Municipal Justice Master Plan

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
RFP No. 262-26
MUNICIPAL JUSTICE MASTER PLAN
Purchasing Analyst of Record: Andrew Miskell, CPPB
Andrew.Miskell@ThorntonCO.gov
City Hall - 2nd Floor
Contracts and Purchasing Division
9500 Civic Center Drive
Thornton, CO 80229-4326
Main Phone: (303) 538-7325

RFP No. 262-26
Municipal Justice Master Plan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A.1 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:............................................................................................... 4
A.2 PURCHASING ANALYST OF RECORD: ....................................................................... 4
A.3 GENERAL SUMMARY OF PROCUREMENT NEEDS: .................................................. 4
B.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND: ........................................................................................... 5
B.2 REORGANIZATION, ONGOING CHALLENGES, AND PROBLEM STATEMENT: ....... 5
B.3 OBJECTIVES/GOALS: ................................................................................................... 6
B.4 BUDGETARY REQUIREMENTS: ................................................................................... 7
B.5 VENDOR INTERVIEWS: ................................................................................................. 7
B.6 SCOPE OF WORK - GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS: .................................................. 7
B.7 PROJECT MEETINGS: ................................................................................................... 9
B.8 FINAL REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS: ............................................................ 10
B.9 THORNTON'S INTENDED PROJECT MILESTONES:................................................. 10
B.10 F.O.B. POINT: ............................................................................................................. 11
B.11 PREVIOUS WORK SAMPLES: .................................................................................. 11
B.12 FUTURE WORK CONSIDERATIONS: ....................................................................... 11
B.13 INVOICING REQUIREMENTS: ................................................................................... 12
B.14 VENDOR PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: ............................................................ 12
B.15 COOPERATIVE PURCHASING: ................................................................................ 12
C.1 INSTRUCTIONS FOR ANSWERING QUESTIONS: ..................................................... 13
C.2 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS: ........................................................................................... 13
D.1 PRICING INFORMATION: ............................................................................................ 17
D.2 VENDOR PRICING SUBMITTAL: ................................................................................. 17
D.3 BEST AND FINAL OFFER: ........................................................................................... 17
D.4 VENDOR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS: ................................................................. 17
D.5 PRICING: ....................................................................................................................... 18
D.6 REIMBURSABLE EXPENSES: .................................................................................... 18
D.7 PROPOSAL ITEMS: ..................................................................................................... 18

RFP No. 262-26
Municipal Justice Master Plan
E.1 PROPOSAL POSTED LOCATIONS: ............................................................................ 19
E.2 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS:............................................................................................ 19
E.3 ADDENDA: .................................................................................................................... 19
E.4 SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS: .................................................................................. 19
E.5 DOCUMENTS FOR FINAL VENDOR SUBMISSION: ................................................... 20
E.6 PAGE LENGTHS FOR FINAL VENDOR SUBMISSION: ............................................. 20
E.7 CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION............................................... 21
E.8 LATE PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS: ............................................................................. 22
E.9 AWARDS: ...................................................................................................................... 22
E.10 ACCEPTANCE PERIOD: ............................................................................................ 22
E.11 EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS: ............................................................................... 22
E.12 EVALUATION CRITERIA: ........................................................................................... 23
E.13 POST AWARD PURCHASE ORDER: ........................................................................ 23
E.14 STANDARD PROPOSAL CONSIDERATIONS: ......................................................... 23
F.1 SAMPLE AGREEMENT: ............................................................................................... 24
G.1 ACCEPTANCE AND ADDENDA ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FORM: ............................. 25
G.2 SAMPLE AGREEMENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FORM ............................................ 26
G.3 REFERENCES AND AUTHORIZATION AND RELEASE FORM: ............................... 27
G.4 DISCLOSURE OF GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (A.I.) USAGE FORM:
............................................................................................................................................. 28
H.1 PURCHASING MANAGER FORM: .............................................................................. 29
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RFP No. 262-26
Municipal Justice Master Plan
SCHEDULE, PURCHASING ANALYST OF RECORD, AND GENERAL
SUMMARY OF NEEDS
A.1 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
The following is a list of important items, dates, and times that pertain to this solicitation. All
times listed below are in reference to the local Thornton, Colorado time.
Solicitation Item Date Time
Proposal Issued July 20, 2026
Deadline to Submit Additional Questions July 31, 2026 11:00 P.M.
Response to Written Questions August 6, 2026
Proposal Due Date August 18, 2026 11:00 P.M.
A.2 PURCHASING ANALYST OF RECORD:
The Purchasing Analyst of Record for this solicitation will be the central point of contact
throughout the solicitation process. All questions and inquiries must be submitted in writing via
a direct email to the Purchasing Analyst. No communication is to be directed to any other
Thornton personnel.
The Purchasing Analyst of Record's contact information is as follows:
Name: Andrew Miskell, CPPB
Title: Purchasing Manager
Email: Andrew.Miskell@ThorntonCO.gov
A.3 GENERAL SUMMARY OF PROCUREMENT NEEDS:
The City of Thornton, CO ("Thornton") is seeking Proposals from interested firms for the
purchase of consulting services for the City of Thornton regarding its Municipal Court's
operations and policies, for both short-term decision-making and long-term road map building
to support Thornton's operations.
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RFP No. 262-26
Municipal Justice Master Plan
CURRENT STATE, SCOPE OF WORK, AND SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
B.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND:
Thornton is a home-rule city located northeast of Denver in Adams County, Colorado, which
has experienced large growth over the past forty years, with a population of forty-two thousand
(42,000) in 1980, to over one hundred fifty thousand plus (150,000+) citizens today. By 2065,
Thornton is projected to become the 5th largest city in Colorado within the next few years, with
population growth projections exceeding two hundred forty thousand (240,000) citizens.
Thornton's governing body includes four (4) wards with two elected officials from each ward
plus the Mayor. As part of the responsibilities of Thornton's elected officials, they appoint the
three (3) professional positions of City Manager, City Attorney, and Municipal Judge.
Thornton's Charter section 5.4 (a) states, "To be responsible to the Council for the efficient
administration of all administrative departments of the City government except the department
under the direction of the City Attorney. As to this department the powers herein granted shall
not be applicable unless specifically provided."
While the City Manager oversees the operations of the City, and the City Attorney oversees
Thornton's in-house counsel and prosecutorial teams, the Municipal Judge has traditionally
overseen the court's proceedings, but the court staff have been managed by another
department.
B.2 REORGANIZATION, ONGOING CHALLENGES, AND PROBLEM STATEMENT:
The City completed an organizational review in mid-2025 to ensure that the City's structure
meets the current needs and priorities of the organization. As a recommendation of that
organizational review, the City will be examining the supervisory alignment of Thornton's
Municipal Court administrative staff. In addition to evaluating administrative realignment,
Thornton's Municipal Court has faced recent opportunities and challenges
For additional information regarding Thornton's organizational review and a copy of the report,
proposing Vendors may follow this link:
https://thorntonco.primegov.com/meetings/ItemWithTemplateType?id=4378&meetingTe
mplateType=2&compiledMeetingDocumentId=11858
In addition to the prospect of realigning the administrative staff of Thornton's courts, the courts
themselves have undergone several operational and program improvements. The current
state of affairs of Thornton's Municipal Courts was described during a planning session and
Council Retreat in January of 2026.
A copy of the state of affairs slide deck can be found here: January 20, 2026 Planning
Session, along with a brief synopsis is also listed below:
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RFP No. 262-26
Municipal Justice Master Plan
1) Municipal Court cases are increasing significantly, increasing by 3,700 more cases in 2025,
with a total of 16,405 cases
2) Given caseloads, the Municipal Court often utilizes two and sometimes three courtrooms,
relying on contracted Associate Judges. In 2025, Associate Judges worked over five
hundred (500) hours.
3) The Municipal Court converted to paperless processes in 2025 which improved efficiency
of some functions but also created new challenges.
4) The Municipal Court has been and will continue to be impacted by new policies and
programmatic emphasis on proactive traffic enforcement and nuisance code compliance
and efforts to support underrepresented communities through programs like the
Empowerment Expo, Fresh Start Court, and opportunities to increase supportive services
such as diversion, restorative justice and probation.
Thornton is seeking proposals from qualified firms with experience in reviewing
governmental/Municipal Courts, for the awarded Vendor to provide operational and policy
impacts that could assist in short-term decision-making around the Municipal Court
Administration Alignment and short-term resource priorities. The awarded Vendor's review is
also intended to provide a longer-term road map to support prioritization and decision-making.
B.3 OBJECTIVES/GOALS:
Thornton's desired outcome from this RFP is to find a qualified Vendor that can meet and/or
exceed the RFP's objectives/goals. These goals will include, but are not limited to:
1) Evaluation of potential realignment of administrative responsibilities of the Municipal Court.
2) Development of information to inform Intergovernmental impacts and strategy.
3) Review of and recommendations regarding current facilities and technology.
4) Prospective innovations and programs for potential adoption by the municipal justice
system.
Each of these items are discussed further in the Scope of Work section below, including items
of emphasis and focus for the proposing Vendor.
Thornton has drafted and developed a governance document for this project that includes
people, titles, roles and responsibilities for the project. This document will be shared with the
awarded Vendor upon final award and purchase order issuance.
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B.4 BUDGETARY REQUIREMENTS:
Thornton has a targeted budget for the awarded Vendor's proposed solution of seventy-five
thousand dollars ($75,000.00).
All additional/future work outside of this budgeted amount is subject to funding appropriations
review and approval by Thornton City Council.
B.5 VENDOR INTERVIEWS:
Thornton may elect to conduct Vendor interviews in order to clarify and answer additional
questions. All interviews will be held at a physical/virtual location at Thornton's sole discretion
and shall be at Thornton's decision if an interview is deemed as being necessary.
Thornton shall not compensate a proposing Vendor for any costs incurred by a Vendor that are
related to an interview conducted by Thornton during this RFP process.
B.6 SCOPE OF WORK - GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The following items provide additional context surrounding Thornton's goals and areas that the
award Vendor would be expected to emphasize during their consultant work with Thornton.
1) Evaluation of Potential Realignment:
The awarded Vendor's analysis will include impacts on the judicial and administrative
resources that currently exist within Thornton's Municipal Court team.
The analysis will also include how current and future recommendations will impact
Thornton's governance and the systems that currently/should exist for cross-
departmental strategies and impacts. Cross-departmental may include, but is not
limited to other teams within Thornton, such as the Thornton Police Department, City
Manager's Office, City Attorney's Office, Information Technology, and/or the Finance
Department.
The Vendor's analysis will include recommendations of an appropriate alignment for
decision-making and support that aligns with the Municipal Court's needs and
addresses the challenges that a growing team/City has before them.
This analysis must include best practices and "lessons learned" from other Municipal
Courts that are peers to Thornton, both in geographic proximity and to operational
size/structure. Analysis will include evidence-based practices, where possible.
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RFP No. 262-26
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2) Development of Information for Intergovernmental Impacts/Strategy:
Thornton's Municipal Court has limited jurisdiction to the following:
* Traffic infractions/offenses;
* Parking violations (including tow hearings);
* Code violations; including nuisance and unsafe buildings;
* Animal offenses (including animal fact finding hearings); and
* Misdemeanors (Shoplifting, theft, price switching, damaging property, assault,
trespassing, harassment, disorderly conduct, obstructing, resisting, possession of
paraphernalia/alcohol).
New laws and emerging priorities have created potential opportunities that Thornton
would seek for the awarded Vendor to analyze. These include the municipal vs. county
functions, with a focus on domestic violence, including cross-jurisdictional collaboration.
Thornton's expectation is for the Vendor to provide an analysis of Thornton's situation
vs. peer groups, along with recommendations for potential avenues of exploration for
cross-jurisdictional collaboration with Thornton. Analysis should include, at a minimum,
impacts of these cross-jurisdictional collaborations on administrative staff and Thornton
departments.
These new laws/priorities have also allowed Thornton to ask the Vendor to provide an
analysis on program impacts that may be felt by Thornton. This includes an evaluation
of the Adams County justice system functions and programming that may be performed
more efficiently at the local Municipal Court level, the advantages/disadvantages of
Thornton or the County implementing these functions, and the identification of additional
benefits of local regulations over state law. Analysis should include identification of
local and state-wide resources available to assist in implementing these functions at a
local level.
3) Current Facilities and Technology:
The Municipal Justice Center was erected in 2005 and is composed of multiple levels of
primarily two interconnected buildings, the Municipal Court and the Thornton Police
Department - District 1. As part of the analysis, Thornton wants the awarded Vendor's
analysis to include considerations for the Municipal Court's physical building space,
courtroom(s), facility, available technology within these spaces, and office impacts
regarding growth of the Municipal Court and any implemented recommendations from
the Vendor's analysis. The analysis should include physical impacts on other
departments, and if limiting, solutions to those impacts.
As for technology, the Municipal Court implemented our current court management
software platform, Full Court (Neumo platform), in 2003 and transitioned to a web-based
version in 2014. As previously stated, Thornton's Courts team transitioned to a
paperless system in 2025, however, there are other IT enhancements, and investments
currently underway in partner departments (Police, Code Compliance) as part of their
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Public Safety Technology Plan. As Thornton continues to grow, Thornton would want
the awarded Vendor to review our current court management software for its
functionality/scalability vs. the current software market, as well as review the impact and
opportunities for the Court to continue to become further efficient and paperless,
including integration opportunities with cross-departmental systems and their impacts.
4) Municipal Justice System Programs/Innovations:
Thornton continues to strive to support underrepresented communities through
programs like the Empowerment Expo, Fresh Start Court, and opportunities to increase
supportive services such as diversion, restorative justice and probation.
The City is interested in understanding potential level of service for the following
programs and their resource impacts both in the Municipal Court and to cross-
departmental partners, phasing opportunities, and evaluation of the relative priority of
new investments.
The awarded Vendor will include in their analysis items such as the scoping and impact
of probation programs/resources, diversion/restorative justice strategies, mediation, and
Thornton Fresh Start Court expansion. Analysis should include, at a minimum, impacts
on administrative staff and Thornton departments.
5) Overarching Considerations for Areas of Evaluation Emphasis:
For any structural recommendations, Vendors are to identify any position or
administrative impacts and any off-setting opportunities that could limit the cost and
position impacts of implementation. To a reasonable degree, ensure that
recommendations consider funding limitations, impacts to existing or best practices
internal controls, and the benefits/costs of implementation.
B.7 PROJECT MEETINGS:
The awarded Vendor will be expected to attend and manage the meetings for this project,
including but not limited to the sharing and collection of information, development of meeting
materials and handouts, graphic illustrations, preparing and disseminating meeting notes,
preparing presentations, reports, and recommendations for different Thornton personnel.
Thornton's expectation is for the awarded Vendor to attend virtual, and upon Thornton's
request, in-person meetings, with the meeting style to be dependent on the audience and
material to be discussed. Thornton is generally flexible with a meeting's format (in-person or
virtual). Proposing Vendors are highly encouraged to address how they would meet
Thornton's needs and what their recommendations are for meetings with Thornton's
Leadership.
Upon completion of each meeting with Thornton, the Vendor will create a meeting summary
and disseminate (email) that summary to those Thornton individuals who were in attendance of
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the meeting. This requirement is to ensure that there is minimal miscommunication between
both Parties during this project.
B.8 FINAL REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
The awarded Vendor will be expected to provide a final report of their process analysis,
including recommendations and potential outcomes for each recommendation, to Thornton.
The final report will be provided in conjunction with the awarded Vendor's presentation of the
report to Thornton's leadership, and it will include all of the recommendations and
implementation strategies, impacts (advantages and disadvantages), methodology for findings,
assessments and summaries, etc.
As part of the final report and recommendations, the awarded Vendor will also be expected to
provide a cost analysis and quantify projected fiscal impacts of any/all proposed
recommendations and the timeline for implementing such recommendations.
All reports provided by the Vendor to Thornton shall be in an electronic format that is usable to
Thornton (e.g., Adobe PDF, Microsoft Office, etc.) either through email or download, which shall
become the property of Thornton. All reports generated and submitted by the awarded Vendor
to Thornton shall adhere to the State of Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act ("CADA"). As of
2021, House Bill 21-1110 (CADA) law requires all technology and electronic documents (i.e.,
Reports generated in Adobe PDF, etc.) to meet or exceed the Website Content Accessibility
Guidelines ("WCAG") standards, regardless of if the product/information is external facing or
internal only. The State of Colorado has put their Office of Information and Technology ("OIT")
in charge of developing and distributing the standards for this compliance.
Proposing Vendors are to note that Thornton does not govern or have oversight over these
requirements. For more information on the CADA and WCAG guidelines, please follow this
hyperlink to the State of Colorado's Office of Information Technology website:
https://oit.colorado.gov/hb21-1110-faq
B.9 THORNTON'S INTENDED PROJECT MILESTONES:
Thornton has listed its intended project payment milestones that it would assume to be
agreeable to the Vendor. The proposing Vendor may provide an alternative recommendation
of payment milestones, however, Thornton reserves at its sole discretion to negotiate a final
set of payment milestones with the awarded Vendor to find a mutually agreeable payment
structure for this project.
1) Milestone # 1 - Project initiation and kick-off meeting with stakeholders, including initial
review of engagement plan with Project Steering Committee.
2) Milestone # 2 - Engagement and Data Collection with Project Steering Committee,
Executive Committee, City Council and other key stakeholders.
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