FINANCIAL SERVICES

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) 26-008
FINANCIAL SERVICES
OTERO COUNTY ADMINISTRATION
NIGP CODE # 91800
BID DEADLINE: Tuesday MAY 26, 2026
@ 2:00 P.M.
CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER: WENDY ROBINSON
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I. Introduction
A. Purpose of this Request for Proposal
The County of Otero is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to serve the County as Financial
Advisor to advise and assist the County in the issuance of various forms of debt including public
offerings of bonds, negotiated sales, and private placements. Advisory services shall include the
structure, timing, terms, and similar matters concerning the debt issuance. Financial planning of
resources to repay the debt will be included as some of the advisory services that will be needed.
Expertise in federal, state, home rule, and local financing laws will be required as well as a board base
of knowledge of various types of financial issues. The agreement will be for a base period of one (1)
year with the option to renew at the discretion of both parties for an additional three (3) one (1) year
terms. It is the County's intent to enter into a contract with one agency as a result of this RFP.
B. Project Description/Scope of Work
Scope of work is to provide Financial Services in accordance with "Attachment No. 1".
C. CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER
1. Chief Procurement Officer is responsible for the conduct of this procurement whose name,
address, telephone number and e-mail address are listed below:
Name: Wendy Robinson, Chief Procurement Officer
Address: Purchasing Department
1101 New York Ave. Rm 118
Alamogordo, NM 88310
Telephone: (575) 437-0710
Fax: (575) 443-2904
Email: wrobinson@co.otero.nm.us
2. All deliveries of responses via express carrier must be addressed as follows:
Name: Purchasing Department
Attn: Wendy Robinson
Reference: RFP 26-008 Financial Services
Address: 1101 New York Ave. Rm 118
Alamogordo, New Mexico 85310
3. Any inquiries or requests regarding this procurement should be submitted, in writing, to the
Chief Procurement Officer. Offerors may contact ONLY the Chief Procurement Officer regarding this
procurement.
NOTE: DIRECT CONTACT WITH COUNTY ELECTED OFFICIALS OR COUNTY STAFF OTHER THAN
PURCHASING STAFF REGARDING THIS RFP WILL RENDER THE PROPOSAL NON-COMPLIANT.
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II. Conditions Governing the Procurement
This section of the RFP contains the schedule, description and conditions governing the procurement
A. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
The Chief Procurement Officer will make every effort to adhere to the following schedule. However,
if the Selection Committee makes a selection at the proposal Short Listing, oral presentation will not
apply. :
Action Responsible Party Due Dates
Issue RFP County of Otero April 25, 2026
Deadline to submit
Written Questions Potential Offerors May 13, 2026 @ 3:00 PM
Addenda if necessary County of Otero May 19, 2026
Submission Proposals Potential Offerors May 26, 2026 @ 2:00 PM
Proposal Evaluation Evaluation Committee TBD
Oral Presentation if requested County of Otero TBD
Authorization of Award County Commission June 11, 2026
B. EXPLANATION OF EVENTS
The following paragraphs describe the activities listed in the sequence of events shown in Section II,
Paragraph A, above.
1. Issuance of RFP
This RFP is being issued on behalf of the Finance Department, County of Otero.
2. Distribution List Response Due
Potential Offerors can hand deliver, return by facsimile, email or registered or certified mail the
"Acknowledgement of Receipt of Request for Proposals Form" that accompanies this
document, ATTACHMENT 4, to have their organization placed on the procurement
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distribution list. The form should be signed by an authorized representative of the
organization, dated and returned to the Chief Procurement Officer.
The procurement distribution list will be used for the distribution of written responses to
questions. Failure to return the Acknowledgement of Receipt form shall constitute a
presumption of receipt and rejection of the RFP, and the potential organization name shall not
appear on the distribution list.
3. Pre-Proposal Conference
A pre-proposal conference will not be held for this project.
4. Deadline to Submit Written Questions
Potential Offerors may submit written questions to the Chief Procurement Officer as to the
intent or clarity of this RFP until 3:00 PM Mountain Standard Time/Daylight Time as indicated
in the sequence of events. All written questions must be addressed to the Chief Procurement
Officer as declared in Section II, Paragraph C.
5. Response to Written Questions
An Addendum will be issued in response to all written questions and will be distributed as
indicated in the sequence of events to all potential Offerors whose organization name appears
on the procurement distribution list and on the County's website. An e-mail copy will be sent to
all Offerors that provide Acknowledgement of Receipt Forms described in II.B.2.
All offerors will be required to acknowledge receipt of RFP amendment(s) in writing as
part of their proposal transmittal. A failure to acknowledge receipt of RFP amendment(s)
may be cause for rejection of the proposal.
6. Submission of Proposal
ALL OFFEROR PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED FOR REVIEW AND
EVALUATION BY THE CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER OR DESIGNEE NO
LATER THAN 2:00 PM MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME/DAYLIGHT TIME ON see
Section II A. Sequence of Events. Proposals received after this deadline will not be accepted.
The date and time of receipt will be recorded on each proposal.
Proposals must be addressed and delivered to the Chief Procurement Officer at the address
listed in Section I, Paragraph C2. Proposals must be sealed and labeled on the outside of the
package to clearly indicate that they are in response to the RFP 26-008 FINANCIAL
SERVICES. Proposals submitted by facsimile, or other electronic means, will not be accepted.
At all times, it shall be the responsibility of the offeror to ensure its proposal is delivered to the
County of Otero by the proposal due date and time. If the mail or delivery of said proposal
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is delayed beyond the deadline set for the proposal opening, proposals thus delayed will not be
considered.
A public log will be kept of the names of all Offer organizations that submitted proposals. The
contents of proposals shall not be disclosed to competing potential Offerors during the
negotiation process. The negotiation process is deemed to be in effect until the contract is
awarded pursuant to this Request for Proposal has been awarded.
Proposals accepted by the County shall be valid for a period of ninety (90) days following the
deadline for the proposal submittal.
8. Proposal Evaluation
A Selection Committee will perform the evaluation of proposals. This process will take place
as indicated in the sequence of events, depending upon the number of proposals received.
During this time, the Chief Procurement Officer may initiate discussions with Offerors who
submit responsive or potentially responsive proposals for the purpose of clarifying aspects of
the proposals. However, proposals may be accepted and evaluated without such discussion.
Discussions SHALL NOT be initiated by the Offerors.
9. Oral Presentations
Finalist Offerors may be required to conduct an oral presentation at a location to be determined
as per schedule Section II, A Sequence of Events or as soon as possible. Whether or not oral
presentations will be held is at the discretion of the Issuing Department and Chief Procurement
Officer.
10. Contract Awards
The Contract will be finalized with the most advantageous Offeror. In the event that mutually
agreeable terms cannot be reached within the time specified, the County of Otero reserves
the right to finalize a contract with the next most advantageous Offeror without undertaking a
new procurement process or reserves the right to cancel the award.
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11. Protest Deadline
Any protest by an Offeror must be in conformance with (13-1-172 NMSA 1978) and applicable
procurement regulations. The fifteen (15) day protest period for responsive Offerors shall
begin on the day following the commission's approval to negotiate and will end at 5:00 pm
MDT on the fifteenth (15) calendar day following that approval. Protests must be written and
must include the name and address of the Protestant and the solicitation number(s). It must also
contain a statement of grounds for protest including appropriate supporting exhibits, and it must
specify the ruling requested from the Purchasing Manager. The protest must be delivered to the
following address:
Name: Wendy Robinson
Title: Chief Procurement Officer
Address 1101 New York Ave.
Alamogordo, NM 88310
Fax Number: 575-443-2904
E-mail: wrobinson@co.otero.nm.us
Protests received after the deadline will not be accepted.
C. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
1. Acceptance of Conditions Governing the Procurement
This procurement will be conducted in accordance with the County of Otero's procurement
policy.
2. Incurring Cost
Any cost incurred by the potential Offeror in preparation, transmittal, and/or presentation of
any proposal or material submitted in response to this RFP shall be borne solely by the Offeror.
Any cost incurred by the Offeror for set up and demonstration of the proposed equipment
and/or system shall be borne solely by the Offeror.
3. Subcontractors
The selected firm shall not assign, sublet, or transfer their interest in this agreement
without prior written consent from the County. If such an assignment is allowed, the firm
entering into this contract shall be ultimately responsible to ensure that the work is
performed satisfactorily.
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4. Offerors
Since the award is made on a quality-based evaluation process, replacement of offerors after
award of and prior to the contract execution may cause the Offeror to be disqualified.
5. Amended Proposals
An Offeror may submit an amended proposal before the deadline for receipt of proposals. Such
amended proposals must be complete replacements for a previously submitted proposal and
must be clearly identified as such in the transmittal letter. The Agency personnel will not
merge, collate, or assemble proposal materials.
6. Offerors Rights to Withdraw Proposal
Offerors will be allowed to withdraw their proposals at any time prior to the deadline for
receipt of proposals. The Offeror must submit a written withdrawal request addressed to the
Chief Procurement Officer and signed by the Offerors duly authorized representative.
The approval or denial of withdrawal requests received after the deadline for receipt of the
proposals is governed by the applicable procurement regulations.
7. Disclosure of Proposal Contents
The proposals will be kept confidential until negotiations are completed by County of Otero.
At that time, all proposals and documents pertaining to the proposals will be open to the public,
except for material that is clearly marked proprietary or confidential. The Chief Procurement
Officer will not disclose or make public any pages of a proposal on which the potential Offeror
has stamped or imprinted "proprietary" or "confidential" subject to the following requirements.
Proprietary or confidential data shall be readily separable from the proposal in order to
facilitate eventual public inspection of the non-confidential portion of the proposal.
Confidential data is normally restricted to confidential financial information concerning the
Offerors organization and data that qualifies as a trade secret in accordance with the Uniform
Trade Secrets Act, Sections 57-3A-1 to 57-3A-7 NMSA 1978. The price of products offered
or the cost of services proposed shall not be designated as proprietary or confidential
information.
If a request is received for disclosure of data for which an Offeror has made a written request
for confidentiality, County of Otero shall examine the Offerors request and make a written
determination that specifies which portions of the proposal should be disclosed. Unless the
Offeror takes legal action to prevent the disclosure, the proposal will be so disclosed. The
proposal shall be open to public inspection subject to any continuing prohibition on the
disclosure of confidential data.
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8. No Obligation
This procurement in no manner obligates the County of Otero or any of its Departments to the
use of Offeror services until a valid written contract is awarded and approved by appropriate
authorities.
9. Termination
This RFP may be canceled at any time and any and all proposals may be rejected in whole or in
part when Procurement Department determines such action to be in the best interest of the
County of Otero.
10. Sufficient Appropriation
Any agreement or contract awarded as a result of this RFP process may be terminated if
sufficient appropriations or authorizations do not exist. Such terminations will be effected by
sending written notice to the offeror. The County's decision as to whether sufficient
appropriations and authorizations are available will be accepted by the offeror as final.
11. Legal Review
The County requires that all Offerors agree to be bound by the General Requirements
contained in this RFP. Any Offeror concerns must be promptly brought in writing to the
attention of the Chief Procurement Officer.
12. Governing Law
This procurement and any agreement with an Offeror which may result from this procurement
shall be governed by the laws of the State of New Mexico.
13. Basis for Proposal
Only information supplied, in writing, by the County of Otero through the Chief Procurement
Officer or in this RFP should be used as the basis for the preparation of Offeror proposals.
14. Contract Terms and Conditions
The County of Otero reserves the right to negotiate with a successful Offeror provisions in
addition to those contained in this solicitation. The contents of this solicitation, as revised
and/or supplemented, and the successful Offerors proposal will be incorporated into and
become part of the contract.
Should an Offeror object to any of the County of Otero's terms and conditions, as contained
in this Section, that Offeror must propose specific alternative language. The County of Otero
may or may not accept the alternative language. General references to the Offerors terms and
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conditions or attempts at complete substitutions are not acceptable to the County of Otero and
will result in disqualification of the Offerors proposal.
15. Offerors Terms and Conditions
Offerors must submit with the proposal a complete set of any additional terms and conditions
they expect to have included in a contract negotiated with the County of Otero. Not to be
included in page count.
16. Contract Deviations
Any additional terms and conditions, which may be the subject of negotiation, will be
discussed only between the County of Otero and the Offeror and shall not be deemed an
opportunity to amend the Offerors proposal.
17. Offeror Qualifications
The Selection Committee may make such investigations as necessary to determine the ability
of the potential Offeror to adhere to the requirements specified within this RFP. The Selection
Committee will reject the proposal of any potential Offeror who is not a responsible Offeror or
fails to submit a responsive offer as defined in 13-1-133 NMSA 1978.
18. Right to Waive Minor Irregularities
The Chief Procurement Officer reserves the right to waive minor irregularities. The Chief
Procurement Officer also reserves the right to waive mandatory requirements provided that all
of the otherwise responsive proposals failed to meet the same mandatory requirements and the
failure to do so does not otherwise materially affect the procurement. This right is at the sole
discretion of the Chief Procurement Officer.
19. Change in Representatives
The County of Otero reserve the right to require a change in offeror representatives if the
assigned representatives is not, in the opinion of the County, meeting its needs adequately.
20. Notice - Bribery and Kickbacks
New Mexico criminal statues imposes civil and misdemeanor criminal penalties for its
violation. In addition, the New Mexico criminal statutes impose felony penalties for bribes,
gratuities and kickbacks.
21. County of Otero Rights
The County of Otero in agreement with the Chief Procurement Officer reserves the right to
accept all or a portion of a potential Offerors proposal.
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This procurement in no manner obligates the County of Otero or any of its agencies to the
use of any proposed professional services until a valid written contract is awarded and
approved by the appropriate authorities.
22. Right to Publish
Throughout the duration of this procurement process and contract term, Offerors must secure
from the Chief Procurement Officer and the Owner written approval prior to the release of any
information that pertains to the potential work or activities covered by this procurement and/or
agency contracts deriving from this procurement. Failure to adhere to this requirement may
result in disqualification of the Offerors proposal.
23. Ownership of Proposals
All documents submitted in response to the RFP shall become property of the County of Otero.
24. Confidentiality
Any confidential information provided to, or developed by, the firm in the performance of
services under this contract shall be kept confidential and shall not be made available to any
individual or organization by the firm without the prior written approval of the County
Commission.
The Offeror agrees to protect the confidentiality of all confidential information and not to
publish or disclose such information to any third party without the County Commission's
written permission. By confidential information, we mean the software and related materials,
including enhancements, which are designated as proprietary and confidential trade secrets of
the licensor and licensee of the software. Firm(s) will not remove any copyright, trademark,
and other proprietary rights notice from the licensed software or related materials.
25. Electronic mail address required
A large part of the communication regarding this procurement will be conducted by electronic
mail (e-mail). Offeror must have a valid e-mail address to receive this correspondence. (See
also Section II.B.5, Response to Written Questions).
26. Use of Electronic Versions of this RFP
This solicitation is being made available by electronic means. If accepted by such means, the
Offeror acknowledges and accepts full responsibility to ensure that no changes are made to the
solicitation. In the event of conflict between a version of the solicitation in the Offerors
possession and the version maintained by the County of Otero, the version maintained by the
County of Otero shall govern.
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