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Chief Administrative Office recommending the Board approve the RFP process to be used to allocate $540,000 from the promotions account to be used by local organizations to carry out activities for the promotion of tourism, entertainment, business and leisure travel in the County of El Dorado.
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Funding: Hotel and Motel Tax (HMT)
Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost: The amount of $540,000 has been budgeted for Promotions Program for FY 10/11. There is no net county cost.
Background: El Dorado County first enacted a hotel/motel tax in 1965. The current hotel/motel tax is $10% of the room charge.
Beginning April 2007, economic development staff refined the annual Promotions Program RFP awards process. These refinements included: a bifurcated review panel composed of members who were free of conflict of interest issues and issue area and industry experts from outside El Dorado County; incorporating nationally recognized awards process metrics and scoring "Best Practices"; and finally bringing transparency and impartiality to the annual Promotions Program RFP awards process.
In July 2009 economic development staff incorporated several structural changes in the Promotions Program RFP. These included: County adherence to published timelines; confirmation of all applicants required documentation; elimination of redundant Program Description/Program Evaluation data; and finally increasing the numbers of pages for responses in the RFP document.
The CAO's Office is recommending the following RFP and contractual changes for FY 2010/11. These include:
· Incorporation of Mandatory Bidders' Conference attendance;
· Reduction in the proposed RFP timeline from four to three weeks for application development;
· Development of an option for Multi-Year Funding in consultation with County Counsel
Reason for Recommendation: Reaffirmation of the annual Promotions Program and its award cycle process will ensure the continuation of collaborative marketing and promotions programs on behalf of business in El Dorado County.
The Promotions Program is designed to create a self-sustaining, long-term marketing and advertising Promotion Program on behalf of Arts, and Culture, Agri-Tourism, Business, Film and Tourism industries, using innovative and comprehensive strategies developed and implemented by partnerships among private, public, and non-profit entities throughout the County. The Promotion strategy identifies four key principles:
· Sustainable marketing of the County's business and tourism amenities;
· Promotion of the County's culture and environment t through the arts and film;
· Community-based partnerships that will leverage County revenues, thereby enhancing greater program outcomes; and
· Strategic vision for long-term promotional programming.
Procurement and Contracts will issue the RFP and collect the responses. The proposal responses will then be mailed to the reviewers for outside evaluation and returned to Office of Economic Development for tabulation and development of a set of recommendations to be brought before the Board prior to the new program year, October 1, 2010. Applications will be reviewed based upon the following Evaluation Criteria:
1. Responsiveness to El Dorado County's stated objectives.
2. Integration of proposed promotional program with applicant's marketing plan.
3. Facilitation of a collaborative approach, both local and regional in nature.
4. Description of the anticipated results of the project and how results will be measured and evaluated.
5. Financial capacity to carry out the proposed project in a credible manner.
6. Leveraging of other dollars demonstrated by letters of commitment from other entities of their support through matching dollars to the marketing plan of program of work.
7. Submittal of proposal on appropriate forms using appropriate format.
8. Bonus Points shall be awarded to organizations that can demonstrate previous successful promotion program implementation and ROI to the county.
9. Bonus Points shall be awarded for past performance of organizations that can demonstrate county-wide economic impacts.
Action to be taken following Board approval: The Procurement and Contracts Division will issue the RFP and return to the Board for award.
Contact: Sam Driggers, (530) 621-5595
Concurrences: