PRINTING AND MAIL SERVICES

Agency:	City of Berkeley
State:	California
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	R - Professional, Administrative and Management Support Services T - Photographic, Mapping, Printing, and Publications Services
Posted:	Feb 20, 2024
Due:	Mar 14, 2024
Solicitation No:	24-11657-C
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Finance Department

General Services Division

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

Specification No. 24-11657-C

FOR

PRINTING AND MAIL SERVICES

PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE OPENED AND READ PUBLICLY

The City of Berkeley is soliciting written proposals from qualified firms or individuals printing and mailing services of City

billing. As a Request for Proposal (RFP) this is not an invitation to bid and although price is very important, other factors will

be taken into consideration.

The project scope, content of proposal, and vendor selection process are summarized in the RFP (attached). Proposals must be

received no later than 2:00 pm, on Thursday, March, 14, 2024. Proposals are to be sent via email with the “Specification

No. 24-11657-C and PRINTING AND MAIL SERVICES OF CITY BILLING” clearly indicated in the subject line of the

email. Please submit one (1) PDF of the technical Proposal with the filename saved as, “Proposal Vendor Name - 24-11657-

C Printing and Mail Services.” Corresponding pricing proposal shall be submitted as a separate document with the filename

saved as, “Pricing Vendor Name – 24-11657-C Printing and Mailing Services of City billing.”

Email Proposals to:

City of Berkeley

Finance Department/General Services Division

purchasing@berkeleyca.gov

Proposals will not be accepted after the date and time stated above. Incomplete proposal or proposals that do not conform to the

requirements specified herein will not be considered. Issuance of the RFP does not obligate the City to award a contract, nor is

the City liable for any costs incurred by the proposer in the preparation and submittal of proposals for the subject work. The

City retains the right to award all or parts of this contract to several bidders, to not select any bidders, and/or to re-solicit

proposals. The act of submitting a proposal is a declaration that the proposer has read the RFP and understands all the

requirements and conditions.

For questions concerning the anticipated work, or scope of the project, please contact Emily Teruya, Revenue Collection

Manager, via email at eteruya@berkeleyca.gov no later than Thursday, February 29, 2024. Answers to questions will not be

provided by telephone or email. Answers to all questions or any addenda will be posted on the City of Berkeley’s site at Bid &

Proposal Opportunities | City of Berkeley (berkeleyca.gov). It is the vendor’s responsibility to check this site. For general

questions concerning the submittal process, contact purchasing at 510-981-7320.

We look forward to receiving and reviewing your proposal.

Sincerely,

Darryl Sweet

General Services Manager

2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 Tel: 510.981.7320 TDD: 510.981.6903

E-mail: purchasing@berkeleyca.gov Website

City of Berkeley

Printing & Mailing of Billing

Internal

Specification No. 24-11657-C

Page 2 of 27

Release Date 2/20/2024

BACKGROUND /SUMMARY/or INTRODUCTION

The City of Berkeley is seeking proposals from qualified firms to create, print and inventory bill stock, provide

printing services for refuse bills, business license renewals, and other miscellaneous bill printing, inserting and

mailing services. Additionally, the City is seeking proposals including, but not limited to programming, training

and all other services necessary to meet the requirements as stated in this RFP as well as the most cost effective/

best postage rate. The City is also interested in electronic bill presentment options as a second phase of

implementation.

The City of Berkeley uses SunGard vendor-owned and supported billing software (Customer Information System)

to bill refuse accounts on a quarterly basis, staggered over the three months of each quarter. A separate SunGard

vendor-owned and supported software (Accounts Receivable) is used to bill 18 other miscellaneous account types,

including, but not limited to Marina Berth fees, Fire Inspection fees, Transfer Station Credit Accounts, Dog License

Renewals, False Alarm Calls, etc. With both of these billing systems, a print file is electronically sent to the vendor

to manipulate, process into bills, apply metered postage, and deliver to the United States Post Office (USPS). The

selected vendor must be able to print, apply postage, and deliver bills to the USPS within 24 hours of receipt of the

electronic file.

The City of Berkeley also uses Accela software to process Business License renewals and delinquent notices. An

Excel file of accounts is generated and is used to ‘mail merge’ the data into either the Business License Renewal

form or a Delinquent Business License Renewal Form. The Business License renewal notices are generally mailed

in early December. Delinquent business license notices may be sent more frequently than twice per year.

The City prefers to send a print file, similar to the method used for refuse and miscellaneous bills, rather than send

an Excel or notebook file to be merged into a form. The selected vendor must be able to accommodate either of

these methods for producing documents.

The City often includes ‘inserts’ with bills and/or renewal notices. The selected vendor must be able to include

inserts in bills or renewal notices with a one-week notice. The City may elect to furnish printed informational

inserts that the Vendor will store in their facility until inserted in the bills

The City is in the process of converting most of its billing from SunGard to either AMCS (for refuse billing) or

Tyler Munis for miscellaneous billings. Therefore, printing requirements may change from the time this RFP is

issued and the time when new bills are generated and mailed by the new vendor.

II. SCOPE OF SERVICES

Initial contract period is intended to be three years. Any price increases are to be negotiated. Awarded vendor

should be prepared to provide 60-days notice of proposed increase with documentation supporting the proposed

increase.

Currently, Refuse, annual Rental Housing Safety Program Fees (RHSP), as well as 1st and 2nd ‘delinquent notices’

for the Rental Housing Safety Program, annual Environmental Health Inspection Permit fees, monthly Marina berth

fees, and Business License renewal and courtesy notices are printed and mailed by an outside vendor. The City is

interested in having the selected vendor print statements for the bulk of the account types currently billed by the

Finance/Revenue Collection Division. The accounts listed below are currently processed by our print vendor:

City of Berkeley

Printing & Mailing of Billing

Internal

Specification No. 24-11657-C

Page 3 of 27

Release Date 2/20/2024

Type of Account

Refuse

Approximately 13,000 per quarter

Staggered over the quarter

Rental Housing Safety Program

Annual Bill - October

1st Delinquent Notice-November

2nd Delinquent Notice-December

Marina Berth Fees-monthly

Environmental Health Permits-monthly

Business License

Annual Renewal- early November

Annual courtesy notice – mid January

Approximate Number of Accounts

3,500 (1st month of the quarter)

6,500 (2nd month of the quarter)

3,000 (3rd month of the quarter)

5,800 + 1 page insert

4,500 + 1 page insert

1,400 – no insert

+/- 850; +a single or double sided insert

every 2-3 months

1,100

+/- 12,500 double sided

+/- 10,000 double sided

Samples of bills, renewals, and inserts are available upon request to Emily Teruya at eteruya@berkeleyca.gov.

STATEMENTS:

Refuse

Approximately 13,000 quarterly refuse accounts are billed over 3 months. The accounts are billed using the

SunGard/CIS module. Most City billed refuse accounts are billed 4 times a year in 3 cycles, others are billed

monthly. The number of bills mailed out monthly fluctuates based on the routes being billed. The majority of

accounts billed by the City are commercial. Most residential accounts are billed on the county property tax. The

City billed refuse statements are currently transmitted electronically to and mailed by the current vendor. (Payments

are processed using a Lock Box service.) Often, ‘bill messages’ are set up to print on the bills for a specific time

frame and the selected vendor must be able to accommodate this requirement. Occasionally, a single or double

sided insert is included with the bill. The Word document in sent to the print vendor to print and include with the

bill for a specified period of time. Or, a printed insert may be sent to the vendor to warehouse and fold and insert

with the statements for a specified period of time.

Rental Housing Safety Program (RHSP)

Approximately 5,800 Rental Housing Safety Program accounts are billed annually in October. These accounts are

billed using the SunGard/Accounts Receivable (MR) software. The RHSP annual bills are transmitted

electronically to and statements mailed by an outside vendor. Delinquent ‘notices’, which include a late payment

penalty assessment, are billed and mailed approximately 30 and 60 days after the initial annual bill. The delinquent

notices are transmitted electronically to and statements mailed by the current vendor. A single sided insert is

included with the initial bill and the first delinquent notice. The Word document in sent to the print vendor to print

and include with the bill and first delinquent notice. The electronic statement file is manipulated and the statements

are then printed.

Marina Berth Fees

Approximately 850-900 accounts are billed monthly. These accounts are billed using the SunGard/Accounts

Receivable (MR) software. Marina statements are transmitted electronically to and statement mailed by the current

vendor. A single sided insert is included with the bill approximately every quarter. A Word or .pdf document is sent

to the vendor to print and include with the bills. The electronic statement file is manipulated and the statements are

then printed.

City of Berkeley

Printing & Mailing of Billing

Internal

Specification No. 24-11657-C

Page 4 of 27

Release Date 2/20/2024

Environmental Health Annual Permits

Approximately 1,100 accounts are billed annually in December. These accounts are billed using the

SunGard/Accounts Receivable (MR) software. Environmental Health statements are transmitted electronically to

and statement mailed by the current vendor. The electronic statement file is manipulated and the statements are then

printed.

All bills will be printed on 8.5 x 11 inch printed stock (double sided) with a perforation for tear off payment stub.

The format of the current bills will be modified so the tear off remittance stub prints at the bottom of the statement,

rather than on the top one-third of the statement. An OCR line is included for payment processing which includes

the two part account number and amount due. The statements and delinquent notices are mailed in a standard

double window envelope and includes a single window return envelope. The City is seeking a vendor that can

provide design and format services that would result in a flexible, professional, and easy to understand billing

statement.

Vendor must provide summary report with each billing that ensures all bills were received, printed, and mailed. The

summary must include the total number of bills received, printed, and mailed, postage cost, as well as a summary

total amount billed. These totals must match the City’s various billing registers.

RENEWAL NOTICES:

Annual Business License Renewals and Delinquent Renewal Notices

Approximately 12,500 business license renewal notices are mailed annually in early December. Business license

renewal forms are printed on 8.5 x 11 paper with the renewal instructions printed on the back of the form. The

renewals are often accompanied by several one- or two-sided inserts and a standard window envelope with return

envelope included.

With the current process there are minor changes to the renewal forms. The renewal instructions, which print on the

back of the renewal, have minor changes every year as well, but may undergo significant revisions. It is expected

that the selected vendor will be able to make minor form changes within a three-day turnaround and major revisions

within a one-week turnaround.

Potential Future Billing Services

The City is interested in outsourcing the following bill/statement types as well:

Type of Account

Approximate Number of Accounts

Dog License Renewal Notices

400/month

Fire Inspection Fee Bills

800-1300/month

Hazardous Material Permit Fees

400-450/month

False Alarm Fees

35-250/month

Transfer Station Fees

225/month

Administrative Citation Notices

250/month

Rental Housing Safety Program

Inspection Fees

100-200/month

Closed Accounts

100-200/month

Marina Berth Fees-Closed Accounts

250-350/month

All of the above accounts are currently billed using the SunGard/Accounts Receivable (MR). An electronic

statement file would be sent to the selected vendor, manipulated and the statements printed and mailed. All bills

will be printed on 8.5 x 11-inch printed stock (double sided) with a perforation for tear off payment stub at the

bottom. An OCR line will be included for payment processing which includes the two-part account number and

amount due. The statements would be mailed in a standard double window envelope and include a single window

return envelope.

Printing/Fold-Insert/Mailing and Technical Components

City of Berkeley

Printing & Mailing of Billing

Internal

Specification No. 24-11657-C

Page 5 of 27

Release Date 2/20/2024

The specifications listed below are minimum requirements and are intended to govern, in general, the size and type

of the bills, envelopes and bill inserts printed and mailed. Your proposal should address the attached specifications

providing any additional information deemed necessary to demonstrate your company's ability to perform the

required effort.

The selected vendor must be a full-service supplier who is capable of providing all services requested with no

subcontracting of any portions of the project, including presorting, artwork, programming and electronic present of

bills and statements.

The selected vendor must provide or be able to:

• Programming and bill design services as required. The design should be able to accommodate the use of

graphics, bar graphs and color where feasible;

• A means for secure data transmission and confirm receipt of the data;

• Print, insert, meter and mail via first class postage the completed statements the same business day. Vendor

must make every effort to mail it the same-day, and if this is not possible the bills must be mailed the next

business day. Vendor must contractually guarantee this schedule;

• Must store/warehouse all forms and envelopes used to process City bills.

• Provide individual item pricing or a per-unit fee that includes all services, except postage. Per-unit fee

must include all materials, data processing, printing and warehousing required printing and mailing each

bill. Per-unit price must be all-inclusive. In either case there can be no additional charges for

jammed/wasted materials or other overhead;

• Ability for the City to view and approve sample bills online before the bills are printed and mailed, at no

additional cost to the City;

• Upon City request, vendor must be willing to provide, at no cost, parallel data processing for one to two

months, or until City’s satisfaction before official start of service. Vendor will provide data processing and

display bills in PDF format;

• Support bill inserts printed by the City and provide insert printing services as well;

• Electronic pre-sorting services to maximize postal discounts and mail bills at lowest first-class rate.

Software used to pre-sort must be USPS approved;

• Window #10 mailing envelope with security tinting to mask bill contents. Return envelope should be a

single window #9 with security tinting;

• Access to two years historical statement data will be required along with the ability by the City staff to

remotely reprint statements on a real-time basis.

• A disaster recovery facility to process City bills if the vendor’s main facility becomes inoperable. List

locations and information on all facilities.

• Conduct initial discussions with the City to develop an in-depth understanding of Refuse, miscellaneous

billing, and Business License Renewal processes;

• Supply a time schedule for initial implementation process;

• Implement safeguards and checks to ensure that the City's bills, envelopes and/or billing data are not mixed

or any way combined with other organization's bills, envelopes and/or data. Any bills that are not

presentable, have incorrect information not supplied by the City, or are incorrect due to Vendor processing

problems or mistakes will be reprocessed immediately and at Vendor’s expense;

• Experience with SunGard, Accela Automation, and/or Tyler Munis is a plus.

SPECIFICATIONS

This is the opportunity summary page. You are currently viewing an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation. For more information, please visit the Publication URL Web page.

PRINTING AND MAIL SERVICES

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