26-126 Special Prosecutor for Disciplinary Matters

CITY OF CLIFTON
DEPARTMENT OF PURCHASING
26-126-SPECIAL PROSECUTOR FOR DISCIPLINARY MATTERS
REGARDING EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF CLIFTON FOR
THE CITY OF CLIFTON
2026 - 2027

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR FAIR AND OPEN PROPOSAL
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.4 et seq., the City of Clifton is soliciting Fair and Open Proposals
for Special Prosecutor for Disciplinary Matters for the period of one (1) year from date of
contract award. Proposals shall be endorsed "Special Prosecutor for Disciplinary Matters
Regarding Employees of the City of Clifton" and delivered to Purchasing Agent Amisha Jariwala,
City of Clifton, 900 Clifton Avenue, Clifton, New Jersey 07013.
Due Date: April 30, 2026, at 11:00 a.m.
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CITY OF CLIFTON
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
SPECIAL PROSECUTOR FOR DISCIPLINARY MATTERS
REGARDING EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF CLIFTON
The City of Clifton is soliciting a Request for Proposal ("RFP") to provide Special Prosecutor for
Disciplinary Matters against employees on behalf of the City, as directed by the Municipal
Attorney or designee thereof, for a contract period of one (1) year from date of contract award. All
candidates are required to comply with N.J.S.A. 10:5-31, et seq. and N.J.A.C. 17:27 as amended
(Affirmative Action).
I - GENERAL
The City of Clifton seeks a private attorney or law firm (Respondent) licensed to practice law in
New Jersey State in order to prosecute disciplinary matters regarding City employees, on an as
needed basis. The special prosecutor shall have sufficient experience or knowledge of actions
regarding the prosecuting of employees in disciplinary matters as may arise.
The Respondent will provide support to the Municipal Attorney or designee thereof. The
Respondent will represent the City of Clifton in matters related to employee discipline through a
cost-effective commitment to service with the latest innovations in the practice of employment
litigation law.
All questions relating to the RFP shall be submitted in writing to City of Clifton Purchasing Agent
Amisha Jariwala, via email to: ajariwala@cliftonnj.org, no later than 3:00 p.m. on April 23, 2026.
Any questions, which in the opinion of the City warrant a return reply or an amendment to the RFP,
will be furnished to all parties not less than seven (7) business days prior to receipt of Proposals.
Proposals shall be received no later than 11:00 a.m. on April 30, 2026, and must be made on the
basis that they either meet or exceed the requirements contained herein.
II - SCOPE OF SERVICES
The Special Prosecutor for Disciplinary Matters regarding Employees of the City of Clifton shall
provide advice and legal representation in connection with arbitration and court proceedings
involving employee discipline.
The Special Prosecutor for the City shall review all findings and disclosures as provided by special
investigators, the Municipal Attorney, or City officials to determine the appropriate prosecutorial
method necessary at such time.
The Special Prosecutor shall file all necessary pleadings and documents with the appropriate Courts,
Hearing Officers and/or administrative agencies, in matters for which the firm has been retained.
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Work may include drafting pleadings, motions, briefs, and all other papers to be filed in court;
conducting and responding to discovery; attending all pre-trial, trial, and post-trial court
appearances; and handling appeals.
Respondents must also have resources sufficient to advance all costs.
Respondent must also be free of any conflict of interest and must comply with the conflicts policy
referred to in section III-h below.
III - MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Listed below are the minimum requirements necessary to be considered for this proposal:
a) At a minimum, the Respondent shall have five (5) consecutive years' experience with
Prosecution regarding Employee Disciplinary matters, representing a municipality or
other public governmental entity.
b) As pertains to potential disciplinary actions, respondents must demonstrate
knowledge of The New Jersey Wage Payment Law, The New Jersey Law Against
Discrimination ("LAD"); The New Jersey Civil Rights Act ("CRA"); Disability Act
(TDI); The Family Leave Act ("NJFLA") and New Jersey Family Leave Insurance
(FLI); New Jersey's Whistleblower Law the Conscientious Employee Protection Act
("CEPA"); New Jersey's Unemployment Compensation Law; and The Security and
Financial Empowerment ("SAFE") Act.
c) The Respondent must maintain a bona fide office in the State of New Jersey. Please
list the firm's office address on the proposal signature form enclosed herein.
d) The Respondent must list past and present public entities for which it provided
prosecutorial services, regarding employee disciplinary and other municipal matters.
e) The Respondent must identify the attorney(s) and support staff that will be assigned
to the account as special prosecutors and demonstrate their experience in handling such
actions and the outcomes of the actions that they handled.
f) The Respondent must maintain an office within a reasonable distance to the City of
Clifton.
g) The Respondent must be licensed to practice law in the State of New Jersey and
appear before all state and federal and administrative courts of the State of New Jersey
for a period of not less than five (5) years preceding the appointment.
h) The Respondent must not have represented or is not currently representing a client
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whose interests are adverse to those of the City of Clifton, thereby creating a conflict of
interest and the period of time covered by this restriction is five years prior to the date of
the proposal submitted in response to this RFP.
i) The Respondent must maintain professional liability insurance in the minimum
amount of One Million Dollars per occurrence (one million aggregate).
IV - PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS
The Respondent:
1. Shall provide Name, Federal I.D. number, address, phone and fax numbers of the
firm submitting the proposal and a brief description of legal background such as
years in business, size of staff and any affiliations.
2. Shall provide Name, title and address of principal/individual preparing this
response and the contact person for the RFP.
3. Shall provide Name, title, address and phone number of individual(s) to be assigned
as the Special Prosecutor for Disciplinary Matters for the City.
4. Shall describe the professional achievements of the firm and the principal who
would be assigned to the City of Clifton as its account consultant, such as
educational background, licenses, number of clients handled and number of years
as a special prosecutor. Resumes or summarized credentials are attached.
5. Shall provide a list of New Jersey public sector entities for which the firm has
provided similar services to those contained herein, including the name, title and
phone number of the appropriate contact person within the entity.
6. All respondents must be partners, owners, and employees of the firm.
7. Respondents must provide a comprehensive schedule of proposed fees and hourly
rates for partners and associates of the firm.
8. The Respondent may submit any supplemental information it deems important to
the evaluation of this proposal and the reason why it should be considered in the
overall evaluation of the proposal.
V - COMPENSATION
1) Payment to the successful Respondent shall be based on the hourly rates with monthly
invoices submitted to the City broken down by tenths of hours.
2) All expenses and fees other than compensation as set forth above shall be actual out-
of-pocket expenses incurred by the Respondent without any additions for overhead,
etc. No additional charges will be billed for fax transmissions and copy costs will be
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billed at 15 cents per page.
3) Hourly rates for paralegal services are not permitted.
4) The Firm's fees shall be paid after receipt of a proper invoice and executed payment
voucher.
5) The Firm shall not accept any compensation for related City activities from any source
other than the fee paid by the City of Clifton.
VI - CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1) The term of this agreement is to be a for the period of one (1) year from date of contract
award.
2) Respondent's proposal shall remain valid for a period of ninety (90) days after
submission and will be considered as a binding offer to perform the required services.
3) Respondents shall comply with all Local, State and Federal directives, orders, and laws
as applicable to this proposal.
4) The successful Respondent shall not assign or transfer this agreement to any other person
or company without prior consent and approval in writing from the City of Clifton.
5) Only one (1) proposal from the same Firm will be considered. A Respondent
submitting more than one (1) proposal will cause the rejection of all the proposals of
said consultant. If there is a reason for believing that collusion exists among
Respondents, those proposals shall be rejected.
6) All proposals and documents submitted to the City of Clifton in response to this RFP
shall become the property of the City of Clifton and are subject to the Open Public
Records Act of the State of New Jersey, after the contract is awarded.
7) The City of Clifton may secure background information based upon the references
provided in this RFP.
VII - SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS (FORMS)
1. Affirmative Action Employee Information Report or Certificate of Employee Information Report.
2. Acknowledgment of Receipt of Addenda (if applicable).
3. Non-Collusion Affidavit.
4. Investment Activities in Energy or Finance Sectors of Iran.
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5. Prohibited Activities in Russia and Belarus.
6. Stockholder Disclosure Certification.
7. Proposal Form.
8. New Jersey Business Registration Certificate.
9. IRS W-9 Form.
10. Pay to Play Advisory Form.
Note: Failure to submit any one of the above items may be cause for rejection.
VIII - PROPOSAL EVALUATION
A. GENERAL
1. Responsiveness to the scope of services.
2. Organization of Proposal.
B. PERSONNEL
1. Experience and qualifications of principal assigned to this project and of the
firm's principals.
C. EXPERIENCE AND SERVICES OF FIRM
* History and experience with similar types of government entities.
* Favorable references from public sector clients for which similar services have been provided.
* Reputation in the legal community in representing management.
* Experience and reputation in the legal community of the partner that will be the primary
attorney to act as Special Prosecutor for Disciplinary Matters for the City of Clifton.
D. TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
* Knowledge and skill in the areas of municipal prosecution, brief writing,
employment litigation, and appellate practice.
E. HOURLY RATES FEES
* The City will consider hourly rates proposed of Respondent's partners and associates.
F. COMMUNICATION SKILLS
* Ability to work and communicate effectively with City of Clifton staff,
Management personnel, and any others as may be necessary.
IX - SUBMISSION DATE
Proposals shall be received by the Purchasing Agent no later than 11:00 a.m. on April 30,
2026
Respondents are to submit two (2) copies: (1) bound copy and (1) un-bound copy and one
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digital copy on Flash Drive/Thumb Drive (marked with firm name or sealed in small
envelope with firm name marked outside).
X - AWARD OF CONTRACT
The City of Clifton reserves the right to reject any and all Proposals, to waive any
curable irregularities or technicalities and to award a contract to the Respondent whose
response is most advantageous, price and other factors considered to the City of Clifton.
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CITY OF CLIFTON PROPOSAL FORM
SPECIAL PROSECUTOR FOR DISCIPLINARY MATTERS
REGARDING EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF CLIFTON
Firm Name:
Signature: ________________________________________ Date: _______________
Print Name: __________________________________ Title: ____________________
Address:
______________________________________________________________________
Tax ID/FEIN:______________________________
Phone: Fax:
Email: ________________________________________________________________
Respondents hereby propose the following rates:
1. Hourly Rate for Partners: $ ______________
2. Hourly Rate for Associates: $
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FAILURE TO SUBMIT FORMS SHALL BE CAUSE FOR REJECTION OF THE PROPOSAL
A. Mandatory Affirmative Action Certification
No firm may be issued a contract unless it complies with the affirmative action regulations of
N.J.S.A. 10:5-31 et. seq. (P.L. 1975, c 127).
1. Procurement, Professional and Service Contracts
All Successful vendors must submit, within seven days after receipt of the notice of
intent to award the contract or the receipt of the contract, one of the following:
i. A photocopy of a valid letter for an approved Federal Affirmative Action Plan
(good for one year from the date of the letter), or
ii. A photocopy of an approved Certificate of Employee Information Report
,
or
iii. If the vendor has none of the above, the public agency is required to provide the
vendor with an initial Affirmative Action Employee Information Report (AA-302).
B. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Discrimination on the basis of disability in contracting for the purchase of bids and services is
prohibited. The successful Respondent is required to read Americans with Disabilities language that
is part of this specification and agrees that the provisions of Title II of the Act are made a part of the
contract. The successful Respondent is obligated to comply with the Act and to hold the City of
Clifton harmless.
C. Stockholder Disclosure
Chapter 33 of the Public Laws of 1977 provides that no corporation or partnership shall be awarded
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