Original Opportunity #: NOI-107-2020
Issued by: Multnomah County
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s Due Date: Feb 17, 2020 4:00PM (Pacific Daylight Time) add to calendar
Status: closed
Posted: Feb 1, 2020

Description

Multnomah County seeks responses from providers interested in providing the services described below.  The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to determine whether there are multiple parties interested in providing these services who have the qualifications to do so.  If multiple qualified parties are available the County intends to issue a Request for Proposals to select a provider.   BACKGROUND Multnomah County, Department of County Human Services, Youth and Family Services Division (YFS), is seeking a single provider to deliver no-cost tax preparation services to low and moderate income tax filers. Multnomah County acknowledges the economic value of a tax refund to both the wage earner and the local economy. By providing no-cost filing, the County seeks to minimize barriers to filing taxes faced by low and moderate wage earners with a focus on underserved communities in Multnomah County. Provider will demonstrate a capacity and experience providing tax preparation services to those communities whose primary language is not English. The awarded provider must have the capacity to provide no-cost tax preparation services to low and moderate income filers at the time of contracting. The provider must have capacity to:    Conduct outreach and advertise the service on a widespread basis to low and moderate income wage earners with a focus on underserved communities. Outreach efforts must include, but are not limited to; public media, employers who typically pay low and moderate income wages, community and social service agencies, higher education institutions, culturally specific agencies, etc.; Provide services throughout Multnomah County including expanded hours during the traditional tax season (1/1 - 4/15). Services may be provided at the provider’s own site(s) or through partnerships with other entities.  Services must include community based locations, such as, college campuses, community centers, K-12 schools, social service agencies, business sites, culturally specific agencies, etc. Locations must be accessible and close to public transportation;   Ensure tax returns are completed by IRS-certified tax preparers;  Provide a minimum of 3,000 tax filings annually to low or moderate income wage earners residing in Multnomah County;    Provide services to filers whose primary language is not English; Provide follow-up sessions to tax filers whose tax documents are incomplete at the end of the initial session. Additionally, tax amendment services and services to accommodate filing back taxes for one or more of the past three tax years must be available, and; Collect data and report back to the County regarding basic household information including but not limited to session results, participant demographics, appointments, scheduling method, survey statistics, filings made, and amount of refunds realized.   Funding The County has budgeted approximately $87,500 annually for these services. Funding of the work described in this NOI is not guaranteed. Fluctuations in funding year to year should be expected. The County cannot assure that any particular level of work will be assigned and the contract will permit the County to add or remove work as necessary depending on availability of funding. The awarded provider must have the capability to implement tax preparation services beginning July 1, 2020. The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to provide services for a two (2) year period, ending June 30, 2022.   PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS Interested providers must demonstrate how they meet the minimum qualifications listed below in a written submission of three (3) pages or less. Proposal must be uploaded to Question 2.1.1 in Proposal Questions & Evaluation Criteria section. Please describe your agency’s capacity to provide free tax preparation services to low and moderate income tax filers within the geographic borders of Multnomah County. In your response, please answer the following three (3) questions in detail.   1. Describe your agency’s program model of no-cost tax preparation services for low and moderate income wage earners/income tax filers with a focus on underserved communities. a. Provide a description of how outreach efforts will be conducted to ensure widespread awareness of the availability of services to low and moderate wage earners with a focus on underserved communities throughout Multnomah County; b. Outline how participants access the tax preparation services; c. Detail community and business partnerships your agency will draw upon to ensure services are provided; d. Explain how your agency will ensure filings are prepared by IRS-certified tax preparers, including the certification and training process; and, e. Describe how follow-up appointments, back tax filing, and amendments to past filings will be managed. 2. Describe your agency’s administrative capacity, related programmatic experience, and partnerships that make your organization best suited to perform this work for the County. 3. Describe your agency’s experience providing culturally responsive tax preparation services to underserved communities, such as communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and non-English speaking households. Please include specific examples of the approaches your organization uses and how those were identified.  

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About Multnomah County

We partner with COBID (Certification Office for Business Inclusion & Diversity) to ensure that supplier diversity is practiced and is a priority in our purchasing and contracting. Supplier Diversity means we are proactive in encouraging or mandating the use of COBID Certified Firms for contracts or subcontracts with the County.


You can read more about our contracting equity here.


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