RFQ 26-04 Professional Forensic Audit Services

PART I
GENERAL INFORMATION
1. PURPOSE:
The City of La Marque is accepting sealed qualifications from qualified and experienced
Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firms to obtain forensic audit services for performance of
an audit for selected scopes related to activities during Fiscal Years 2020 - 2025 which
commenced on October 1, 2019 and ended September 30, 2025. There are 15 separate scopes
in this RFQ and the submittal is acceptable for any and/or all of the scopes presented.
The audit should be performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and
standards set forth for forensic and valuation services by the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants.
This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is designed to present interested firms with a
description of the City's current financial environment and structure, the services we require,
and a format for responding to our request.
2. BACKGROUND:
The City's population estimate is 20,500. The services provided by the City under general
governmental functions include police, water and wastewater, street maintenance, public
improvements, planning and zoning, parks operation and maintenance, fire and EMS, and
administrative services necessary to serve the citizens of La Marque. In addition, water and
wastewater services are operated under an Enterprise Fund concept, with user charges set to
ensure adequate coverage of operating expenses and payments on outstanding debt.
La Marque, Texas, has experienced a severe financial crisis over the last five years,
transitioning from operational stability to the brink of insolvency by late 2025. The root of
the crisis was a recurring failure to match revenues with expenditures, resulting in significant
budget deficits.
The situation culminated in September 2025, when interim city leadership discovered the city
had just $1.2 million in the bank; enough to cover barely two weeks of basic operations. The
FY 2024 financial audit subsequently revealed that the city had overspent its revenue by
nearly $3 million in a single fiscal year. This was confirmed to have happened again in the
FY 2025 audit.
This rapid depletion of savings and lack of fiscal transparency triggered swift interventions.
The city, with backing from the city council instituted a hiring freeze, eliminated non-
essential expenses, and established a Finance Committee to restore accountability.
Additionally, city officials moved to raise both property taxes and water and sewer rates to
account for the losses the funds have been producing over the last 5 FYs.
As a direct result of these deep structural and administrative issues, the city's financial
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standing suffered major institutional downgrades. In late 2025, S&P Global Ratings and
Moody's significantly lowered La Marque's municipal debt ratings, making it costlier to
borrow and highlighting the severity of the financial decline.
Requests for a forensic audit of La Marque have intensified since late 2024, driven by citizen
concerns and discrepancies in routine financial audits. In August 2024, around 15 residents
demanded a deep-dive audit. These demands escalated in 2025 following a reported $4.5
million drop in government fund balances and alleged misspent funds.
In response to the mounting pressure, the La Marque City Council formally directed staff in
January 2026 to develop a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) outlining a broad 15-item
forensic audit scope. A subsequent Forensic Audit Review Committee was established to
review and prioritize bids, with the council voting to authorize bids encompassing a look-
back period across city finances from 2020 through 2025.
Today, La Marque is in a multi-year rebuilding phase characterized by comprehensive
operational audits and strict budget realignments. The city continues its recovery efforts with
ongoing transparency and reporting to ensure long-term structural balance and prevent future
administrative failures.
The City is organized into departments with a total bi-weekly payroll of approximately
$450,000 covering 170 FTEs. The accounting and financial reporting functions of the City
are centralized. The City's fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30
More detailed information on the City and its finances can be found on-line at the City's
website: La Marque, TX - Official Website | Official Website
3. DEFINITIONS:
The following definitions shall be used for identified terms throughout the specification and
proposal document:
4.1. Agreement - a mutually binding legal document obligating the Contractor to furnish
the goods, equipment or services, and obligating the City to pay for it.
4.2. City - identifies the City of La Marque, Galveston County, Texas.
4.3. Contractor - a person or business enterprise providing goods, equipment, labor and/or
services to the City as fulfillment of obligations arising from a contract or purchase
order.
4.4. Deliverables - the goods, products, materials, and/or services to be provided to the
City by vendor if awarded agreement.
4.5. Goods - represent materials, supplies, commodities and equipment.
4.6. Proposal - complete, properly signed response to a Solicitation that if accepted, would
bind the Proposer to perform the resulting agreement.
4.7. Proposer - identified throughout this specification shall describe persons and entities
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that consider themselves qualified to provide the goods, equipment or services.
4.8. Services - work performed to meet a demand. The furnishing of labor, time or effort by
the vendor and their ability to comply with promised delivery dates, specifications, and
technical assistance specified.
4.9. Vendor (sometimes referred to as Contractor) - a person or business enterprise
providing goods, equipment, labor and/or services to the City as fulfillment of
obligations arising from an agreement or purchase order.
4. CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
5.1 Chapter 176 of the Texas Local Government Code requires that any vendor or person
considering doing business with a local government entity disclose the vendor or
person's affiliation or business relationship that might cause a conflict of interest with a
local government entity. The Conflict-of-Interest Questionnaire form is available from
the Texas Ethics Commission at www.ethics.state.tx.us. Completed conflict of Interest
Questionnaires may be mailed or delivered by hand to the City Secretary. Any attempt
to intentionally or unintentionally conceal or obfuscate a conflict of interest may
automatically result in the disqualification of the vendor's Proposal. Each Proposer
shall submit a completed Conflict of Interest Questionnaire (Form CIQ), or a
statement that no disclosure is required, with its Proposal.
5. CLARIFICATION:
For clarification of specifications, Proposers may contact: La Marque City Clerk's Office
All questions must be in writing and electronic submission is preferred. No authority is intended
or implied that specifications may be amended or alterations accepted prior to proposal
opening without written approval of the City of La Marque.
PART II
STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. ABANDONMENT OR DEFAULT:
A Contractor who abandons or defaults the work on the contract and causes the City to
purchase the services elsewhere may be charged the difference in service if any and shall not
be considered in the re-advertisement of the service and may not be considered in future
proposals for the same type of work unless the scope of work is significantly changed.
2. CODES, PERMITS AND LICENSES:
The successful Proposer shall comply with all National, State and Local standards, codes and
ordinances as well as other authorities that have jurisdiction pertaining to equipment and
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materials used and their application. None of the terms or provisions of the specification shall
be construed as waiving any rules, regulations or requirements of these authorities. The
successful Proposer shall be responsible for obtaining all necessary permits, certificates
and/or licenses to fulfill contractual obligations.
3. COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS:
The successful Proposer shall comply with all federal, state, and local laws, statutes,
ordinances, rules and regulations. When requested, the Contractor shall furnish the City with
satisfactory proof of its compliance.
4. CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
4.1. The Contractor shall provide all goods and labor necessary to perform the service.
4.2. The Contractor shall employ all personnel for work in accordance with the
requirements set forth by the United States Department of Labor.
4.3. The Contractor shall be responsible and liable for the safety, injury and health of its
working personnel while its employees are performing service work.
4.4. The City is committed to maintaining an alcohol and drug free workplace. Possession,
use, or being under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances by Contractor or
Contractor's employees, while in the performance of the service is prohibited.
Violation of this requirement shall constitute grounds for termination of the service.
5. EX PARTE COMMUNICATION:
Please note that to ensure the proper and fair evaluation of a Proposal, the City prohibits ex
parte communication (e.g., unsolicited) initiated by the Proposer to a City Official or
Employee evaluating or considering the Qualifications prior to the time a formal decision has
been made. Questions and other communication from vendors will be permissible until 5:00pm
on the day specified as the deadline for questions. Any communication between Proposer and the
City after the deadline for questions will be initiated by the appropriate City Official or
Employee in order to obtain information or clarification needed to develop a proper and
accurate evaluation of the Proposal. Ex parte communication may be grounds for
disqualifying the offending Proposer from consideration or award of the solicitation then in
evaluation, or any future solicitation.
6. INDEMNITY:
Contractor shall indemnify, save harmless and defend the City, its officers, agents, servants, and
employees from and against any and all suits, actions, legal proceedings, claims, demands,
damages, costs, expenses, attorney's fees and any and all other costs or fees incident to the
performance of the resulting Agreement and arising out of a willful or negligent act or
omission of the Contractor, its officers, agents, servants and employees.
7. LIENS:
Contractor agrees to and shall indemnify and save harmless the City against any and all liens
and encumbrances for all labor, goods and services which may be provided under the resulting
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Agreement. At the City's request, the Contractor or subcontractors shall provide a proper
release of all liens or satisfactory evidence of freedom from liens shall be delivered to the City.
8. NEGOTIATION OF QUALIFICATIONS:
The City reserves the right to negotiate all elements which comprise the Proposal to ensure that
the best possible consideration be afforded to all concerned.
The RFQ is not to be considered as a contract or as a commitment of any kind. If this RFQ
results in a contract offer by the City, a specific scope of work, fees, insurance coverage and
other contractual matters will be determined during contract negotiations.
9. NON-APPROPRIATION:
The resulting Agreement is a commitment of the City's current revenues only. It is understood
and agreed the City shall have the right to terminate the Agreement at the end of any City
fiscal year if the governing body of the City does not appropriate funds as determined by the
City's budget for the fiscal year in question. The City may effect such termination by giving
Contractor a written notice of termination at the end of its then current fiscal year.
10. RIGHT OF RETENTION:
The City of La Marque reserves the right to retain all Qualifications submitted and to use any
ideas in a proposal regardless of whether that proposal is selected. Submission of a proposal
indicates acceptance by the firm of the conditions contained in this request for qualifications,
unless clearly and specifically noted in the proposal submitted and confirmed in the contract
between the City of La Marque and the firm selected.
11. VENDOR PERFORMANCE:
The City reserves the right to review the Vendor's performance at the end contract period and
to cancel all or part of the Agreement (without penalty) or continue the contract through the next
period.
12. VENUE:
Both the City and the Contractor agree that venue for any litigation arising from a resulting
Agreement shall lie in Galveston County.
PART III
PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS
1. PROPOSAL SCHEDULE:
It is the City's intent to comply with the following timeline:
Request for Qualifications Released July 17, 2026
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Deadline for Questions July 27, 2026
City's Response to Submitted Questions July 31, 2026
Qualifications to RFQ due by 10:00 a.m. ............August 13, 2026
1.1. NOTE: These dates represent a tentative schedule of events. The City reserves the
right to modify these dates at any time, with appropriate notice to known Proposers.
1.2. All questions regarding the RFQ shall be submitted in writing (e-mail, fax, or regular
mail) by 5:00 p.m. on July 27, 2026, to the City Clerk. All questions submitted and
the City's response will be provided on the city website by 5:00 p.m. on July 31,
2026.
2. PROPOSAL DUE DATE:
Sealed Qualifications are due no later than 10:00 a.m. on August 13, 2026, to the City of La
Marque. Mail or carry sealed Qualifications to:
City of La Marque
Attn: City Clerk's Office
1111 Bayou Road
La Marque, TX 77568
2.1. Proposals received after this time and date will not be considered.
2.2. Sealed Proposals shall be clearly marked "DO NOT OPEN - Professional Forensic
Auditing Services".
2.3. Facsimile transmitted Proposals are not acceptable.
2.4. One (1) electronic version (flash drive), and three (3) bound copies of the completed
proposal, clearly marked as such.
3. PROPOSAL FORMAT:
It is intended that this RFQ describe the requirements and Proposal format in sufficient
detail to secure comparable Proposals. Interested and qualified firms shall:
3.1. One (1) electronic version (flash drive), and three (3) bound copies of the completed
proposal, clearly marked as such.
3.1.1. Title Page showing the request for qualification subject; the firm's name; the
name, address, telephone number and email address of the contact person; and
the date of the submittal;
3.1.2. Table of Contents;
3.1.3. Transmittal Letter (signed) briefly stating the Proposer's understanding of the
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work to be done, the commitment to perform the work within the time period
recommended, a statement why the firm believes itself to be best qualified to
perform the engagement and a statement that the submittal is a firm offer for
period stated;
3.1.4. Detailed Proposal shall follow the order set forth in the Table of Contents; This
must include the specific scopes the proposal is related to.
3.1.5. Proposer Guarantee (signed) stating the Proposer can and will provide and
make available, as a minimum, all services set forth in PART IV, Scope of
Work;
3.1.6. Proposer Warranties (signed) stating;
3.1.6.1. Proposer is willing and able to comply with State of Texas laws;
This includes providing the written verifications required by Texas
Government Code chapters 2271 (Israel boycotts), 2274 (firearm
entity discrimination), and 2276 (energy company boycotts), which
apply to a contract of $100,000 or more with a company of 10 or
more full-time employees. Proposer further warrants that it is not a
company identified on a list prepared by the Texas Comptroller under
Subchapter F, Chapter 2252, Texas Government Code (companies
doing business with Iran, Sudan, or a foreign terrorist organization)
3.1.6.2. Proposer is willing and able to obtain an errors and omissions
insurance policy providing a prudent amount of coverage for the
willful or negligent acts, or omissions of any officers, employees
or agents thereof and shall continue to maintain the insurance
policy in full force and effect during the term of a contract entered
into as a result of this RFQ;
3.1.6.3. Proposer will not delegate or subcontract its responsibilities under
an agreement without the prior written permission of the City.
3.1.6.4. Proposer warrants that all information provided by it in connection
with this submittal is true and accurate.
3.1.7. Form 1295 Because the resulting agreement will require action by the City
Council, the successful Proposer must complete Texas Ethics Commission
Form 1295 (Disclosure of Interested Parties) in accordance with Texas
Government Code section 2252.908 and submit it at the time the signed
contract is delivered to the City;
3.1.8. Proposed Audit Schedule;
3.1.9. Standard Agreement as would customarily be executed between your firm and
clients reflecting the goods and services specified in this Request for
Qualifications.
3.1.9.1. A one-year contract is contemplated, subject to satisfactory
performance, the satisfactory negotiation of terms (including price
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