CumberlandCounty Housing and Redevelopment Authorities
Notice of Request for Proposals (RFP)
Title:Hearing Officer
Opens:April 21, 2015 Due in:May 14, 2015
Submit Applications to:
Cumberland County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities
Attention: Ben Laudermilch
114 N. Hanover St.
Carlisle PA17013
Solicitation:The Cumberland County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities (CCHRA) are soliciting applications from respondents qualified, responsible and willing to provide the following services in compliance with all solicitation specifications and requirements contained or referenced herein.
General Description:Provide Hearing Administrator/Hearing Officer services in accordance with the Office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements of 24 CFR 982.554, 24 CFR 982.555, 24 CFR 966.55 and 24 CFR 966.56 and the CCHRAAdministrative Plan for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, Public Housing Admissions and Continued Occupancy Plan (ACOP) and the Low Income Housing Tax (LIHTC) Tenant Handbooks and House Rules, One West Penn Grievance Procedures and Mountain view Grievance Procedures, and as per the terms, conditions and specifications set forth herein.
You may download a full copy of this solicitation at selecting “News” and“Hearing Officer.” Respondents are required to check this website for addenda prior to the due date to ensure that the application incorporates all addenda.
Proposalsmust be submitted as defined in Instructions to Respondents.Failure to do so may be cause for rejection as non-responsive.
Respondents must complete and return all documents in the section titled, “SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS”.
Bonds are not required.
RESPONDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE ENTIRE SOLICITATION, INCLUDING ALL REFERENCED DOCUMENTS, ENSURE THAT THEY CAN AND ARE WILLING TO COMPLY, AND TO INCORPORATE ALL ASSOCIATED COSTS IN THEIR APPLICATIONS.
Instructions to Respondents
1.Intent
The intent of this Request for Proposals is to enter into contract with qualified persons to provide Hearing Officer Services on an as needed basis for CCHRA.The resulting contract shall be for a one-year period with an option of CCHRA to renew for up to four (4) additional one-year periods. The proposed fee schedule must include an escalator or it will be assumed that the fee quoted is good for 5 years.
CCHRA intends to contract a total of one (1) Hearing Officer to perform the duties as stipulated in the attached Sample Independent Contractor Agreement.
Expected Services:The Hearing Officer is expected to serve in accordance with federal and state laws, 24 CFR, the CCHRA Administrative Guidelines for the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV), and the Public Housing Admissions and Continued Occupancy Plan.The Hearing Officer will hear complaints and appeals as described in 24 CFR982.554, 24 CFR 982.555, 24 CFR 966.55 and 966.56 and the CCHRA Housing Choice Voucher Program Administrative Plan and Low Income Public Housing ACOP.The Hearing Officer will hear complaints and appeals as described in the One West Penn and Mountain View Grievance Procedures and the LIHTC Tenant Handbook and House Rules for properties managed by CCHRA.
The caseload is expected to be 5-20 hearings a month.It is anticipated that hearings will occur between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM at 114 North Hanover St., Carlisle PA17013.
Detailed Scopes of Service, including the duties of the Hearing Officer are contained in the Sample Independent Contractor Agreement.Hearing Officers shall receive an all-inclusive rate per hearing as awarded by the Authorities.The proposal shall also quote a fee for “no-show” hearings assuming that fee is different from the regular, all-inclusive fee. If Respondent anticipates an annual escalator for any renewal term, the Applicant’s proposal shall include the percentage increase being offered for any renewal term.
All services offered or provided pursuant to the resulting executed and affective agreement shall conform to the requirements defined by or referred to by the solicitation documents including Instructions to Respondents, Certification Form, Rate Schedule, Application, Section 3 Certification Form and Sample Independent Contractors Agreement all of which are incorporated herein.
2.Preparation of Respondents
2a. Allproposals shall be made using the forms provided in this package.No erasures are permitted.Errors may be crossed out and corrections printed in ink or typewritten adjacent to error and shall be initialed in ink by person signing the application.Typewritten or word processed proposals are preferred.
2b. Responsive and Responsible Respondents.In order for proposals to be evaluated and considered for award, proposals must be deemed responsive and responsible.
2c. Proposal contents must demonstrate and document meeting or exceeding qualifications to be responsive.
2d. The following qualifications will be used by CCHRA in the evaluation of RESPONSIVE PROPOSALS and the selection of Contractors.
2 d.1 Education:A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university inhuman services, psychology, public administration or similar; a Juris Doctorate ishighly desirable,
AND
2d.2 Experience/References:A resume indicating a background with at least threeyears of professional experience involving appeals, grievances, and associateddocumentation. Experience working in housing advocacy, Fair Housing, the Americanswith Disabilities Act Experience acting as a Hearing Specialist for a Housing and/or Redevelopment Authority. References: Respondent must have three satisfactoryreferences to substantiate at least three years of experience.Resume shall list jobs in reverse chronological order, detailing those jobs relevant to the services required herein and include reference contact information.(A resume that documents the required experience and a contact information list by job that contains theorganization, contact person’s name, title and telephone number will be acceptable.)Reference contact information is required with the resume to verify respondent’s work experience.
2e. The following will be used by CCHRA in the evaluation of Responsible Proposalsand selection of the contractor:The capability of respondent to perform the contract requirements and the reliability and integrity that will assure good faithperformance.
2f. Evaluation Criteria:CCHRA will evaluate each written proposal and determine whether oral discussions of the respondents’ proposals are necessary. CCHRA will assign points for each segment of the proposals based on the content of the written proposals and any oral discussions. Points will be assigned based on the criteria set forth in this offering document.
The respondent with the highest total points will be selected for purposes of awarding both the Housing Authority and the Redevelopment Authority contract. CCHRA reserve the right to include within the usual discussions, adjustments to the respondent’s proposal, including but not limited to, fee schedules. The points to be awarded are set forth for each below:
2f.1 Compensation: Up toTwenty-five (25) points will be awarded to the respondent with the lowest all-inclusive and “no-show” rates.
2f.3 Experience:Respondents will get up to one (1) point for every year of experience providing hearing officer services for a Public Housing Authority.
2f.3 Government Experience:Respondents will get up to an additional one (1) point for every year of experience in local, state or federal government.
2f.5 Education and Experience:Respondents will receive up to two (2) points if they are Juris Doctorate degree or have other relevant or related experience or education related to this contract.
2f.6 Determinations:Respondents will receive up to five (5) points for every year of paid experience that required the creation and submittal of written hearing determinations.Respondents must include one writing sample consisting of an appropriately redacted hearing determination issued within the previous 12 months.
2f.7 Special Populations Experience: Respondents will be given up to ten (10) points for demonstrated experience working with special needs populations including elderly, disabled and homeless.
2f.8 Section 3/SB/MB/WBE:Respondents representing Small, Minority, Women and Labor Surplus Area Firms will be given up to fifteen (15) points. Any respondent who meets any one of the following factors shall receive five (5) points:
- Small business firm
- Minority owned business firm
- Women owned business firm
- Labor surplus area business firm
- Section 3 Business Concern
2g. CCHRA reserves the right to request additional information and/or clarification.Any clarification of a proposal shall be in writing.Recommendation for award will be to the responsible and responsive respondent whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to CCHRA taking into consideration the evaluation criteria set forth in thisRFP.
2h. Recommendation for award will be to the respondent meeting all terms, conditionsandspecifications and who submitted the proposal determined to be most advantageous to CCHRA.
2i. Certification Form.Respondents shall complete and submit the Certification Form, utilizing the form provided in the precise manner requested.The certification document must be completed and signed by the respondent, certifying that the respondent can and is willing to meet all requirements of the solicitation.Failure to do so may be cause to reject theproposal as non-responsive.
2j. Section 3/SB/MB/WBE Certification Form.Respondents of a Section 3 Business Concern, a Minority-Owned Business, a Small Business and/or a Women’s Business Enterprise shall complete and submit the Certification Form(s) in the manner requested.
3.General Specifications and Deviations
3a. The specifications included in this solicitation are intended to identify the kind and quality of goods and/or services to be provided without being unnecessarily restrictive, and as required to provide the information needed for the development of consistent and comprehensive proposals.
3b. Deviation requests shall specifically document and clearly illustrate the deviation to theparticular specification or the requirements set forth by this solicitation and fully explaintherequested deviation’s impact on the end performance of the item.Deviation requests shall be submitted prior to the initial solicitation due date.Acceptance or rejection of said deviation request shall be at the sole discretion of CCHRA.
3c. A copy of the Sample Independent Contractor Agreement is included for review and incorporated herein by reference.Each respondent, by submitting a proposal, will be certifying that the agreement is acceptable as written.Deviations may be requested.Deviation requests shall be submitted prior to the initial due and open date.Requests submitted within 3 days of the solicitation due-in and opens date may not be answered.Deviation requests shall specifically document and clearly illustrate the deviation to the particular article in the SampleIndependent Contractor Agreement provided.If the deviation is approved, an addendum will be issued modifying the solicitation documents. Respondents are not required to return Sample Independent Contractor Agreement with their proposals.
3d. Respondents are advised that conditional offers that do not conform to or request exception to the published solicitation and addendum may be considered non-responsive and not evaluated.
4. Submission of Proposal Documents:
4a. Submission of your own application in lieu of the CCHRA’s is not acceptable.Submission of such as a requirement of your Application will render your submission as non-responsive.
4b. Respondent shall submit one (1) electronic copy of all solicitation documents and supporting documentation.The submittal shall include all information requested by the solicitation and utilized without modification of the forms provided by the solicitation. Requests for receipts will be e-mailed to the respondent, but are no guarantee that all required materials have been submitted.
4c. Solicitation documents and supporting documentation must be received electronically via e-mailon or before the solicitation due date and time as defined by the Request of Proposals.
4d. Certification Form must be signed by an authorized agent of the respondent, and scanned and included with the proposal.
4e. Proposals, solicitation documents, supporting documentation and modifications received after the closing time specified will not be accepted.Facsimiles, hand-delivered and mailed applications will not be accepted.
4f.Failure to comply with the solicitation requirements may be cause for the respondent’s proposal to be rejected as non-responsive.
4g. Theproposal shall contain the following documents and information in order asfollows:
4g.1 SECTION A:CERTIFICATION FORM: The certification document must be signed by the applicant, certifying that they can and are willing to meet all requirements of the solicitation.Failure to do so may be cause to reject the application as non-responsive.All unit prices shall remain firm for the initial term of the executed agreement.
4g.2 SECTION B:RATE SCHEDULE:Respondents shall complete and submit utilizing the form provided in the precise manner requested.Failure to complymay cause the application to be improperly evaluated or deemed non-responsive.The stipulated rate shall include all incidental and associated costs to comply with the Instructions to Applicants and Sample Independent ContractorAgreement.
4g.3 SECTION C: APPLICATION: Fully completed as requested, including required documentation.
4h. SECTION D:SECTION 3/SB/MB/WBE CERTIFICATION:Respondents of a Section 3 Business Concern, a Minority Owned Business, a Small Business and/or a Women’s Business Enterprise shall complete and submit the Certification Form(s) in the manner requested.
4i. CCHRAreserves the right to negotiate terms and conditions if it is determined to be inthe best interest of CCHRA.
5.Compliance with Agreement.CCHRA will enter into an agreement with the successful respondent by executing the Independent ContractorAgreement.The respondent agrees to establish, monitor, and manage an effective administration process that assures compliance with all requirements of the agreement.In particular the respondent agrees that they shall not provide goods or services in excess of the executed agreement items, item quantity, item amount, or agreement amount without prior written authorization by amendment, revision or change order properly executed by the CCHRA.Any items provided in excess of the quantity stated in the agreement shall be at the respondent’s own risk.Respondents shall decline verbal requests to deliver items in excess of the agreement and shall report all such requests in writing to the Executive Director of the Cumberland County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities(CCHRA).
6.Inquires
6a. Results of this procurement will not be given in response to telephone inquiries.
6b. No oral interpretations or clarifications will be made to any respondent as to the meaning of any of the solicitation documents.
6c. If a prospective respondent believes a requirement of the solicitation documents to be unnecessarily restrictive, unfair or unclear, the respondent shall notify CCHRA in writing identifying the issue with suggested solution priorto the closing time set for receipt of proposals.Responses from CCHRA will be made by written addendum and posted to the website: within the original posting of the RFP item. Issues identified less than 3 days prior to the solicitation opening date may not be answered.
Verbal Requests for Clarifications or Interpretations will not be accepted.
END OF INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS
SECTION A:Certification Form
Respondent shall complete the following information and submit as part of proposal.
PROPOSAL SUBMITTED BY:
Respondent/Company Legal Name:______
Business Also Known As:______
Mailing Address:______
City, State, Zip:______
Telephone/Cell Phone:______
Fax Number:______
E-Mail Address:______
Remit to Address:______
Contact Person Name/Title:______
UBI:______
Tax Identification Number or Social Security Number:______
THIS DOCUMENT SHALL BE SIGNED BY THE RESPONDENT OR A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
FIRM AUTHORIZED TO LEGALLY BIND THE FIRM
By signing and submitting these solicitation documents the undersigned certifies that all information submitted is accurate, that the respondent/firm has reviewed the CCHRA website for solicitation addenda and incorporated in their proposal, that the firm is qualified and willing to provide the services requested and, that the respondent/firm will comply with all requirements of the solicitation.This firm also certifies it will enter into the SAMPLE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT, attached, as written.Exception requests shall be submitted prior to the initial solicitation due-in and opens date.
SIGNATURE: ______DATE: ______
______
Printed Name and Title of Authorized Representative Signing the Solicitation Documents
Section B:Rate Schedule
Respondents Name: ______
(Please Print)
Respond to:Hearing Officer
I hereby certify that I will accept an all-inclusive compensation of $______dollars per hearing to perform hearing officer duties.I hereby certify that I will accept an all-inclusive compensation of $______for no-show hearings. I hereby certify that compensation under any renewal term shall not increase by more than ____% per year over the previous year.
I will also accept that no other fees are to be paid by CCHRA.
Contractor shall submit Request(s) for Payment/Invoices to:
CCHRA
Finance Department
114 North Hanover Street
Carlisle PA17013-2445
For services provided under the Independent Contractor Agreement,said documents shall reference the Agreement Name “Hearing Officer” under which the charges authorized and assign and reference all charges to a particular line item defined by the Agreement.
The contractor shall submit a properly executed invoice against CCHRA for hearing services rendered at the end of each month.Once the invoice is approved by the Executive Director, CCHRA shall issue a check for the amount billed within 30 days of receipt of each invoice.
Invoices are not considered received until verified and received by the Finance Department.
Signature:______Date: ______
Section C:
Application for Hearing Officer
First Name: / Middle Initial: / Last Name:Date:
Applications not meeting the required qualifications will be deemed NON-RESPONSIVEand will not be considered for further evaluation.
As defined in this solicitation, provide documented and verifiable evidence that the respondent or firm satisfies the Qualifications, and indicates what, if any, attachments are submitted.
Item No. / Qualifications / ComplianceYes/No
Select One / Document Title and
Number of Pages
Submitted for each Document
1 / Education:A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in human services, psychology, public administration or similar. / □Yes
□No
2 / Education:A Juris Doctorate from an ABA accredited law school. / □Yes
□No
3 / Experience:A resume indicating a background with at least three years of professional experience involving appeals, grievances, and associated documentation.Experience working in housing advocacy, Fair Housing, the Americans with Disabilities Act.Experience providing Hearing Officer services for a Housing and/or Redevelopment Authority.Experience working in government. References:Respondent must have threesatisfactory references to substantiate at least three years experience.Resume shall list jobs in reverse chronological order, detailing those jobs relevant to the services required herein and include reference contact information.(A resume that documents the required experience and a contact information list by job that contains the organization, contact person’s name, title and telephone number will be acceptable.)Reference contact information is required with the resume to verify respondent’s work experience. / □Yes
□No
4 / Attached are the Certification Form and Rate ScheduleForm. / □Yes
□No
5 / Attached are the Section 3/SB/MB/WBE Certification Form(s)
(if applicable) / □Yes
□No
SECTION D:SELF-CERTIFICATION FOR SECTION 3 BUSINESS CONCERN