The Assignment of Delinquent Municipal Tax & Sewer Liens of The City of West Haven

The City of West Haven (the “City”) is soliciting proposals for The City of West Haven, Connecticut (the "City") is requesting proposals from interested parties (the "ASSIGNEES") for the assignment of part of the City's delinquent municipal tax liens ("Delinquent Tax Liens") pursuant to the provisions of the General Statutes of Connecticut §12-195h attached as Exhibit A (the "Act"), in accordance with the terms of this Request for Proposal (the "RFP"). This request for proposal is for the full amount of taxes, interest, and fees due to the City. .

Project Details

• Reference ID: Request for Proposal # 2026-33
• Department: Procurement
• Department Head: - (-)

Evaluation Criteria

• Instructions —

  Respondents are required to submit One (1) original and three (3) copies in a sealed envelope. Proposals received after this time and date specified above will be rejected. No oral, telephonic, emailed, or faxed corrections, deletions, or additions to any response shall be accepted. The City reserves the right to reject any or all responses, and to waive any or all formalities in connection with this request. Proposals which do not incorporate our requested format, including quoting items as described, will not be considered. Unless otherwise stated in the solicitation. No alternate responses will be considered unless alternate responses are specifically requested by the City. The City reserves the right to award multiple vendors under this solicitation.

  A response to this solicitation does not permit the City to award a contract, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this request, or to procure the city contract for services, supplies or equipment. The City will not award to any contractor who is not qualified under applicable Federal, State and local laws and regulations.

  Questions regarding this solicitation should be emailed to Kathy Chambers. Telephone or oral questions will not be accepted. (kchambers@westhaven-ct.gov).

  An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer, Minority/Women's Business Enterprises are encouraged to apply.

• Term —

  The term of the contract will be for fiscal year 2025-2026, with an option to renew for two (2) additional years at a mutually negotiated rate. 

• Overview —

  The City intends to assign a portion of its Delinquent Tax Liens to a third party in accordance with the provisions contained herein and pursuant to Section 12-195h of the Connecticut General Statutes (C.G.S.). Lien values are as of 05/22/2026.  The value of assigned liens may change during the period of this RFP opening and the closing date listed.

  The Assignee agrees to incorporate the conditions required of them by the City in this RFP in any future sale or assignment of said Delinquent Tax Liens as authorized by the City. The provisions of this RFP and all future agreements between the Assignee and the City shall be binding upon both parties, their heirs, successors and assigns.

  Respondents to the RFP# 2026-33 may obtain a copy of the City of West Haven Lien Assignments by submitting a request via email to kchambers@westhaven-ct.gov.

• Commercial General Liability: Minimum Limits Required —

  Insurance Amount	Liability Category
  $2,000,000	General Aggregate
  $2,000,000	Producers/Completed Operations Aggregate
  $1,000,000	Each Occurrence
  $1,000,000	Personal and Advertising Injury
  $100,000	Fire Damage – Any One Fire
  $5,000	Medical Expense – Any One Person

  • The Owner (The City of West Haven and all of its elected or appointed directors, officers, officials, agents, employees and members of all of its boards and commissions) will be included as an Additional Insured onto the CGL policy carried by the Contractor.  The Additional Insured coverage afforded to the Owner shall apply on a primary and non-contributory basis and include completed operations coverages.  
  • The CGL policy carried by the Contractor shall contain a Waiver of Subrogation clause and the Contractor hereby agrees to waive the Contractor’s right of recovery against the Owner (the City of West Haven (and all of its elected or appointed directors, officers, officials, agents, employees and members of all of its boards and commissions).
• Inquiries for Clarification —

  The City will not respond to the Respondent(s) request(s) for oral interpretation and/or clarification of the Solicitation Specifications for any reason. The city will respond to a Respondent(s) written request(s) for interpretation and/or clarification of the Solicitation Specifications. Questions regarding this solicitation should be emailed to Kathy Chambers (kchambers@westhaven-ct.gov). Telephone or oral questions will not be accepted. The email should include in the subject line RFP (i.e. 2026-33). The body of the email should contain the question or clarification. Every interpretation made to a Respondent will be in the form of an Addendum or Question & Answer to the Solicitation Documents. 

• Business Auto / Commercial Auto Insurance – Minimum Limits required —
  • 1,000,000 Liability  
  • The Owner (The City of West Haven and all of its elected or appointed directors, officers, officials, agents, employees and members of all of its boards and commissions) will be included as an Additional Insured onto the Commercial Auto/ Business Auto policy carried by the Contractor.  
  • The Business Auto / Commercial Auto policy carried by the Contractor shall contain a Waiver of Subrogation clause and the Contractor hereby agrees to waive the Contractor’s right of recovery against the Owner (the City of West Haven, and all of its elected or appointed directors, officers, officials, agents, employees and members of all of its boards and commissions).  
• Assignment List —

  The City shall provide the Assignee with the name of the taxpayer, grand list number, property address and amount due and such information shall be provided in an excel spreadsheet (electronically by E-Mail). Each proposal shall include an aggregate amount for the liens listed on the report provided and shall include the amount necessary to reimburse the City for administrative and legal costs as set forth therein. All proposals will be considered final. The City is soliciting proposals for the full amount of taxes, interest, and fees due to the City.

• Contract Specifications —

  Any successful proposal shall be subject to the signing of a definitive Lien Assignment Agreement satisfactory in all respects to the successful respondent and the City incorporating the provisions of this RFP, such other provisions as the City may reasonably require and the following specific representations and undertaking of the Purchaser, its heirs, successors and assigns:

  1. Be duly organized and in good standing under the laws of the State of Connecticut, or, if organized in another state, then qualified to do business in the State of Connecticut.
  2. Authorize the Secretary of State to accept service on its behalf.
  3. Represent that the transactions of assignment or resale, if any, shall be following all appropriate state and federal securities laws, or that such transactions shall be exempt from such securities laws.
  4. Agree upon execution of the Delinquent Lien Assignment Agreement to indemnify and hold harmless the City, its employees, agents and officials, including any of the foregoing sued as individuals, from any lawsuit, counterclaim, or administrative proceeding seeking money damages, refund or discharge of taxes, equitable or other relief of any kind, arising from or in connection with (i) the exercise of powers and the authority granted by this RFP over the Delinquent Tax Liens, (ii) any collection efforts by the Assignee and/or Collector, (iii) the institution of foreclosure of any of the Delinquent Tax Liens, (iv) any violation or purported violation of any state or federal securities or blue sky law, statute, rule or regulation or, (v) any other acts of Assignee and/or any collector (including their agents and assigns) to collect amounts secured by the Delinquent Tax Liens or any other transaction contemplated by this RFP. Indemnification shall include payment of any judgment, legal fees and costs.
  5. If the Assignee commences a foreclosure action to enforce any Delinquent Tax Lien, it shall give notice to the City in the same manner as required to any interest in any other foreclosure action to afford the City adequate opportunity to take any necessary or appropriate action to preserve its interest therein. The Assignee further agrees to indemnify the city for the loss of any interest the city would otherwise have in its unassigned Future Tax Liens, but for the foreclosure action. In no event shall the Assignee name the City as a defendant in such action to foreclose any subsequent tax liens.
  6. Keep on file with the Tax Collector and Town Clerk
  7. A corporate partnership, or LLC resolution of the Purchaser which sets forth the current address of the Purchaser for payment purposes. Such a resolution shall (if a corporate resolution) be accompanied by a Secretary’s certificate and seal, or (if a partnership or LLC) certification containing the notarized signatures of all partners or members of an LLC.
• Workers Compensation/Employers Liability Insurance —
  • Coverages and limits as required by law Connecticut State law   
  • Employers Liability Limits:   
  • 500,000 each accident   
  • 500,000 aggregate for injury by disease   
  • 500,000 each employee for injury by disease   
  • The Workers Compensation/Employers Liability policy carried by the Contractor shall contain a Waiver of Subrogation clause and the Contractor hereby agrees to waive the Contractor’s right of recovery against the Owner (the City of West Haven and all of its elected or appointed directors, officers, officials, agents, employees and members of all of its boards and commissions).   
• Addendums to this Soliciation —

  Any Addendum(s) to this solicitation document shall become part of the solicitation. Respondents are required to check the city website for addendum(s). Each respondent shall be bound by such addenda whether received/viewed by the respondent.   

• Additions to lien list —

  The City reserves the right to add any additional current year liens within the allowable time that conforms to the requirements of General Statutes § 12-195h and all other closing documents required by the City of West Haven on the Closing Date in return for payment of the Purchase Price. The cost to the vendor will be based on their percentage markup at the time of submission. 

• Solicitation Protest —

  Any Solicitation protest must be submitted in writing. Respondents may file a written protest of the Solicitation results with the City's Purchasing Department. Protest must be submitted via email, kchambers@westhaven-ct.gov.

  The City will acknowledge receipt of a written protest. If the Purchasing Department representative has not acknowledged receipt of the protest by the close of business on the following days, please contact Kathy Chambers at the above listed email address.

• Umbrella Liability/Excess Liability: Minimum Limits required —
  • 5,000,000 Each Occurrence   
  • 5,000,000 General Aggregate   
  • Policy will provide excess coverage over the Commercial General Liability, Business Auto and Workers Compensation/Employer Liability policies carried by the organization.
  • The Umbrella / Excess Liability policy carried by the Contractor shall contain a Waiver of Subrogation clause and the Contractor hereby agrees to waive the Contractor’s right of recovery against the Owner (the City of West Haven and all of its elected or appointed directors, officers, officials, agents, employees and members of all of its boards and commissions).
  • It is the responsibility of the respondents awarded, to maintain insurance during the duration of the project. The vendor must submit the renewed insurance on a yearly basis (prior to expiration date)
  • The selected firm shall maintain at its own expense professional liability insurance with limits no less than $1,000.000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate, covering errors, omissions, or negligent acts arising out of the performance of professional services under this agreement.  Proof of such insurance shall be submitted with the proposal and maintained throughout the term of the contract. 
• Withdrawal of Liens —

  The City reserves the right to withdraw any Delinquent Tax Lien from the Report prior to the date of the award. Any lien so withdrawn by the City, in accordance with this section, shall be deleted from the Report and shall be excluded altogether from the sale of the Delinquent Tax Liens and the purchase price reduced by the proportion that such lien bears to all liens to be assigned.

  Subsequent to award, further withdrawals by the City will be permitted during the interim between selection of the winning proposal and compilation of the final schedule of Delinquent Tax Liens to be assigned (the "Schedule") only in the event of an agreement between the City and the Assignee, as defined herein, that any lien on the Report is legally unenforceable under any state or federal law. Any item on the report may be withdrawn if a suit or claim in respect of that item is filed. In the event of any further withdrawal, the purchase price shall be reduced by the proportion that such lien bears to all liens to be assigned. The Assignee agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the City for all legal actions arising out of, resulting from, or related to the assignment of liens.

  Notice of the Schedule shall be confirmed by authorized signatures of both parties on the closing date, as contained in Section 4 herein, and shall be deemed final and binding. Said Schedule shall be incorporated into the form of the Assignment of Delinquent Tax Liens (the "Assignment"). No further withdrawal of Delinquent Tax Liens from the Schedule shall be permitted except if any Delinquent Tax Lien on the Schedule was incorrectly recorded by the City, in which case appropriate adjustments will be made within a reasonable time of discovery.

  The amount of the lien for those taxes which have been paid in full or in part prior to closing will be adjusted by the city, if necessary, and deducted from the final aggregate price and, if paid in full, the Delinquent Tax Lien will be released and removed from the Schedule. The Purchaser's proposal may be adjusted only in the event of a full or partial payment on any lien listed in the Report.

• Administration of Accounts —

  The Assignee is required to send a letter on each account they purchase to the taxpayer within 60 days of purchase and provide the Tax Collector with a copy of the said letter. The Assignee will be required to collect all accounts at its cost, and to work with the City Tax Collector on the best basis to process all accounts. All payments shall be processed directly by the Assignee. Reports on all payments shall be remitted by the Assignee on the third Monday of the month after the month in which the payment was processed. Payments must be processed by the state statute

  12-146 to fees, interest and then the delinquent tax starting with the oldest outstanding delinquency first.

  The Assignee shall provide the City with a report, monthly, which lists all accounts on the Schedule and the status of each as to collection ("Monthly Report"). Each proposal shall include a form of the Monthly Report.

• No Limitation on Liability —

  With regard to any/all claims made against the Additional Insured by any employee of the Contractor, any subcontractor or anyone directly or indirectly employed by the Contractor or any subcontractor, or anyone for whose acts the Contractor or any subcontractor might be liable, the indemnification obligation shall not be limited by any limitation on the amount or type of damages, compensation or benefits payable by or for the Contractor or any subcontractor under Workers Compensation acts, disability benefits acts or other employee benefit acts.

• Cancellation, Renewal and Modification —

  The Contractor shall maintain in effect all insurance coverages required under this agreement at the Contractors sole expense and with insurance companies acceptable to the Owner. The policies shall contain a provision that the coverage will not be cancelled or non-renewed until at least 30 days prior written notice has been given to the owner.    

• Rights of First Refusal for Purchase of Future Tax Liens —

  The Assignee, its heirs, successors and assigns, at their option, shall notify the City of their intent to exercise the right of first refusal for the purchase of any future tax liens on subsequent Grand Lists of properties listed on the final Schedule only ("Future Tax Liens"), for consideration not less than the full amount of all taxes, interest and fees due the City. There will be a 2% premium added for the first subsequent lien assignment. All subsequent assignments after the first will be at par.

  In all subsequent years, if the Assignee does not wish to purchase, they must send notice to the city, to be received by April 1st. Any such Future Assigned Lien that has not been purchased in accordance with this agreement shall continue as a lien upon the subject property and shall have priority over all liens on the subject property previously assigned to the Assignee. The City shall be entitled to enforce collection on any such lien in any manner permitted by law.

  Otherwise, payment in full on said Future Tax Liens to be made within forty-five

  (45) days after the City files the Lien Continuation Certificate. Liens on the provided report are not considered Future Tax Liens for the purpose of this RFP and are inclusive of all amounts provided therein.

  The terms of this RFP and all subsequent agreements between the Assignee, its heirs, successors or assigns, and the City shall also apply to the sale of Future Tax Liens

• Indemnification —

  To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Contractor shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Owner, and all of its elected or appointed directors, officers, officials, agents, employees and members of all of its boards and commissions, as well as the State of Connecticut, from and against any/all claims, actions, damages, losses and expenses, including but not limited to attorney’s fees, for any actual or alleged injury to any person or persons, including death, or any damage to or destruction of property, arising out of or in connection with the project.

Submission Requirements

• Statement (required) —

  I confirm and acknowledge that I possess the legal authority to enter into binding contracts and to submit, or apply to submit, bids for contracts involving the provision of goods or services issued by a public entity, as well as to otherwise conduct or apply to conduct business with a public entity.

• Disclosure & Certification Affidavit (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Company Profile (required)
• Vendor Application Form (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• W-9 (required) —

  Upload a valid and currently dated W-9

• Certification and Licenses Upload (required) —

  Provide proof of a valid Connecticut business license. 

• Brief description of Project (required)
• Will there be a Pre-Submission Site Visit? (required)
• Pricing (required) —
  • Choose Option 1 when you have set line items, for example:
    • This is a quote for goods or commodities.
    • This is a public works bid, with a pricing table that can be uploaded into OpenGov Procurement from an Excel spreadsheet.
    • Seeking services for hourly rate schedules.
  • Choose Option 2 when you need vendors to provide you with the line items.
• Are Bonds required? (required)
• What type of bond is required for this project? (required)