Welcome to the Suffolk County
Comptroller’s Office

The Suffolk County Department of Audit & Control Department ("Department") is seeking individuals to staff a unit that is responsible for reconciling Suffolk Counties’ bank accounts. The consultant(s) may also perform rotational training, and occasional operational support, for the Cash Management and the Tax Collection Divisions of the Department.

The assignment will be in Riverhead, NY and is anticipated to be of a long-term nature.

We are seeking candidates with experience in the following disciplines:

• Bank reconciliation
• Data entry
• General ledger and subledger maintenance
• Bank account analysis
• Microsoft applications, particularly Excel.

While training on existing processes will be provided, Consultant(s) will also be assisting with the upcoming transition to a cloud-based bank reconciliation software module that is offered by Suffolk’s treasury management vendor.

Salary range is between $27.50 and $44.00 per hour, depending upon experience and education. Please submit resumes with cover letter and references to: douglas.sutherland@suffolkcountyny.gov

The Suffolk County Department of Audit & Control (Department) is seeking proposals from qualified accounting firms to provide Agreed-Upon Procedures relative to the Suffolk County Department of Public Works Transportation Division’s annual reporting requirement for the National Transit Database for calendar year 2023 and 2024. Your proposal should include a separate outline of the “Agreed-Upon Procedures” to be conducted to provide a report for each year.

The anticipated term of the contract will be January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024 with one (1) one-year option to renew, at the County’s discretion, with the same general terms and conditions. The Proposal submitted in response to this Solicitation, as may be negotiated by the Department, will become the basis for the contract.

The National Transit Database Final Report for 2023 must be submitted to the Office of the Federal Transit Administration no later than April 30, 2024; the report for 2024 must be submitted no later than April 30, 2025. Both draft reports should be submitted to the Department for review at least three (3) weeks prior to the report due date.

Attached for your convenience are excerpts from the Federal Transit Administration’s 2020 National Transit Database Policy Manual, which describe the scope of the services to be provided along with suggested procedures to be performed.

All work performed under the contract will be paid in accordance with the “Comptroller’s Rules and Regulations for Consultant’s Service Agreements,” (available on the Suffolk County Comptroller’s website: www.suffolkcountyny.gov/comptroller). Include with your response a Cost Proposal/Fee Schedule consisting of a Project Fee for the Agreed-Upon Procedures, which includes all professional services and out-of-pocket expenses for the project.

Proposers must meet the following minimum qualifications:

• Certify that they are a licensed CPA/firm registered in the State of New York and in good standing;
• Certify that they meet the independence requirements of the Standards for Audit of Governmental Organizations, Programs, Activities, and Functions (Government Auditing Standards – “Yellow Book”);
• Certify that they have no record of poor quality audit work;
• Submit evidence that they received a satisfactory peer review within the last three years.

Proposals must include the following:

• Firm name and address (all locations);
• Year firm was founded, history of the firm, and the length of time in operation;
• Describe the nature of organization (e.g. business corporation, not-for-profit corporation, proprietorship, etc.);
• Location from which services will be performed;
• Contact person and title for contract purposes;
• Name and title of individual(s) who will be performing work under this contract. For each professional listed, provide information regarding education, experience and expertise; provide resumes and copies of professional licenses and proof of other affiliations, if applicable;
• Description of firm’s technical experience including other accounts (clients) involving the provision of similar services;
• Description of firm’s experience in conducting audits (including number of years of experience);
• Description of firm’s experience in conducting audits in accordance with Government Auditing Standards (including number of years of experience);
• Provide three (3) client references for which similar services have been provided (governmental agencies preferred);
• Provide information on the circumstances and status of any past or present civil or criminal investigations or litigation against the firm;
• Disclose the existence of any conflicts of interests, whether existing or potential, in material financial relationships and/or any family relationships between the firm (and their employees) and any County employee, or any other matter that may create a conflict of interest or the appearance thereof; if none exist, state so;
• Identify the nature of any potential conflict of interest the firm may have in providing audit services to the Department;
• Provide proof of professional liability insurance coverage and coverage amounts and/or limitations and exclusions;
• Completed and notarized Suffolk County Form 22 (Contractor’s/Vendor’s Public Disclosure Statement - attached);
• Provide an all-inclusive Project Fee for the Agreed-Upon Procedures to be performed for each report period. In addition, provide a separate Project Fee for services performed during each option year. All professional services and out-of-pocket expenses shall be included in the Project Fee.

Proposals must be received by 5:00 P.M., October 9, 2023, via one of the following methods:

E-mail to: timothy.smith@suffolkcountyny.gov

Deliver to:

Suffolk County Comptroller’s Office, Attn: Frank Bayer
H. Lee Dennison Executive Office Building – 9th Fl.
100 Veterans Memorial Highway
P.O. Box 6100
Hauppauge, NY 11788-0099

The County expressly reserves the right to:

1. Reject or cancel any or all proposals or any part thereof submitted in response to this Solicitation;
2. Withdraw the solicitation at any time, at the County’s sole discretion;
3. Conduct contract negotiations with the next responsible proposer should the County be unsuccessful in negotiations with the selected proposer;
4. Require clarification at any time during the process and/or require correction of arithmetic or other apparent errors for the purpose of assuring a full and complete understanding of a proposal.

In accordance with Suffolk County Procurement Policy, contracts awarded under the Solicitation of Quotes method cannot exceed $25,000.00.

An award will be made based on “best value” to the County. The “best value” basis optimizes quality, cost and efficiency among responsive and responsible proposers.

Questions concerning this request should be submitted in writing via e-mail as noted above.

Introduction

SOQ for Hotel Motel Tax Software Program for Suffolk County, New York (“County”).

Background

The Suffolk County Comptroller’s Office (“Comptroller’s Office”) currently uses paper and a Microsoft Access database for collection of Hotel Motel Occupancy Tax in the County.

Objectives

The new system should be a hosted electronic registration and payment system accessible by taxpayer’s username and password that utilizes Multi Factor Authorization through an online portal. It should enable taxpayers to register and submit quarterly hotel/motel tax remittances and payments electronically and include management approval screens after each submission stage. Additionally, the system should be capable of providing automated processes such as calculating tax, penalties, and interest, producing a certificate of authority, email notifications, demand letters, store and categorize data to provide management reports as deemed necessary (taxpayer history, aging, etc.), provide an audit log, and have a strong accounting backbone built in component.

Work Description

• The Responder shall perform the Services remotely and/or on site as required by the Comptroller’s Office.
• The implementation is required to be performed ASAP.
• All work will be done under the sole authority of the Comptroller’ Office and its selected designees.
• The Responder will be expected to work closely with the Comptroller’s Office and its selected designees.
• At a minimum, weekly meeting participation with the Comptroller’s Office and the named single point of contact is mandatory.

Requested Services

The Comptroller’s Office requires implementation and managed subscription services.

All the services are based on performance of the tasks and submission of the deliverables and work products listed below.

The following are the in-scope components for under this RFQ:

Access Database Conversion

• o County has existing Hotel/Motel taxpayer information that requires conversion and/or migration to the new solution and some manner of linking the existing records for easy and fast taxpayer registration.

On-line Establishment Registration Form

• Owner(s)
• Establishment Name and/or Business Name or DBA (if applicable)
• Physical Property Address
• Business Mailing Address
• Phone Number(s) – of establishment, business office and principals
• Email Address
• Type of Establishment (hotel/motel, B&B, number of rooms, yearly/seasonal rental other, etc.)
• Number of Rooms
• Boxes to check off Seasonal business or year round
• Ownership type (Corporation, Partnership, Individual)
• Federal EIN No.
• NYS Sales Tax ID No.
• Approval box to accept email as official mode of communication
• Electronic payment information

Approval screens for management to approve the registration application

Create Certificate of Authority upon registration approval – Certificate template will be provided by the County

Quarterly Returns and Payment Processing

• Create filing forms to be sent via mail or preferably electronically to establishment
• Automatically include any previous balance and/or returns outstanding on form and/or notification
• Forms available online, with filing reminders sent automatically via email
• Return Filing Entry with or without payment
• Approval screen to accept remittance and electronic payment and authorize the following actions in case of insufficient payments.
• Generate email notice to taxpayer with amount due from insufficient payment
• Automatically calculate penalties and interest if paid late and email amount due notice to taxpayer
• Generate email notice to taxpayer if payment received without a return or return is received without payment
• If returns are not filed by ten days of due date, automatically charge account for a non-filing fine and generate Non-Filing Compliance Letter and email to taxpayer
• Automatically generate 2nd notices at desired interval and email to taxpayer
• Automatically generate final notice letter prior to legal recourse at desired interval to be sent by certified mail
• Returns filed with non-payment
• Automatically generate balance due notice and email to taxpayer
• Automatically generate 2nd past due notice at desired interval and email to taxpayer
• Automatically generate final notice letter prior to legal recourse at desired interval to be sent by certified mail
• Capability to account for and track any returned payments
• Capability to accept mail-in payments through backend administration portal

Reporting

• Daily activity reports
• Taxpayer history
• Aging of Returns not filed
• Aging of Taxes Outstanding
• Report of Daily/Monthly Filings with Tax Amount Reported and Collected
• Letter/Notice of Non-Compliance for establishments failing to register and/or file
• Tracking of Letters/Notices sent to establishments
• General Comment fields for Miscellaneous Notes
• Ad hoc reporting

Documents to be available on portal

• Suffolk County Hotel/Motel Tax laws and regulations
• Registration instructions
• Filing and payment instructions
• Departmental contact information
• Suffolk County branding

Audit Module

• Audit module to track information obtained from audits of taxpayer books and records that should include the ability to assess additional taxes, penalties, interest and/or fines, generate demand notices and set up payment plans and track payments.

Accounting Module

• Accounting Line-item General Ledger distribution with user defined GL Number segmentation.
• Deposit Reconciliation to receipt level detail with Accounting software.
• Booking agent reporting and reconciliation features.
• Real time tax processing tracking with earnings, taxes and collected amounts.
• Real time missing/delinquent filing tracking.
• Fiscal Year point in time reporting by account, rate code and category.
• Prior Fiscal Year point in time reporting by account, rate code and category.

Requirements of Response

This engagement shall be a Fixed Price contract.

The response shall include the following:

1. Responder’s Proposed Technical Services/Response to the services requested in this RFQ
2. Responder’s cybersecurity practices, DR recovery, and other security measures as deemed applicable, provide applicable certifications.
3. Responder’s Cost Proposal
• Include the name of your company on each page of your Cost Proposal/Fee Schedule with hourly rates and breakdown of hours per deliverable.
4. Qualifications
• The response shall include:
• General Information/Responder’s History
• Company name and address.
• Year company was founded and history.
• Total number of employees in company, and the number of employees at servicing office(s).
• Location(s) from which services will be performed.
• Describe the nature of your organization (e.g. business, corporation, not-for-profit corporation, proprietorship, etc.).
• Qualifications and Experience of Personnel
• Provide resumes of the project manager and other key staff who will be assigned to this account.
• For each professional listed above, describe his/her qualifications and provide information regarding:
1. i. Education;
2. ii. Professional licenses and other affiliations (copies of which shall be submitted with Proposals);
3. iii. Number of years engaged in services relating to services requested in this RFP
4. iv. Other relevant work experience or qualifications;
5. v. The role each identified person would play.
• Describe other accounts involving similar services. Describe the role and experience of key personnel assigned to other similar accounts who will be assigned to this account.
• Will temporary staff also be involved? If so, include details of their supervision and training.
5. Provide Service Level Agreement
6. Provide 3 references utilizing the solution
7. The Responder should provide any additional information it deems necessary to explain or clarify its Cost Proposal

Award Criteria

Price will be evaluated based upon a fair and reasonable assessment of the submission of the Responder’s proposal. Suffolk County is requesting a fixed, firm price for implementation, subscription, and renewal years (year 2 through year 5).

Period of Performance of Services

February 1, 2024 through January 31, 2025, with four (4) one (1) year options to renew at the sole discretion of the County.

Contract Execution

Upon award, the Responder will be required to enter a contract with the County for the Services. In addition, the Responder may be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement at the request of the County and Legislative compliance forms.

Independent Contract

Upon award, the Responder is not, and shall never be, considered an employee of the County for any purpose. Notwithstanding anything herein, the Contract shall not be construed as creating a principal-agent relationship between the County and the Contractor or the Contractor and the County, as the case may be.

Payment Schedules

Payment will be made monthly upon approval of an itemized deliverable invoice. Invoices will be submitted monthly for the work weeks performed in the prior month. For all invoices, the contractor shall provide detailed invoice backup data, including labor categories, rates and quantities of labor hours performed by contractor for the week.

Upon award, the Responder shall comply with the “Comptroller’s Rules and Regulations Manual Applicable to Consultant Service Agreements” as promulgated by Department of Audit and Control of Suffolk County and any amendments thereto during the Term of the Contract. This document may be viewed online at the County’s website, www.suffolkcountyny.gov; go to “Government,” then “Comptroller,” then “Comptroller Quick Links.”

Deadline Submission

The deadline for this response submission will be as stated on the cover page of this RFQ.

Proposals must be submitted by 9 a.m., January 3, 2024, via the following method: Email to: Comptroller-IT@suffolkcountyny.gov

Any questions concerning this Solicitation of Quotes should be submitted via e-mail.

The County of Suffolk (the “County”) reserves the right to award a contract to one or more responsive and responsible Proposers whose Proposals are determined, by the Department, to be in the best interests of the County. An award will be made based on “best value” to the County. The “best value” basis optimizes quality, cost and efficiency among responsive and responsible Proposers.