Purchase of Delinquent Municipal Tax and Sewer Use Liens

CITY OF MILFORD, CONNECTICUT
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
FOR THE PURCHASE OF DELINQUENT
MUNICIPAL TAX AND SEWER USE LIENS
AUGUST 12, 2026
RFP # 1851
Frederick Bialka
Purchasing Agent

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
FOR THE PURCHASE OF
DELINQUENT MUNICIPAL TAX AND SEWER USE LIENS
RFP # 1851
The City of Milford, Connecticut is requesting written, sealed proposals from interested parties
for the purchase of delinquent municipal property tax and sewer use liens, pursuant to the
provisions of Connecticut General Statutes Sections 12-195h and 7-258. This purchase is
hereinafter referred to as Tax Lien Assignment. The total amount due to the City, through June
30, 2026 on these liens is $4,590,635.31, collectively between the two lists. The sale of the total
of all delinquent tax and sewer use liens on each individual parcel will be conducted as a single,
non-securitized transaction.
The Purchasing Agent must receive proposals not later than 3:00 P.M. EDT, Wednesday,
August 12, 2026. The RFP may be downloaded from the City of Milford's website,
https://www.milfordct.us/863/Current-Bids. Copies may also be obtained from the Purchasing
Agent's Office, 70 West River Street, Milford, CT 06460, and telephone (203) 783-3225. All
proposals must be in accordance with the terms of the RFP. Procedural questions on this
transaction may be directed to Frederick Bialka, Purchasing Agent, by telephone at the above
phone number. Substantive questions should be addressed to Mr. Bialka in writing, which may
include electronic mail.
Please e-mail fbialka@milfordct.gov to indicate your interest in this RFP so that additional
information, if any, concerning the RFP can be provided to interested parties. Thank you.
i

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
FOR THE PURCHASE OF
DELINQUENT MUNICIPAL TAX AND SEWER USE LIENS
RFP # 1851
The City of Milford, Connecticut is requesting written, sealed proposals from interested parties
for the purchase of delinquent real estate tax and sewer use liens on 136 properties ("Delinquent
Liens"), as set forth in Attachment A-1 and A-2, pursuant to the provisions of the Connecticut
General Statutes Sections 12-195h and 7-258. The total amount due to the City through the
Grand List of 2024 on these properties is $4,590,635.31 as of June 30, 2026. Proposer shall price
as a whole those parcels listed with Delinquent Liens shown on Attachment A-1 and individually
price each parcel listed with Delinquent Liens shown on Attachment A-2 when submitting their
proposal(s). Proposers may, but are not required to, submit proposals on both Attachment A-1
and Attachment A-2. The minimum proposal shall be the full amount of taxes, sewer use
charges, interest, lien fees and other additional fees due the City for all Delinquent Liens on each
individual parcel. The City also reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, in whole or in
part, or to waive any informalities in the proposal if, in its opinion, it is in the best interests of the
City to do so.
One (1) original and five (5) copies of all proposals shall be submitted in a sealed envelope
clearly labeled with:
RFP # 1851
RFP FOR THE PURCHASE OF CITY OF MILFORD, CONNECTICUT
DELINQUENT MUNICIPAL TAX AND SEWER USE LIENS
AUGUST 12, 2026
Proposals shall be submitted to the PURCHASING AGENT and must be received no later than
3:00 PM EDT, Wednesday, August 12, 2026. Proposals must be printed in ink or typewritten.
No erasures will be permitted. The City will make the final award on or about Wednesday,
September 2, 2026. Contract execution shall be within fifteen (15) days of Notice of Award.
The Tax Collector must receive payment in full for the assigned liens no later than Thursday,
September 17, 2026, unless both parties expressly agree in writing to an extension, not to
exceed fifteen (15) days.
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Proposals received after the time and date specified shall not be considered and shall be returned
unopened. Amendments to or withdrawals of proposals received later than the time and date set
for receipt of such proposals will not be considered. No responsibility will be attached to any
City representative or employee for the premature opening of a proposals not properly addressed
and identified.
The City will evaluate all proposals and make awards based on the best interests of the City.
Although the amount of the proposal will be an important factor in the City's decision, it will
also consider the experience, reputation, history and qualifications of Proposers. The Request for
Proposals ("RFP") may be obtained from the City of Milford's website:
https://www.milfordct.us/863/Current-Bids or by contacting:
Frederick Bialka, Purchasing Agent
City of Milford
70 West River Street
Milford, CT 06460
Telephone (203) 783-3225
Facsimile (203) 876-1960
E-Mail: fbialka@milfordct.gov
Interested parties should provide Mr. Bialka with contact information, including names,
telephone numbers and email address, so that additional information, if any, concerning the RFP
can be provided to interested parties.
No interpretation of the meaning of the plans, specifications or other contract documents will be
made to any Proposer verbally. Every request for such interpretation should be in writing,
addressed to Mr. Bialka at the address above, and to be given consideration must be received at
least five (5) days prior to the date fixed for the opening of proposals. Any and all such
interpretations and any supplementary instructions will be in the form of written addenda to the
specifications which, if issued, will be mailed to all prospective Proposers at the respective
address furnished for such purpose and available on the City of Milford's website:
https://www.milfordct.us/863/Current-Bids, not later than three (3) days prior to the date fixed for
the opening of proposals. Failure of any Proposer to receive such addenda or interpretation shall
not relieve any Proposer from any obligations under his/her proposal as submitted.
No other official or employee of the City may be contacted with respect to this RFP, except as
approved by the Purchasing Agent.
Copies of the draft Agreement for the Purchase of Delinquent Tax or Sewer Use Liens and draft
assignment documents are attached as Attachment B and Exhibit B, respectively.
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1. The Transaction
The City of Milford intends to sell and assign certain delinquent tax and sewer use liens (the
"Delinquent Liens"), as set forth in Attachment A-1 ("Bulk List") and Attachment A-2 ("A La
Carte List"), to a third party in accordance with the provisions of Sections 12-195h and 7-258 of
the Connecticut General Statutes and the conditions of this RFP.
The Proposer agrees to incorporate the conditions required by the City in this RFP into any
permitted future sale or assignment of said Delinquent Liens. The provisions of this RFP and all
future agreements between the Proposer and the City shall be binding upon both parties, their
heirs, successors and assigns.
Standards of Conduct. No officer or employee or member of any elective or appointive board,
commission or committee of the City, whether temporary or permanent, may have or acquire any
financial interest or any personal beneficial interest, direct or indirect, in any project, matter,
contract or thing which comes within his or her jurisdiction or the jurisdiction of the board,
commission or committee of which he or she is a member. No entity may submit a response to
this RFP if an award to that entity would cause a violation of this requirement.
Non-Discrimination. No person shall be subjected to discrimination on account of any services
or activities made possible by or resulting from the agreement on the grounds of race, color,
religion or religious creed, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age (except minimum age), marital
status, ancestry, present or past history of mental disability, mental retardation, sexual
orientation, learning or physical disability, or any other factor prohibited by law, or marital
status. The Proposer shall comply with applicable City, State and Federal antidiscrimination
laws, rules, regulations and requirements thereof.
2. Withdrawal of Liens by the City
The City reserves the right to withdraw any Delinquent Lien(s) from the list of liens to be
assigned prior to the date of the final award. Any Delinquent Lien withdrawn by the City, in
accordance with this section, shall be excluded altogether from the sale of the Delinquent Liens,
and the purchase price reduced pro-rata. In the event Delinquent Lien(s) are withdrawn from the
final list, the City further reserves the right to substitute additional other Delinquent Lien(s)
which in the City's sole discretion are comparable to those withdrawn from the final list.
Subsequent to the award, the City may withdraw, for any reason, any Delinquent Lien prior to
compilation of the final list of Delinquent Liens to be assigned. As an example, including but not
limited to, withdrawals will be permitted in the event of payment in full or in part to the City or
in the event of an agreement between the City and the Proposer that any lien on the list is legally
unenforceable under any local, state or federal law, or it is mutually agreed that the City for any
reason is not lawfully or otherwise entitled to assign such Delinquent Lien. In the event of any
withdrawal, the purchase price shall be reduced by the proportion that such lien bears to all liens
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to be assigned. The final list of Delinquent Liens to be assigned ("Final List") shall be confirmed
by authorized signatures of both parties on the closing date, as set forth in Section 7 herein, and
shall be deemed final and binding. Said list shall be incorporated into the form of the
Assignment of Delinquent Tax or Sewer Use Liens (the "Assignment") attached to this RFP as
Exhibit B.
3. Administration of Accounts
The Proposer shall be required to collect and process all accounts at its cost. Such processing
shall include the recording of the Assignments on the land records for all liens on the Final List.
The Proposer shall be responsible for all collection and enforcement efforts with respect to such
liens, including all lawful collection procedures and, as the Proposer deems appropriate, lawful
foreclosure proceedings. The Proposer shall provide the City's Tax Collector with a monthly
report, listing all accounts on the Final List and the status of each as to the collection effort.
Without waiving any rights it may have as a result of the assignment of the assigned liens, the
Proposer represents that it will attempt to work out the payment of the delinquent taxes, interest
and fees secured by the assigned liens without instituting foreclosure or similar litigation. The
City recognizes however that the collection of debts secured by tax liens must proceed within
certain statutory time frames and that the Proposer cannot jeopardize its position with regard to
such liens. Accordingly, the Proposer may enforce the assigned liens in any manner permitted
pursuant to the provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes once reasonable efforts to arrange
for voluntary payment of the delinquencies have failed. The foregoing notwithstanding, the
Proposer shall not, under any circumstances, sell or auction the assigned liens pursuant to the
provisions of Connecticut General Statutes Section 12-157. Further, in no event shall the
Proposer name the City as a defendant in any foreclosure action, unless the City or its assignee is
a defendant by virtue of another lien interest (a mortgage lien, a demolition lien, etc).
4. Foreclosure
The City reserves the right to buy back any assigned delinquent tax lien prior to the Proposer
commencing a foreclosure action. Proposer shall notify the Tax Collector of its intent to initiate
a foreclosure action. Such notice shall be sent certified mail to the Tax Collector, 70 West River
Street, Milford, CT 06460 and a copy to the Mayor's Office, 110 River Street, Milford, CT
06460, not less than thirty (30) days prior to commencement. The City shall notify the Proposer
within thirty (30) days of receipt of the aforesaid notice of its intent to buy back the assigned
delinquent tax liens.
Proposer shall agree not to commence foreclosure with respect to any tax lien arising on an
owner-occupied building for a period of one year from the assignment date of any Delinquent
Tax Lien.
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Prior to the commencement of any action to foreclose on any assigned tax lien, Proposer will
have provided the owner(s) at his or her last known mailing address, at least three (3) separate
written notices including "Final Demand" letter notifying the owner(s) of Proposer's intent to
initiate such an action. Such Final Demand shall provide owner(s) at least thirty (30) days from
the date of such notice, in which to either fully redeem the lien or make payment arrangements
satisfactory to Proposer.
In the event that Proposer commences a foreclosure action to enforce any delinquent tax lien, it
shall give notice to the City in the same manner as required to any interest in any other
foreclosure action in order to afford the City adequate opportunity to take any necessary or
appropriate action to preserve any interest it may have therein. The Proposer further agrees to
indemnify the City for the loss of any interest the City would otherwise have in its unassigned
future tax liens, but for the foreclosure action.
5. Further Assignment of Delinquent Liens
The Proposer shall not further assign, sell or convey in any manner any of its interest in the
Delinquent Liens without the prior written authorization of the City, acting through its Board of
Aldermen.
6. Purchase of Future Assigned Liens
Until such time as the assigned liens have been paid in full, the Proposer shall also purchase all
delinquent liens on subsequent Grand Lists for properties on the Final List ("Future Assigned
Liens"). The assignment of these Future Assigned Liens shall be done in the same manner as set
forth in the winning proposal, and shall be subject to all requirements of law existing at the time
of purchase. Payment for each of said Future Assigned Liens is to be made within forty-eight
(48) days after the date of filing by the City of the lien continuation certificate. Payment for each
of said Future Assigned Liens is to be made at full value (without any premium), including the
full amount of total tax and interest due as of the date of payment.
In the event a Proposer fails to purchase all Future Assigned Liens on a subject property as
required by this section, the following shall apply:
(a) Future Assigned Liens retained by the City shall have priority over all prior Delinquent
Liens assigned to the Proposer with respect to such property; and
(b) The City shall retain the right to enforce any such Future Assigned Liens in any manner
provided by law, including tax sale under Connecticut General Statutes Section 12-157 or
Assignment under Connecticut General Statutes Section 12-195h; and
(c) In the event Future Assigned Liens on a subject property are not purchased as required by
this section, any payment received by the Proposer of Delinquent Liens relating to such
property on the Final List shall be paid over to the City in satisfaction of any such Future
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Assigned Liens retained by the City, until such Future Assigned Liens are paid in full and
their continuing certificates are released.
The terms of this RFP and all subsequent agreements between the Proposer and the City shall
also apply to the sale of Future Assigned Liens.
7. Proposal Requirements
Each Proposal shall describe in detail the Proposer's proposal for the purchase of each
Delinquent Lien. Each proposal shall specify the dollar amount offered as the Purchase Price for
all liens on each listed parcel.
The City will not entertain proposals for a securitized transaction nor will it accept conditional
proposals.
All of the Delinquent Liens offered for purchase on a subject property must be included in the
Proposer's proposal. The Proposer may submit an offer for an individual parcel. The Proposer
may not submit an offer for selected liens only on a subject property (e.g., for particular years
only.)
Each Proposal shall be signed by an authorized agent of the Proposer and include the name, title
and telephone number of the person to whom the City may direct questions concerning the
proposal. The proposal shall also include a statement by the Proposer accepting all terms
and conditions contained in the RFP. All proposals shall be considered final.
Each proposal shall be accompanied by proposal security in the form of a cashier's or bank
check in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the proposal amount in dollars. The proposal
security shall be returned to each unsuccessful Proposer following the award of the proposal to
the successful Proposer.
Each proposal shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:
(a) A Letter of transmittal which sets forth the specific terms of the proposal, including the
information requested in Section 6 herein and agreeing to the terms and conditions set
forth in the RFP;
(b) Qualifications of the Proposer with respect to its ability to conclude the purchase of the
Delinquent Liens to be assigned;
(c) Qualifications of staff members who will be responsible for the management of the City
account, and an acknowledgement that the City shall be notified prior to the change or
replacement of any staff member involved in the management of the City account;
(d) Disclosure of principals of the Proposer;
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(e) Disclosure of any interest held in any of the subject properties by any of the principals,
officers or agents of the Proposer, and acknowledgement that failure to so disclose shall
result in immediate disqualification of the proposal;
(f) A list of all similar engagements with other local government entities entered into over
the past five years, with references, including names, telephone numbers and email
addresses of principal contact;
(g) Detailed information concerning litigation between the Proposer and any local
government entity with respect to tax liens during the past seven years;
(h) Evidence of the scope of the Proposer's administrative support in place to facilitate the
collection, execution, payment, accounting, allocation, distribution, release and recording
of release of Delinquent Liens and Future Assigned Liens;
(i) An appropriate representation to the effect there is no legal disability or litigation pending
or threatened against the Proposer which would adversely affect its performance of any
duties or obligations incurred pursuant to this transaction;
(j) A description of the level of maintenance that will be provided to those properties to
which the Proposer takes title, including but not limited to its representation that it will
maintain each such property and any structure(s) thereon so that they are not in a state of
dilapidation or decay, or open to the elements as a result of dilapidation or decay, or
unable to provide shelter or serve the purpose for which constructed due to dilapidation
or decay;
(k) A proposed format of the monthly collection status report required to be furnished to the
Tax Collector pursuant to Section 3 above;
(l) With respect to properties to which Proposer takes title, express acknowledgement that
the Proposer shall pay, when due, all taxes and other charges assessed by the City of
Milford for future Grand List years, as well as assessments, sewer use fees or other
charges previously or subsequently assessed and recorded in the Milford Land Records,
or be subject to collection enforcement action by the City, including but not limited to
methods described in Section 5.
(m) All Proposers shall be required to provide a signed non-collusive statement with all the
public proposal as follows:
(i) The proposal has been arrived at by the Proposer independently and has been
submitted without collusion with, and without any agreement, understanding, or
planned common course of action with, any other Proposer for the purchase of the
liens described in the Request for Proposals for the Purchase of City of Milford,
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Connecticut Delinquent Municipal Tax and Sewer Use Liens, designed to limit
independent proposals or competition; and
(ii) The contents of the proposal have not been communicated by the Proposer or
his/her employees or agents to any person not an employee or agent of the
Proposer or its surety on any bond furnished with the proposal, and will not be
communicated to any such person prior to the official opening of the proposal.
Proposals may be withdrawn personally or on written or fax or telegraphic record dispatched by
the Proposer in time for delivery in the normal course of business prior to the time fixed for
opening, provided that written confirmation is placed in the mail and postmarked prior to the
time set for proposal opening. Negligence on the part of the Proposer in preparing the proposal
confers no right of withdrawal or modification of the proposal after such proposal has been
opened. The fax number is (203) 876-1960.
8. Evaluation and Award
The City may reject any and all proposals, in whole or in part, or may waive any informalities in
the proposal if, in its opinion, it is in the best interests of the City to do so.
No proposal shall be accepted from, or contract awarded to, any person/company who is in the
arrears to the City of Milford upon debt, or contract or who have been within the prior five (5)
years, a defaulter as surety or otherwise upon obligations to the City of Milford.
The City will evaluate all proposals and make an award based on the best interests of the City.
Although the amount of the proposal will be an important factor in the City's decision, it will
also consider the experience, reputation, history and the qualifications of the Proposers.
All proposals must be received by the Purchasing Agent no later than 3:00 PM EDT
Wednesday, August 12, 2026, time being of the essence. The City will make the final award on
or about Wednesday September 2, 2026. Respondents must hold proposals firm until the actual
date and time of the proposal award. Payment in full, in Federal Reserve funds, of the balance of
the purchase price for the assigned liens must be received by the Tax Collector no later than
Thursday, September 17, 2026, time being of the essence. The Proposer shall tender a certified
or cashier's check drawn upon a solvent bank or trust company payable to the order of the "Tax
Collector, City of Milford" for the balance of the purchase price for the Delinquent Liens on the
Final List.
The City reserves the right to require such additional representations and warranties of the
selected Proposer as it reasonably deems necessary.
The City retains the right to withdraw, extend, re-offer and/or amend this RFP at any time or, in
its sole discretion, to reject any or all proposals. The City will not be liable for any costs
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