Department User Fee Study

The Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections (ACRE) is a Department within the County of San Mateo. ACRE’s Mission Statement is to ensure equitable service and treatment of County property owners by accurate and fair valuation of land, improvements and businesses; register County citizens to vote and efficiently conduct transparent elections; to preserve and protect our historical and cultural records and create an accurate public record of recorded transactions relating to people and property within San Mateo County. 

Background

The Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections (ACRE) Department is seeking the services of a qualified consultant to conduct and prepare a comprehensive User Fee Study for all applicable fees associated with Assessor, County Clerk, Recorder and Elections services for the purpose of evaluating, analyzing, and updating department fee structure as applicable.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2026-RFP-00275
• Department: Office of Assessor-County Clerk- Recorder & Chief Elections Officer
• Department Head: Director (Mark Church)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-03-17T00:00:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-03-23T07:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Project Approach (30 pts)
• Firm Qualifications (25 pts)
• Team Qualifications (20 pts)
• Price (25 pts)
• Preferential Points (10 pts) —

  Where price is not the sole evaluation factor for a solicitation (e.g., in the case of a "best-value" solicitation), five percent (5%) of the total evaluation points awardable will be added to the proposal score for each Local Business or Local Non-Profit score for evaluation purposes. In the event of a tie between a Local Business or Local Non-Profit and another bidder, the Local Business or Non-Profit shall be awarded the Contract, assuming agreement on other contract terms.

  An additional three percent (3%) preference shall be given to a Local Business or Local Non-profit (for a total of eight percent (8%) of total points awardable) if the proposer is a Small Business or Small Non-Profit, or an additional 5 percent preference (for a total of ten percent (10%) of total points awardable) if the proposer is a Micro Business or Micro Non-Profit.

Submission Requirements

• Minimum Qualifications
• Has Proposer has been providing similar services for a minimum of four (4) years within the last seven (7) years? (required)
• Account manager has a minimum of two (2) years of experience within the last five (5) years in providing account services? (required)
• Please confirm your firm is registered with System for Award Management (SAM) (required) —

  SAM.gov

• What is the registered Business Name and Unique Entity ID (UEI) No.? (required) —
  • UEI number can be obtained by registering your business through SAM.GOV
  • Should you be in the process of obtaining your UEI number, please enter the digits ‘123’ temporarily for your response below in order to proceed with proposal. This temporary number should be replaced with the correct registration number for submission of the proposal.
• Procurement Preference for Local Businesses and Local Non-Profits
• Is the Proposer a "Local Business"? —

  As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code, a “Local Business” means any for-profit business which has its principal place of business, or is headquartered, in San Mateo County. If this designation applies to the proposer, a self-attestation form must be completed and provided with this response. 

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank. 

• Is the Proposer a Non-Profit? (required) —

  A Non-Profit is defined as a tax-exempt public charity organization (within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) that is formed for purposes other than making a profit, is exempt from paying federal income taxes on the income generated for their exempt purposes. 

• Is the Proposer a "Local Non-Profit" —

  As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code, a “Local Non-Profit" means a tax-exempt public charity organization (within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) that is formed for purposes other than making a profit, is exempt from paying federal income taxes on the income generated for their exempt purposes, and has its principal place of business, or is headquartered, in San Mateo County. If this designation applies to the proposer, a self-attestation form must be completed and provided with this response. 

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.

• Is the Proposer a Local "Small" or "Micro" Business? —

  As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code:

  “Small Business” means any business which holds a Small Business Certification awarded by the California Office of Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services (OSDS).

  “Micro Business” means any Small Business certified by the OSDS which is automatically designated by the OSDS as a Micro Business due to gross annual receipts falling below the OSDS-designated dollar amount.

  If the above designations apply, please provide the OSDS provided Certification ID. 

  If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank. 

• Is the Proposer a Local "Small" or "Micro" Non-Profit? —

  As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code:

  “Small Non-Profit" means a Local Non-Profit with an annual revenue of $1,000,000 to $2,500,000 according to its most recently filed IRS Form 990.

  “Micro Non-Profit" means a Local Non-Profit with an annual revenue of less than $1,000,000, according to its most recently filed IRS Form 990.

  If the above designations apply, please provide your latest filed IRS form 990. A filing from the last two calendar years is acceptable. 

  If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank. 

• Technical Proposal
• Introduction and Executive Summary (required) —

  Submit a letter of introduction and executive summary of the proposal.  The letter must contain:

  • Name, title and contact information (email, phone, and address) for representative of proposer that is responsible for communication related to this RFP.
  • Name, title, contact information, and signature of person authorized to obligate firm to perform the commitment contained in the proposal.

  Submission of the letter will constitute a representation by proposer that it is willing and able to perform the commitments contained in the proposal and has not violated the terms of this RFP.

• Statement of Minimum Qualifications (required) —

  Describe how the proposer meets the minimum qualifications as set forth in Minimum Qualifications of this RFP.

  Submission of the Minimum Qualifications checklist is not a substitute for providing a detailed written response.

• Project Approach (required) —

  This section should correlate to the Scope of Work .  Proposer should give a short summary describing how it will perform the relevant work

• Scope of Work tasks/milestones (required) —

  Describe your proposed approach to tasks/milestones

• Proposed schedule (required) —

  Attach proposed schedule reference ability to complete the project within the County's required time frame

• Innovations (required) —

  Refence any notable innovations or improvements that you expect to provide (with respect to, for example, efficiency, technology, sustainability) 

• Performance Measures (required) —

  Describe a plan for achieving performance measures 

• Firm Qualifications (required) —

  Attach information regarding background and qualifications, including the following:

  • A brief description of the proposer.
  • A description of not more than three (3) projects similar in size and scope conducted by the proposer, including the client, reference and telephone numbers, primary staff members involved, budget, schedule, and project summary.  Descriptions should be limited to one (1) page for each project.
  • If subcontractors are anticipated, identify them (if known) and provide information on how they will be used.
• Team Qualifications (required) —

  Provide a chart identifying:

  5. 2. • Project team and reporting structure
        • Lead project manager
        • Role each person will play in the project

  Provide a brief description of the experience and qualifications of the project team members, including short resumes if desired.

  Written assurance that the key individuals listed and identified will be performing the work and will not be substituted or reassigned without the County’s prior approval

• References (required) —

  Provide TBD references for each of the following, including the name, address, and telephone number of recent clients (preferably other public agencies):

• Fee Proposal (required) —

  The Fee Proposal should be submitted as a separate PDF file from the Technical Proposals detailed in Required Documents.

  The County reserves the right to accept other than the lowest priced offer and to reject any proposals that are not responsive to this request.

• Agreement term (years) (required) —

  Update below if needed.

• Is there an extension to this agreement? (required) —

  Is there an extension to this agreement?

• Extension (required) —

  Modify the extension information below, if needed

• Will there be a Pre-Proposal Meeting and/or a Site Visit? (required)
• Include the information that will be covered in the site visit. (required)
• Require vendors to provide References? (required)
• References (required) —

  How many references are required by the vendor? (Number)

• Use Electronic Line Item Pricing? (required)
• Allow vendors to submit Confidential Information? (required) —

  In rare circumstances where there is an expectation that proposers will need to submit trade secrets or other confidential information in order to respond to an RFP. 

• Sample Agreement (required)