REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR TAX COLLECTION AGREEMENT FOR CABELL COUNTY WHEREAS, West Virginia Code 11A-2-2(a) provides: "Taxes are hereby declared to be debts owing by the taxpayer, for which he or she shall be personally liable. After delinquency, the sheriff may enforce this liability by appropriate action in any court of competent jurisdiction; " WHEREAS, West Virginia Code 11A-2-2(b) provides: "In any such action, the sheriff may prosecute the same;" WHEREAS, West Virginia Code 11A-2-2(c) provides: "The county commission may hire an attorney to prosecute any such action for the collection of such delinquent taxes or to defend the county's interest in any proceeding before any United States Bankruptcy Court: Provided that any attorney so hired shall be reimbursed for actual expenses directly incurred in the course of the representation;" WHEREAS, West Virginia Code 11A-2-2(c) further provides: "That in any engagement of any attorney so hired under this section, the county commission shall enter into a written representation agreement with the attorney so engaged, which written representation agreement shall include, in the case of an hourly fee agreement, a cumulative cap of any hourly fees charged on a per-case basis or, in the case of a contingency fee agreement, a percentage cap of any money or things of value recovered in the representation. Any attorney fees or other costs associated with the collection of taxes, not heretofore provided for in subsection (b) of this section, shall be paid from the taxes so collected prior to the distribution to the various taxing units;" WHEREAS, the Cabell County Commission desires to enter into a written representation agreement with an attorney and/or law firm for purposes of the collection of delinquent taxes under West Virginia Code 11A-2-2, NOW, IT BE IT BE THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Cabell County Commission will entertain written Proposals from attorneys and/or law firms to enter into a one-year written / representation agreement, renewable on April 3, 2018, if mutually agreed and upon such terms as may be agreed at the time of renewal, with either (I) an hourly agreement with a cumulative cap of any hourly fees charged on a per-case basis or (2) a contingency fee agreement with a percentage cap of any money or things of value recovered in the representation, and provisions regarding the allocation of litigation expenses, including filing fees and other court costs as defined in the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, between the Commission and the attorney and/or law firm, under the following terms and conditions: 1. Responses: An original and four (4) copies of any Response must be received by the Commission no later than March 1, 2017, at 5:00 p.m. ET to: Beth Thompson, County Administrator, Cabell County Courthouse, Suite 300, 750 Fifth Avenue, Huntington, West Virginia, 25701. 2. Questions: Any written questions regarding the intent, meaning, and interpretation of this RFP, shall be directed to Beth Thompson, County Administrator, Cabell County Courthouse, Suite 300, 750 Fifth Avenue, Huntington, West Virginia, 25701, P. 304-526-8634, F. 304-526-8648, bthompson@cabellcounty.org. Anyone responding to this RFP shall be deemed to have waived any right to submit questions that are not submitted to the County Administrator in compliance with this RFP. No person is authorized to give oral interpretations of, or make oral changes to this RFP and any oral statements by a County official or employee will not be binding on the County Commission and should not be relied upon by anyone responding to this RFP. Any interpretation of, or change to this RFP will be made in the form of a written addendum to the RFP. Anyone responding to this RFP can only rely upon those interpretations of, or changes to, this RFP that are issued by the County Administrator in a written addendum. 3. Response Contents: The contents of any Response to the Request for Proposals, including all supporting documentation, must be submitted to the County Administrator in a sealed envelope or container that is clearly labeled on the outside with the following information (a) the name of this RFP: "Tax Collection Agreement"; (b) the date and time for submitting the Response; and (c) the attorney or law firm's name, address, and telephone number, and must include the following: a. The name, address, title, phone number, fax number, and email address of the person responsible for submission of the Response; b. A brief description of the attorney's or law firm's employment and/or business history; c. A statement of the attorney's or law firm's experience in the area of collections, generally, as well as any experience in the collection of taxes, fines, fees, or governmental assessments, specifically; d. Identification of the attorney(s) and/or staff member(s) who will be involved in performing the work under the written representation agreement; e. A copy of the attorney's and/or firm's declarations page for their current professional liability malpractice policy; f. The proposed terms of representation for (i) an hourly agreement with a cumulative cap of any hourly fees charged on a per-case basis or (ii) a contingency fee agreement with a percentage cap of any money or things of value recovered in the representation, and provisions regarding the allocation of litigation expenses, including filing fees and other court costs as defined in the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, between the Commission and the attorney and/or law firm; g. Identification of three professional references for the attorney or law firm by name, address, telephone number, and email address; h. Any additional information that will be helpful to the Commission in evaluating the Proposal. Anyone responding to this RFP shall be solely responsible for ensuring that its proposal is delivered to the County Administrator prior to the deadline for submitting proposals. Any proposal delivered to the County Administrator after the date and time specified will be rejected and returned unopened to the responding party. Proposals may be delivered in person, by United States Mail, or by private courier service. Proposals shall not be delivered and will not be accepted by oral communication, telephone call, electronic mail, telegraphic transmission, or facsimile transmission. A responding party may withdraw or modify its proposal prior to the deadline for delivering proposals. A responding Company may not, however, withdraw or modify his, her, or its proposal after the deadline for delivering proposals. 4. Schedule: The County Commission intends to adhere to the following schedule during the RFP process, but it may change at the Commission's discretion: a. Issuance of the RFP: February 9, 2017 b. Deadline to submit questions: February 17, 2017 c. County issuance of written responses: February 23, 2017 d. RFP response submission deadline: March 1, 2017 e. Deadline for Administrator to evaluate responses: March 8, 2017 f. Summary of RFP responses presented: March 15, 2017 g. County Commission meeting to select proposal: March 23, 2017 h. Contract negotiations completed: March 30, 2017 i. Contract executed by Administrator: April 3, 2017 5. Award of Contract: It is anticipated that the County Commission will award the contract to the attorney or law firm that submits the best overall proposal, based on the County Commission's determination of its best interests. The County Commission shall have the exclusive authority to select the best overall proposal and make any determinations concerning the responsiveness of the responding parties; the financial terms of their Proposals; the responding parties' respective abilities to satisfactorily perform the work specified by the County Commission; the relative merit and value of each Proposal; and all other related matters. Given under my hand and seal this 9th day of February, 2017. Karen Cole, County Clerk LH- 2-11,18; 2017
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