Trempealeau County selects Innovative Public Advisors for strategic planning

Trempealeau County officials voted to hire Innovative Public Advisors to lead the county's strategic planning process, selecting the firm’s proposal and approving work that the county scored as the most favorable among six submissions.

County staff presented the review and scoring process during the meeting and said the solicitation drew six proposals; one additional submission was received late and was not considered because it was postmarked March 7. Reviewers used a 100-point rubric covering timeliness, completeness of proposal materials, contractor experience, evidence of similar-project completion, prior experience with county government, qualifications of key personnel, and a proposed timeline and cost breakdown. An additional 20 competitive points were applied for price and fees.

Rebecca (staff member), who led the review presentation, said the evaluation was conducted independently by three reviewers — Rebecca, Dave Carlson and Jay Hein — and then averaged. Rebecca told the meeting that the Innovative Public Advisors proposal included a financial overview and a shorter project timeline of about three months, and that the firm’s price was $22,500, which the presentation said included travel for three on-site trips to Trempealeau. The Marando Group (also referred to as the Mirando Group in proposal materials), based in Maine, proposed a roughly $25,000 engagement with a later completion date projected in October and did not include travel costs in its estimate. Another bidder, Agility Insights, submitted a significantly higher estimate — described in the review as about $69,000 — and scored lower on the review criteria.

A motion to proceed with Innovative Public Advisors was made and seconded during the meeting. The motion was approved by voice vote; those present responded "Aye" and the chair declared the motion carried. The meeting record does not include a roll-call tally or identify which members moved and seconded the motion.

Meeting remarks also noted that the county is already working with Innovative Public Advisors on media and communications elements, which the presentation said was a point in favor of the firm’s ability to coordinate outreach. No binding contract text or final effective dates were provided in the meeting discussion, and participants did not record additional implementation steps or a formal timeline for contract execution during the session.

The meeting closed after the vote with thanks to the reviewers who scored the proposals. No further public comment or additional action on the item was recorded in the transcript.