City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council authorize a professional services contract with
Jefferson Wells International for Transient Occupancy Tax Audit Services.
BACKGROUND:
The last transient occupancy tax audit was completed in April, 2003 by the firm
Jefferson Wells International. Their audit included all hotels in Culver City. In its
findings, Jefferson Wells International noted that it appeared that most of the hotels
had improved their record keeping procedures and were doing a better job at
substantiating their TOT remittances.
As it has been three years, it was appropriate and timely to request proposals from
several firms to complete TOT audits for all hotels and motels in the City for the
years 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. However, audit work for 2006 cannot commence
until the final TOT monthly remittance for 2006 is received at the end of January
2007.
DISCUSSION:
Ten (10) firms were contacted, including an accounting firm in Culver City and
accounting firms recommended by members of the California Society of Municipal
Finance Officers. The following were the responses:
Meeting Date: 07/24/06 Item Number: A-6
AGENDA ITEM: Authorization of a Professional Services Contract with Jefferson
Wells International for Transient Occupancy Tax Audit Services.
Contact Person/Dept.:
Nagam Rao/City Treasurer's Office
Phone Number: (310) 253-5889
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification: Notification given to all firms submitting audit proposals; Master
Notification List (07/19/06)
Department Approval: Crystal Alexander
(07/17/06)
City Manager Approval: Martin R. Cole
for Jerry B. Fulwood (07/19/06)
City Controller Approval: Marlee Chang
(07/19/06)City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
FIRM FEE PROPOSALS FOR AUDITING FOUR
YEARS OF RECORDS
Caporicci, Cropper & Larsen LLP Did not respond
Conrad & Associates Did not respond
Cy Pierce, An Accounting Corp. Did not respond
Diehl Evans & Co. LLP Did not respond
DMG_ Maximus Did not respond
Governmental Financial Services Did not respond
Jefferson Wells International $21,940, not to exceed
Lasker, Kim & Co. Did not respond
Lance, Soll & Lunghard LLP Did not respond
Moreland & Associates, Inc. Did not respond
It has become increasingly more difficult to obtain professional services from
Accounting firms in the last few years. All firms that were contacted deferred to
submit a proposal due to overwhelming work loads and staffing shortages. As a
result, Jefferson Wells International was the only affirmative bidder. Given the
successful partnership between the City and Jefferson Wells International, it is our
recommendation that the award be granted to this sole source.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
Historically, when analyzing outside services for tax auditing, the CTO has been
successful in contracting with firms that bring in much more revenue than they
charge for audit and related services. In fiscal years 2000-2001 and 2001-2002, the
CTO spent $437,708 on all tax audit services which resulted in additional revenues
to the City and the CCRDA of $2,534,159. Specifically for transient occupancy tax
audit services, the City spent $9,500 and received over $66,000 in additional
revenue.
There are sufficient funds included in the Fiscal Year 2006/2007 Budget for this
contract.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Request for ProposalCity of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1) Authorize a professional transient occupancy tax auditing services contract with
Jefferson Wells International to audit transient occupancy tax returns for calendar
years 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 for a total fee not to exceed $21,940; and
2) Authorize the City Attorney to prepare the appropriate agreement to be entered
into with Jefferson Wells International and authorize the City Manager to sign it.
MEETING DATE: 07/24/06
AGENDA ITEM: Authorization of a Professional Services Contract with Jefferson
Wells International for Transient Occupancy Tax Audit Services
ATTACHMENTS
Pages
1. Request for Proposal
1 - 4CITY OF CULVER CITY
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
FOR
TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX
COMPLIANCE AUDIT
COMPLIANCE AUDIT EXPECTATIONS
The City of Culver City is seeking a qualified audit firm to conduct a transient occupancy tax audit on each
of the hotels and motels within its jurisdiction for the years 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
The City of Culver City (City) collects a variety of local taxes, one of which includes the transient
occupancy tax (TOT). Periodically, the City contracts with outside professionals to conduct compliance
audits of all hotels and motels in the City, to both determine compliance and to ultimately report on any
additional tax and penalties that may be owed to the City.
Specifically, the compliance audit firm must be able to identify, distinguish, and detect compliance problems
with the following kinds of transactions and agreements typical to a hotel motel operation: long-term
contracts, cash transactions, tax exemptions, credit card discounts, deposit and group cancellation charges,
extra person charges, non-taxable rents, packages, refunds, trade outs, travel agent discounts, forfeited
deposits, in-room charges, adjustments to the bill, bad debts and refunds. In addition, should the firm
discover separate charges for other kinds of services (e.g., energy or other surcharges), these are to be
documented and reported to the City.
The compliance audit firm will be expected to complete a review of every hotel and motel in the City, using
statistically valid sampling techniques. A review of internal controls shall also be conducted. If material
discrepancies are found, the testing should be expanded to include all months within the audit period. The
firm must be able to review the accounting records of the hotel/motel under audit and, if the books are
unauditable, be able to reconstruct revenue through bank deposits and tax report filings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX PROGRAM
The City has a TOT ordinance that is several years old, and is one based on a common model available at
the time. No rate adjustments to the TOT ordinance have occurred since the adoption of Proposition 218.
Exemptions from the TOT are ones commonly found in other municipalities.
An on-line copy of the City's Municipal Code, including the TOT ordinance, can be found at
www.culvercity.org; click on "City Information" button, and then click on "Municipal Code".
The TOT brings in about $2.25 million in revenues to the City annually. The hotels/motels report on and
remit the tax monthly.Currently, there are 20 hotels and motels in the City. Of these, three are large with over 200 rooms each,
while the balance of the hotels and motels are around 50 rooms or less. The last compliance audit of all
hotels and motels included a review of the books through the end of calendar year 2002.
The City's Treasury personnel can provide only minimal assistance to the firm during the course of the
compliance audit. Cooperation may be expected in answering questions about application of the Municipal
Code and providing access to prior tax filings by the hotels and motels. Following the audit, City staff will
initiate the collection process. The compliance audit firm may have post-audit work in the event of a
substantive challenge of the audit results and/or required follow-up by the City Attorney's Office in order to
enforce collection.
DELIVERABLES
• By December 28, 2006 the firm shall deliver a compliance audit report on every hotel and motel in the
City. This report shall include reference to deficiencies in internal control, in addition to any TOT
remittance deficiencies.
• All worksheets associated with the compliance audit report shall be made available in hard copy and in
Microsoft Excel format on a diskette or CD ROM disk. In addition, all working papers shall be in
electronic format, should they need to be delivered by e-mail on a future date.
• All working papers associated with the compliance audit shall be maintained by the firm for a period of
three years following the review.
• Meetings shall be conducted both at the beginning of the compliance audit period and again after all
compliance audit have been completed. Mid-term meetings will be scheduled, as needed, during the
audit period if problems arise with any individual hotel/motel compliance audit engagement.
• The successful firm is expected to be available to meet, at the discretion of the City Treasurer, with the
City Council Audit Committee to discuss compliance audit results.
• The City expects that the professional staff provided by the firm will be fully qualified with the
appropriate experience, and that answers and guirinnce given will be provided by executives
(supervisors and above) and not junior personnel.
• Twelve (12) copies of the proposal should be submitted to:
Christopher Annenta
City Clerk
City of Culver City
9770 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
*Please mark the envelope "TOT Compliance Audit Proposal".
EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
A Preparer's Conference will be held in the City Hall, Cathedral Room (Third Floor), 9770 Culver
Boulevard, Culver City, California, on Thursday June 1, 2006 at 9:30 a.m. so that questions concerning the
RFP may be directed to staff prior to the completion of proposal. Attendance is encourazed for those firms
intending to submit proposals.Contact with City staff is encouraged up to the submittal of the proposal. After the proposal is submitted, no
further contact is permitted. The City contact coordinator is Deputy City Treasurer Karen Maggio and may
be contacted at (310) 253-5844 or by e-mail at karen.maggio@culvercity.org .
Each proposal must be submitted to the City Clerk's Office in a single sealed envelope.
Deadline for Submission - The close of business on Thursday. June 8, 2006.
The evaluation process consists of the following steps:
1. The proposals will be evaluated and rated by City staff based on their technical qualifications and
technical approach. Final proposals will be selected from those organizations and ranked based on their
price, technical qualifications and approach score.
2.
The finalists may be required to make an oral presentation to staff and the City Council Audit
Committee.
3. A Recommendation will then be made to the City Council.
Selection of the successful proposal will be at the sole discretion of the City Council.
It is expected the City Council will be presented with a recommendation on or before June 15, 2006.
THE CITY COUNCIL REQUESTS THAT ONCE PROPOSALS HAVE BEEN SUBAUTTED, NO
UNSOLICITED CONTACT OR DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING THESE PROPOSALS BE MADE
PRIOR TO THE EVALUATION OF ALL PROPOSALS.
QUALIFICATIONS AND APPROACH
As stated in the evaluation process, the proposal will first be examined relative to technical qualifications
and approach to the TOT compliance audit. Each organization's proposal should include at a minimum, the
following information as is deemed necessary:
1. Names and qualifications of the specific individuals who would be assigned to this engagement. Please
outline their relevant education and tax compliance experience.
2.
Description of any specialized skills, training, or background in public finance and tax law that members
of the engagement team possess.
3.
Description of experience of assigned individuals in conducting TOT compliance audits for other cities
in California with a similar number of hotels and motels.
4.
List of all current and former municipal clients for which a TOT compliance audit has been conducted,
within the last 5 years, indicating references, type(s) of services performed, dates and length of service
for each.
5.
Description of local office's work plan and deliverable report. The proposal should include types of
compliance audit programs, use of statistical sampling and any additional components of the compliance
audit.6. Sample of type of compliance audit letter/report usually issued.
7. Description of any regulatory action taken against your organization or local office.
8. Indicate the location of the office in which the audit team will be based. The TOT compliance audit
experience referenced in item 5 must come from that office.
FEES
The City requests a statement of maximum cost be made for the compliance audit as set forth above in the
Compliance Audit Expectations. All other expenses including typing, clerical, printing services, travel,
mileage and miscellaneous expenses should be included in the total compliance audit fee. An hourly rate for
post audit work should also be stipulated.
The City requests that the proposal include a schedule of rates by professional staff classifications. The
schedule should reflect rates for compliance audit services. It should reflect the anticipated distribution of
hours per staff classification.
OTHER INFORMATION
Please list any other pertinent information you would like the City to consider in making our selection. We
encourage you, if interested, to contact City Treasurer Crystal C. Alexander or Deputy City Treasurer Karen
Maggio to obtain additional data, which would enable you to evaluate the scope of your operations so that
you may formulate a proposal. Any financial information you may need to review is available in the City
Treasurer's Office.
BACKGROUND
The City of Culver City encompasses almost 5 square miles, has a residential population of slightly more
than 41,000, and the total population more than triples during working hours.
Governed by a Charter approved in 1947 and last amended in 2006, the City is operated under a
Council/City Manager form of government. Five City Council members are elected at large to serve
four-year terms. The Mayor is selected from among Council members. The City Council members also
serve as Agency members. The City Clerk and City Treasurer are elected. The City Manager is a hired
position.
The Treasury Division is part of the City Treasurer's Office. The City has automated much of the finance
and tax collection activities. The Treasury Division has first line responsibility for the collection of the City's
business license tax, utility users tax and transient occupancy tax.