or deleted except by an instrument, in writing, signed by the parties hereto.
37. Entire Agreement
This written contract represents the entire Agreement between the parties and supersedes any prior oral statements, discussions or understanding between the
parties.
38. Protest Procedure
Any protest must be made in writing, signed by the protestor, and state that the vendor is submitting a formal protest. The protest shall be filed with the
Yakima City/County Purchasing Manager at 129 No. 2nd St., Yakima, WA 98901, faxed to 509-576-6394 or emailed to sownbv(aci.yakima.wa.us. The
protest shall clearly state the specific factual and legal ground(s) for the protest, and a description of the relief or corrective action being requested. Protests
before award shall be filed five (5) days before the solicitation due date, and protests after the award shall be filed five (5) days after Award
Announcement (see below for details). The following steps shall be taken in an attempt to resolve the protest with the vendor
Step I Purchasing Manager and Department Head of solicitation try resolving matter with protester All available facts will be considered
and the City/County Purchasing Manager shall issue a decision. This decision shall be delivered in writing to the protesting vendor.
Step II If still unresolved, within three (3) business days after receipt, the protest may be appealed to the Board of Yakima County
Commissioners. The Board of County Commissioners shall make a determination in writing to the vendor
Grounds for Protest
Only protests stipulating an issue of fact conceming the following subjects shall be considered:
• A matter of bias, discrimination, conflict of interest;
• Solicitation unduly constrains competition or contains inadequate or improper criteria;
• Errors in computing score;
• Non-compliance with procedures described in the solicitation or County Policy
Protest Determination
Each review and determination of the protest shall issue a decision that either:
• Finds the protest lacking in merit and upholds the award; or
• Finds only technical or harmless errors in the acquisition process and determines the County to be in substantial compliance and therefore
reject the protest; or
• Finds merit in the protest and provides options for correction, including, but not limited to, correcting the errors and re-evaluating the bids,
reissuing the bid to begin a new process, or entering in to a contract that remedies the protest finding; or
• Makes other findings and determines other courses of action as appropriate.
Timeframe
Only protests and complaints received within the required timeframe for protest action are accepted for consideration.
Award Announcement
Purchasing shall announce the successful bidder via City/County Purchasing Website, e-mail, fax, regular mail, or by any other appropriate means. Once the
announcement is released by Purchasing, the protest time frame begins. The timeframe is not based upon when the vendor received the information, but
rather when the announcement is issued by Purchasing. Though every effort will by made by Purchasing to distribute the announcement to the interested
vendors, Purchasing is not responsible to assure that vendors receive the announcement. It is the responsibility of the vendors to obtain the announcement
from Purchasing.
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 23 of 25
Award Regardless of Protest
When a written protest against making an award is received, the award shall not be made until the matter is, resolved, unless the County determines' that one
of the following applies:
• The supplies or services to be contracted for are urgently required;
• Delivery or performance will be unduly delayed by failure to make award promptly;
• A prompt award will otherwise be advahtageous to the County
If the award is made, the file must be documented to explain the basis for the award. Written notice of the decision to proceed shall be sent to the protester
and others who may be concemed.
The County retains the right to enter into any contract and nothing herein shall be construed to limit that authority in any manner
C11.108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 24 of 25
ATTACH SAMPLE CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE HERE
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 25 of 25
BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No. -'(L
For Meeting of: July 17, 2012
ITEM TITLE:
SUBMITTED BY:
CONTACT
PERSON/TELEPHONE:
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a
contract with The Master's Touch LLC for Statement
Printing and Mail Processing
CindyEpperson, Finance Director (509) 576-6644
Tammy Regimbal, Utility Services Manager (509) 576-
6615
For several months, the Finance Department, Information Technology Services and the
Purchasing Division have discussed options for improving and economizing the city's
outgoing mail process. We requested the attached proposed contract for statement printing
and mail processing from The Master's Touch LLC (TMT). TMT contracts with the Yakima
County Assessor's Office for mailing of the County's annual tax statements. With Council
approval, the city can "piggyback" on the County's contract for outgoing mail services for the
balance of the contract through December 31, 2017. Key contract terms include: firm prices
for the first year of the contract; annual contract extensions, subject to a successful price
agreement; and 60 day notice for termination "for convenience" by either party.
Each year the City of Yakima processes more than 200,000 pieces of first class mail in the
act of sending utility statements, business and dog license renewals, and reminder notices
for all types of statements. The majority of the mail consists of utility statements that are
printed in batches of several hundred on two to three days per week. The mail process is
accomplished by Utility Services and Information Technology Services staff. Although the
amount of mail is substantial, the volume does not reach United States Postal Service
requirement for bulk mail discounts. In addition, the process is labor intensive and requires
several pieces of machinery. The city currently owns all of the equipment necessary to
process the mail, but the equipment is aged and replacement cost is approximately
$25,000.
Adoption of the attached Resolution will authorize the City Manager to execute a contract
with The Master's Touch for Statement Printing and Mail Processing. The gross cost of the
initial contract is estimated at $142,400, assuming the highest variable rate on postage (the
actual amount will be determined by the number of statements processed). The 2013
budget for postage and printing just for utility billing is $176,750. Therefore, we anticipate
that the change will produce a potential annual savings of $34,350 in "hard costs", (i.e.
postage, paper, printing), before considering the labor resource that can be redirected for
other priority services.
Since the City's contract refers to both the Yakima County contract and their Request for
Proposal for mail services, both of those documents are attached, along with the City's
contract documents with TMT.
Resolution X Ordinance
Contract: X
Other
(specify)
Mail to: Jim Cote The Masters Touch LLC 1405 N Ash
Street Spokane WA 99201-7214
Contract Term: One year Amount: estimated at Expiration Date: December 31,
for set cost $142,400 2017
Insurance Required? Yes
Funding General Fund --Utilities Services and Code Phone: 509-326-7475
Source: Administration
APPROVED FOR
SUBMITTAL:
City Manager
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval.
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Click to download
❑ Resolution for TMT contract -
DI City Agreement - Utility Billing and Bulk Mailing
❑ City of Yakima Proposal
❑ City of Yakima Addendum #2
❑ C11108 -P Contract w Yakima County
O C11108 -P RFP Tax Bills
AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is entered into between YAKIMA COUNTY, Washington, herein referred to as
the "County" whose address .is 128 N. 211d St. Yakima, Washington, 98901 and The Master's Touch,
LLC whose address is 1405 N Ash Street, Spokane, WA 99201 hereinafter referred to as the
"Contractor".
WITNESSETH:
In consideration of the terms and conditions contained herein and the attached RFP documents C11108 -
P, which are made part of this contract by this reference, the parties agree as follows:
1. The Contractor shall do all work and furnish all materials necessary for performing the work in
accordance with and as described in the attached RFP documents.
2. The County agrees to pay for the work as set forth in the RFP documents at the time and in the
manner and upon the conditions provided.
3. This Agreement contains all terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties. No change or
addition to this Agreement shall be valid or binding upon either party unless such change or
addition is in writing and executed by both parties. All terms of the attached RFP documents,
Contractor's Proposal, and Attachment A are incorporated herein by this reference.
4. The parties agree that the Contractor is an independent contractor and not an agent or employee
of the County. Agents, employees, servants, or representatives of the Contractor shall not be
deemed to be employees, servants, or representatives of the County for any purpose. Employees
of the Contractor are not entitled to any benefits the County provides for County employees.
5. The contractor agrees that is shall not discriminate against any person on the grounds of race,
creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, political
affiliation or belief, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical handicap in violation of
the Washington State Law Against Discrimination (RCW chapter 49.60) or the Americans with
Disabilities Act (42 USC 12101 et seq.). In the event the Contractor violates this provision, the
County may terminate this Agreement immediately and bar the Contractor from performing
services for the County in the future.
6. The Contractor shall not assign or subcontract any portion of the contracted activities without
obtaining prior written approval from the County.
7. The Contractor shall indemnify and hold harmless the County, its officers, agents and
employees, from all liability, loss of damage, including costs of defense they may suffer as a
result of claims, demands, actions, damages, costs or judgments whichresult from the activities
to be performed by the Contractor, its agents, employees, or subcontractors pursuant to this
Agreement.
C1 1108-P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 1 of 7
8. The Contractor shall provide to the County proof of insurance. Yakima County shall be named
as an additional insured with Additional Insured Endorsement on said insurance policies.
9. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Washington. Any action, suit, or
judicial proceeding for the enforcement of this Agreement shall be brought in the Superior Court
for the State of Washington in Yakima County, Washington.
10. The period of this contract shall be for Tax Years 2012 and 2013. Prices shall remain firm, as
proposed, for the first two years of the contract unless an exception is stated in the proposal. The
County may, at its option, extend the contract for up to two additional two-year terms, subject to
a successful price agreement. Any changes to U.S. Postal regulations or other laws or
regulations affecting tax statement production and mailing that are enacted or in force in
subsequent contract years, shall be negotiated a the time of renewal.
11. Either party may terminate this contract for convenience .upon (60) sixty days written notice sent
by certified mail to the addresses listed above, per the terms and conditions of the RFP
documents.
Dated this' 3'day of
CON 1 RACTOR
Signature
Title
Company
Address
Approved as to form:
111.
2011.
YAKIMA COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS
ey, Chairman
d Elliott, Commissioner
Michael D. Leita, Commissioner
,,0\11111,,,,,, Constituting the Board of County Commissioners
\\, pF YAK/,1!r� //, for Yakima county, Washington
.•
cis • :�Z ..-
•
34-et-fano_ viol&
Deputy Prosecuting A orney /; �'s •'
• •
�'�#iiitoo
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer
Attest: Tiera L. Girard,
Clerk of the Board
BOCC 473-2011
August 16, 2011
Page 2 of 7
ATTACHMENT A
fTHE MASTER'S TOUCH, LLC
Comact For.
Yakima County Treasurer
The Master's Touch, LLC will provide the following services to the Yakima County Treasurer
Overview
The Master's Touch, LLC proposes to act as a sole source vendor to print and mail property tax statements for the
Yakima County Treasurer. Included in this proposal will be the preprinting of the statement stock, preprinting the
carrier envelope and return payment envelope and a letter size informational insert. Also included will be the
CASS certifying of mailing addresses in the data file and the use of PAVE presort software to presort and print
Intelligent Mail Barcode addresses along with tax data to the preprinted 8 '/s x 14 statement stock. We will fold
and insert those statements into a #10 special window envelope along with two #9 reply envelopes and the
informational insert and deliver to the US postal service bulk mail facility with all necessary documentation. All
of the described services will be completed by The Master's Touch, LLC. No subcontracting will be used for any
portion of the work performed. Since The Master's Touch, LLC has had the privilege of providing this service for
the Yakima County Treasurer the past five years, we may reference in this contract certain things we know to be a
requirement, but that were not specifically detailed in the RFP.
Specifications
1. Preprinted Statement and Envelope Stock:
A. Carrier envelopes will be #10 non —standard window with diagonal seams printed in one non-metallic
PMS ink color on the face on a 24# white wove paper stock. Ink color to be chosen by the Yakima
County Treasurer's Office. Envelope will include the generic TMT First Class mailing permit that shows
no origination post office.
B. Statement stock will be 8 '/z x 14 printed on 24# white bond. Printing will be offset quality in one non-
metallic PMS ink color on the face and back of form. Perforation on statements will be a micro-perf with
at least 50 teeth per inch, which will be used to facilitate easy removal of remittance stub by taxpayer
via a clean tear along the perforation. There will be two laser compatible right-angle perforations, one
at 3 !Z" from the bottom and the other at 7" from the bottom.
C. Two #9 reply envelopes will be inserted into each mail piece. This envelope will be printed in black ink on
the face only on a 24# white wove paper stock with security tint on the inside.
D. Also included will be an 8 %i x 11 information sheet printing one non-metallic PMS ink color on the face
and the back on 24-1b. laser -compatible white bond paper. Should the Yakima County Treasurer request the
same PMS ink color be used on this form as on the statement and envelope, the ink color used will match
the PMS ink on the statement and #10 envelope, so that a difference in shade or color is undetectable. Copy
on this form will be evenly centered so that the white space margins are of equal size on the front and back.
1405 N ASH STREET SPOKANE, WA 99201-2805
TELEPHONE (509) 326-7475 OR 1-800-301-1347 FAX (509) 326-7214
C11108 -P Mailing of Annuai Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 3 of 7
2. Set up and Programming:
The Master's Touch, LLC will request that we work directly with the information services department of the
Yakima County Treasurer to determine data format and print and image specifications for this project. No outside
subcontractor will be used for any of this work without the express consent by the Yakima County Treasurer's
office. This is to insure data confidentiality and seamless work flow.
The Master's Touch, LLC will require sample data, a data definition file and a data layout map indicating what
fields print where prior to beginning software setup. In order to insure that any and all irregularities in data type
and format have been adequately accounted for, we request this sample data, definition file and data layout map as
soon as practical after contract award. In addition, it is highly recommended that the Yakima County Treasurer's
Office include in the sample data, records that exemplify the minimum and maximum limits of every field.
For the purpose of this Contract, we are assuming there is no substantive change in data format from 2011 tax
statements. Therefore, it is expected that set up and proofing will be minimal and can be provided within 2 —3
weeks of receipt of your test data. Once we have met the initial specifications, changes or modifications by the
Yakima County Treasurer's Office that deviate from those original specifications may require additional set up
time and may be subject to additional programming charges. Any charges of this type will be discussed and
agreed upon by both parties before proceeding.
Note: TMT has already set up and programmed for the Yakima County Treasurer's tax form based on the Ascend
software that was used for the 2011 tax mailing. If there is no change in data format, there will be no Rdlditional set
up. If, however, there are changes in software or data layout, the following section will apply.
3. OCR Readability Testing:
The Master's Touch, LLC has extensive experience printing accurate, readable OCR information for many county
treasurers, including the Yakima County Treasurer's office. It is crucial that these OCR lines can be read without
fail by the scanning equipment processing them. Sample statements with variable data including OCR
information, will be printed and provided to the Yakima County Treasurer's office for testing per the production
schedule outlined in your RFP.
4. Production:
All production will conform to at least the minimum requirements established by the Yakima County Treasurer's
Office. Every effort will be made to perform all requirements in a time frame quicker than what your schedule
outlines. Our goal is to exceed customer expectations, not just meet them.
Once your production file is provided to us, we will process it through CASS certified mailing software. We will
also comply with the new DPV and LACsLink requirements that became mandatory on August 1, 2007.
According to your schedule, The Master's Touch, LLC will process your complete address file through NCOA
(National Change of Address) in order to comply with the USPS requirements for move update. This will not only
reduce the amount of returned mail you will receive, but will also speed the delivery of your mail to the correct
address. As of April 17th 2011, Yakima County estimated postage will range between 34 cents to 39 cents per one
ounce mail piece for automation -qualified pieces.
After CASS certification is completed, all records will be presorted by PAVE certified software. Again, this
PAVE presort insures that your mail is sorted to meet all USPS requirements and insures that all your mail
receives the lowest possible automation postage rate.
C 111 o8 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statement — County Treasurer Page 4 of 7
After and only after we have CASS certified and standardized your addresses, we will combine statements
bearing an identical name and address, mailing all that meet this criteria in the same envelope. Statements will be
folded in such a way that ' e folds fall directly on both remittance stub perforations located at 3 %" and 7" from
the bottom and mailed in a #10 envelope, unless the thickness of the folded statements exceeds the maximum
allowed by the US Postal Service for the letter rate category (currently one —quarter inch). When the thickness
exceeds this maximum, all grouped statements mailing to an identical name and address will be enclosed in a
catalog window envelope where the addressee shows through the window for proper delivery. These catalog
envelopes will mail at normal first class rates based upon the weight of each piece.
Once the production file has finished CASS, PAVE, and grouping, and BEFORE actual printing of statements, a
sample PDF file will be produced and emailed to the Yakima County Treasurer for approval. The sample PDFs will
be determined by the Yakima County Treasurer. Customarily, the same test parcels that were used for proofing and
evaluation during the test phase will also be used for final production proofs.
Once these production proofs are approved, print production will begin. Statements will mail according to the
schedule outlined by the Yakima County Treasurer or within 6 calendar days from final proof approval. Mail will
be dropped at the Spokane bulk mail facility under our generic permit. This permit does not bear any obvious
markings where the mail was sent from.
5. Redundancy and Contingency:
Our commitments to our customers are vital to us and to them. Our ability to keep those commitments is partly
due to our philosophy regarding redundancy in our equipment. We will keep a minimum of five in-house high
speed laser printers available for this project, insuring that if one becomes inoperable, at least four additional
backup printers will be available. We will also keep a minimum of three in-house high speed automated inserters
available to fold and insert your statements, again insuring that if one inserter becomes inoperable, a backup
machine will complete the project.
In the event of a minor disaster, we anticipate completing your mailing through the redundancy of our equipment.
In the event of a major disaster, (i.e. fire, earthquake, flood, etc.), we will work to complete your mailing in one of
two ways. We will produce new envelopes, statement stock within three to five days and finish the project at:
a. Main Backup Facility: TMT has an agreement with EnnisfBlock Graphics in Portland, Oregon to utilize
TMT -owned backup inserting and laser printing equipment that we installed in their facility. This
equipment is immediately accessible and fully powered on 24-hour standby. Ennis/Block Graphics also
manufactures and prints forms and envelopes, thus serving as a backup for these items, as well. Contact:
Carl Weaver, General Manager of Ennis/Block Graphics in Portland, Oregon at 1-800-547-3575.
Agreement letter attached.
b. Secondary Backup Facility: TMT has a reciprocal agreement with Enhanced Software Products (ESP)
in Spokane, Washington to utilize their equipment and facility in case of an event that would render our
primary facility inoperable. ESP is within 15 minutes of our main headquarters giving us a very
immediate alternative if needed. Contact: Robert Murray, Print Services Manager, 509-944-3172.
Agreement letter attached
Additional processing time needed should be no longer than two weeks from the date of occurrence.
011108-P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 5 of 7
6. Postage and Documentation:
As of April 17th, 2011, your estimated postage will range between 34 cents to 39 cents per one ounce mail piece
for automation -qualified pieces. After completion of your mailing and within 72 hours of mail date, The Master's
Touch, LLC will provide the Yakima County Treasurer's Office with the group reports and #3602 postage reports
presented and accepted by the U.S. Postal Service bulk mail facility. In addition, a complete accounting will be
provided of every piece mailed and the postage rate at which it was mailed.
7. Additional Comments:
• We intend to have at least one or two face to face meetings with those involved in order to insure that all
• procedures are clearly established and understood. These meetings also help us to gain a clear idea of the
objectives and wishes of the Treasurer. It is not our desire to simply meet the expectations of our
customers. It is our desire to exceed those expectations.
• Further, an electronic PDF image file can be provided which would include an image of every statement
as it was printed and mailed. These images would be indexed and searchable by parcel number and will
be offered to the Yakima County Treasurer for a very minimal additional fee should the Treasurer be
interested.
• The Yakima County Treasurer's office is offered a standing invitation to tour our facility at any time in
order to see the production process and in better understand the quality control processes we use to insure
timely and accurate delivery of your mail.
C11108 -P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 6 of 7
Tax Statement Contract
August 2011
Contract Pricing
Annual Property Tax Statements
Yakima County Treasurer
Yakima County Treasurer
c/o Clerk of the Board
Yakima County Courthouse, Room 232
Yakima, WA 98901
The undersigned hereby certifies that the Request for Proposal's specifications have been carefully read for the
Yakima County Treasurer's Annual Property Tax Statements and submits for your consideration the following
pricing:
Tax Years 2012 and 2013 Annual Property Tax Statements totaling approximately 110,000 annually including
design, construction, printing, sorting and mailing services (including house -holding) as outlined in this RFP. All
cost estimates include sales tax and any freight charges.
Tax Year 2012 Tax Year 2013
Software changes if needed $110.00/Hr. $110.00/Hr.
Production Costs $10,900.00 $10.900.00
NCOA $455.00 $455.00
Paper Stock $11,729.00 $12,050.00*
Subtotal $23,084.00 $23,435.00
Wa. State Sales tax (8.2%) $1,892.89 $1.921.67
Total Bid
* Based on previous paper trends.
$24,976.89 $25356,67
1405 N ASH STREET SPOKANE, WA 99201-2805
TELEPHONE (509) 326-7475 OR 1-800-301-1347 FAX (509) 326-7214
C 11108-P Mailing of Annual Property Tax Statements — County Treasurer Page 7 of 7
AGREEMENT MODIFICATION NO. 1
RFP CONTRACT: Purchasing #11213-P (City Contract #2012-63 per Resolution R2012-97)
DESCRIPTION: Utility Billing Statement Printing and Mail Processing
CONTRACTOR: The Master's Touch LLC (TMT)
MODIFICATION:
1. Statement stock to be preprinted in 2 colors on face only on 24# white bond and containing one right
angle perforation.
2. Graph printing in grayscale on face of statement.
3. Back printing to be in black and printed along with variable statement data that prints on the face of
statement.
DOLLAR AMOUNT OF MODIFICATION:
• Add .03 per statement to print variable on the back side of statements.
• $6,000 - $7,200 increase per year, based on a quantity of 200,000 to 240,000 statements
mailed annually.
• Total new unit price for print and mail service is $0.165 each (16.5 cents per statement).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
This contract was awarded to TMT on July 17, 2012. This is a five year contract ending on December 31,
2017.
AUTHORIZATION:
Please see attached summary from Jim Cote, President of The Master's Touch.
DATED this 21" day of September, 2016.
CITY OF YAKIMA
—James Dean, Utility Services Manager
Cliff
CITY CONTRACT NCI:�- 43 4 M44 4 A'-e,JAI
RESOLUTION NO: g-- 2 0/ . - 17 7
Tn�H/E�E/�(� 22�
UVl1L� SYLSM9S'
TOUCH,LLC
SPOKANE HEADQUARTERS
1. - 1405NASH ST.
SPOKANE WA 99201
PHONE: 509-326-7475
FAX: 888-828-4659
TOLL FREE: 800=301=1347
ARIZONA FACILITY_ .
132 W JULIE DR
TEMPE AZ 85283
•PHONE: 800-301-1347
FAX: 888-828-4659
HAWAII BRANCH OFFICE
: 39 MALUNIU AVE STE 201'
KAILUA HI ',96734 -'
' .PHONE: 800-301-1347' -
FAX: 888-828-4659
INDIANA BRANCH OFFICE
PO BOX 471
LAFAYETTE IN 47902
PHONE: 800-301-1347
' FAX: 888-828-4659
Addendum to City of Yakima Contract for Statement Print and Mail
1. Statement stock to be preprinted in 2 colors on face only on 24# white
bond and containing one right angle perforation.
2. Graph printing in grayscale on face of statement.
3. Back printing to be in black and printed along with variable statement data
that prints on the face of statement.
Price adjustment for above is additional 3 cents per statement.
Total new unit price for print and mail service is $0.165 each (16.5 cents per
statement).
All other preprinted forms pricing to remain as is.
Thank you,
Jim Cote'
President
September 20, 2016
City of Yakima
129 North 2nd Street
Yakima, WA 98901
Utilities Service Information
Utility Billing
After Hours Emergency Number
E -Mail
Lobby Hours
Pay online
(509)-575-6080
(509)-575-6154
utilities@yakimawa.com
Monday - Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00pm
www yakimawa.gov/services/utilities/online-payment
Account Number
Bill Type
Due Date
Amount
601745
REGLR
May 25, 2016
$6,690 63
Service Address
2015 LONGFIBRE AVE
LFPPI DBA KAPSTONE CONT CORP
PO BOX 3000
LONGVIEW WA 98632-0069
Volume
201505 201507 201509 201511 201601 201603 201605
Last Year Current
ALL CYCLES MESSAGES. Reporting potholes to
the City of Yakima Streets and Traffic Division can
help stop a growing problem this time of year
Second Annual Roots & Vines Festival occuring
on May 14th.
Description
Metered Wastewater
Living Units
1
Period
03/03/16 to 05/10/16
Days
69
Previous Balance
Payments
Past Due Balance
Current Charges
$6,690.63
Total Due
$6,690.63
Meter # Previous Current Usage Amount
Wastewater Inside City Consumption
Wastewater Inside City Ready To Serve 3"
Wastewater Inside City BOD Surcharge
Wastewater Inside City TSS Surcharge
01520605 15832 17332 1500 $4,515 00
$402.85
$736.90
$1,035.88
$6,690.63
Total Current Charges
See Reverse for Important Information
$6,690.63
Detach and return this stub with remittance - Please make check payable in US funds to City of Yakima - Allow 5 days for mailing
Account Number
601745
Address Served
2015 LONGFIBRE AVE
City of Yakima
P.O Box 22720
Yakima, WA 98907-2720
Drop Box Locations:
Harmon Center. 101 North 65th Avenue
City Hall, 129 North 2nd Street
No Cash
Bill Date
May 10, 2016
Due Date
May 25, 2016
Amount Enclosed $
Total Due
$6,690.63
Office Hours
8:30 am to 5:00 pm
Monday thru Friday
Closed Saturday, Sunday and Holidays
The rates for the Solid Waste Division are based on 4.33 weeks to a month. See Examples below:
Residential 96 gal cart Rate: $18.315 / 4.33 = $4.23
Residential 32 gal cart Rate. $15.977 / 4.33 = $3.69
Cart Service
Residential 96 gal cart
Residential 32 gal cart
Yard Debris 96 gal cart
Permanent Bin Service
2 YD
4 YD
6 YD
4 -Week Bill
Amount(Rate*4.33)
(A)
$ 15.44
$ 13.50
$ 12.50
$ 78.60
$ 125.15
$ 171.74
Temporary Bins price calculated is for daily charge.
2 YD $ 48.57
4 YD $ 77.69
6 YD $ 106.97
4 -Week Bill 4 -Week Bill
Amount * City Amount* State
Tax 15% Tax 3.6%
(B) (C)
$ 2.32 $ 0.56
$2.03 $049
$ 1.87 $ 0 45
$ 11 79
$ 18.77
$ 25 76
$ 7.28
$ 11.65
$ 16.04
$ 2.83
$ 4.51
$ 6.18
$ 1.75
$ 2.80
$ 3.85
Total 4 -Week Total 8 -Week
Bill Amount Bill Amount
(A+B+C) (A+B+C)*2
$ 18.31
$ 16.02
$ 14.82
$ 93.22
$ 148.43
$ 203.68
$ 57.60
$ 92.14
$ 126.86
$ 36.63
$ 32.05
$ 29.65
$ 186.44
$ 296.86
$ 407.36