Annual Managed Network Services Agreement

March 13, 2026
GENESEE COUNTY REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS 26-483
Sealed proposals will be received until 2:00 p.m. (EST), Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at
the Genesee County Purchasing Department, 324 S Saginaw St, Suite 9A, Flint, MI,
48502 for Annual Managed Network Services Agreement.
This procurement is conducted in accordance with the Genesee County Purchasing
Regulations, a copy of which is on file and available for inspection at the Genesee County
Purchasing Department or at the website Microsoft Word - PURCHASING
REGULATIONS 8222016.
Each offeror is responsible for labeling the exterior of the sealed envelope containing the
proposal response with the proposal number, proposal name, proposal due date and
time, and your firm's name. The proposal request number and due date for this RFP are:
DUE DATE: 2:00 PM (EST), April 15, 2026
DUE DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF QUESTIONS: 3:00 PM (EST) March 25, 2026
BID NUMBER #26-483
Rita Schubert
_________________
Rita Schubert, Purchasing Manager
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1 - INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS ...................................... 3
SECTION 2 - STANDARD TERMS & CONDITIONS .................................. 5
SECTION 3 - ADDITIONAL TERMS & CONDITIONS ................................ 5
SECTION 4 - QUALIFICATIONS OF PROPOSERS .................................. 8
SECTION 5 - BACKGROUND INFORMATION ......................................... 8
SECTION 6 - SCOPE OF WORK ............................................................... 8
SECTION 7 - INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM PROPOSERS ............ 12
SECTION 8 - EVALUATION CRITERIA & SELECTION PROCEDURE ... 14
SECTION 9 - INSURANCE REQUIRED FROM PROPOSERS ............... 14
COST PROPOSAL FORM ....................................................................... 17
SIGNATURE PAGE.................................................................................. 18
GENESEE COUNTY INSURANCE CHECKLIST ..................................... 19
REFERENCES..... .................................................................................... 20
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT .............................................. 21
EXHIBIT A.......... .................................................................................... 30
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RFP #26-483 ANNUAL MANAGED NETWORK SERVICES AGREEMENT
SECTION 1 - INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS
1. Sealed proposals will be received until 2:00 p.m. (EST), Wednesday, April 15, 2026,
at the Genesee County Purchasing Department, 324 S Saginaw St, Suite 9A, Flint,
MI, 48502. The Genesee County Purchasing Department hours of operation are 8:00
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed holidays check website for closed days. Label the sealed
envelope containing the proposal response as described on page 1. LATE
PROPOSALS AND PROPOSALS SENT BY FACSIMILE OR E-MAIL WILL NOT
BE ACCEPTED.
2. Please carefully review this document. It provides information necessary to aid
participating vendors in formulating a thorough response. A formal, comprehensive
review period will be conducted to ensure that Genesee County selects the best
possible vendor that will provide the best value and service.
3. Submit one original and one paper copy of your proposal. After the proposal
closes, you will be contacted to send the County an electronic copy of your
complete proposal via email. All proposals submitted become the property of
Genesee County. The original must include a signature on the Signature Page of a
person authorized to make a binding offer. Failure to provide the required number of
duplicate copies may result in rejection of your proposal. Proposals may not be
submitted on the MITN site for this offering.
4. All submissions will be time stamped by an individual within Fiscal Services. The only
acceptable evidence of the time of receipt of the submissions is that of the time clock
that resides within said department. It is each Proposer's responsibility to ensure that
its proposal is time stamped by Fiscal Services by the deadline. This responsibility
rests entirely with the Proposer, regardless of delays resulting from postal handling
or for any other reasons. Proposals will be accepted at any time during the normal
course of business only, said hours being 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Local Time, Monday
through Friday, legal holidays as exception.
5. Michigan Inter-governmental Trade Network- an alternate review of the RFP #26-
483 Annual Managed Network Services Agreement can be done at:
http://www.bidnetdirect.com/mitn
a. Genesee County has partnered with BidNet as part of the Michigan Inter-
governmental Trade Network (MITN) and will post their bid opportunities
to this site. As a vendor, you can register with Michigan Inter-
governmental Trade Network (use hyperlink or
https://www.mitn.info/Registration.asp?ID=2340) and be sure that you see
all available bids and opportunities. By selecting automatic bid
notification, your company will receive emails once Genesee County has a
bid opportunity that matches your company's business. In addition, the
site handles bid opportunities, RFPs, and RFQs for other member
governmental agencies. If you need help registering, please call Michigan
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Inter-governmental Trade Network support department toll free 1-800-835-
4603.
6. All communications, any modifications, clarifications, amendments, questions,
responses or any other matters related to this RFP, shall be made by and through
the purchasing contact reference in this solicitation. No contact regarding this
solicitation made with other County employees is permitted. Any violation of this
condition may result in immediate rejection of proposal.
7. All prospective proposers shall be responsible for routinely checking the Genesee
County Purchasing Department website at Genesee County, MI for issued addenda
and other relevant information. Genesee County shall not be responsible for the
failure of a prospective proposer to obtain addenda and other information issued at
any time related to this RFP.
8. A sample of a contract is attached to this RFP. After the award is made to the
successful proposer, the County and the successful proposer will negotiate a final
contract that substantially conforms to said contract. Any exceptions to the terms and
conditions of the contract and this RFP must be clearly set forth in your proposal and
referenced on company letterhead. The County will not entertain negotiations to
change any terms and conditions of the contract or RFP unless those changes are
requested in your proposal.
9. Insurance must be provided prior to the contract starting date and kept in full effect
and compliance during the entire contract period. Insurance requirements are
provided in Section 9 Insurance Required from Proposer. Failure to comply with these
provisions will cause termination of the agreement. The County of Genesee requires
a signed Genesee County Insurance Checklist form with each proposal submitted.
The Contractor agrees to be responsible for any loss or damage to property or
persons due to the performance of services herein contracted and further agrees to
indemnify and defend the County of Genesee harmless from any loss or damage
resulting therefrom.
County Policy dictates that under no circumstances can the County agree to indemnify
proposers pursuant to Michigan Law.
10. Preference for Genesee County Businesses: Unless the funding source for the
contract prohibits such preferences, in the case of requests for proposals where a
quantitative based evaluation criteria is used for evaluating responsive proposals,
Preferred Businesses shall be afforded an additional five (5) percent of the total
evaluation points up to a maximum of five (5) points.
11. Proposal Format: Proposals must be submitted in the format outlined in SECTION 7
- INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM PROPOSERS to be deemed responsive.
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SECTION 2 - STANDARD TERMS & CONDITIONS
1. See Genesee County website, Purchasing Department for Standard Terms and
Conditions by going to the following link: Std T C SECTION 2023.pdf
SECTION 3 - ADDITIONAL TERMS & CONDITIONS
1. Purpose: Through this RFP, Genesee County ("the County") is soliciting
proposals from qualified firms who can provide Annual Managed Network Services
Agreement.
2. Issuing Office: This RFP is issued by the Genesee County Purchasing
Department on behalf of the Genesee County Department of Information
Technology. The contact person is Rita Schubert, Purchasing Manager, Genesee
County, 324 S Saginaw St, Suite 9A, Flint, Michigan 48502, phone (810) 257-3195
and rschubert@geneseecountymi.gov. Email is the preferred method of contact.
3. Questions & Inquiries: All questions regarding this RFP shall be submitted in
writing and received no later than Wednesday, March 25, 2026, before 3:00 PM
(EST) to the Genesee County Purchasing Department as listed above. E-mail is
the preferred method of contact for all inquiries concerning this RFP, and please
entitle the subject line of your e-mail as follows: Question(s) for RFP 26-483. No
verbal interpretation to any respondent as to the meaning of any requirement
stated in this RFP shall be binding on Genesee County. All responses to questions
regarding this RFP shall be issued in writing and distributed as an addendum by
Genesee County.
4. Addenda: Genesee County reserves the right to amend and provide clarification
of this RFP prior to the date for proposal submission. In such an event, an
addendum will be posted on the Purchasing Department website Genesee County,
MI. Further, all proposers shall acknowledge having seen any and all addendums
issued (1, 2, 3, etc.) on the Signature Page.
5. Proposal Considerations: All costs incurred in the preparation of a response to
this RFP or any costs prior to approval of the contract by Genesee County and
formal notification to the selected proposer will be the responsibility of the
respondent and will not be reimbursed by Genesee County. Proposals should be
prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description
of the proposer's ability to meet the requirements of this RFP.
6. Responsive Proposals: To ensure proper consideration, all proposers are
encouraged to submit a complete response to this RFP using the format outlined
in SECTION 7 - INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM PROPOSERS. In addition, at
least one of the paper proposals must be signed with an original signature of the
official authorized to bind the proposer to its provisions.
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7. Proposal Modifications: Clarifications, modifications, or amendments to any
Proposal that has been submitted, but prior to the Proposal Opening Date, may be
made only within the discretion and written approval of the Purchasing Manager.
8. Withdrawal of Proposal: Proposals may only be withdrawn by a proposer with
written notice prior to the date and time set for the opening of proposals.
9. Validity Period: Any proposal submitted as a result of this Request for Proposal
shall be binding on the proposer for 120 calendar days following the due date.
10. Right to Reject: Genesee County reserves the right to reject any and all proposals
received in response to this RFP.
11. Disclosure: All information in an offeror's proposal is subject to disclosure under
the provisions of Public Act N. 442 of 1976 known as the "Freedom of Information
Act". This Act also provides for the complete disclosure of contracts and
attachments thereto. In the event that a proposer wishes to designate any portion
of their submission as "confidential" or "proprietary," the proposer must contact the
Purchasing Manager prior to submission of the proposal. All requests regarding
disclosure and requests for confidentiality of a proposal response to this RFP shall
be submitted in writing and received no later than April 2, 2026, by 12:00 p.m.
(EST), to the Genesee County Purchasing Department as listed above.
12. Errors, Omissions, And Discrepancies: If a Proposer discovers any ambiguity,
conflict, discrepancy, omission, or other error in the RFP, it shall immediately notify
the Genesee County Purchasing Manager of such error in writing and request
modification or clarification of the document prior to the deadline for submitting
questions. Genesee County will make modifications by issuing a written addendum.
The proposer is responsible for clarifying any ambiguity, conflict, discrepancy,
omission, or other error in the Request for Proposals prior to submitting a proposal
or it shall be waived.
13. Best and Final Offers: Discussions may be undertaken with those proposers
whose proposal, based on the evaluation criteria stated herein, has been
determined to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award. After
discussions are held, and prior to award, proposers may be allowed the opportunity
to submit revisions to their proposals for the purpose of obtaining best and final
offers.
During the aforementioned procedures, neither the names of any of the proposers
nor the contents of any proposal will be disclosed until the completion of
negotiations and revision of proposals (Best and Final Offers).
The contract that may be entered into will be awarded based on the proposal
response and, where applicable, the Best and Final Offer that is the most
advantageous to Genesee County, per the evaluation criteria included in this RFP.
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14. Prime Contractor Responsibilities: The successful offeror(s) shall be required to
assume responsibility for all services offered in the proposal regardless of who
produces them. Further, the County will consider the successful offeror to be the
sole point of contact with regard to contractual matters, including payment of any
and all charges resulting from the contract.
15. Non-Assignability: The contract may not be assigned, transferred, or conveyed
by the Contractor without the expressed written consent of Genesee County.
16. Independent Contractor: It is understood and agreed to, by and between the
Contractor and Genesee County, that any and all acts that the Contractor or its
personnel, employees, and servants perform pursuant to the terms of the Contract
shall be undertaken as independent contractors and not as employees of Genesee
County by or with a contract or agreement, nor impose any liability upon Genesee
County. All acts and contracts of the Contractor shall be in its own name and not
in the name of Genesee County.
17. Subcontracts: The Contractor shall not enter into subcontracts to this Agreement
with additional parties without obtaining prior written approval of Genesee County.
A condition of granting such approval is that such subcontractors shall be subject
to all conditions and provisions of this contract. The Contractor shall be responsible
for the performance of all subcontractors.
18. Statement of Exceptions: The proposer shall furnish a statement on company
letterhead giving a complete description of all exceptions to the terms, conditions,
and specifications set forth in the proposal. Failure to furnish this statement shall
mean that the proposer agrees to meet all requirements set forth in this solicitation.
19. Acceptance of Proposal Content: It is proposed that, if a contract is entered into
as a result of this RFP, the RFP will serve as the basis for the contract. The contents
of the proposal of the successful offeror may become contractual obligations if a
contract is issued. Failure of the successful offeror to accept these obligations will
result in cancellation of contract award.
20. Termination for Misrepresentation: If the successful proposer receives a contract
and is subsequently found to have misrepresented any information in its proposal
and/or Best and Final Offer submission, the contract may be terminated at the
discretion of Genesee County.
21. Acceptable Deviations: The decision of Genesee County shall be final as to what
constitutes acceptable deviations from specifications or requirements.
22. News Release: News releases pertaining to this RFP or the services to which it
relates will not be made without prior written Genesee County approval, and then
only in accordance with the instructions from the contract administrator. No
information regarding the procurement and services shall be released without prior
approval of the contract administrator.
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23. Contract Award/Split Awards: The County reserves the right to award by item
and/or group of items. The Bidder to whom the award is made will be notified at the
earliest possible date. Tentative acceptance of the bid, intent to recommend award
of a contract and actual award of the contract will be provided by written notice sent
to the Bidder at the address designated in the bid if a separate Agreement is
required to be executed.
24. Debarment and Suspension: The contractor certifies to the best of its knowledge
and belief, that the corporation, LLC, partnership, or sole proprietor, and/or its'
principals, owners, officers, shareholders, key employees, directors and member
partners: (1) are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment,
declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any
Federal department or agency; (2) have not within a three-year period preceding
this form been convicted of or had a civil judgement rendered against them form
commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting
to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, State or local) transaction or contract
under a public transaction; violation of Federal or State antitrust statutes or
commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of
records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property; (3) are not presently
indicted for or otherwise criminally charged by a governmental entity (Federal, State
or local) with commission of any of the offenses enumerated in (2) of this
certification; and , (4) have not within a three-year period preceding this proposal
had one or more public transactions (Federal, State or local) terminated for cause
or default.
SECTION 4 - QUALIFICATIONS OF PROPOSERS
In order to qualify for award, a proposer shall have the capability in all respects to perform
the work and the integrity and reliability, which will assure good faith performance. This
requirement shall include, but is not limited to, the availability of the appropriate financial,
material, equipment, facility, personnel, ability, expertise and experience necessary to meet
all procurement requirements.
A vendor must have the capability, qualifications, and the necessary experience to
provide services of a character similar to that required in this solicitation. If a vendor does
not convince Genesee County that it possesses the above minimum qualifications with
the proposal submission, Genesee County shall not consider its proposal for award.
If a proposer does not convince Genesee County that it possesses the above minimum
qualifications with the proposal submission, Genesee County shall not consider its
proposal for award.
SECTION 5 - BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Genesee County is Michigan's fifth largest county. The County has an outstanding
transportation infrastructure, and a great network of higher education institutions to help
drive innovation and support workforce development. Our quality-of-life amenities
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include Michigan's largest county park system, a national-caliber arts and culture
district, and many great neighborhoods. Additional information can be found on
Genesee County's website at Genesee County Michigan.
Genesee County Information Technology (GCIT) is a centralized service bureau that
provides IT services to all County Departments. This department is where People,
Process and Technology combine to serve our citizens by delivering an exceptional and
secure IT service experience for all technology consumers. While Information
Technology is not a profit center, nearly all County business is completed through the
use of Information Technology systems. GCIT is organized in the following focus areas:
* Cybersecurity and Technical Architecture
* Network and Telecommunications Administration
* Data Center Technology Administration
* End User Computing
* Service Desk and Customer Support
* Enterprise Application Support
SECTION 6 - SCOPE OF WORK
Genesee County is seeking proposals from qualified and experienced vendors for an
Annual Managed Network Services Agreement to provide ongoing support, monitoring,
maintenance, and operational assistance for the organization's core networking
infrastructure across four (4) physical sites.
The selected Managed Services Provider (MSP) will be responsible for ensuring the
availability, performance, security, and reliability of the County's network environment,
meeting defined service level agreements (SLAs), and providing timely, expert-level
support when required by supplementing the existing network team. The MSP primary
role will be the escalation path for issues that the County's network team is unable to
resolve without assistance. The MSP will also be responsible for Realtime hardware
and connectivity monitoring with alerts pertaining to the sites and devices outlined in the
agreement.
Equipment Overview
The managed services contract will cover network hardware, configurations, and
functionality at four location supporting the following equipment
2.1 Security Infrastructure
- Two (2) Palo Alto PA-3420 Next-Generation Firewalls
- Two (2) Palo Alto PA-1420 Next-Generation Firewalls
- Two (2) Palo Alto Panorama M-200 Management Appliances
2.2 Core and Distribution Network Infrastructure
- Four (4) Cisco Nexus N9K Series Switches
- Five (5) Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
- Five (5) Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
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Service Locations
Service shall be provided for equipment located at four (4) designated Genesee County
MI facilities. The contractor shall maintain the capability to provide both remote and on-
site support services as required to the locations below:
1. Tower
2. McCree
3. Circuit Courthouse
4. Jail
Scope of Managed Services
The MSP shall deliver comprehensive managed network services, including but not
limited to:
4.1 Monitoring and Incident Management
* 24x7 monitoring of covered network devices
* Proactive alerting and incident detection
* Incident triage, troubleshooting, and resolution
* Root cause analysis for critical incidents
* Escalation management through resolution
4.2 Configuration and Change Management
* Configuration management for firewalls, switches, and network services
* Support for moves, adds, and changes (MACs)
* Change planning, risk assessment, and implementation
* Configuration backups and version control that will be stored and maintained by
the County.
* Coordination with internal IT staff for scheduled changes
4.3 Firewall and Security Support
* Palo Alto firewall and Panorama administration
* Policy changes, NAT updates, and rule optimization
* VPN support (site-to-site and remote gateway-to-gateway access)
* Support for compliance and audit requirements
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