The county treasurer told the finance committee she will not continue the banking request-for-proposal process this year until county legal clarifies whether the RFP must follow standard county procurement routing through the commissioners’ office. The treasurer said the banking relationship is department-driven and that her office must lead vendor evaluation and recommendations.

3 Plus 1 (a cash-management consultant) and the treasurer’s office have prepared an RFP and supporting materials, and the consultant said they have six expected respondents and a plan to narrow to a short list for interviews, software demos and decision-making. The consultant explained a standard process: issue a detailed RFP describing county balances and services needed, collect responses, narrow respondents, conduct interviews and software demonstrations, and recommend a preferred vendor to county leadership.

Treasurer Jen White said she is not comfortable allowing the process to be routed through the commissioners’ office in a way that would exclude her office from leading vendor selection. She said cash-management decisions are operationally the treasurer’s responsibility and that the office needs to maintain authority over who the county banks with. “I am not comfortable with anyone else making decisions for my department outside of myself,” she said. The treasurer asked the committee to obtain a legal opinion before proceeding if the commissioners expect to own the procurement process.

Mike of 3 Plus 1 said the typical practice in other counties is that the treasurer’s office drives the RFP and then brings a recommendation to commissioners for their sign-off. He said his firm had already prepared the RFP materials and that the county had allocated funds to pay the consultant for the RFP work; the consultant agreed to hold or roll that funding to next year if the county delays.

Ending: The treasurer will seek legal guidance on the appropriate procurement path; consultant 3 Plus 1 is prepared to run the RFP when the treasurer’s office and county counsel agree on the proper procedural route.