Request for Proposals for Municipal Depository

Request for Proposals for Municipal depository  Due Date: 2-15-24                     Legal Notice ADVERTISEMENT FOR DEPOSITORY PROPOSALSTHE CITY OF STARKVILLE, MISSSISSIPPINotice is hereby given that the City of Starkville, Mississippi is currently seeking proposals from interested financial Institutions for the opportunity to serve as the City of Starkville’s Municipal Depository (or depositories) beginning April 2024 as outlined in Sections 27-105-305; 27-105-353; and 27-105-363 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, Annotated with options for 1 and 2 years.Proposals will be accepted at the City Clerk’s Office, 110 W. Main St., City Hall, Starkville, MS  39759, until 9:00 a.m. local time on Thursday, February 15, 2024 at which time they will be opened publicly, read aloud, and taken under advisement. Proposals may also be securely submitted to document.write('bids'+'@'+'cityofstarkville.org')For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address..  Proposal documents may be obtained on the City of Starkville website (www.cityofstarkville.org) or by emailing document.write('l.hardin'+'@'+'cityofstarkville.org')For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address..  A recommendation will be presented to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen at their regular meeting, Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 5:30 p.m.Each proposal shall include all information requested including interest rates to be paid on both short term and long-term funds held by the institution as well as any and all charges for transactions handled by the institution for the City. Each financial institution designated as a depository shall designate the security and collateral authorized by law as specified in Miss Code Ann. Sections 27-105-5 and 27-105-315 for securing the funds in an amount equal to 105% of the maximum sum on deposit at any one time exclusive of that portion of said deposit account insured by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In the event that the City designates more than one depository, each depository shall enter into a depository agreement with the City.  For questions, please email Lesa Hardin, City Clerk/CFO at document.write('l.hardin'+'@'+'cityofstarkville.org')For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address. or Connor Carraway, Manager of Utilities Accounting and Finance, document.write('Ccarraway'+'@'+'starkvilleutilities.com')For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address..No proposal shall be withdrawn after the scheduled date and time of the opening without the written consent of the City of Starkville.  Within the limitations of state law, the City of Starkville reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received, to waive any informalities or irregularities in the proposals received, or to accept any proposal which is deemed most favorable to the City.   CITY OF STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI   /s/ Lesa Hardin         City Clerk / CFOPublish 1/23/24 & 1/30/24 RFP Deadline To be considered, the proposal must respond to all requirements included in the RFP guidelines and all replies must be received by the City of Starkville- Office of the City Clerk, at 110 West Main Street, Starkville, MS 39759, on or before 9:00 am on Thursday, February 15, 2024. The City of Starkville/ Starkville Utilities reserves the right to accept responses after the deadline but is under no obligation to do so. Any questions, requests for additional information or clarifications about this RFP should be directed in writing to either: City of Starkville - Lesa Hardin, City Clerk / CFO – document.write('l.hardin'+'@'+'cityofstarkville.org')For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address. Starkville Utilities - Connor Carraway, Manager of Accounting and Financedocument.write('Ccarraway'+'@'+'starkvilleutilities.com')For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address. All questions and the answers will be shared with all vendors who have requested a copy of the RFP guidelines. The City of Starkville/ Starkville Utilities reserves the sole right to modify, or cancel entirely, this RFP. The City of Starkville/ Starkville Utilities also reserves the right to modify or re-issue this RFP at its sole discretion. A vendor response to this RFP in no way creates any obligation or business relationship between The City of Starkville/ Starkville Utilities and the Vendor. The City of Starkville/ Starkville Utilities may reject any vendor response to this RFP if it does not meet the proposal requirements. RFP Timeline The following is the overall project timeline. The deadline for RFP responses is fixed. All other dates reflect The City of Starkville/ Starkville Utilities intent but remain subject to change. January 23 – Advertisement period for RFP beginsFebruary 15, 2024, at 9:00 am – RFP responses dueFebruary 20, 2024 – RFP review complete and vendor shortlist finalized  February 21, 22 and 23, 2024 – Interviews for shortlisted vendors.February 2024 / March 2024 – Final review and recommendation RFP Response specifications Vendors interested in providing these services may so indicate by furnishing six (6) bound, hard copies and one (1) electronic copy of a proposal which should consist of the information outlined in the RFP guidelines. The recommended proposal length should not exceed (but is not limited to) 25 pages, exclusive of appendices. The vendor’s cover letter, table of contents, summaries and introductions, team organizational chart, past performances, and other responses to evaluation criteria should be included in the approximate 25 pages. Preferred format includes numbered pages, single spaced, one sided on 8.5”x11” with margins of at least one inch and a readable font, size 12. Section dividers or tabs are recommended but are not counted as part of a recommended 25-page limit. With the exception of the information to be supplied in the appendices, the proposal should be divided into the following sections as listed below. Cover Letter The vendor should provide a cover letter specifying the name of the primary depository entity. It should include the person(s) who will be the point of contact throughout the selection process, the name of the proposed project manager who will oversee the implementation if selected, the location and address of the managing office. Should any sub-consultants or other vendors be included, identify the roles of each of the team members, a principle point of contact and the location and address of each. Vendor Information and Points of contact Please provide your company’s full legal name and primary physical location and phone number. Provide a brief history of your company.  Statutory Requirements Provide a description and confirmation of providing all necessary statutory requirements for a municipal depository as outlined in the legal advertisement.  Vendor System(s)  Remote Deposits Please describe in detail how remote deposits work in your system including any necessary equipment. Remote Deposit Access Please describe in detail how access to banking features can be limited to individuals who may only need to provide deposits and not have full access to banking accounts. ACH Transactions Please describe in detail how the ACH transactions (Payment for Accounts Payable & Payroll) process works including any timelines/deadlines. Customer Payment Describe functionality, features, capabilities, and payment methods supported. Describe payment methods not currently supported. Customer Web Portal/ Online Banking  Please describe your customer web portal/ online banking capabilities. Provide screenshots of examples of web portals as available. Software / Cyber Security Please describe what cyber security measures your company provides.  Training Please fully describe the training your company provides and the process by which new commercial accounts are integrated into your system. Support Please describe your support services and associated related fee structure. Indicate the structure of the support team, capabilities, and available staff to provide support services. References Please provide similar customers as references.  Information Provided by Vendor The City of Starkville/ Starkville Utilities is relying upon all information included in the request for proposal, responses provided by preferred vendor, and any and all communication, including during the interview, as representation of what the depository is offering and the capabilities and functionality of their proposed services. The City of Starkville/ Starkville Utilities is relying on the information provided as expectation of capabilities and performance of the product or services. If the performance does not meet as indicated by the vendor during the RFP process, or meet the requirements as listed by the vendor, such non-performance shall be a breach of contract, and vendor shall either provide the indicated service or functionality at no additional cost or compensate The City of Starkville/ Starkville Utilities for the value of the service or functionality. ConfidentialityThe vendor should mark any and all pages of the proposal considered to be proprietary information which may remain confidential in accordance with Mississippi Code Annotated 25-61-9 and 79-23-1 (1972, as amended). Each page of the proposal that the vendor considers trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information should be marked in the upper right-hand corner with the word “CONFIDENTIAL.” Failure to clearly identify trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information will result in that information being released subject to a public records request.  Below are specific questions that each vendor should answer and include in their RFP response. If there is a condition associated with the answer, please expound and fully explain. Please include a full fee schedule for all services, transactions, required equipment lease/rental, required equipment purchase.Are there any other fees, initial charges, recurring charges, or other costs associated with an account of this nature. If so, please outline those.Are you able to make account transfers (Yes/ No)Are you able to make ACH Payments for Accounts Payable with an uploaded file (Yes/ No)Are you able to make ACH Payments for Payroll with an uploaded file (Yes/ No)Are you able to make ACH Drafts (Yes/ No)What is the latest time an ACH can be received for it to be processed the following day? (time of day)Are you able to make stop payments (Yes/ No) and if so, how long does it go into effect? Are you able to make wire transfers (Yes/ No) and if so, how long advance notice?Are you able to receive remote deposits via check scanner from our office (Yes/ No) and what is the latest time these checks can be processed (duration)What is the turn-around time for the night deposit dropped off to be deposited into the account (duration)?Are you able to receive deposits via credit card (Yes/ No)Are you able to receive deposits via E-check (Yes/ No)What is the interest rate provided on available balances in the checking account? (% interest based on variable standard) Development of typical monthly modelsAttached as Appendix A is a monthly summary of the different accounts including typical type and number of transactions and average balancePrepare a hypothetical fee and interest schedule for a typical month for each account (water, electric and general) based on the information provided in Appendix A. Provide a recommended financial approach/solution and model(s) to:maximize earned interest to minimize fees for a typical month for each account (water, electric and general) based on the information provided in Appendix A and assuming: the minimum cash balance to remain in the water account is $1.5 Millionthe minimum cash balance to remain in the electric account is $3 Million the minimum cash balance to remain in the general accounts is $4 Millionany excess funds to be invested should be accessible and fully liquid    Appendix A- summary of accounts and typical monthly transaction type and frequency                                                                       Electric WaterGeneralItemQuantityQuantityQuantityReturned Physical Checks5 1Electronic Debits754229Electronic Credits2113142Checks Paid - Debits11519250Deposits - Credits175319Items Deposited on US96137Items Deposited Local10147Items Deposited Other Fed251151Quick Deposit on US Items Deposit Local Items714  Quick Deposit Regional Items53  Quick Deposit other Fed Items1,093  Branch Dep Error Correction1  Branch Cash Order Special2  Branch Dep per $100 Poor Prep176  Branch Dep per $100 Well Prep2,284 290Branch Coin Order per Roll40  Branch Cash Order per Debit Transactions4,002  ACH Credit Transactions221155 Acct Transfer Transactions16 2Stop Payments41 Average Balance$7.5 Million$3.6 Million$11 Million