01/07/2019

OFFICE OF CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF CLEVELAND
KEVIN J. KELLEY
COUNCIL PRESIDENT

PATRICIA J. BRITT
CLERK OF COUNCIL

January 7, 2019
- REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS –
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR PERFORMANCE AUDIT
PROPOSAL DUE DATE/TIME:
Tuesday, January 29, 2019 4:00 P.M. (EST)
CLEVELAND CITY COUNCIL (hereinafter referred to as “Council”), through
the Clerk of Council (hereinafter referred to as “Clerk”), requests responses from
qualified parties to provide professional services to conduct a performance audit of
Councilmember expenditure reimbursement current policies and procedures.
The Council is the legislative branch of the municipal government of the City of
Cleveland. The Office of City Council is comprised of 60 employees, including 17
Council Members and their Executive Assistants. The remaining staff is
responsible for implementation of the legislative process, policy research,
communications, and other administrative and support functions for Council
Members.
Cleveland City Council Members are each elected from a ward, or district, of about
23,000 residents. Council Members select the President of Council, a Council
Member who also functions as Council’s CEO; and the Clerk of Council, who
functions as the chief operating and administrative officer of the Council.
More information about Cleveland City Council can be found at
www.clevelandcitycouncil.org.

 REQUESTED SCOPE OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Objectives
The Council is looking for an accountant or an accounting firm to perform a performance audit
(hereinafter referred to as “Consultant”) revolving around prior monthly council expenditures.
Financial and performance audit to include the following: economy, efficiency and
effectiveness of councilmember reimbursement documentation policies and procedures. In
addition to providing technical assistance, the selected Consultant must be qualified to consult
with the Clerk of Council and her designees on reimbursement policy enhancement(s), new/
updated implementation in the areas of clear public purpose, subject matter and process.
Consultant Requirements and Deliverables
The Clerk will require the selected Consultant to provide planning, program management, and
implementation services. The selected Consultant shall perform or provide:

•

•

•

Economy, efficiency and effectiveness audit:
o assessing current business practices
o evaluating acquisition of appropriate type, quality, and amount of resources at an
appropriate cost
o assessing duplication of efforts by councilmembers that serves little or no proper
public purpose
o evaluating compliance with requirements of laws, regulations and current policies
and procedures that could significantly affect the acquisition, protection and use
of the entity’s resources
o assessing management control systems for measuring, reporting, and monitoring
the monthly expenditure reimbursement and efficiency
o evaluating reporting measures of economy efficiency and effectiveness
Analyze internal controls:
o audits for compliance with laws, regulations and current policies and procedures
ensuring expenditures are related to proper public purpose
o audits for financial reporting and/or safeguarding assets purchased through
council member monthly expenditure reimbursements
Recommendations:
o vendor should provide recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of the
current policy and procedures assessing whether current practices and reporting
documents are proper, suitable, or relevant
o determine the extent to which a policy or procedure achieves a desired level of
transparency revolving around proper public purposes.
o assess the effectiveness of the policies and procedures components determining
whether the policy/procedure complements, duplicates, overlaps, or conflicts with
other related policies and procedures; assess compliance with laws and
regulations applicable to the effectiveness.

01/07/2019

RFP for Professional Services Performance Audit
Page 2 of 7

 BASIS FOR AWARD
The Clerk will evaluate all proposals submitted based on the information provided by each
proposal and the information in this RFP. The Clerk reserves the right to award a professional
services contract to the proposal deemed by her to be the best solution, or not to award a contract
if no proposal adequately fits the needs of Council. The Clerk will negotiate a professional
services contract with the selected Consultant, with a “not to exceed” contract amount for the
provision of services as outlined in this RFP and the selected consultant’s proposal. The selected
Consultant will be required to complete and submit the City of Cleveland’s Office of Equal
Opportunity’s Schedule 1 – 4.
Any contract awarded is within the meaning of Chapter 187 of the Codified Ordinances of
Cleveland, Ohio 1976. During the term of the Agreement, a Consultant shall comply with all
terms, conditions, and requirements imposed on a "contractor" in the Equal Opportunity Clause,
Section 187.22(b) of the Codified Ordinances.
Pre-Proposal Meeting
There will be a non-mandatory meeting for all potential proposers on Tuesday, January 22, 2019
at Cleveland City Hall, 601 Lakeside Avenue, East, Cleveland, Ohio, in Mercedes Cotner
Council Committee Room 217.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
Proposals must be submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on Tuesday,
January 29, 2019. Proposals must be submitted via:
ELECTRONIC MAIL to Va’Kedia Stiggers at VStiggers@clevelandcitycouncil.org; email
must include attachments in either Word (.doc/.docx), Excel (.xls/.xlsx), or Adobe (.pdf) file
formats; professional services proposal must be in a separate document from fee proposal;
or by delivery:
U.S. MAIL or DELIVERY to Va’Kedia Stiggers, Cleveland City Council, City Hall, Room
220, 601 Lakeside Avenue, East, Cleveland, OH 44114; must include a CD/DVD with the
electronic version of the proposal in either Word (.doc/.docx), Excel (.xls/.xlsx), or Adobe (.pdf)
file formats; may also include printed version of proposal; professional services proposal must be
in a separate document from fee proposal.
Proposals will not be accepted via fax.
Any proposal submitted is a public document and is subject to Ohio public record laws.
Any costs incurred to develop a proposal in response to this RFP are solely the responsibility of
the Consultant. The Clerk assumes no responsibility and will provide no reimbursement for such
costs.

01/07/2019

RFP for Professional Services Performance Audit
Page 3 of 7

 The Clerk reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals at her sole discretion in the
interest of obtaining the best value proposal. The Clerk reserves the right to request necessary
amendments, reject all proposals, reject any proposal, or cancel this RFP, according to the
Clerk’s and Council’s best interest. All information contained within the proposal may become
part of the final contract.
The Clerk also reserves the right to waive minor irregularities in proposals, providing such action
is in the best interest of the Council. Where the Clerk waives minor irregularities, such waiver
will in no way modify the RFP requirements or excuse the Consultant from full compliance with
the RFP specifications and other contract requirements if the Consultant is awarded the contract.
INQUIRIES
Inquiries regarding this RFP should be submitted to Va’Kedia Stiggers by Phone: (216) 6644549, Fax: (216) 664-3837, or Email: VStiggers@clevelandcitycouncil.org.
PROPOSAL FORMAT
Professional Services Proposal must be in a separate document from Fee Proposal. Proposals
should include the following components:
Management Letter
The consultant must include a management letter outlining the contents of the response. Include
a summary of consultant’s prior experience with performance audit and implementation as well
as with government sector clients. An authorized representative of the firm must sign the cover
letter to validate the contents of the response. The letter also must incorporate the following:
 A statement of commitment and an indication of the level of involvement of the
consultant.
 A statement that the proposed solution will meet the requirements set forth in the RFP
and/or a list of exceptions to the requirements in the RFP. (Note that the Clerk reserves
the right to reject any proposal containing such exceptions, or to require modifications
before acceptance.)
 A statement indicating whether or not proprietary information has been included in the
proposal.
 A statement that the consultant’s proposal, including proposed fees, will remain valid for
a minimum period of one hundred eighty (180) days after the proposal due date. (Note
that the Clerk reserves the right to request that the consultant extend the period during
which the proposal will remain valid.)

01/07/2019

RFP for Professional Services Performance Audit
Page 4 of 7

 Executive Summary
The consultant will provide an Executive Summary that condenses and highlights the proposal
content (i.e., proposed approach, services to be provided, high-level project management
objectives, etc.) and shall include, at minimum, a detailed discussion of the consultant’s:
 Understanding of the general requirements of municipal accounting;
 Analysis of current policy and procedures;
 Proposed project organization/structure and high-level implementation plan;
 Approaches for user training and technical assistance; and
 Deliverables to be provided.
The Executive Summary should contain enough information to provide any reviewer with a
broad understanding of the entire proposal.
Consultant Background
The consultant must provide the following information:
1. Overview
a) Consultant name, address, telephone number, e-mail, and contact person
b) Name and address of parent company (if applicable)
c) Name, address and phone number of each principal
d) Year the firm was established and any former consultant names
e) Number of years the firm has been in business
f) Number of years’ experience in/with the:
Public sector
Municipal government sector
Auditing and Accounting
Other related services (specify)
Type of company (public or private)
g) Financial Statements and/or annual report for past two years
h) Number of prior similar projects and three references (preferably municipalities)
2. Consultant Personnel
a) Total full-time equivalent (FTE) staff
b) Full-time personnel the consultant has in each of the following areas:
Customer service and support
Project management
Project implementation and rollout
c) Average length of service for project team members
d) Estimated number of resources that could be dedicated to the Clerk for the duration of the
project
e) Number of projects currently being performed or planned for implementation by
consultant in 2019
3. Project Completion History
01/07/2019

RFP for Professional Services Performance Audit
Page 5 of 7

 a) Provide past five-year history of target, completion dates and accuracy of cost estimates
for this type of project
4. Pending Litigation and Liquidated Damages
a) Any pending litigation within the past five years
b) Any liquidated damages within the past five years
Subcontractors must also submit the above information.
Consultant Client References
Each Consultant proposing as a Primary Contractor must provide at least three references, which
may be contacted concerning the Consultant’s performance. Consultant should reference only
clients with fully implemented projects. References should have received similar services as
those proposed to the Clerk of Council. References should state whether the Consultant’s firm
was the Primary Contractor, and what specific roles the Consultant had. Original project
estimates to execute the project and the corresponding actual final cost to satisfy the project
objectives should be included.
Proposed Solution and Professional Services
The Consultant’s proposal must provide a comprehensive description of the proposed solution
that builds on the high-level overview provided in the Executive Summary of the proposal. The
consultant must provide detailed responses to the requirements set forth by the Clerk in this RFP.
Each requirement must be specifically addressed in the proposal or an assumption will be made
that the Consultant cannot accomplish the requirement and/or deliverable.
Proposed Project Resources and Staffing
The proposed solution must define the type and level of service and resources the consultant
anticipates providing in order to satisfy the Clerk’s requirements with respect to implementing
the Performance Audit. At a minimum, the proposed solution must define:
 Expertise required to complete tasks and deliverables
 Resources (consultant and Clerk) that will be responsible for performing tasks
 High Level Task timeline and milestones
 Number of required resources
The proposed project staffing must include all key staff (i.e., those persons dedicated for at least
50% of their time) to be assigned to this project. Exhibits should be included to show all
proposed individuals, including their major areas of responsibility during the project, and percent
of time to be dedicated to the project.
The resumes of all key personnel proposed for this project must be included. Resumes should
highlight each individual’s:
 Experience with the consultant
 Experience with projects related to accounting and auditing
 Experience with projects similar in size and scope to this project
 Experience with public sector projects
01/07/2019

RFP for Professional Services Performance Audit
Page 6 of 7

 Description of experience must include specific responsibilities and number of years.
If project management responsibilities will be assigned to more than one individual during the
project, resumes must be provided for each person. Each project referenced in a resume should
include the customer name, customer reference (including current telephone number) and
dates/duration of the project, as well as a very brief project description.
Subcontracts
If Consultant plans to use Subcontractor(s) for any portion of the project, Subcontractor must
submit information included in the Consultant Background section, above.
If Consultant finds, after contract award, the need to use subcontractors, they must receive prior
written consent of the Clerk. Subcontracting, if permitted, shall not relieve the Consultant of any
of its obligations under the Contract Agreement.
Consultant shall be and remain solely responsible to the Clerk for the acts or faults of any such
Subcontractor and of such Subcontractor's officers, agents and employees, each of whom shall
for this purpose, be deemed to be an agent or employee of Consultant to the extent of its
subcontract. As a prior condition to approval of a Subcontractor, Consultant shall file a copy of
the applicable subcontract with the Clerk. Consultant and any Subcontractor shall jointly and
severally agree that the Cleveland City Council is not obligated to pay or to be liable for the
payment of any sums due any Subcontractor.
Consultant Local Presence
Please provide information that clearly demonstrates the nature of the Consultant’s relationship
to Cleveland. Include the following information:
 Is Cleveland the location of the Consultant’s principal place of business? Is Cleveland
the location of an office or other operations?
 If Consultant has no local office, does the Consultant’s firm do business with or partners
with or subcontracts with companies located in Cleveland? If so, describe the nature of
the Consultant’s relationship to those companies, including if Cleveland is the principal
location of business of those companies.
Fee Proposal
Fee proposal must be in a separate document from the professional services proposal.
Items in the fee proposal should cover all cost components of the Consultant’s professional
services proposal, and represent the total cost of the software solution and professional services
for City Council Performance Audit meeting the Clerk’s stated requirements. The cost of any
Subcontractors and/or third party vendors/providers must be included as part of the primary
Consultant’s fee proposal.

01/07/2019

RFP for Professional Services Performance Audit
Page 7 of 7