Clallam County staff to launch banking RFP; CashFest to manage electronic submissions

Clallam County finance staff announced plans to publish a request for proposals (RFP) for the county’s banking services, including deposit accounts, merchant services and credit-card programs, and asked the committee to approve a public timeline and the use of CashFest’s electronic portal to collect proposals.

The discussion, led by county finance staff and CashFest representative Mike Abbott, centered on timing, required procurement steps and technical needs such as integration with the county’s changing financial software and the ability to test direct-deposit (“pre-note”) banking information. The committee agreed to place the RFP on an upcoming work session and a following regular meeting for public notice and potential approval to release the solicitation.

Why it matters: the county currently uses multiple banking relationships (including US Bank for many county accounts) and some county departments hold separate fiduciary accounts. County staff said the RFP will allow bidders to propose full-service relationships (banking, merchant services and purchase-card options) and to describe additional services such as short-term revolving credit facilities.

County staff said CashFest will host the electronic application portal, where bidders can complete required forms, upload documents and receive time-stamped confirmations. Mike Abbott, CashFest, told the committee: “We can adjust our normal process. Nothing here is really set in stone,” and described features of the portal used for other county RFPs, including yes/no question fields, long-form text boxes and an upload area for supporting documents.

Procurement and schedule details: staff said the RFP could be released faster than previously planned (they had originally considered June) and recommended a public work session to present the number of proposals received and a subsequent commission meeting to refer proposals to the procurement review. The committee discussed typical response windows and best practices: several speakers recommended 3–4 weeks for proposals rather than a two-week window to avoid discouraging bidders. Staff also said finalists would be narrowed to three for in-person or virtual demonstrations and interviews.

Technical and policy issues: committee members pressed to list the county’s in-use and soon-to-be-adopted financial software in the RFP so bidders can show integration capability; interim IT Director Monica Anderson said IT will need to join future vendor demos. The committee also discussed whether credit-card (p-card) programs should be bundled with the banking RFP or run separately; staff said p-cards are included under services in the current draft but acknowledged that many counties treat card programs as a separate procurement.

Legal and procedural oversight: staff reviewed procurement policy language and said the county’s Policy 5-60 governs RFP processes and that responses must be received by the clerk of the board. The committee agreed the safe path is to run a work session and then a regular meeting to approve release, allowing time for legal review and minor edits. Staff said CashFest will email the county’s procurement point and the clerk with timestamped submission notices so the county can document on-time responses.

Costs and transition: speakers noted switching banks can require one-time costs (new check stock, endorsement stamps, system updates) and could require running accounts in parallel during transition. Staff said they have discussed timing with human resources and other departments to minimize operational disruption and aim to complete any change by August if a switch is approved. IT participation during vendor demos and before ERP go-live was emphasized as important to ensure integrations are resolved before full ERP implementation.

Votes at a glance: the committee approved the meeting agenda as amended and approved the prior quarter minutes by voice vote. No formal vote on publishing the RFP was recorded in the transcript; staff will return with a proposed work-session agenda and the draft RFP for commissioner consideration.

Ending: staff will circulate a revised RFP that names the county’s financial software, includes a question about pre-note testing for direct deposit, and lists examples of additional services (short-term revolvers, merchant/credit-card flexibility) for bidders to address. The committee plans a work session to review proposals and then a posting to the regular commission agenda for formal action if needed.