Grant Administration for the City of LaFayette

City of LaFayette, Georgia

Mayor and Council

Request For Proposals

For

Grant Administration

Issue Date: September 16th, 2026

Submission Deadline: October 19th, 2026 - 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time

1. Introduction and Objectives

The City of LaFayette, Georgia, hereinafter referred to as the "City," is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to provide on-call grant management, grant administration, project management, compliance, and implementation support services.

The selected Consultant shall assist the City throughout the full grant lifecycle, including strategic pre-award research, grant opportunity evaluation, application development, post-award administration, regulatory compliance, reimbursement support, project management, and operational execution of funded capital, planning, and community projects.

The City intends to establish a task-order-based agreement that provides flexibility across a broad range of municipal priority areas, including but not limited to infrastructure, public safety, parks and recreation, economic development, housing, community development, environmental resiliency, transportation, utilities, and other eligible public purposes.

The purpose of this RFP is to retain a qualified Consultant with demonstrated experience supporting local governments in identifying, pursuing, securing, administering, and implementing grant-funded projects in accordance with applicable federal, state, local, and grantor-specific requirements.

2. Contract Duration and Structure

The initial contract term shall be three (3) years. The City may, in its sole discretion and by mutual written agreement, extend the contract for up to two (2) additional one-year terms. The maximum cumulative term shall not exceed five (5) years. Each renewal is subject to satisfactory performance, continued need, available funding, and any required City approval.

Services shall be authorized through individual task orders issued on an as-needed basis. Each task order shall identify the scope, schedule, deliverables, budget, compensation method, not-to-exceed amount, reporting requirements, performance expectations, funding source, and applicable grant conditions.

No work shall begin until the City issues a written task order or notice to proceed. The agreement will be nonexclusive and will not guarantee any minimum amount of work.

3. Scope of Services

The selected Consultant shall provide professional grant management, administration, project management, and implementation services as requested by the City. The Consultant must demonstrate technical capability, staffing capacity, and relevant experience across the functional service areas described below.

The City reserves the right to authorize any combination of services depending on grant requirements, funding source requirements, project needs, and City staff capacity.

Task 1: Grant Development and Pre-Award Strategy

Grant Strategy and Opportunity Mapping: Continuously monitor federal, state, regional, and philanthropic grant opportunities aligned with the City's Comprehensive Plan, Capital Improvement Program, adopted plans, and municipal priorities. Funding sources may include, but are not limited to, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, Appalachian Regional Commission, FEMA, HUD, USDA, EPA, EDA, DOJ, private foundations, and other grant-making entities.

Grant Feasibility and Cost-Benefit Analysis: Evaluate prospective grant opportunities for eligibility, competitiveness, local match requirements, allowable costs, administrative burden, implementation risk, reporting obligations, long-term maintenance obligations, and probability of award before application preparation.

Application Development and Writing: Prepare high-quality grant applications, including narrative proposals, project descriptions, statements of need, work plans, implementation schedules, logic models, performance measures, program budgets, benefit-cost information, supporting data, maps, attachments, and other required documentation.

Submission and Portal Management: Manage or support application submission through grant portals and electronic systems, including Grants.gov and other federal, state, regional, or foundation submission platforms.

Intergovernmental and Stakeholder Coordination: Coordinate required public notices, public hearings, interdepartmental input, community engagement, local resolutions, governing body approvals, letters of support, partnership commitments, and other application-related documentation.

Task 2: Post-Award Grant Administration and Compliance

Regulatory Compliance Management: Support compliance with applicable federal, state, local, and grantor-specific requirements, including 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Guidance, state program rules, civil rights requirements, procurement requirements, grant agreement terms, and award-specific conditions.

Financial Administration and Reimbursement Support: Establish or support accounting draw frameworks, prepare reimbursement requests, track eligible costs, monitor budget categories, maintain local match documentation, reconcile expenditures, and support audit readiness.

Programmatic Reporting: Prepare and submit required status reports, milestone reports, performance reports, financial reports, quarterly or monthly updates, closeout reports, and other grantor-required documentation.

Labor, Civil Rights, and Environmental Compliance: Administer or support compliance activities related to Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, certified payroll review, Section 3, Title VI, Equal Employment Opportunity requirements, environmental review records, NEPA, and other applicable labor, civil rights, or environmental standards.

Records Management and Grant Closeout: Maintain organized grant files, compliance logs, reimbursement documentation, procurement records, reporting records, correspondence, monitoring documentation, and closeout files sufficient for audit, grantor review, or public records requirements.

Task 3: Grant-Funded Project Management

Project Oversight: Serve as project manager or provide project management support for grant-funded capital, planning, community, housing, economic development, environmental, public safety, parks and recreation, infrastructure, or operational initiatives.

Procurement Assistance: Prepare or assist with compliant RFPs, RFQs, bid documents, scopes of work, evaluation criteria, procurement records, contract documents, and award recommendations for secondary contractors, engineers, architects, vendors, suppliers, nonprofit partners, or service providers.

Procurement Compliance: Support procurement activities in accordance with applicable requirements, including 2 CFR 200, Georgia procurement requirements, City purchasing policies, grantor-specific rules, and funding source conditions.

Schedule and Budget Control: Monitor project schedules, milestones, deliverables, contractor performance, consultant performance, expenditures, budget allocations, change orders, grant performance periods, and reporting deadlines to reduce the risk of cost overruns, delays, noncompliance, or grant extensions.

Task 4: Project Implementation and Operational Execution

Operational Execution: When requested by the City, the Consultant shall provide or coordinate direct implementation assistance for grant-funded programs, community projects, capital projects, planning initiatives, outreach campaigns, service delivery efforts, or other funded activities.

Third-Party Coordination and Oversight: Coordinate directly with engineers, architects, construction contractors, vendors, nonprofit partners, community organizations, and other third parties to ensure funded work is performed in accordance with grant specifications, approved scopes, environmental clearances, contract documents, schedules, budgets, and applicable compliance requirements.

4. Funding Mechanism and Compensation Structure

The City may use municipal funds and allowable grant administrative funds to pay for services authorized by an approved task order, subject to the requirements of the applicable funding source.

Compensation will be established in each task order using one or more of the following methods:

Fixed-Fee per Application: Negotiated fixed price for a defined grant application or deliverable.

Time & Materials / Hourly Rate Schedule: Fixed hourly rates subject to a City-approved not-to-exceed amount and any federally required determination that no other contract type is suitable.

Grant-Funded Administrative Services: Fixed-fee or hourly compensation for documented, allowable services within an approved task-order budget. Compensation shall not be calculated as a percentage of a grant award or project or construction cost.

5. Federal Contract Provisions (2 C.F.R. Part 200, Appendix II)

If a task order is funded in whole or in part with federal funds, the resulting contract and task order will include the provisions required by 2 C.F.R. 200.327 and Appendix II to Part 200, as applicable to the funding source, contract type, and dollar amount.

6. Questions About RFP and Other Communications

All questions and requests for clarification regarding this RFP must be submitted in writing by email to Clay Tracy, the RFP Facilitator, at ctracy@lafga.org no later than September 9, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Offerors and their representatives shall not contact any other City elected official, officer, employee, agent, evaluator, or consultant regarding this RFP, its evaluation, or award, except through the RFP Facilitator. Unauthorized communications or attempts to influence the process may result in disqualification. The City may issue written responses or addenda to prospective offerors to maintain a fair and uniform process.

7. Conflict of Interest

Each respondent must disclose any actual, apparent, or potential conflict of interest and shall not knowingly use personnel having such a conflict. A consultant that prepares specifications, requirements, a statement of work, or a solicitation for a downstream procurement may not compete for that procurement when prohibited by 2 C.F.R. 200.319(b) or other applicable law. Failure to disclose or cure a conflict may result in disqualification or termination.

8. Proposal Format and Submission Requirements

Interested firms shall submit three (3) sealed hard copies and one (1) digital PDF copy on a USB drive by the deadline shown on the cover page. Hand deliveries and couriers shall use: Office of the City Manager, City Hall, 207 South Duke Street, LaFayette, Georgia 30728. U.S. Mail shall be addressed to: Office of the City Manager, P.O. Box 89, LaFayette, Georgia 30728. The responding firm is solely responsible for timely delivery.

Proposals shall be clearly labeled "Grant Administration RFP - Do Not Open" and organized in the order listed below. The City may deem a proposal nonresponsive if it omits a required section or certification.

The City may request additional information, clarifications, interviews, or presentations from proposers as part of the evaluation process.

Letter of Transmittal: Cover letter signed by an authorized representative expressing interest and agreeing to the RFP conditions.

Firm Overview & Qualifications: Brief history of the firm, municipal client base, and

experience in Georgia local government grants.

Key Personnel & Team Qualifications: Resumes of primary project manager, grant writers, compliance specialists, and execution team.

Demonstrated Track Record & Case Studies: Provide three (3) relevant case studies from the past three (3) years detailing grants secured, total funding dollar value, and successful project administration outcomes.

Methodology & Approach: Detailed description of the firm's approach to grant identification, writing, administrative management, and project execution.

Billing Rates & Cost Structure: Fully burdened hourly rate schedule for all personnel titles and fee schedule structures for standard services.

Required Certifications: Signed debarment and suspension certification; Byrd Anti-Lobbying certification, if applicable; non-collusion affidavit; and the notarized Georgia contractor affidavit required by O.C.G.A. 13-10-91, or a legally permitted no-employee alternative.

9. Evaluation and Selection Criteria

The City will evaluate responsive proposals using the 100-point scale shown below. Award, if made, will be to the responsible offeror whose proposal is most advantageous to the City, considering the disclosed factors and price. The City may conduct interviews, reference checks, and negotiations before final selection.

10. General Terms and Conditions

The City reserves the right to extend the deadline, issue addenda, reject any or all proposals, waive nonmaterial irregularities, request clarifications, conduct interviews, negotiate, cancel, or resolicit when the City determines that doing so is in its best interest.

This RFP does not commit the City to award a contract, issue any task order, or reimburse any cost of preparing or submitting a proposal. Any award is subject to required Mayor and Council approval and execution by authorized City officials.

The selected Consultant shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, procurement requirements, grant conditions, insurance requirements, and City policies.

The Consultant shall maintain complete and accurate records sufficient to document services performed, costs incurred, grant compliance, procurement compliance, reimbursement support, reporting, and closeout activities. Such records shall be made available to the City and authorized grantor agencies upon request.

The Consultant shall be responsible for the performance of any approved subconsultants and shall ensure that all subconsultants comply with applicable contractual, federal, state, local, and grant-specific requirements.

The final agreement shall contain all applicable federal clauses and funding-source requirements, insurance, consultant indemnification, termination, audit, record-retention, data-security, and other City protections. Nothing in this RFP or any resulting agreement waives the City's sovereign, governmental, or other immunities, and the City will not indemnify or hold harmless the Consultant except as expressly authorized by Georgia law. Georgia law will govern, and venue shall lie in Walker County, Georgia.

Proposals and supporting materials are subject to the Georgia Open Records Act. Respondents should clearly identify any material claimed exempt from disclosure; however, the City will determine its legal disclosure obligations. The City may amend this RFP by written addendum before the submission deadline.