Park County Board of Equalization Park County, Colorado Request for Proposals for Hearing Officer-Independent Referee The Park County Board of Equalization (CBOE) is currently considering the services of a qualified person to serve as Hearing Officer - Independent Referee for the CBOE. This Request for Proposals includes the requirements for submitting the proposal and the nature and scope of services required. Interested parties may access information regarding Park County and other information on-line at parkcountyco.gov. The CBOE anticipates completing its selection process and appointing the Hearing Officer - Independent Referee by June 4, 2024. To be considered, the proposal must be received (not postmarked) by the County on or before Tuesday, May 23, 2024, by 12:00 pm. However, the County reserves the right to extend this date in the event it deems necessary. Please address proposals to: Park County Attn: Administrative Assistant to the BOCC, Susan Esmond P.O. Box 1373 Fairplay, CO 80440 The proposal may be delivered by USPS to the address above, hand-delivered to Park County at 856 Castello Ave., Fairplay, CO 80440, or sent via email to
[email protected]. The County reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals. The Request for Proposals does not bind the County to accept a proposal when, in the County's sole discretion, the County determines not to do so. Any final contract for services will be subject to the approval of funding by the Board of County Commissioners. Duties of the Hearing Officer-Independent Referee The duties of the Hearing Officer-Independent Referee are as provided in C.R.S. 39-8-101, et seq., including C.R.S. 39-8-102(2)(i) which provides that: The county board of equalization shall have the authority to appoint independent referees who are experienced in property valuation to conduct hearings pursuant to subsection (l) of this section on behalf of the county board of equalization and to make findings and submit recommendations to the county board of equalization for its final action. However, no person shall be appointed as an independent referee pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph (i) in any county during any property tax year in which such person represents or has represented any taxpayer in such county in any matter relating to the protest and appeal of property valuation or to the abatement or refund of property taxes. In addition, no person appointed as an independent referee pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph (i) shall represent any taxpayer who appeared in any hearing before such independent referee in any matter subsequent to such hearing relating to the protest and appeal of property valuation or to the abatement or refund of property taxes. 2. Scope of Services Provide hearing officer-independent referee services to the County as necessary during the period from July 1 to July 26, 2023 could go to the 27th or 28th if necessary in order to conduct hearings on all timely filed petitions for appeals of property valuations. The County will endeavor to work with the chosen candidate's availability when scheduling hearings. All hearings will be conducted at the Park County Administration offices, located at 856 Costello Avenue, Fairplay, Colorado 80440. Render written findings and recommendations by 6:00 p.m. on July 26, 2023 (or such later date as the County may authorize), so that the CBOE can render its decisions at the regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Park County to be held Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Comply with all statutory confidentiality requirements. 3. Proposal Format The proposal should be as brief as possible, but at a minimum should include: Your experience in property valuation. Your experience in serving as a hearing officer-independent referee and conducting hearings on petitions for appeal of property valuations and/or defending the assessor's valuations in appeals before a hearing officer-independent referee. Provide a list of other county clients with whom you have worked in the past, and years you worked for that county. The disclosure of any potential conflicts of interest. An affirmative statement by the candidate that the candidate: (l) Does not represent or has not represented any taxpayer in Park County in any matter relating to the protest and appeal of property valuation or to the abatement or refund of property taxes; and (2) Shall not represent any taxpayer who appeared in any hearing before him/her in any matter subsequent to such hearing relating to the protest and appeal of property valuation or to the abatement or refund of property taxes. Client references. Fees: In a separate, sealed envelope present one (1) set of the proposed fees for services as described in the Scope of Services as follows: Provide a fixed hourly charge for work for conducting hearings, and preparing findings and recommendations, and provide the estimated amounts of any charges for expenses you will seek to have reimbursed, such as lodging and meals. The County reserves the right to negotiate compensation issues with the top candidate. If unable to reach a satisfactory conclusion, the County at its discretion may negotiate with subsequent candidates. 4. General Terms and Conditions The County reserves the right to undertake its own investigation to evaluate a candidate. The County shall have the sole discretion to accept or reject a proposal. All proposals shall become the sole property of the County upon receipt and will not be returned to the candidate. Selection or rejection of the proposal will not affect this right. The County operates under the public disclosure laws, as part of normal procedures. Proprietary information must be identified and will be protected whenever possible. Candidates shall bear the cost of developing the proposal, attendance at any interview or any other such costs and such costs will not be reimbursed in any manner by the County. Failure to conform to proposal rules, including failure to respond to each item in the Proposal Format section of this RFP, may lead to the rejection of such proposal. The submittals shall contain all information necessary to evaluate the proposals. The County reserves the right to obtain services from other appraisers when the County in its sole discretion believes that the use of another appraiser would be in the best interests of the County. The proposal must affirmatively state that this is acceptable, and the applicant will agree to this provision in the negotiated contract. The Board of County Commissioners of Park County thanks you for your interest. Please contact Susan Esmond, Administrative Assistant to BOCC, at 719-836-4201 or via email at
[email protected] with any questions.
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