Cost Allocation Plan Update & Internal Fee/LMAD Cost Allocation Model
| Location: | California |
|---|---|
| Posted: | Aug 12, 2026 |
| Due: | Sep 11, 2026 |
| Agency: | City of Citrus Heights |
| Type of Government: | State & Local |
| Category: |
|
| Publication URL: | To access bid details, please log in. |
| Bid Title: |
Cost Allocation Plan Update & Internal Fee/LMAD Cost Allocation Model
|
| Category: | Professional Services |
| Status: | Open |
|
Attachment Preview
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
COST ALLOCATION PLAN UPDATE AND INTERNAL FEE /
LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT (LMAD)
COST ALLOCATION MODEL DEVELOPMENT
Issued by the Administrative Services Department
6360 Fountain Square Drive, Citrus Heights, CA 95621
RFP Title:
Issuing Department:
City Contact:
Contact Phone:
Contact Email:
Proposals Due:
Submit To:
Cost Allocation Plan Update and Internal Fee / LMAD Cost Allocation
Model
Administrative Services
Susan Talwar, Administrative Services Director
(916) 727-4712
stalwar@citrusheights.net
September 11, by 5:00 p.m. PST
City of Citrus Heights, Finance Department, 6360 Fountain Square
Drive, Citrus Heights, CA 95621
1. Introduction
General Information
The City of Citrus Heights ("City") is seeking proposals from qualified professional consulting firms ("Consultants")
to build upon the City's existing Indirect Cost Allocation Plan (ICAP) and develop an updated, internally
maintainable cost allocation model. The City previously engaged Cherry Bekaert to prepare an ICAP for use with
Caltrans Local Assistance Program-funded projects. This engagement is intended to leverage that existing ICAP
methodology and cost pool structure, where appropriate, rather than build a plan from scratch, and to extend it to
two additional purposes, each considered a distinct component of this project. Qualified consultants may submit
proposals for one or both components. Depending on cost and perceived benefit, the City may award to one or two
firms.
• Component 1 — Internal User Fee Cost Allocation: updating the allocation of citywide direct and indirect
(overhead) costs to support the City's cost-of-service analysis and periodic user fee updates. This includes
verifying that the City's special revenue and enterprise funds (e.g., Gas Tax, Measure A, Solid Waste,
Stormwater, and Transit) are correctly charged, via interfund overhead transfers, for their share of citywide
administrative and support costs — not just General Fund fee-supported activities.
• Component 2 — LMAD Cost Allocation Update: updating the allocation of administrative, engineering,
and overhead costs charged to the City's Landscape Maintenance Assessment Districts (LMAD Nos. 97-01,
98-01, 98-02, and 03-01, and any successor or newly formed districts), consistent with the Landscaping and
Lighting Act of 1972 (Streets and Highways Code § 22500 et seq.) and Proposition 218 requirements.
Unlike a conventional cost allocation plan engagement, the primary deliverable of this project is not a static report.
The City's central requirement is a working, formula-driven Excel worksheet/model that City Finance staff can
independently review, update, and roll forward each fiscal year — including salary and benefit data, staff time
allocations, department budgets, and assessment district cost pools — without needing to re-engage a consultant for
routine annual updates. A narrative report summarizing methodology and findings is also required, but the
workbook is the operative deliverable.
The City is planning to enter into a standard professional services agreement, with the term and structure set by
mutual agreement of the parties. A copy of the City's standard agreement is included with this Request for Proposals
(RFP) as Attachment A.
About the City
Citrus Heights is a general law city located in Sacramento County, California, incorporated on January 1, 1997, and
operating under a council-manager form of government. The City has a population of approximately 87,583 (2020
U.S. Census) within an area of approximately 14.2 square miles. For Fiscal Year 2025-26, the City's General Fund is
budgeted at approximately $47.1 million in revenues / $46.8 million in expenditures. The City operates on a two-
year budget cycle, and the fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
City departments include, among others, the City Manager's Office, Administrative Services, General Services
(which administers the LMAD program), Community Development, Police, and Economic Development &
Community Engagement. Total citywide staffing is approximately 208 full-time equivalent position. Annual budget
documents and financial reports are available on the City's website at www.citrusheights.net.
Background
The City's current ICAP was developed by Cherry Bekaert to support recovery of indirect costs on Caltrans/federal-
aid Local Assistance Program projects, in accordance with Caltrans Local Assistance Program Guidelines and 2
CFR Part 200 (Uniform Guidance) cost principles. The City will make the existing ICAP report, cost pool
workbook, and supporting documentation available to the selected Consultant. The Consultant is expected to
evaluate the existing ICAP's cost pools, allocation bases, and methodology, and determine which elements can
reasonably be extended or adapted for internal fee-setting and LMAD purposes, and where a separate or modified
methodology is more appropriate for example, because Proposition 218/26 cost-of-service standards differ from
federal cost-allowability standards.
Inquiries
Questions regarding this RFP must be received in writing, by email, no later than August 21, 2026, by 5:00 p.m.
PST, directed to Susan Talwar, Administrative Services Director at stalwar@citrusheights.net. All inquiries must
reference "RFP 2026-Cost Allocation Plan Update / LMAD Cost Allocation Model" in the subject line. Questions
submitted by telephone will not be accepted.
Submittal Requirements
Proposals are due on or before September 11, by 5:00 p.m. PST, submitted via email to stalwar@citrusheights.net
(or as otherwise directed by the City). The submittal must reference "RFP 2026-Cost Allocation Plan Update /
LMAD Cost Allocation Model" in the subject line. Facsimile or late submittals will not be accepted.
2. Anticipated Timeline
Anticipated timeline for the RFP process is outlined below and is subject to change at the City's discretion:
Action
Notice of RFP Issued
Deadline for Written Questions
City Responses to Questions Posted
Proposals Due
City Staff Review of Proposals
Interviews with Selected Firms (if needed)
Selected Firm Notified
City Council Consideration of Agreement
Project Start Date
Tentative Timeline / Deadline
August 12, 2026
August 21, 2026, by 5:00 p.m. PST
August 27, 2026
September 11, by 5:00 p.m. PST
September 14-15, 2026
Week of Sept 24, 2026
September 28, 2026
October 7, 2026
October 12, 2026
3. Scope of Services
Consultants may qualify and apply for one or both project components below. Consultants must clearly specify
which component(s) they are responding to. Firms may revise or expand on the scope of services in accordance with
their expertise, provided all core deliverables are addressed.
Component 1 — Internal User Fee Cost Allocation Model
• Work with City staff to define the purpose, uses, and goals of an updated internal cost allocation and user
fee model, ensuring it is both accurate and appropriate to the City's current needs.
• Review the City's existing ICAP (prepared by Cherry Bekaert for Caltrans Local Assistance purposes) and
identify cost pools, allocation bases, and staff time/salary data that can reasonably be reused or adapted for
internal cost-of-service purposes.
• Identify the total cost of providing each City service at the appropriate activity/fee level, in a manner
consistent with applicable laws, statutes, rules, and regulations governing the collection of fees, rates, and
charges by public entities.
• Develop or update a citywide indirect cost allocation methodology that distributes central service
department/divisions costs (e.g., City Manager's Office, Finance, Human Resources, IT, City Attorney,
facilities) to operating departments and, in turn, to individual fee-supported activities.
• Apply the cost allocation methodology citywide across the General Fund, all special revenue and enterprise
funds and verify that each fund is being charged its appropriate share of central/overhead costs through
interfund overhead transfers (sometimes called a "cost allocation charge" or "citywide overhead transfer").
For example, the model should show, fund by fund, whether the Gas Tax, Measure A, Solid Waste,
Stormwater, and Transit funds are currently being allocated and are actually paying their proportionate
share of citywide overhead, and flag any funds that appear to be over- or under-charged relative to the
services they consume.
• Compare current fees to the full cost of service and identify the cost-recovery percentage for each fee; flag
fees that are significantly under- or over-recovering cost, and recommend appropriate subsidy percentages
where full cost recovery is unrealistic.
• Report on other matters that surface during the evaluation, including services not currently subject to a fee
that may be eligible for one.
• Build the cost allocation and fee model as a transparent, formula-driven Microsoft Excel workbook (not a
"black box"), with clearly labeled inputs (salaries/benefits, time allocations, department budgets, overhead
pools) so City staff can update the model annually without consultant assistance, including the ability to
model hypothetical/future service scenarios ("what-if" analysis).
• Provide a written methodology memo and hands-on training for Finance staff on how to update and roll the
model forward each fiscal year.
Component 2 — LMAD Cost Allocation Update
• Review the City's Landscape Maintenance Assessment Districts (LMAD Nos. 97-01, 98-01, 98-02, and 03-
01, and any successor or newly formed districts) and their current cost allocation methodologies for
administration, engineering, and overhead.
• Update the allocation of citywide and General Services Department overhead/administrative costs properly
chargeable to each LMAD, consistent with the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 and applicable
Proposition 218/26 cost-of-service and special-benefit requirements.
• Coordinate the LMAD cost allocation methodology with the City's assessment engineer(s) of record to
ensure consistency with annual Engineer's Reports and levy proceedings.
• Integrate the LMAD cost allocation into the same Excel-based model framework used for Component 1,
where practicable, so City staff maintain a single, consistent tool.
• Identify any LMAD zones where assessment revenue is not keeping pace with allocated cost, and
summarize the funding gap for each district/zone.
• Prepare and participate in presenting findings at public meetings to the City Council, advisory groups, or
City staff, as requested.
Deliverables
• A working, formula-driven Excel workbook implementing the updated cost allocation methodology for
internal fees and LMAD cost allocation, with clear documentation of formulas, inputs, and update
procedures, provided in a format editable by City staff.
• A citywide fund summary, within that workbook, showing overhead/indirect cost allocation and interfund
overhead transfers by fund including at minimum the General Fund, Gas Tax, Measure A, Solid Waste,
Stormwater, and Transit funds so staff can confirm each fund is being allocated its appropriate share of
citywide cost.
• A written methodology and findings report summarizing the approach, cost pools and allocation bases
used, and results by fee/service area and by LMAD.
• Staff training/knowledge-transfer session(s) covering how to update and maintain the model.
• Presentation of findings to City staff and, if requested, to the City Council or an advisory body.
4. Proposal Format and Requirements
To be considered, proposals submitted in response to this RFP must include the following:
Title Page
RFP number and subject, firm name, local address, telephone number, name/title/email of contact person, and date
of proposal submission.
Table of Contents
Clear and complete identification of the materials submitted by section and page number.
Qualifications and Experience
• An understanding of the work to be performed and why the firm believes itself best qualified, including
experience adapting an existing ICAP/indirect cost plan for other purposes.
• Which categories of services (Component 1, Component 2, or both) the firm is proposing on, and number
of years the firm has been in business.
• Description of the firm's experience with California municipal cost allocation plans, user fee studies, and
Proposition 218 assessment district cost allocation, including examples of comparable municipal projects
and outcomes.
This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.
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