(DEI) Program and Equity Audit the City of West Linn, Oregon
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BerryDunn A PROPOSAL FOR A 4722 North 24th Street, Suite 250 Phoenix, Arizona 85016 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) 207-541-2200 Program and Equity Audit Seth Hedstrom, Principal [email protected] Michelle Kennedy, Project Manager TO BENEFIT [email protected] The City of West Linn, Oregon Proposal Submitted On: May 19, 2020 before 5:00 p.m. May 19, 2020 Mr. John Williams, City Manager City of West Linn 22500 Salamo Road West Linn, Oregon 97068 Dear Mr. Williams: Berry Dunn McNeil & Parker, LLC (BerryDunn) is pleased to submit our proposal in response to the City of West Linn's (the City's) Request for Proposals for a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Program and Equity Audit. We have read the solicitation, understand its contents, and agree to the terms and conditions therein. Our proposal is a firm and irrevocable offer valid for 120 calendar days from the proposal due date of May 19, 2020. BerryDunn is a certified public accounting and consulting firm with a Government Consulting Practice dedicated to serving state, local, and quasi-governmental agencies. We are a Limited Liability Company (LLC) formed in 1974 with 48 principals and 21 owners, each holding an equal share of the firm’s ownership. We have experienced sustained growth throughout our 46-year history. Our firm is headquartered in Maine with our servicing office in Phoenix, Arizona. We provide consistent, high-quality services to our clients in all 50 states, including local governments in the State of Oregon (the State), and in Canada. We are confident that we are best fit to serve the City and ask that the following key attributes are considered as you evaluate firms to partner with: • The City will benefit from our hands-on experience and our track record which includes work with more than 300 public-sector clients. BerryDunn's consultants stand out through our hands-on experience—we understand our clients' perspectives because we have been in their positions. In fact, 75% of the consultants in our specialized Local Government Consulting Practice Area are former government employees, including several of our proposed team members. This background provides us with an appreciation for the environment in which you work and an understanding of your constraints which we bring to all engagements with public- sector clients. • We have carefully assembled a team with a highly experienced DEI subject matter expert (SME) and a local project manager to provide perspective, lessons learned, and valuable insights throughout the City's project. Our team's DEI SME, Daryl Dixon, is an expert in DEI related initiatives. He has over 27 years of experience working in the State of Oregon and the Portland metropolitan area, including private sector companies and government agencies. In addition, our team includes a local project manager, Michelle Kennedy, who has more than three decades of experience working with Oregon state and local governments, including various local government clients in the Portland metropolitan area. Daryl and Michelle will combine forces to deliver a DEI program and equity audit with a keen attention to detail, consideration for the Oregon state and local environment, and passion for the City and its desire to provide superior services and care for its staff and residents. • Our team's approach is proven and integrates methods to quickly establish trust and credibility with stakeholders. We understand that a project of this nature requires effective stakeholder engagement. We are well-versed and skilled at engaging diverse stakeholder groups, including elected and appointed officials, executive leaders, supervisors, front line staff, partner agencies, community organizations, advocates and the public, and building trust to expedite the time necessary to see results. We listen to stakeholders' varying opinions and collaborate with them to help identify priorities and come to consensus on the outcomes. We find that this collaboration helps stakeholders to support the process and plans for change. • We are experienced in conducting stakeholder and community engagement activities. We leverage our past experience to engage staff and stakeholders in ways that maximize creativity and innovation and inspire collaboration and consensus for a future vision. The facilitation techniques we use promote the engagement of all participants so input is not only heard, but valued. As a principal in our Local Government Consulting Practice Area, I am authorized to bind BerryDunn to the commitments made herein. Should you have any questions regarding our proposal or updates on the evaluation process, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. We appreciate the opportunity to submit this proposal and look forward to working with City on this important initiative. Sincerely, Seth Hedstrom, PMP®, LSSGB | Principal 4722 North 24th Street, Suite 250, Phoenix, AZ 85016 207-541-2212 | [email protected] Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION TO BERRYDUNN ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 BerryDunn Overview ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Our Proposed Project Team ............................................................................................................... 1 2. OUR PROPOSED PROJECT APPROACH ............................................................................................. 4 2.1 Our Approach to Working as Part of a Multicultural/Multiracial Team ................................................ 4 2.2 Our Approach to Project Management ............................................................................................... 4 2.3 Details of Our Proposed Project Work Plan ........................................................................................ 5 3. OUR RELEVANT EXPERIENCE ............................................................................................................. 8 3.1 References .......................................................................................................................................... 8 3.2 Experience Providing Similar Consulting Services ............................................................................. 8 3.3 Sample List of Past and Current Clients ............................................................................................. 9 4. PROPOSED PROJECT COST ................................................................................................................. 9 4.1 Methodology and Approach to Cost .................................................................................................... 9 4.2 Proposed Project Cost ...................................................................................................................... 10 5. RESUMES .............................................................................................................................................. 11 Table of Contents | i 1. INTRODUCTION TO BERRYDUNN 1.1 BerryDunn Overview BerryDunn is a certified public accounting and consulting firm with a Government Consulting Practice dedicated to serving state, local, and quasi-governmental agencies. We are a Limited Liability Company (LLC) formed in 1974 with 48 principals and 21 owners. We have experienced sustained growth throughout our 46-year history. Our firm provides a full range of professional services, including IT and management consulting; tax, audit, and accounting services; and wealth management services. BerryDunn employs more than 500 staff members (including over 200 in our Government Consulting Group), and has a long and successful history of working with state and local agencies across the country in support of IT and management initiatives. Our team members bring valuable perspective from their experiences providing project planning, project management, business process improvement, organizational development, organizational assessments, staffing analyses, and efficiency consulting services for a variety of projects. Dedication to the Public Sector The City will benefit from BerryDunn’s deep understanding of government operations, staffing needs, and the business processes required to provide necessary services to internal divisions and the constituents you serve. We have gained this understanding through our work with more than 300 state, local, and quasi- governmental clients across the country, as well as through our team members’ prior work in various roles across state and local government. We have a deep understanding of state, county, and municipal operations, allowing us to provide unparalleled expertise and unique insights. Figure 1 illustrates the overall organization of BerryDunn's Local Government Consulting Practice Area. We provide a wide range of specialized consulting services across the practices. 1.2 Our Proposed Project Team To best serve the City, we have carefully assembled a comprehensive team with the necessary expertise to best accommodate the goals and objectives for this project. Our Government Consulting Group also includes more than 200 consultants who can help support the project team with efforts relating to fact- finding, research, and deliverable development, as needed. We anticipate drawing upon these resources when it will benefit the City’s project. Seth Hedstrom, PMP® Project Principal Seth is a principal in our L ocal Government Consulting Practice Area who focuses