BACKGROUND
The City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for federal advocacy services in March in anticipation of the City’s current professional services agreement for representation on federal legislative and regulatory issues with The Ferguson Group (TFG) expiring on June 30, 2021. Based on the City’s best practices, the current contract has exhausted all available renewals. Subsequently, a request for proposals (RFP) was issued to provide the City with the opportunity to establish a new professional services agreement for federal advocacy services. Under the current agreement, TGF has provided federal advocacy services to the City since 2016. However, TFG has provided federal advocacy services since 2000 under previous contracts with the City. During this time, City Council and staff have continued to be increasingly involved in working with federal elected officials and agencies on issues of significant importance to Roseville and the region.
The City’s strong presence at the federal level has improved the results of the federal advocacy effort and produced positive outcomes on an array of important topics. Additionally, the services provided by TFG have been particularly critical during the pandemic. The firm has provided vital and timely information that allowed the City and our community to be aware of resources that were being made available by the federal government to address COVID-19.
Request for Proposals
At the conclusion of the posting period for the RFP, the City received one qualified response to the posting. The qualified response was provided by TFG. A review of the posting revealed that 32 firms reviewed the posting, and 12 firms downloaded the RFP and all associated materials. Staff was contacted by two firms about the request. The conversations were informative, and staff learned that many federal lobbying firms currently have full workloads.
Shortly after receiving the proposals, the evaluation team, consisting of staff from the City and the Placer County Transportation Agency, met to discuss and evaluate the proposal. The panel gave The Ferguson Group the highest marks in all the evaluation criteria. The evaluation team found that TFG’s experience and qualifications, project understanding, project plan, and cost of services qualified them for receiving the highest evaluation. In addition, the evaluation team found that the experience TFG has with Roseville, and the other agencies was a valuable asset. This was of significant importance, especially in light of the continually changing complexities at the federal level.
TFG’s proposal will build on the professional representation they have provided over the years and will focus on the following areas:
• Transportation policy and funding, including transit, highway funding, and rail safety
• Economic development
• Municipal government finance and revenue protection
• Housing, homelessness, and social services, including veteran’s affairs
• Public safety
• Information Technology critical issues, including cybersecurity and funding for infrastructure
• Irrigation and flood control funding, regulations, and policy
• Land use issues as impacted by federal policy and permitting
• Grant support and advocacy
TFG’s more than 30 years of experience and presence in Washington D.C. gives them extensive and strong relationships with congressional leaders, the California congressional delegation, and key congressional committee staff. In addition to their Capitol Hill relationships, TGF also has long-standing working relationships with key federal agencies relevant to Roseville, including the Department of Transportation, the Veterans Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
This experience and understanding of Roseville’s federal legislative history, concerns, and interests will be even more critical this year as the City works on identifying funding resources that will and may become available through the various plans being proposed by the president and his administration. Additionally, the support and direction of TFG in establishing a working relationship with Senator Padilla, who was appointed by the governor last year to the seat vacated by Vice President Harris, will be very important and valuable.
The services provided by TFG include a comprehensive, bipartisan government strategy that will assist Roseville with the development and implementation of an effective federal legislative and regulatory program for the City. Services will include legislative and administrative representation with Members of Congress, Senators, House and Senate staff, and pertinent federal agencies and departments. The services also include meeting with federal authorities and representing the City’s interests as directed by the City.