THE PURCHASING DIVISION AND THE COUNTY AUDITOR’S OFFICE RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
The Office of Economic and Small Business Development established a 25% County Business Enterprise (CBE) participation goal for this Agreement. RSM US LLP has committed to a 25% CBE participation (Exhibit 3).
This procurement was solicited to engage the services of a qualified independent certified public accounting firm, duly licensed to practice in the State of Florida, to perform financial and compliance audits. The services include rendering opinions on the financial statements and accounts of Broward County for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, all in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the AICPA Industry Audit Guide, Audits of State and Local Governments and Governmental Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States.
On March 14, 2017 (Item No. 87), the Board established an Audit Committee, pursuant to the requirements of Florida Statutes, Section 218.391 (Auditor Selection Procedures). On March 31, 2017, an Audit Committee meeting was held. The Audit Committee established the evaluation criteria for Request for Proposals (RFP) No. R2112554P2, External Audit Services. The RFP was advertised and at the time of the opening deadline, 5:00 PM on April 24, 2017, four firms submitted proposals.
On May 30 2017, a Combination Initial and Final Evaluation Meeting was held. The Evaluation Committee (Audit Committee) determined that all four firms were both responsive and responsible to the RFP requirements. After presentations, evaluation and scoring, the Evaluation Committee named RSM US LLP (RSM) as the first-ranked firm.
The Evaluation Committee's proposed recommendation of ranking was posted on the Purchasing Division website from May 31, 2017, through June 2, 2017, which provided an opportunity for any proposer or interested party to present any new or additional information regarding the responsibility of the proposers. There was no additional information submitted within this timeframe.
The Evaluation Committee's final recommendation of ranking was posted on the Purchasing Division website from June 5, 2017, through June 9, 2017, which provided an opportunity for any aggrieved proposer to file a formal protest. There was no protest filed within this timeframe.
On June 13, 2017, Item No. 67 was presented to the Board for approval of the final ranking of qualified firms. After a review of the template for the scoring sheet, it was determined that the points for Location were inadvertently excluded from the total maximum points. Points for location are added to the vendors' score by the County's Purchasing staff and not the Evaluation Committee Members. The Director of Purchasing memorandum provided to the Evaluation Committee Members, dated May 25, 2017, showed which firms met the requirements to receive the Points for Principal Business Location. By applying the Points for Location, the order of the ranking changed for the third ranked proposer, S. Davis & Associates, P.A., moving them to become the second ranked firm. The Board directed staff to allow firms the opportunity to file a bid protest based on the revised ranking. They further instructed staff, that if the protest was unsuccessful, to proceed with negotiations with RSM, the first-ranked firm. If the protest was successful, staff was directed to return the matter to the Board for its further consideration and direction.
As a result of the Board meeting, a revised final recommendation of ranking was posted on the Purchasing Division website from June 14, 2017 through June 20, 2017.
On June 20, 2017, Shutts & Bowen LLP filed a timely protest on behalf of S. Davis & Associates, P.A. (Exhibit 4, without referenced exhibits). The complete protest, including the protest's referenced exhibits, can be found on Broward County’s Purchasing Division website at:
https://browardauthor/Purchasing/Pages/Repository.aspx.
As part of the response to the protest, the Purchasing Division requested an explanation from RSM regarding the litigation cases cited in the protest. On June 29, 2017, RSM provided a response to the litigation addressed in the protest letter (Exhibit 5).
On July 19, 2017, the Evaluation Committee was reconvened to review the new additional information since the Evaluation Committee members met on May 30, 2017. Pursuant to the Procurement Code, Section 21.84.g., “A Committee need not meet after the ranking/evaluating the vendor unless there is new significant information or a significant change in the staff, subcontractors, or qualifications of the first-ranked/highest evaluated vendor. When the Purchasing Director identifies such information or change, the Purchasing Director or designee will present such information to the Committee for consideration in order to ratify the ranking/evaluation or to reorder the list.…" The Evaluation Committee reviewed and discussed the new information. The Evaluation Committee ratified and re-affirmed the rankings as approved by the Board on June 13, 2017.
On July 25, 2017, the Director of Purchasing issued a protest response (Exhibit 6).
On August 3, 2017, Shutts & Bowen LLP filed a protest appeal on behalf of S. Davis & Associates, P.A. (Exhibit 7). The appeal hearing was set for September 22, 2017 and concluded on September 27, 2017. The appeal was heard before a Hearing Officer, and the Hearing Officer opined that, “Davis has not proven any facts that the Director of Purchasing or the EC acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner, or outside the law.” He further opined that, “Based on the foregoing, it is the decision of the undersigned Hearing Officer that the July 25, 2017 decision of the Purchasing Director denying Davis’s protest was in accordance with the law, and is hereby upheld.” Exhibit 8 is the ruling of the Hearing Officer.
On September 5, 2017, a Cone of Silence communication was received by the Director of Purchasing from the Law Office of Stuart R. Michelson, on behalf of S. Davis & Associates, P.A. (Exhibit 9).
On September 26, 2017 (Item No. 43), two Cone of Silence communications were received by the Director of Purchasing and the County Attorney, from Shutts & Bowen, LLP, on behalf of S. Davis & Associates, PA. and Becker & Poliakoff, on behalf of RSM, and were transmitted to the Board.
One Sunshine meeting was held to negotiate this Agreement on October 9, 2017 and continued on October 10, 2017. The meeting was attended by representatives from RSM US LLP, the Office of the County Auditor, the County Attorney’s Office, and the Purchasing Division. The negotiated annual Agreement amount of $839,638 is $44,192 (5%) lower than the original proposed amount $883,830, and $13,362 (1.6%) lower than the current fiscal year 2016. This results in a savings to the County of $220,960.
Incumbent: Crowe Horwath LLC Agreement Number and Title: R0761007R1 Independent Audit Services. Contract Term: January 26, 2010 through January 25, 2014 (or completion of the final audit for fiscal year 2014). The Board approved two amendments for a sixth and a seventh year to allow for the continuation of services for Fiscal Years 2015 and 2016. Both amendments required waiving Administrative Code Section 18.61(b), which states that "the engagement of the external auditor shall be for a five (5) year term with a mandatory change of auditors after five years." Expenditures to date: $5,817,667.
The Evaluation Committee consisted of:
Carolyn Messersmith, Purchasing Agent, Purchasing Division, Finance and Administrative Services Department (Chair and Non-Voting Member)
George Tablack, Chief Financial Officer, Finance and Administrative Services Department
Kathie-Ann Ulett, Interim County Auditor, (currently, Deputy County Auditor), Office of the County Auditor
Helena James-Rendleman, Director, Finance Division, Broward County Aviation Department
Linda Levinson, Finance Director, Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office (External Member)
Michael Novar, Auditor, Broward Sheriff’s Office (External Member)