Town of Los Gatos Classification and Compensation Study

Introduction

The Town of Los Gatos (“Town”) invites qualified, professional consulting firms (“Consultant) to submit written proposals to conduct classification studies of each full-time Town job classification with a total of 154 employees in these classifications in accordance with this Request for Proposals (“RFP”). The Town would like to have 87 classifications reviewed in

tranches by job classification group.

The selected Consultant must possess public sector experience in performing classification studies. The scope of the work includes reviewing, evaluating and updating job descriptions, as necessary, and obtaining and incorporating feedback from both employees and management.

Background

Town Profile

The Town operates under a Council–Manager form of government and is recognized throughout the Bay Area for its professionalism, efficiency, and dedication to service. The population is approximately 33,000 residents.

The Town Manager, appointed by the Town Council, oversees the daily operations of all Town departments and 2026-27 annual operating expenditure budget of $82,115,301. The Town provides full-city services, including police, library, parks and public works, and administration. The Town departments include:

1. Police Department
2. Parks and Public Works, including Engineering, Environmental Services, Park Services, Street Maintenance divisions
3. Administrative Services, including Human Resources, Finance and Information Technology departments
4. Town Manager, including Economic Development and Emergency Preparedness divisions
5. City Clerk
6. Town Attorney
7. Library
8. Community Development, including Planning, Building and Code Compliance divisions

The Town employs approximately 154 full-time employees who deliver high-quality municipal services guided by the Town’s Core Goals: Community Character, Good Governance, Fiscal Stability, Quality Public Infrastructure, Civic Engagement and Public Safety.

The Town has three (3) bargaining units representing employees, including American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFCSME), Town Employees’ Association (TEA), and the Police Officers’ Association (POA). In addition, the Town also has two unrepresented employee groups, Confidential Employees and Management Employees. The Town’s salary schedules by employee group can be found here. The Town’s job classifications can be found here.

Project Details

• Department: Human Resources
• Department Head: Cheryl Parkman (HR Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-08-11T00:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-07-28T17:15:00.000Z — Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/229559369270061?p=W3PFU2tIkc8ewbbGuv Meeting ID: 229 559 369 270 061 Passcode: Vv6uc9HM

Evaluation Criteria

• Responsiveness and Responsibleness (10 pts) —

  When determining Responsiveness of the Proposal, the Town may consider any of the following but not limited to:

  • Proposal received on time and completed per instructions.
  • Proposal contains required contents, forms and signatures submitted in accordance with RFP instructions.
  • Proposal is compliant with specifications and industry standards.

  When determining Responsibleness of the Proposer, the Town may consider any of the following but not limited to:

  • Possession of industry standard licensing and/or certifications.
  • Financial capacity of the Proposer.
  • Experience or past performance of the Proposer.
  • Use of Subcontractors / Subconsultants.
  • Past, Present and Pending Legal Actions.
  • Exceptions with Town's standard terms and conditions.
  • Anticipated adherence with Project delivery schedule.
  • Ability to respond to Town’s inquiries for Proposal clarification.

  If the Evaluation Committee determines, at its sole discretion, that the Proposer passes Phase 1, the Evaluation Committee shall advance the Proposal to Phase 2.

• Cover letter and Executive Summary (5 pts) —

  This section shall include:

  1. 1. 1. Background, ownership, and history of your organization. Include length of time in business, number of years performing related work, and recent classification and compensation studies your firm has conducted for public agencies.
        2. Project Management Philosophy
        3. Describe the team’s project management approach, including the approach to ensure successful completion of tasks, effective communication with the Town and capacity of the team to accomplish the work (including adequate staff, availability of staff and resources). Provide a description of the service philosophy, specifically addressing policies and procedures with respect to confidentiality, legal, and ethical issues.
        4. Location of your principal office and the location of the office that will be responsible for fulfilling the terms of the contract.
• Cover Letter/Executive Summary (10 pts) —

  This section shall include:

  1. 1. 1. Background, ownership, and history of your organization. Include length of time in business, number of years performing related work, and recent classification and compensation studies your firm has conducted for public agencies.
        2. Project Management Philosophy
        3. Describe the team’s project management approach, including the approach to ensure successful completion of tasks, effective communication with the Town and capacity of the team to accomplish the work (including adequate staff, availability of staff and resources). Provide a description of the service philosophy, specifically addressing policies and procedures with respect to confidentiality, legal, and ethical issues.
        4. Location of your principal office and the location of the office that will be responsible for fulfilling the terms of the contract.

   

• Experience and Qualifications of Consultant/Team Members (20 pts) —

  Provide details relating to the experience and qualifications of the members of the team, including an organizational chart showing all key personnel who will be assigned to this project.

   

  Provide information on each staff member that will be assigned to the project. Information should include:

  • Name
  • Credentials (degrees, certifications, etc.)
  • Years of experience
  • Years with your organization
  • Previous projects assigned within the past two years
  • Current project assignments
• Understanding of Project Scope (25 pts) —

  Each respondent shall demonstrate its capacity to deliver comprehensive, professional, services.

  1. 1. 1. Statement of Methods and Procedures: Provide a statement describing the scope of work as you understand it. Provide a detailed plan to achieve the necessary requirements and plan for accomplishing the work. This plan should describe the approach, methodology, and procedures to be employed to gather the data, analyze findings, and develop recommendations. If the consultant has a pre-designed system, provide a detailed description of the job analysis and compensation methodology.
• Project Schedule and Timeline (15 pts) —

  Discuss the steps the consultant team proposes to use clearly outlining the delivery schedule and timeline of each component of the project. Specific dates should be used assuming an award to this RFP and an executed Contract. Consultant shall be prepared to begin work as soon as possible and no later than within two (2) weeks of the Notice to Proceed.

   

  1. 1. 1. Work Schedule: Provide a timeline indicating tasks required and the start dates. The timeline should include specific milestones. Include the number of in-person meetings planned or anticipated. It is expected that work will commence as soon as possible after Town approval.
• Commitment to Project Budget & Detailed Work Plan (20 pts) —

  Consultant shall provide a total base fee for the project. Each responding consultant shall include an acknowledgement that it can effectively perform the Scope of Work within the budget indicated. Each respondent should clearly explain in this section the methods and process it will use to ensure the Scope of Work is within budget and that the Town will be getting the best value within the budgeted amount. Information in this section shall include an hourly fee schedule which shall be submitted for each proposer and any sub-consultants (if applicable).

   

  Provide detailed cost of services for each deliverable. Costs must include:

  1. Fixed prices, including out-of-pocket expenses, for all costs associated within the scope of this proposal.
  2. Detailed hourly rates of all members of the project.
  3. Additional billable costs for non-specified tasks.
  4. Total fees and expenses for the entire scope of the project. Any area which proposers believe should be included in the scope of work in this proposal, but which is not stipulated in this RFP, and identify the costs associated with the services rendered pursuant to this proposed expansion of the scope of work set forth in this RFP.
• Professional References (5 pts) —

   

  1. 1. 1. Submission of References: Submit three (3) references of public sector agencies for whom your firm/team has performed similar classification and compensation studies. The reference information must include the following:
           1. Name of agency
           2. Contact person and telephone number
           3. Contract amount and year the work was conducted o Summary of the work performed
           4. Example of a study completed or hyperlink to a completed study

Submission Requirements

• Formation date of company (required) —

  Please enter Month and Year.

• Number of years providing the specified services (required)
• Please list names and titles of all officers and directors. If an individual or partnership, please list names and addresses of all partners, indicating whether they are general or limited partners. (required)
• Indicate whether Proposer has ever failed to complete any Agreement awarded to it. If so, note when, where, and why. Attach additional sheets, if necessary. (required)
• Indicate whether Proposer has been or is the subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding or subject to assignment for the benefit of creditors. (required)
• Required Documents (required) —

  Please upload the following documents related to the proposal:

  • Cover letter describing how the Proposer can meet the needs of the Town and stating deviations or exceptions if any.
  • Scope of Services using information in Scope of Work as the basis for work.
  • Hourly rates for staff assigned to the Project,
  • Relevant experience and expertise of the firm, particularly expertise in biological monitoring on federally funded projects.
  • Identification of the project team, including the main project contact.
  • Resumes for the project team identifying relevant experience.
  • Other relevant information to assist the Town in its selection.
• List of Subcontractors (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• References (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Affirmations and Certification (required) —

  RESERVATION

  It is understood that the Town reserves the right to reject this Proposal, but that this Proposal shall not be withdrawn for a period of 45 days from the date prescribed for its opening.

  DISCLOSURE

  The undersigned declares that this Proposal is not made in the interest of or on behalf of any undisclosed person, partnership, company, association, organization or corporation; that the Proposal is genuine and not collusive or sham; that the undersigned has not directly or indirectly induced or solicited any other Proposer to put in a false or sham Proposal and has not directly or indirectly colluded or agreed with any Proposer or anyone else to put in a sham Proposal or to refrain from bidding; that the undersigned has not directly or indirectly sought by agreement, communication or conference with anyone to fix his/her Proposal price or the Proposal price of any other Proposer, or to fix any overhead, profit or cost element of such Proposal price or of that of any other Proposer, or to secure any advantage against the Town of Los Gatos or anyone interested in the proposed Contract; that the only persons or parties interested in this Proposal as principals are those named herein; that all statements contained in this Proposal are true; that the undersigned has not directly or indirectly, submitted his/her Proposal price or any breakdown thereof, or the contents thereof, or divulged information or data relative thereto, to any other persons, partnership, corporation, or association except to such person or persons as have a direct financial interest in Proposer’s general business; and that the undersigned has not accepted any Proposal from any subcontractor or vendor through any Proposal depository, the Bylaws, Rules or Regulations of which prohibit or prevent the undersigned from considering any Proposal from any subcontractor or vendor, which is not processed through said Proposal depository, or which may prevent any subcontractor or vendor from bidding to any general contractor who does not use the facilities of or accept bids from or through such Proposal depository; and that the undersigned has not paid, and will not pay, any fee to any corporation, partnership, company, association, organization, Proposal depository, or to any member or agent thereof to effectuate a collusive or sham Proposal.

  WORDS AND PHRASES           

  Wherever in this Proposal an amount is stated in both words and figures, in case of discrepancy between words and figures, the words shall prevail; if all or any portion of the Proposal is required to be given in unit prices and totals and a discrepancy exists between any such unit prices and totals so given, the unit prices shall prevail.

  CERTIFICATION

  The Proposer certifies that the Proposal Documents have been thoroughly read and understood and that, except as may be specifically noted and contained in addenda, there are no discrepancies or misunderstandings as to the meaning, purpose or intent of any provision in the Proposal Documents or as to the interpretation of the same. The undersigned hereby incorporates by reference, the same as though set out in full, all provisions of Request for Bids published by the Town and pertaining to the work described in this Proposal.

  By confirming below, the submission of a Proposal shall be deemed a representation and certification by the Proposer that they have investigated all aspects of the RFP, that they are aware of the applicable facts pertaining to the RFP process, its procedures and requirements, and they have read and understand the RFP. No request for modification of the Proposal shall be considered after its submission on the grounds that the Proposer was not fully informed as to any fact or condition.

• Will there be a Pre-proposal Conference and Site Tour? (required)
• Is the attendance at Pre-Proposal Conference and Site Tour Mandatory? (required)
• Does the RFP require specific and/or special qualifications? (required)
• Please list the qualification requirements here (required)
• Initial Term of the Agreement resulting from this RFP? (required) —

  Please select one

• Does this contract/project meet prevailing wage requirements? (required) —

  Prevailing Wage
  Prevailing wage applies to all projects in which more than $1,000 of public funds is used for:

  • Construction
  • Repair
  • Maintenance
  • Demolition
  • Emergency work

  DIR’s Contractor definition

  • Contractors
  • Subcontractors
  • Surveyors and Inspectors
  • Material Testing
  • Trucking
  • Employment services

  Any for whom prevailing wages have to be paid (not just contractors with CSLB)

  Contractors must be registered at TIME OF BID (including all subcontractors) except if exempt. If not, the Town may:

  • Reject the bid as non-responsive; or,
  • Provide notice to the prime contractor and allow 24 hours to “cure”. Offending contractor will pay a $2,000 penalty for registering after bid date.

  DIR Registered Contractors Exemption
  Small project exemption means that contractors who work exclusively on small projects are not required to register as public works contractors or file electronic certified payroll reports for those projects.  However, prevailing wages must still be paid, and contractors are required to maintain certified payroll records on a continuous basis.
  Small project exemption applies for all public works projects that do not exceed:

  • $25,000 for new construction, alteration, installation, demolition or repair
  • $15,000 for maintenance 
• Agreement beginning Month and Year (required) —

  Please enter in following format: Month 4-digit year

• Will there be option to renew the agreement beyond the initial term? (required)
• Options to renew the Agreement for up to how many additional one-year terms? (required)
• Is this project funded by Federal Grant? (required)