Safety Shoe Program

Request for Proposals # 274-HR202603-SSP2
Title: Safety Shoe Program
Issue Date: April 30, 2026
Due Date: May 14, 2026, no later than 2:00 PM EST
*LATE PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED*
Issuing Department: Human Resources
Direct all inquiries concerning this RFP to:
Evan Sloan
Manager - Enterprise Health, Safety & Workers'
Compensation
Email: evan.sloan@raleighnc.gov
(v.09/15/25)

Table of Contents
1. Introduction ...............................................................................................2
1.1 Purpose ..............................................................................................2
1.2 Background ........................................................................................2
1.3 RFP Timeline ......................................................................................3
1.4 Pre-Proposal Conference ...................................................................3
1.5 Proposal Question ..............................................................................3
1.6 Proposal Submission Requirements & Contact Information ...............4
1.7 Business Engagement & Opportunities ..............................................5
1.8 Rights to Submitted Material ..............................................................5
1.9 Communications .................................................................................6
1.10 Lobbying .............................................................................................6
1.11 Conflicts of Interest .............................................................................6
1.12 Proposer Expenses ............................................................................7
1.13 Proposer Acceptance .........................................................................7
2. Proposals ..................................................................................................7
2.1 Request for Proposals Required Document Format ...........................8
2.2 RFP Documents ............................................................................... 10
3. Proposal Evaluation ............................................................................... 10
3.1 Proposal Evaluation Criteria (Stage 1) ............................................. 10
3.2 Interview/Demonstration (Stage 2) ................................................... 11
3.3 Final Selection .................................................................................. 11
3.4 Notice to Proposers Regarding RFP Terms & Conditions ................ 12
3.5 Contract Term......................................................................12
4. Scope of Services ................................................................................... 12
Appendix I - Proposal Cost Form .................................................................... 19
Appendix II - Proposer Questionnaire ............................................................ 20
Appendix III - Reference Questionnaire (Instructions) .................................. 22
Appendix III - Reference Questionnaire Form ................................................ 23
Appendix IV - Sample Contract ....................................................................... 26

1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Purpose
The City of Raleigh (COR) is solicitating proposals from one or more firm(s) with
which to contract for the following services:
The City of Raleigh, North Carolina is seeking proposals for a Safety Shoe
Program to provide safety shoes for city staff in the Human Resources
Department, Safety Division (Group 1), Raleigh Water Department (Group
2), and Solid Waste Services (Group 3).
A detailed scope of services is provided in Section 4 of this document.
All information related to this solicitation, including any addenda, will be posted to
the North Carolina electronic Vendor Portal (eVP) at https://evp.nc.gov/.
All questions related to this solicitation must be submitted in writing (via email) to the
following individual - questions submitted via telephone will not be answered:
Contact Name Email Address
Evan Sloan evan.sloan@raleighnc.gov
1.2 Background
The City of Raleigh, the Capital City of North Carolina, remains one of the fastest
growing areas in the country. A great economy, top educational institutions, and
exceptional health care facilities are some of the characteristics that attract people
to the triangle area. The mild climate, diverse work force and proximity to Research
Triangle Park combine to make Raleigh a great place to live.
Raleigh is a 21st Century City of Innovation focusing on environmental, cultural, and
economic sustainability. The City conserves and protects our environmental
resources through best practice and cutting-edge conservation and stewardship,
land use, infrastructure and building technologies. The City welcomes growth and
diversity through policies and programs that will protect and enhance Raleigh's
existing neighborhoods, natural amenities, history, and cultural and human
resources for future generations. The City leads to improve quality of life for
neighborhoods and standard of living for all citizens. The City works with universities,
colleges, citizens, and local partners to promote new technology, create new job
opportunities, and encourage local businesses and entrepreneurs. The City enlists
and prepares 21st Century staff with the skill sets to carry out the duties of the City
through transparent civic engagement and by providing the very best customer
service to our citizens.
The employees of Raleigh work on different surfaces and terrains and need foot
protection to protect their feet from the various hazards they encounter such as
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heat, cold, wet, swamps, forests, culverts, and other surfaces in the city. The right
safety shoe will protect the foot and ankle with the support it needs with the goal of
preventing an injury.
1.3 Request for Proposal (RFP) Timeline
Provided below is a list of the anticipated schedule of events related to this
solicitation. The City of Raleigh reserves the right to modify and/or adjust the
following schedule to meet the needs of the service. All times shown are Eastern
Time (EST):
RFP Process Date and Time
RFP Date April 30, 2026
Pre-Proposal Meeting/Site-Visit
None
(if required)
Deadline for Written Questions May 5, 2026 by 5:00 P.M. EST
City Response to Questions
(anticipated) May 7, 2026
Proposal Due Date and Time
May 14, 2026 by 2:00 P.M. EST
Evaluation Meeting
(anticipated) Week of May 18, 2026
Selection Announced
June 2026
(tentative)
1.4 Pre-Proposal Conference
If the City of Raleigh elects to conduct a Pre-Proposal Conference or Site Visit,
attendance by prospective proposers is strongly encouraged but is not mandatory.
Prospective Proposers are encouraged to submit written questions in advance.
Date, time, and location of pre-proposal conference is shown above in the RFP
Timeline (Section 1.3).
1.5 Proposal Questions
Requests for clarification and questions to this RFP must be received by the City
not later than the date shown above in the RFP Timeline (Section 1.3) for the
submittal of written inquiries. The firm's failure to request clarification and submit
questions by the date in the RFP Timeline above shall be considered to constitute
the firm's acceptance of all City's terms, conditions and requirements.
The City shall issue addenda reflecting questions and answers to this RFP, if any,
and shall be posted to North Carolina electronic Vendor Portal (eVP). No
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information, instruction or advice provided orally or informally by any City personnel,
whether made in response to a question or otherwise in connection with this RFP,
shall be considered authoritative or binding. Proposers can only rely on written
material contained in an Addendum to this RFP.
It is important that all Proposers submitting to this RFP periodically check eVP
for any Addenda. It is the Proposers responsibility to ensure that all addenda
have been reviewed and, if required signed and returned.
All questions related to this solicitation must be submitted in writing (via email-
Subject: "274-HR202603-SSP2") to the following individual - questions submitted
via telephone will not be answered:
Contact Name Email Address
Evan Sloan evan.sloan@raleighnc.gov
1.6 Proposal Submission Requirements and Contact Information
Proposals must follow the format as defined in Section 2 (PROPOSALS), and be
addressed and submitted as follows:
DELIVERED BY US POSTAL SERVICE DELIVERED BY OTHER DELIVERY
MAIL: SERVICES:
City of Raleigh City of Raleigh
ATTN: Evan Sloan ATTN: Evan Sloan
222 W. Hargett St. 222 W. Hargett St.
Ste. 101 - Human Resources Ste. 101 - Human Resources
Raleigh, NC 27601 Raleigh, NC 27601
RFP No. 274-HR202603-SSP2 RFP No. 274-HR202603-SSP2
Proposals must be enclosed in an envelope or package and clearly marked with the
name of the submitting company, the Safety Shoe Program 274-HR202603-SSP2.
Proposers must submit:
A. one (1) signed original;
B. one (1) electronic version of the signed proposal and;
C. and five (5) copies of the signed proposal.
The electronic version of the Proposal must be submitted as a viewable and printable
Adobe Portable Document File (PDF) -uploaded into a USB Flash Drive. Both hard
copy(s) and electronic versions must be received by the City on or before the RFP
due date and time provided in RFP Timeline (Section 1.3). Proposals received after
the RFP due date and time will not be considered and will be returned unopened to
the return address on the submission envelope or package.
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Proposers must respond to the entire Request for Proposals (RFP). Any
incomplete proposal may be eliminated from competition at the discretion of
the City of Raleigh. The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals for
any reason and to waive any informality it deems in its best interest.
Proposals that arrive after the due date and time will not be accepted or considered
for any reason whatsoever. If the firm elects to mail in its response, the firm must
allow sufficient time to ensure the City's proper receipt of the package by the time
specified in the RFP Timeline (Section 1.3). Regardless of the delivery method, it is
the responsibility of the firm to ensure that their proposal arrives at the designated
location specified in this Section by the due date and time specified in the RFP
Timeline (Section 1.3). The firm is also welcome to confirm receipt via email to the
City's designated RFP contact (listed in Section 1.5).
1.7 Business Engagement & Opportunities
The City of Raleigh maintains processes to conduct business with all business
enterprises, including small, emerging, growing, under-capitalized, and under-
resourced firms or organizations.
1.8 Rights to Submitted Material
All proposals and supporting materials, as well as correspondence relating to this
RFP, shall become the property of the City. The content of all submittals will be held
confidential until the selection of the firm is made. Proposals will be reviewed by the
Evaluation Team, in addition to other City staff and members of the general public
who submit public record requests. Any proprietary data must be clearly marked.
In submitting a Proposal, each Prospective Proposer agrees that the City may reveal
any trade secret materials contained in such response to all City staff and City
officials involved in the selection process and to any outside consultant or other third
party who serves on the Evaluation Team or who is hired by the City to assist in the
selection process.
Proposals marked entirely as "confidential", "proprietary", or "trade secret"
will be considered non-responsive and will be removed from the evaluation
process.
1.9 Communications
All communications of any nature regarding this RFP with any City staff, elected City
officials, evaluation committee members, are strictly forbidden from the time the
solicitation is publicly posted until award. Questions must be submitted in writing to
the individual designated in Section 1.1 (Purpose), prior to the deadline provided in
the RFP Timeline (Section 1.3). Violation of this provision may result in the firm's
proposal being removed from consideration.
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1.10 Lobbying
By responding to this RFP, the firm certifies that it has not and will not pay any
person or firm to influence or attempt to influence an officer or employee of the City,
officer or employee of the State of North Carolina, or any elected official in
connection with obtaining a contract as a result of this RFP.
1.11 Conflicts of Interest
City of Raleigh contracts are controlled by three conflicts of interest provisions.
First, federal procurement standards provide in 2 CFR 200.318 (c)(1),
No employee, officer, or agent may participate in the selection, award, or
administration of a contract supported by a Federal award if he or she has a real
or apparent conflict of interest. Such a conflict of interest would arise when the
employee, officer, or agent, any member of his or her immediate family, his or her
partner, or a firm which employs or is about to employ any of the parties indicated
herein, has a financial or other interest in or a tangible personal benefit from a firm
considered for a contract. The officers, employees, and agents of the non-Federal
entity may neither solicit nor accept gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary
value from contractors or parties to subcontracts.
Similarly, the North Carolina General Statutes provides a criminal statute for
conflicts of interest in public contracting. N.C.G.S. 14-234(a):
(1) No public officer or employee who is involved in making or administering a
contract on behalf of a public agency may derive a direct benefit from the contract
except as provided in this section, or as otherwise allowed by law. (2) A public
officer or employee who will derive a direct benefit from a contract with the public
agency he or she serves, but who is not involved in making or administering the
contract, shall not attempt to influence any other person who is involved in making
or administering the contract. (3) No public officer or employee may solicit or
receive any gift, favor, reward, service, or promise of reward, including a promise
of future employment, in exchange for recommending, influencing, or attempting
to influence the award of a contract by the public agency he or she serves.
City of Raleigh Charter Section 3.9 regulates private transactions between the City
and its officials and employees. The Charter states:
No member of the City Council, official, or employee of the City of Raleigh shall be
financially interested, or have any personal beneficial interest, either directly or
indirectly, as agent, representative, or otherwise, in the purchase of, or contract
for, or in furnishing any materials, equipment or supplies to the City of Raleigh, nor
shall any official or employee of the City of Raleigh accept or receive, or agree to
accept or receive, directly or indirectly, from any person, firm or corporation to
whom any contract may be awarded or from whom any materials, equipment or
supplies may be purchased by the City of Raleigh, by rebate, gift, or otherwise,
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any money or anything of value whatsoever, or any promise, obligation or contract
for future reward or compensation, for recommending or procuring the uses of any
such materials, equipment or supplies by the City of Raleigh; no member of the
City Council, official or employee of the City of Raleigh shall for his own personal
benefit operate, directly or indirectly, any concession in any building or on any
lands of the City of Raleigh, nor shall any official or employee of the City of Raleigh
bid for or be awarded any contract granting concessionary rights of any nature or
kind from the City of Raleigh; it shall be unlawful for any member of the City
Council, official or employee of the City of Raleigh to bid for or to purchase or to
contract to purchase from the City of Raleigh any real estate, equipment, materials,
or supplies of any nature or kind whatsoever, either directly or indirectly, at either
public or private sale, either singly, or through or jointly with any other person.
1.12 Proposer Expenses
The City of Raleigh will not be responsible for any expenses incurred by any
Proposer in the development of a response to this Request for Proposal or any other
activities associated with this procurement including but not limited to any onsite (or
otherwise) interviews and/or presentations, and/or supplemental information
provided, submitted, or given to City of Raleigh and/or its representatives. Further,
the City of Raleigh shall reserve the right to cancel the work described herein prior
to issuance and acceptance of any contractual agreement/purchase order by the
recommended Proposer even if the awarding authority for each entity has formally
accepted a recommendation.
1.13 Proposer Acceptance
Submission of any proposal indicates a Proposer's acceptance of the conditions
contained in this RFP. Furthermore, the City of Raleigh is not bound to accept a
proposal on the basis of lowest price, and further, the City has the sole discretion
and reserves the right to cancel this RFP, and to reject any and all proposals, to
waive any and all informalities and/or irregularities and reserves the right to re-
advertise this RFP with either the identical or revised scope and specifications if it is
deemed to be in the best interests of the City to do so.
The City of Raleigh reserves the right to accept or reject any or all of the items in the
proposal, and to award the contract in whole or in part and/or negotiate any or all
items with individual Proposers if it is deemed in the best interest of the City to do
so. Moreover, the City reserves the right to make no selection if proposals are
deemed to be outside the fiscal constraint or not in the best interest of the City.
2 PROPOSALS
Submitted proposals must follow the format outlined below. The City may reject as non-
responsive at its sole discretion any proposal that does not provide complete and/or
adequate responses or departs in any substantial way from the required format.
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2.1 Request for Proposals Required Document Format
Proposals should be on 8-1/2" x 11" (A4-sized) paper, printed on both sides, bound
with only removable clips or staples (no 3-ring binders), and divided into sections
using tabs to easily identify and separate each section as follows:
2.
2.1.1. Section/Tab 1: Cover Letter
Provide an introduction letter summarizing the unique proposal of your firm to meet
the needs of this service requirement. This letter should be presented on the firm's
official letterhead and signed by an authorized representative who has the authority
to enter into a contract with the City on behalf of the firm. Additionally, include the
name, address, telephone and email address of the individual who serves as the
point of contact for this solicitation.
2.1.2. Section/Tab 2: Corporate Background and Experience
Include background information on the firm and provide detailed information
regarding the firm's experience with similar projects. Provide a list of all similar
contracts performed in the past 3 number of years, accompanied by at least 3
references (contact persons, firm, telephone number and email address).
Include the total amount invoiced for each listed project, the length of the project,
and list of those involved in the project who are also proposed for the subject project
named in this solicitation. Failure to provide a list of all similar contracts in the
specified period may result in the rejection of the firm's proposal. The evaluation
team reserves the right to contact any or all listed references, and to contact other
public entities regarding past performance on similar projects.
2.1.3. Section/Tab 3: Financial Information
Review and provide one of the following three (3) financial statement options:
1. Recent audited or reviewed financial statements prepared by an independent
certified public accountant (CPA) that shall include, at a minimum, a balance
sheet, income statement (i.e., profit/loss statement) and cash flow statement
and, if the audited or reviewed financial statements were prepared more than six
(6) months prior to the issuance of this RFP, the Proposer shall submit its most
recent internal financial statements (balance sheet, income statement and cash
flow statement or budget with entries reflecting revenues and expenditures from
the date of the audited or reviewed financial statements to the end of the most
recent financial reporting period (i.e., the quarter or month preceding the
issuance date of this RFP)).
OR
2. Recent compiled financial statements prepared by an independent CPA that
shall include, at a minimum, a balance sheet, income statement (i.e., profit/loss
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statement) and cash flow statement and, if the compiled financial statements
were prepared more than three (3) months prior to the issuance of this RFP, the
Proposer shall submit its most recent internal financial statements (balance
sheet, income statement and cash flow statement or budget with entries
reflecting revenues and expenditures to date), and other evidence of financial
stability such as most recently filed income tax return, evidence of a line of
credit/loans/other type of financing with statement of amount in use/outstanding
balance (e.g., a complete copy commitment letter, loan agreement, billing
statement reflecting the line of credit or statement from lender acknowledging the
commitment to fund the Proposer's stated financing), personal guaranty with
copies of personal income tax filing and statement of net worth or such other
evidence that is accurate, reliable and trustworthy regarding the Proposer's
financial stability.
OR
3. Include a certified, signed statement from a licensed CPA regularly engaged in
the review of the firm's financial information verifying the financial viability of the
firm.
All financial information, statements and/or documents provided in response to this
solicitation shall be kept confidential provided that EACH PAGE is marked as
follows: "CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISCLOSE EXCEPT FOR THE EXPRESS
PURPOSE OF PROPOSAL EVALUATION."
"Recent" shall be defined as financial statements that were prepared within the 12
months preceding the issuance date of this RFP.
Consolidated financial statements of the Proposer's parent or related
corporation/business entity shall not be considered, unless: (1) the Proposer's actual
financial performance for the designated period is separately identified in and/or
attached to the consolidated statements, (2) the parent or related
corporation/business entity provides the State with a document wherein the parent
or related corporation/business entity will be financially responsible for the
Proposer's performance of the contract and the consolidated statement
demonstrates the parent or related corporation's/business entity's financial ability to
perform the contract, financial stability and/or such other financial considerations
identified in the evaluation criteria; and/or (3) Proposer provides its own internally
prepared financial statements and such other evidence of its own financial stability
identified above.
The firm's failure to provide any of the above-referenced financial statements may
result in the proposal being removed from consideration. Proposers are also
encouraged to explain any negative financial information, and to provide
documentation supporting those explanations and demonstrating the financial
strength of the firm.
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