Managed Clothing (Uniform) Program

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
RFP # 26-35
Managed Clothing (Uniform) Program
City of Ann Arbor
Public Services Area Administration
Due Date: July 14, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. (local time)
Issued By:
City of Ann Arbor
Procurement Unit
301 E. Huron Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION I: GENERAL INFORMATION ........................................................................ 3
SECTION II: SCOPE OF SERVICES ........................................................................... 10
SECTION III: MINIMUM INFORMATION REQUIRED ................................................. 14
SECTION IV: ATTACHMENTS .................................................................................... 17
APPENDIX A: SAMPLE GENERAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
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SECTION I - GENERAL INFORMATION
A. OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) by the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan,
is to solicit proposals from interested vendors to provide City uniforms for purchase,
not rentals, and use by the City primarily for the Public Services Area, including Public
Services Administration, Water Treatment, Water Resource Recovery, Public Works,
Solid Waste, Systems Planning, Environmental Services, Transportation, and
Engineering.
The City is seeking an exclusive direct purchase uniform and work apparel vendor
that can supply approximately 213 Public Services Area employees, both men and
women, with new, high-quality embroidered clothing. This number is approximate and
may increase or decrease during the term of the agreement due to new hires,
retirements, employee separations, transfers, changes in job classification, unit
reorganizations, or updates to the City's Managed Clothing Program Policy.
Clothing shall include, but is not limited to, t-shirts, polo shirts, button-down shirts,
Henley shirts, sweatshirts, light jackets, winter jackets, and Arc Flash rated apparel,
both tops and bottoms. The City is interested in purchasing items only and will not
consider rental or laundering services under this RFP. The City intends to award one
agreement for a contract period of three years with the option for one, two-year
renewal.
B. QUESTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS / DESIGNATED CITY CONTACTS
All questions regarding this Request for Proposal (RFP) shall be submitted via e-mail.
Questions will be accepted and answered in accordance with the terms and conditions
of this RFP.
All questions shall be submitted on or before June 25, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., and
should be addressed as follows:
Scope of Work/Proposal Content questions shall be e-mailed to Christopher
Cespedes, Public Service Management Assistant - ccespedes@a2gov.org
RFP Process and Compliance questions shall be e-mailed to Colin Spencer, Buyer
- CSpencer@a2gov.org
Should any prospective offeror be in doubt as to the true meaning of any portion of
this RFP, or should the prospective offeror find any ambiguity, inconsistency, or
omission therein, the prospective offeror shall make a written request for an official
interpretation or correction by the due date for questions above.
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All interpretations, corrections, or additions to this RFP will be made only as an official
addendum that will be posted to a2gov.org and MITN.info and it shall be the
prospective offeror's responsibility to ensure they have received all addenda before
submitting a proposal. Any addendum issued by the City shall become part of the
RFP, and must be incorporated in the proposal where applicable.
C. PRE-PROPOSAL MEETING
No pre-proposal meeting will be held for this RFP. Please contact staff indicated above
with general questions regarding the RFP.
D. PROPOSAL FORMAT
To be considered, each firm must submit a response to this RFP using the format
provided in Section III. No other distribution of proposals is to be made by the
prospective offeror. An official authorized to bind the offeror to its provisions must
sign the proposal. Each proposal must remain valid for at least ninety days from the
due date of this RFP.
Proposals should be prepared simply and economically providing a straightforward,
concise description of the offeror's ability to meet the requirements of the RFP. No
erasures are permitted. Mistakes may be crossed out and corrected and must be
initialed in ink by the person signing the proposal.
E. SELECTION CRITERIA
Responses to this RFP will be evaluated using a point system as shown in Section III.
A selection committee comprised of staff from the City will complete the evaluation.
The fee proposals will not be reviewed at the initial evaluation. After initial evaluation,
the City will determine top proposals, and open only those fee proposals. The City
will then determine which, if any, firms will be interviewed. During the interviews, the
selected firms will be given the opportunity to discuss their proposal, qualifications,
past experience, and their fee proposal in more detail. The City further reserves the
right to interview the key personnel assigned by the selected offeror to this project. If
the City chooses to interview any respondents, the interviews will be tentatively held
the week of July 20, 2026. Offeror must be available on these dates.
All proposals submitted may be subject to clarifications and further negotiation. All
agreements resulting from negotiations that differ from what is represented within the
RFP or in the proposal response shall be documented and included as part of the final
contract.
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F. SEALED PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
All proposals are due and must be delivered to the City on or before, July 14,
2026 at 2:00 p.m. (local time). Proposals submitted late or via oral, telephonic,
telegraphic, electronic mail or facsimile will not be considered or accepted.
Each respondent must submit in a sealed envelope
* one (1) original proposal
* one (1) digital copy of the proposal preferably on a USB/flash drive
as one file in PDF format
Each respondent should submit in a single separate sealed envelope marked
Fee Proposal
* one (1) copy of the fee proposal
The fee proposal and all costs should be separate from the rest of the
proposal.
Proposals submitted should be clearly marked: "RFP# 26-35 - Managed Clothing
(Uniform) Program" and list the offeror's name and address.
Proposals must be addressed and delivered to:
City of Ann Arbor
c/o Customer Service
301 East Huron Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
All proposals received on or before the due date will be publicly opened and recorded
on the due date. No immediate decisions will be rendered.
Hand delivered bids may be dropped off in the Purchasing drop box located in the Ann
Street (north) vestibule/entrance of City Hall which is open to the public Monday
through Friday from 8am to 5pm (except holidays). The City will not be liable to any
prospective offeror for any unforeseen circumstances, delivery, or postal delays.
Postmarking on the due date will not substitute for receipt of the proposal. Offerors
are responsible for submission of their proposal. Additional time will not be granted
to a single prospective offeror. However, additional time may be granted to all
prospective offerors at the discretion of the City.
A proposal may be disqualified if the following required forms are not included
with the proposal:
* Attachment C - City of Ann Arbor Non-Discrimination Declaration of
Compliance
* Attachment D - City of Ann Arbor Living Wage Declaration of Compliance
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* Attachment E - Vendor Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form of the RFP
Document
Proposals that fail to provide these forms listed above upon proposal opening
may be deemed non-responsive and may not be considered for award.
Please provide the forms outlined above (Attachments C, D and E) within your
narrative proposal, not within the separately sealed Fee Proposal envelope.
All proposed fees, cost or compensation for the services requested herein
should be provided in the separately sealed Fee Proposal envelope only.
G. DISCLOSURES
Under the Freedom of Information Act (Public Act 442), the City is obligated to permit
review of its files, if requested by others. All information in a proposal is subject to
disclosure under this provision. This act also provides for a complete disclosure of
contracts and attachments thereto.
H. TYPE OF CONTRACT
A sample of the General Services Agreement is included as Appendix A. Those who
wish to submit a proposal to the City are required to review this sample agreement
carefully. The City will not entertain changes to its General Services Agreement.
The City reserves the right to award the total proposal, to reject any or all proposals
in whole or in part, and to waive any informality or technical defects if, in the City's
sole judgment, the best interests of the City will be so served.
This RFP and the selected offeror's response thereto, shall constitute the basis of the
scope of services in the contract by reference.
I. NONDISCRIMINATION
All offerors proposing to do business with the City shall satisfy the contract compliance
administrative policy adopted by the City Administrator in accordance with the Section
9:158 of the Ann Arbor City Code. Breach of the obligation not to discriminate as
outlined in Attachment C shall be a material breach of the contract. Contractors are
required to post a copy of Ann Arbor's Non-Discrimination Ordinance attached at all
work locations where its employees provide services under a contract with the City.
J. WAGE REQUIREMENTS
The Attachments provided herein outline the requirements for payment of prevailing
wages or of a "living wage" to employees providing service to the City under this
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contract. The successful offeror must comply with all applicable requirements and
provide documentary proof of compliance when requested.
K. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE
The City of Ann Arbor Purchasing Policy requires that the consultant complete a
Conflict of Interest Disclosure form. A contract may not be awarded to the selected
offeror unless and until the Procurement Unit and the City Administrator have
reviewed the Disclosure form and determined that no conflict exists under applicable
federal, state, or local law or administrative regulation. Not every relationship or
situation disclosed on the Disclosure Form may be a disqualifying conflict. Depending
on applicable law and regulations, some contracts may awarded on the
recommendation of the City Administrator after full disclosure, where such action is
allowed by law, if demonstrated competitive pricing exists and/or it is determined the
award is in the best interest of the City. A copy of the Conflict of Interest Disclosure
Form is attached.
L. COST LIABILITY
The City of Ann Arbor assumes no responsibility or liability for costs incurred by the
offeror prior to the execution of a General Services Agreement. The liability of the City
is limited to the terms and conditions outlined in the Agreement. By submitting a
proposal, offeror agrees to bear all costs incurred or related to the preparation,
submission, and selection process for the proposal.
M. DEBARMENT
Submission of a proposal in response to this RFP is certification that the Respondent
is not currently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, and declared ineligible
or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction by any State or Federal
departments or agency. Submission is also agreement that the City will be notified of
any changes in this status.
N. PROPOSAL PROTEST
All protests must be in writing and filed with the Purchasing Agent within 5 business
days of any notices of intent, including, but not exclusively, divisions on pre-
qualification of bidders, shortlisting of bidders, or a notice of intent to award a contract.
Only bidders who responded to the solicitation may file a bid protest. The offeror must
clearly state the reasons for the protest. If an offeror contacts a City Service Area/Unit
and indicates a desire to protest an award, the Service Area/Unit shall refer the offeror
to the Purchasing Manager. The Purchasing Manager will provide the offeror with the
appropriate instructions for filing the protest. The protest shall be reviewed by the City
Administrator or designee, whose decision shall be final.
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Any inquiries or requests regarding this procurement should be only submitted in
writing to the Designated City Contacts provided herein. Attempts by the offeror to
initiate contact with anyone other than the Designated City Contacts provided herein
that the offeror believes can influence the procurement decision, e.g., Elected
Officials, City Administrator, Selection Committee Members, Appointed Committee
Members, etc., may lead to immediate elimination from further consideration.
O. SCHEDULE
The proposals submitted should define an appropriate schedule in accordance with
the requirements of the Proposed Work Plan in Section III.
The following is the schedule for this RFP process.
Activity/Event Anticipated Date
Written Question Deadline June 25, 2026, 10:00 a.m.
Addenda Published (if needed) Week of June 29, 2026
Proposal Due Date July 14, 2026, 2:00 p.m. (Local Time)
Tentative Interviews (if needed) Week of July 20, 2026
Selection/Negotiations July/August 2026
Expected City Council Authorizations August 2026
The above schedule is for information purposes only and is subject to change at the
City's discretion.
P. IRS FORM W-9
The selected offeror will be required to provide the City of Ann Arbor an IRS form W-
9.
Q. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS
1. The City reserves the right in its sole and absolute discretion to accept or reject
any or all proposals, or alternative proposals, in whole or in part, with or without
cause.
2. The City reserves the right to waive, or not waive, informalities or irregularities in
of any proposal if determined by the City to be in its best interest.
3. The City reserves the right to request additional information from any or all offerors.
4. The City reserves the right to reject any proposal that it determines to be
unresponsive and deficient in any of the information requested within RFP.
5. The City reserves the right to determine whether the scope of the project will be
entirely as described in the RFP, a portion of the scope, or a revised scope be
implemented.
6. The City reserves the right to select one or more consultants to perform services.
7. The City reserves the right to retain all proposals submitted and to use any ideas
in a proposal regardless of whether that proposal is selected. Submission of a
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proposal indicates acceptance by the firm of the conditions contained in this RFP,
unless clearly and specifically noted in the proposal submitted.
8. The City reserves the right to disqualify proposals that fail to respond to any
requirements outlined in the RFP, or failure to enclose copies of the required
documents outlined within RFP.
R. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT
The City of Ann Arbor recognizes its responsibility to minimize negative impacts on
human health and the environment while supporting a vibrant community and
economy. The City further recognizes that the products and services the City buys
have inherent environmental and economic impacts and that the City should make
procurement decisions that embody, promote and encourage the City's commitment
to the environment.
The City strongly encourages potential vendors to bring forward tested, emerging,
innovative, and environmentally preferable products and services that are best suited
to the City's environmental principles. This includes products and services such as
those with lower greenhouse gas emissions, high recycled content, without toxic
substances, those with high reusability or recyclability, those that reduce the
consumption of virgin materials, and those with low energy intensity.
As part of its environmental commitment, the City reserves the right to award a
contract to the most responsive and responsible bidder, which includes bids that bring
forward products or services that help advance the City's environmental commitment.
In addition, the City reserves the right to request that all vendors report their annual
greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, miles traveled, or other relevant
criteria in order to help the City more fully understand the environmental impact of its
procurement decisions.
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SECTION II - SCOPE OF SERVICES
1. Background
In March 2018, the City implemented a managed clothing policy for eligible Public
Services Area employees to support consistent employee identification, safety
compliance, and administrative efficiency in uniform distribution. The program has
continued as a tiered managed clothing program, with eligibility and clothing
allowances based on job classification, work performed, applicable City policy, and
any related labor agreements or memoranda of understanding. The City is seeking
a qualified direct purchase uniform and work apparel vendor to support
approximately 213 participating Public Services Area employees. This number is
approximate and may increase or decrease during the term of the agreement due
to new hires, retirements, employee separations, transfers, changes in job
classification, unit reorganizations, or updates to the City's Managed Clothing
Program Policy.
The contract may also be used by other participating City units that are covered
by, or otherwise authorized to participate in, the direct purchase portion of the
Managed Clothing Program. Participating units shall be responsible for funding
purchases for their respective employees, subject to available budget and
applicable City approvals.
The selected vendor must be able to provide new, high-quality embroidered work
clothing for both men and women on an ongoing basis. Clothing shall include, but
is not limited to, t-shirts, polo shirts, button-down shirts, Henley shirts, sweatshirts,
pants, high visibility apparel, light jackets, winter jackets, flame-resistant (FR)
apparel, and arc-rated apparel, as applicable to employee job duties, unit-specific
requirements, City policy, and any applicable labor agreement or memorandum of
understanding.
The City is interested only in purchasing items. Rental and laundering services are
not included in the scope of this RFP.
The City anticipates awarding one agreement for a three-year contract term, with
the option to renew for one additional two-year period.
2. Objective
The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) by the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan,
is to solicit proposals from interested vendors to provide City uniforms for
purchase, not rentals or laundering services, and use by the City's Public Services
Area, including Public Services Administration, Water Treatment, Water Resource
Recovery, Public Works, Solid Waste, Systems Planning, Environmental Services,
Transportation, and Engineering.
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