HomeMy WebLinkAboutTAX MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES CONTRACT CALVIN HICKS
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BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY CONSULTING SERVICES
BETWEEN
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
AND
TAX MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES, INC.
THIS AGREEMENT, entered this . f/ day of 1. !l4iJ!~ '
2007, by and between AUGUST A, GEORGIA, a political subdivision of the State of
Georgia (hereinafter referred to as "COUNTY"); and TAX MANAGEMENT
ASSOCIATES, INC. (hereinafter referred to as "CONTRACTOR"), organized and
existing under the laws of North Carolina and authorized to do business in the State of
Georgia, shall constitute the terms and conditions under which the Contractor shall
provide Business Personal Property Consulting Services to be implemented by the
Richmond County Board of Assessors under the guidance of the Chief Appraiser.
WITNESSETH:
That for and in consideration of the mutual covenants and
agreements herein set forth, the County and the Contractor hereby agree as follows:
ARTICLE I. AGREEMENT TIME
The services to be performed under this Agreement shall commence after receipt
of written notice to proceed, and shall be for the period ending December 31, 2008 and
County shall have the right to renew the Agreement on a yearly basis thereafter, provided
the County provides at least 30 days advance written notice of its intent not to renew this
Agreement.
ARTICLE II. SCOPE OF WORK
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The Contractor agrees to provide Business Personal Property Consulting
Services including, but not limited to the Discovery of Non-Listing Businesses
within Augusta - Richmond County and Business Personal Property Auditing
Services on an as needed basis, and as more fully described on Exhibit "A".
ARTICLE III. FEES FOR SERVICES
County shall pay Contractor for basic services performed:
1. Discovery of Non-Listed Businesses
Discovered Account Size Range
Fee
$7,501 - $19,999
$20,000 - $49,999
$50,000 and greater
$100.00
$200.00
$350.00
Fees for discovered businesses will only be invoiced after the discovered account
has been billed and collected by County for collection of current and prior year's
assessments. The discovered account size range will be the higher of the adjusted and
final assessment for the current or preceding tax year..
2. Business Personal Property Audits
Account Class
Account Range
Per Audit Fixed Fee
A
B
C
$50,000 - $399,999
$400,000 - $999,999
$1,000,000 - $4,999,999
$500.00
$1,400.00
$2,200,00
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D
E
$5,000,000 - $19,999,999
$20,000,000 and Greater
$5,200,00
$8,500.00
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Individual per audit fixed fees shall be payable by the County forty-five (45) days
following the later of the completion of the audit or the expiration of the taxpayer appeal
rights. The per audit fixed fee shall be based on the account size range, as established by
the adjusted and final assessment, for the current or preceding tax year
The Contractor shall submit to the County monthly statements which indicate the
progress of the work and the number of either discovered businesses or fixed fee audits
completed and submitted to County tol date of statement. The County will then make
payment based upon the work complet~d and accepted by the County, as determined by
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the County. In case of termination of the Agreement before completion of the work, the
Contractor will be paid only for the Jork completed as of the date of termination as
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determined by the County.
No additional remuneration wi'll be allowed for an extension of time, unless
authorized by the County through an ap~roved agreement amendment.
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ARTICLE IV. GENERAL CONDITIONS
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A. Accuracy of Work
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The Contractor shall be responsible for the accuracy of work and any error and/or
omission made by the Contractor in any: phase of the work under this Agreement.
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B. Additional Work I
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If the Contractor is asked by thel County to perform work beyond the scope of this
Agreement for which payment is desired, he shall notify the County in writing, state the
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work is considered outside the basic scope of work of this Agreement, give a proposed
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cost for the additional work, and obtain approval in writing from the County prior to
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performing the additional work for which he is to be paid. The County shall in no way be
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C. Ownership of Documents
held liable for any work performed under this section which has not first been approved
in writing by the County.
All documents, including reports, drawings, estimates, specifications, and data are
and remain the property of the County, The Contractor agrees that the County may reuse
any and all plans, specifications, drawings, or any other data or documents described
herein in its sole discretion without first obtaining permission of the Contractor and
without any payment of any monies to the Contractor therefore. However, any reuse of
the documents by the County for a different property address shall be at its risk and the
Contractor shall have no liability where such documents are reused,
D. Successors and Assigns
The County and the Contractor each binds himself and his partners, successors,
executors, administrators, and assigns to the other party of this Agreement and to the
partners, successors, executors, administrators, and assigns of such other party, in respect
to all covenants of this Agreement; except as above, neither the County nor the
Contractor shall assign, sublet, or transfer his interest in this Agreement without the
written consent of the other. Nothing herein shall be construed as creating any personal
liability on the part of any officers or agent of the County, nor shall it be construed as
gIVIng any rights or benefits hereunder to anyone other than the parties to this
Agreement.
E. Reviews and Acceptance
Work performed by the Contractor shall be subject to review and acceptance in
stages as required by the County. Acceptance shall not relieve the Contractor of his
professional obligation to correct, at his own expense, any errors in the work.
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Tax Management Associates, Inc.
2225 Coronation Blvd.
Charlotte, North Carolina 28227
Attn: Richard H. Cooke, Jr.
F. Termination of Agreement
The County may unilaterally terminate this Agreement, in whole or in part, for the
County's convenience, or because of failure of the Contractor to fulfill the obligations of
this Agreement in any respect. The County shall terminate by delivering to the
Contractor, with at least thirty (30) days notice, a Notice of Termination specifying the
nature, extent, and effective date of termination. If terminated by the County, the written
notice shall be sent to the Contractor, addressed as follows:
All notices sent to the above address shall be binding upon the Contractor unless
said address is changed by the Contractor in writing to the County, In the event of
termination, County shall pay the sum of $25.00 for each account deemed in process and
for completed accounts, fees shall be payable in accordance with the terms and conditions
provided for in this Agreement. For the Discovery Program, an account deemed to be in
process shall be an account that has received a mailing from Contractor stating the need
to submit a Business Personal Property Tax Return. For the Business Personal Property
Audit Program, an account deemed to be in process is an account that has received an
appointment letter from the Contractor.
G. Indemnification Agreement
As between the County and the Contractor as the other party, the Contractor shall
assume responsibility and liability for any damage, loss or injury, including death, of any
kind or nature whatever to person or property, including employees and property of the
County, caused by or resulting from any error, or omission of the Contractor, or the
negligent act of the Contractor or its subcontractors or any of their officers, agents,
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servants, or employees, arising from the performance of the work under this Agreement.
The Contractor shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the County and all of its
officers, agents, servants, or employees from and against any and all claims, loss,
damage, charge, or expense to which they or any of them may be put or subjected by
reason of any such damage, loss, or injury. The Contractor expressly agrees to defend
against any claims brought or actions filed against the County, where such claim or
action involves, in whole or in part, the subject of the indemnity contained herein,
whether such claims or actions are rightfully or wrongfully brought or filed.
H. Insurance
The Contractor shall furnish the following along with the Agreement documents
sent to the County for execution:
1. Certificates of Insurance In compames doing business In Georgia and
acceptable to the County covering:
(a) Statutory Workers' Compensation Insurance, or proof that the Contractor
is not required to provide such coverage under State law;
(b) Professional Liability Insurance on the Contractor's servIces In this
Agreement with limit of $1 ,000,000;
(c) Comprehensive Liability Insurance coverIng all operations and
automobiles:
(1) With limits of $300,000 each occurrence for bodily injury -
general liability coverage, and with limits of $100,000 each person
and $300,000 each occurrence - automobile liability coverage.
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(2) With limit of $100,000 property damage each occurrence - general
liability coverage and automobile liability coverage
2. Certificates of Insurance must be executed In accordance with the
following provisions:
(a) Certificates to contain policy number, policy limits, and policy expiration
date of all policies issued in accordance with this Agreement;
(b) Certificates to contain the location and operations to which the insurance
applies;
(c) Certificates to contain Contractor's protective coverage for any
subcontractor's operations;
(d) Certificates to contain Contractor's contractual insurance coverage;
( e) Certificates are to be issued to:
Augusta, Georgia
C/O Richmond County Board of Assessors
Attention: Chief Appraiser
Room 102
530 Greene St.
Augusta, GA 30911
3. The Contractor shall be wholly responsible for securing certificates of
insurance coverage as set forth above from all sub-contractors who are engaged in this
work.
4. The Contractor agrees to carry statutory Workers' Compensation
Insurance and to have all subcontractors likewise carry statutory Workers' Compensation
Insurance,
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1. Georgia Laws Govern
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance
with the laws of Georgia.
J. Venue
This Agreement shall be deemed to have been made and performed in Augusta,
Georgia. For the purposes of venue, all suits or causes of action arising out of this
Agreement shall be brought in the courts of Richmond County, Georgia.
K. Modification
This Agreement may be modified or amended by the County to reduce the scope
of work or project description upon seven (7) days written notice; the written notice shall
be sent to the Contractor addressed as follows:
Tax Management Associates, Inc.
2225 Coronation Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28227
Attn: Richard H. Cooke, Jr.
All notices sent to the Contractor's address shall be binding upon the Contractor
unless said address is changed by the Contractor in writing to the County.
L. County Representative
The County hereby designates the Chief Appraiser as the representative through
whom the Contractor will contact the County. Such representative shall be consulted and
his written recommendation obtained before any request for extra work is presented to
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the Augusta - Richmond County Board of Commissioners. Payments to the Contractor
shall be made only upon itemized bill submitted to and approved by said representative.
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M. Contractor's Status
The relationship between the County and the Contractor shall be that of owner
and independent contractor.
N. Sole Agreement
This Agreement constitutes the sole agreement between the parties. No
representations oral or written not incorporated herein shall be binding on the parties. No
amendment or modifications of this Agreement shall be enforceable unless approved by
action of the Board of Commissioners of Augusta, Georgia.
THIS SECTION IS LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY
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By: ~l~~ .\\- ~ .~.
Rich~. Cooke
Its: President
By:
~1~
Charles F. Smith
Chairman,
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
executed in two (2) counterparts, each to be considered as an original by their authorized
representative, the day and date hereinabove written,
TAX MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES, INC. RICHMOND COUNTY BOARD OF
ASSESSORS
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
mR
Its: Clerk of Commission
Attest:
Its:
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EXHIBIT" A"
Contractor shall perform as a minimum the following in regards to the above
mentioned services:
A. Discovery of Non-Listing Businesses
1. Collect electronic information from the local jurisdiction
Contractor will acquire from the County an electronic copy of the business
personal property tax returns and commercial and industrial real parcel information.
This information will include for each business currently filing a rendition in the
jurisdiction the business name, owner name, "doing business as" information,
property address, mailing address, parcel identification number, and such like
information that Contractor may reasonably request and which is reasonably available
to County and is publicly disclosable, which will help the Contractor identify unique
business establishments and their locations.
2. Contractor will create a custom relational database architecture and discovery
program protocol
Contractor will create a relational database used to store, sort, and query all
applicable information throughout the discovery project. This is a type of "data
mining" project which uses various resources to discover businesses. Contractor
maintains the hardware and develops the software necessary for this stage of the
project in-house, and uses these resources to provide the jurisdiction with reports on
discovered businesses for follow-up.
3. Collection of electronic information
Contractor will collect information from a variety of database and electronic
resources, These may be from government providers, publicly accessible databases,
or private resources, The architecture of the discovery database, i.e. the software
applications, will allow for the data mining of this information to discover business
activity within the jurisdiction which may not be reported. However, it will also
allow for the removal of false positives, saving time and resources in the final canvass
stages of the discovery program. The information derived from such "data mining"
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and the relational database developed pursuant to this paragraph and paragraph 2
above, shall be the property of County.
4. Query and output of business entities not appearing on the jurisdiction's tax roll
Contractor will utilize software applications that allow for an output of businesses
and their contact information. The query responses will be analyzed to produce a list
of business names and locations, contact information, and the years in operation. The
output from the applications will be used to identify an initial list of "discovered"
businesses to be verified throughout the remainder of the discovery process.
5. First contact with list of potential businesses bv mail
From the preceding reports, letters are generated by Contractor to be executed and
sent by County to each business entity outlining the statutory responsibility to file a
BPP Tax Return and the jurisdiction's intent to assess the business for personal
property at that location. The letter shall include such information as agreed to by
County and Contractor, but typically will include a copy of the jurisdiction's listing
form and instructions, and encourages the business to file a return in the next thirty
days. A return envelope is provided, preaddressed to the Contractor's call center,
which will be received by the appropriate call center representatives,
6. Collection and processing of mailed responses
The mailed responses will be collected and interpreted by Contractor's call center
for new information. This could include mailed responses from taxpayers, items
returned undeliverable, or other postal markings. This information is included in the
database for future queries, and for the purpose of organizing secondary canvass
methods.
7, Second mailing based on updated material
For those accounts not finalized by the initial review, but validated through
subsequent research and query methods, Contractor will prepare a second mailing to
the business at the assumed address. Like the first mailing, all information derived
from the second mailing will be incorporated within the database and utilized to
update the overall list of "discovered" businesses.
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8. Alternative canvass methods: telephone interviews, site visits, and mapping
The database results from the preceding steps are used to produce a list of
businesses and their contact information, Reports are also produced for those
businesses which have replied to either the first or second mailing. For those
businesses which fail to file, secondary canvass methodology will be employed. For
these businesses, Contractor's staff will make use of, and train County staff (at no
additional cost to County) in, mapping methods, telephone interviews, and site visits
to ensure that the business is located in the jurisdiction, actively operating, and to
acquire information about the size and nature of the establishment.
9. Application of values from internal CA VS process
Contractor maintains a propriety in-house BPP valuation system that can be used
to reliably determine the taxable value associated with a particular business type.
This system will be applied to all businesses estimated to have an asset value of
$50,000.00 or less and to be actively operating in the jurisdiction but which fail to file
or fail to respond to requests for information by the Contractor and County staff. This
system is referred to as the Cost Analysis Valuation System, or CA VS.
CA VS is an online valuation guide. The Contractor will give unrestricted access
to and train the County's staff on how to use the CA VS system to value businesses.
After the end of the consulting agreement, the County can, but is under no obligation
to, acquire the CA VS product on an annual subscription basis.
10. Training and Consulting
At no additional cost to County, Contractor will work with County staff to train
them on the listing and assessment of discovered businesses. This will include open
access to Contractor methodologies and staff on an as-requested basis, such that the
County can implement many of Contractor's discovery methodologies at the
conclusion of Contractor's discovery program.
11. Management Reporting
During the discovery project, Contractor will be responsible for making contact
with the taxpayers, collecting necessary information, and ensuring that proper listing
forms are filed for all business entities. This will include providing to the County on
a regular basis updates on Contractor progress, and all Business Personal Property
Tax Returns collected for processing. Contractor will be available by request to the
County in order to explain and testify regarding the discovery program and its
findings at all administrative hearings,
B. Business Personal Property Auditing
Upon written request of County, Contactor will assist In the auditing of newly
discovered (non-listed) businesses as well as existing accounts. The procedures for
conducting an audit are as follows:
1. Notify the taxpayer
The Contractor sends a form letter, containing property situs and other
identifying data, to the taxpayer, advising him of the intended audit. The letter
also informs the taxpayer that an auditor will be contacting him for an
appointment.
2. Make initial contact with the taxpayer
A Contractor representative will make telephone contact with the taxpayer
to determine with whom the auditor should be speaking and where the financial
accounting records are located,
Once the proper person is identified (be it an officer of the company, a
staff accountant, outside accountant, or tax consultant), and the location of the
accounting records is established, the Contractor representative will consult with
the taxpayer to choose a date and time, some four to six weeks in the future, for
the audit appointment.
The Contractor representative will also discuss generally the financial
documentation required to be made available to the auditor for the audit
performance.
3. Write confirmation letter to the taxpayer
Once the appointment has been made, Contractor creates a letter to the
taxpayer on the County's stationery. It is a written confirmation of Contractor's
phone conversation with the taxpayer. This letter also notifies the Chief
Appraiser and the taxpayer who has been scheduled for audit, when and where the
audit will occur, and the auditor who will be performing the audit.
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4. Conduct the audit appointment
The appointment date arrives. The Contractor auditor is on time, dressed
appropriately and prepared to perform the audit.
He usually begins with a conversation with the taxpayer by explaining
Contractor's relationship with the County. The taxpayer usually finds himself at
ease once the reasons for the audit are explained, and he sees that it will be
handled in a professional manner as part of a county-wide program.
The taxpayer usually participates in the verification of his listings as the
auditor checks for additions, deletions, and omissions that were not appropriately
reported.
If all of the assets were reported correctly (or within acceptable limits), the
auditor informs the taxpayer of his findings and thanks him for his time and
efforts. A no discovery letter to the taxpayer on the County's letterhead will
reiterate the correct filing and again thank the taxpayer for his time.
5. Inform the taxpayer of errors and omissions
If the auditor discovers incorrectly reported or omitted asset costs, the
auditor then continues the conversation relating to the correctness of his findings
into a training mode for the taxpayer. The discrepancies are fully discussed. The
auditor will strive for taxpayer understanding and concurrence on the audit
discovery. Before the auditor departs, he explains how the taxpayer will be
contacted by a letter and assessment notice from the county. The taxpayer is also
informed of the appeal procedures relating to any disputed notice of additional
assessment.
6. Prepare audit report
The auditor prepares a report for the project director. He then writes a
letter to the Chief Appraiser that fully explains his findings. This letter IS
considered Contractor's position letter. The Chief Appraiser reviews the letter. If
there are any questions or disagreements with the auditor's findings, the Chief
Appraiser and auditor will concur on the questionable items before the taxpayer is
notified. If the Chief Appraiser agrees to assess the findings, he initials the
position letter and returns it to Contractor.
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Contractor then creates on County letterhead the statutorily required letter
to officially notify the taxpayer of the discovery. This letter is returned to the
Chief Appraiser for an authorized signature and mailing to the taxpayer. Use of
this letter explains again the findings of the audit and provides a means of
explaining how the numbers on the assessment notice were developed. A copy of
any assessment notice may be sent with the letter.
7. Taxpayer question time and appeal process
The auditor who performed the audit and/or the project director will be
available to answer all of the taxpayer's or the County's questions. The auditor
will again meet with the taxpayer, attend the meeting with the County, or host a
meeting between all parties. Seldom is this required.
Contractor defends its audit findings throughout any appeal. The auditor
will explain his findings in all of the formal appeal processes. If the appeal
continues into the courts, TMA will provide experts to testify to the findings.
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