Letter from Pablo Acosta, Esq., to Gus Lopez re: RFP 11-07/08
April 23, 2008 ~ ~~
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Gus Lopez
Procurement Director
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C• afi Miami Beach
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~ 700 Convention Center Drive
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Miami Beach, Florida 33139
Re: Noce of Filin -Request for Proposals to provide Parking Cashiers,
Attendants and Su rvisors far the City of Miami Beach Parking System, RFP #
11-47!08.
Dear Mr. Lopez:
Please be advised that the undersigned represents Standard Parking Inc., in the
above referenced RFP. The purpose of this letter is to transmit documents that we
understand the City Commission considered during it's deliberation of Item R7E on
1lVednesday, April 1 fi, 2008.
Standard Parking hereby provides for the City's administrative records the
foilawin hi hli hted documents from Impark's proposal to the City of Miami Beach
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where Im ark consistently refers to the City of Miami Beach as the City of Miami and
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the City of Miami Parking System. Please confirm that these following items are
included the City's administrative records. We wish to ensure that the City's records are
complete in the event of any further action or litigation.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Should you have any
questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
ly,
-_~__
Pablo A sta, Esq.
Pablo Acosta, P.A.
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Attachment
Cc: The Office of the Mayor and Commission
Jose Smith, City Attorney
Raul Aguilar, Deputy City Attorney
Robert Percher, City Clerk
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~~., ~, ~ Audit and Revenue Controls
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Typically when ,we take over a facility we are char ed with coin late fiducia
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responsibility to the ownership. We will be responsible for recei tin and de ositin of
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revenues, disbursing and reporting of the income. Obviously under the sco a of
services for the p
RFP for The City of Miami Parking System, we are not re uired to
rovide our f ~ ~ •q •
p ul! financial services. The following pages describe our ca ab~lit~es and
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illustrate some services that The City of Miami Beach might be interested in utilizin
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Centralized Accounting Procedures
Impark operates a very sophisticated system of accounting and revenue controls.
These systems have been developed over 4o years of operatin arkin facilities and
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have been continuously updated- to meet the growing demands of our clients and the
many technological advances seen in the parking industry.
As a general philosophy, Impark has embraced technolo as a~ means to~ im roved
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revenue control and in many cases, has been the instigator of such advances. Im ark
for example, was the developer, and holds the patent, on credit card acce tance in 'the
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parking meter. Additionally, we developed astand-alone credit card acce tort rocessor
for at p p
tendant cashier applications.
After considerable research, beginning in 2000, into the available ro rieta software
applications, Impark decided the specific requirements of the arkin Indust were
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better met by the development of a customized system .deli ned s ecifical! with our
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companies needs in mind. The result is an incredibly flexible software platform that is
totally integrated, handles multi-sourced revenue and numerous inde endent account
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locations. The entire system has since been migrated to an Oracle latform to rovide
the most advance p ~ p
d and flexible accounting `back-end' in the industry.
Impark operates strictly under the principle of `division of duties', and much em hasis is
laced on sea ~ p
p prating those counting cash, posting revenue, and those balancin the
revenue received a g
gainst tickets, or other inventory, sold. Careful attention is paid to
reconcile the number of shifts against the number of deposits made b the cashiers and
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parking facility managers. This reconciliation is completely inde endent of the on-site
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operation and ensures that all shift deposits are made, and available for audit.
Impark also operates a strict policy on the retention of records. All tickets and other
records are retained for seven years. In many cases, an individual client will re uire
additional s eci 1 q
p a retard retention procedures, and these are easily. respected. Many
facilities also operate on online or stand-alone automated parkin s stems that rovide
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additional reconciliation capabilities.
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impark your parking authority
Receipting
The accounting systems employed by tmpark operate in three separate sections as
fiollows:
® CashierlAttendant Revenue including validations}
® Meter Revenue
Meter Monthly Revenue ~ Receivables
Each one of these three systems above post to the GL System, from where the
reporting for each facility is generated.
The system is completely integrated across the Impark network of offices, and handles
and balances revenue from over 1,900 locations from the following sources:
Attendantlcashierlvalet cash, checks, and credit card receipts.
s Meter (pay-station} cash and credit card.
p Monthly cash, checks, credit card, and pre-authorized payment.
a Validations, temporary pass sales, special event sales, advertising revenue, etc.
Attendant and meter revenue posted into the system is automatically reconciled through
the AC System with the tickets sold and then posted to the account.
Depositing
The monthly parking system again
automatically posts revenue directly into the lot
account. Validation sales and other special
revenue are manually posted.
Once cash deposits are received at a facility, they are initially processed by our cash
office, where personnel compare deposit amounts recorded on the control, sheets to
actual cash received. These amounts are checked a second time by audit department
personnel, who make use of the AC System; Impark's automated reconciliation process
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tmpark your parking authority
~~~., designed to further verify the accuracy of the control sheets and de osit amo
p u nts.
All revenue processing equipment ~e.g., coin rollers, bill counters coin some '
rs) used m
our cash office and meter department is the most modern available. Electron'
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reconciliation functions are built into the majority of this a ui ment and the units
sche q p ~ .are
duled for regular calendar and volume based maintenance. All cash handlin
personnel are subject to cr' • • ~ • g
• j • ~minal record searches before hiring. They are also subject
to regular investigation by our manager of revenue and audit securit .
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Deposits are prepared for submission to the .bank and these are verified a ainst tho e
re ared b ~ g ~ s
p p y the bank. Credit card revenue deposited electronicall ~s also reconciled
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against the amount collected from the shift. Impark o erates man so histicated
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electronic meters that generate shift reports and provide a ve hi h de ree of audit
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ability when compared against slot boxes or mechanical meters.
Disbursing
The ordering of supplies or contracts for any account follows a strict rocedure. Each
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operations supervisor and manager is given purchase authori limits. An urchase in
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excess of the authorized limit needs further approval. In order to make a urchase ~ a
urchase o p ~'
p rder is generated, a copy of which is passed to the accountm de artment.
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ceipt of an invoice, .the invoice is reconciled against the urchase order and a
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eck is prepared. Checks are co-signed by the division controller and the mana er of
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department. This provides a second assessment on the s endin
rocess. Th p g
p e expense is then posted to the appropriate account, and then appears an
the monthly management report to the property owner. In man cases lar er ex en
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items exceed authority limits under our management contract, and the owner's a royal
on the urchase r pp
p o der is required before the order can be placed.
Accounts Receivable
Impark's monthly parking system is a `real time' network-wide s stem that allows our
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accounting and customer service staff to immediately verify the status of an account. It
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is specifically designed for a monthly parking application and enerates a wide ran
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management report. These include reports for use by accounts receivable ersonnel
for the trackin ~ p
g and chasing of any delinquent accounts.
impark operates a very efficient, system of collecting receivables. fur tar et coin an -
wide is 3% at the ~ • g p Y
end of each month and the majority of cities achieve a 2% or less
figure.
There is a significant difference between the way Impark erforms this function on
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alf of its landlords, and the way this is achieved by our major coin etition. When
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ntly taking over a facility from our major US competitor, we inherited a receivable
problem running at over 30%, per month. Within two months of Im ark mana emen '
p g t th is
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impark your parking authority
~~,~ parking facility had reduced its receivable problem to under 2%. A significant factor in
achieving these results is our ability to offer our customers easy and convenient ways to
a . Collection procedures center on making payment easy for. the customer as
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opposed to hard collections tactics. Additionally, having total confidence in the accuracy
of our s stems means that when it is time to `ge# tough' with delinquent customers, we
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are sure that such actions are warranted.
Reporting Procedures
Impark operates a complete and sophisticated accounting system, developed over
many years specifiically for the accounting and reporting requirements for parking
facilities. Upon assuming management of The City of Miami Parking System, we would
establish the site-specific and portfolio-wide reporting requirements. Bruce Newsome,
CFO, with his team of senior accountants, will develop the desired standard monthly
package of reports. There are a large number of different reports that are available, and
daily and monthly reporting packages will be geared specifically to your requirements.
Vile anticipate two levels of reporting: one for each of the properties and a `rolled-up'
portfolio-wide summary of reports submitted to The City of Miami by Impark's corporate
accounting group.
A critical part of the reporting process is the explanation of any exceptions ,against
budget. We propose this be conducted at monthly management meetings between the
~~~ Facili Manager and the Impark local and regional management, and in written
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summaries included with the Arlington Park Racecourse summary report.
In addition to standard reports presented in a paper or Web-downloadable format, we
can also offer Thp City of Miami the capacity to receive any raw data directly into their
system from ours. Clearly this requires a close collaboration between The .City of Miami
Parking's I.T. resources and Impark's I.T. department. Our eleven-person I.T. team has
the expertise and depth of resources to ensure this becomes reality. The following
pages illustrates in graphical detail our cash reported and cash deposited reconciliation
flowchart.
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;mpark your parking authority
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Revenue Reporting Controls
The Meter System, Attendant Control System and Monthly System described above
rovide the ke to the verification of the accuracy of the revenue reporting. A critical
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ortion of the effectiveness of the system is the application of the division of duties of
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the em loyees. The following is a flowchart that illustrates the system, and regardless
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of ~-hether the deposit being verified is a Shift Report from a cashier or a report from a
pay station, the process is similar.
Monthly Reporting Online Access
lmpark will offer The City of Miami the ability to access monthly reports (and any daily or
other operational reports} online. We wi11 establish password protected user profiles for
any property managers and regional or national personnel that required access to
reports, each with ability to pull only to those reports they were authorized to access.
Users will log onto an Internet site and follow links to see a list of the reports ~~ey were
authorized to view. They can then view or download any of these reports far the current
or any past month.
This ability goes beyond the viewing of previously prepared Excel spreadsheets, as
authorized personnel will have the ability to check the `real-time' status of revenue
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generated as it is posted into our General Ledger. In addition, drilling down on revenue
or expense line items with provide increasing levels of detail.
Lost and Unaccounted for tickets
lmpark has developed a system referred to as the AC Attendant Control} system that
individually tracks each cashier shift or meter deposit and reconciles the value of the
deposit against the. number of tickets sold. Again,. this .involves. two independent
postings, the first being the shift ticket `start' and `stop' numbers, and the number of
each value of ticket sold, and the second being the cash, credit card and validation
revenue received. This s stem generates an exception report that alerts the audit
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department ~of lost or unaccounted for tickets, and any discrepancy between the `stop' of
one shift and the `start' of the next. The information contained in this report is presented
on ashift-by-shift basis. The audit department looks for any significant discrepancies,
and in particular, a pattern created by one particular shift.
Internal Audit Function
As an lmpark operation, all of The .City of Miami Parking System would immediately be
included in Impark's audit and revenue security procedures. The trust of our clients with
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.regard to ~ revenue security is one of the most important assets we have. We have
alwa s laced ~ ~•
. y p considerable emphasis on this, and are certainly a leader within the
parking industry~when it comes to revenue control. VUe are includin details of some of
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the three-tiered system of audit procedures in place to ensure accurac and
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accountability.
1. External Audits are conducted annually at the branch and cor orate level b
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KPMG, Chartered Accountants.
2. The corporate level audits the branch level on a regular basis. This is achieved
through Imperial's Internal Audit Department. This important function is headed b
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Bruce Cousin, Director of Field/operations Audit. Bruce has over twen ears of
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experience in parking facility operations.. ,
3. 0n a lot-by-lot basis, internal audits are carried out systematical) b a branch
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audit department. Each attendant lot is regularly subject to a combination of the
. following types of audits:
a} Ticket Audit -- This is an in-office examination of a s eci i
p f c attendants control
sheet -the document .that summarizes the number of tickets sold, void tickets,
cash/checks received, and all other activity on ~ the .lot during that attendant's shift.
The auditor examines every ticket submitted and checks to ensure that:
® Charges are correct based on the time of entry/exit, and charges recorded on
the ticket correspond to their cash value as recorded on the control sheet
® The tickets used are fram.the same, authorized sequence.
Journal tapes from the fee computer or cash register are also examined and
reconciled to the number. of tickets sold and cash received. Start/stop numbers
from lane counters are also included in this reconciliation. Any missin tickets
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shor#agesloverages, unsubstantiated voids, or other discrepancies are recorded
on the attendant's file and reported to the district manager, who issues a
procedural notification or written warning ~to the ~ attendant. Dependin on the
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seventy of the infraction, the employee may be suspended or terminated.
b} Field Audit - An inspection is carried out unannounced and involves a com late
recon i ' ~ p •
c Nation of the attendant s cash on hand to the tickets sold. The field auditor
takes possession of all cash, but leaves the attendant a small flo
at so that helshe
can continue operating while the auditor carries out the reconciliation.. An
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unexplained discrepancies are dealt with as per a ticket audit.
c} Shopper Audit - An individual posing as a customer enters and leaves the lot
taking a ticket and paying for parking as a normal customer would. The sho er
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reports to the audit department the time entered and exited, the amount char ed,
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amount paid, change given, appearance of attendant, attendant's demeanor, and
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Impark your parking authority
~~ any other noteworthy observations. That attendant's deposit and tickets are later
examined to ensure that the shopper's #icket and payment is included. This type of
audit is used on a random .basis and at sites where a ticket or field audit has
indicated a potential risk situation. Follow up disciplinary action is the same as per
ticket and Meld audits.
d} Video Audif - 0n a rotation basis for as result from the findings of other audits},
`high-risk' attendant facilities are subject to video audit. A video tape of an
attendant shift can be used to reconcile each transaction and cash handling
rocedure a ainst the tickets and transaction tape for the same #ime period. This
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is a highly critical method of audit and one that has proved effective m both
identifying loss situations, and providing evidence for the ensuing dismissal and
prosecution.
Standard Operating Procedures
Enclosed in this proposal is ~an example of Impark's Standard Operating Procedures
Manual table of content. Impark operates its facilities on the basis of this policies and
procedures document, and this in effect in al! of Impark's current operations.
This would form the basis for the Standard Operating Procedures Manual that Impark
would develop far the entire The City of Miami Parking System.
The City of Miami Parking System Properly and records Protection
Impark will completely and accurately account for all revenues generated from the
operation of The City of Miami Parking System operations. Impark shall deposit all such
revenues into the bank account as directed by The City of Miami Parking System
(through. an Electronic Funds Transfer if required}, which will be used by Impark for the
sole purpose of depositing gross revenues generated from ail facilities assigned.
The key component of securing the revenue .generated from The City of Miami Parking .
System operation, and the protection of the other assets is the development of a
Standard Operating Procedures. Included in the S.O.P.'s is a section describing ~ in
detail, the cash handling procedures, as well as guidelines for the handling of other city
property. ~ ~ .
Cash Handling Policies and Procedures
The following is a typical procedure that could be implemented to ensure the complete
safeguard of revenues collected until accounted for into The City of Miami Parking
System bank account. Clearly, there would be exceptions to this system based on the
individual site requirements and ~a complete Cash Handling Procedures would ~ be~
developed as part of the System policies and procedures manual.
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impark your parking authority
1 Whenever a cash drawer exceeds $400 in collected revenues both cash and
checks} m excess of the cashier's float, the cashier will initiate a deposit b
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preparing a deposit bag and notify the on-site Supervisor of the need to make a
deposit. The Supervisor will then confirm the deposit and deposit into the proper
safe. The amount of the deposit, date, time, booth number and cashier will be
indicated on each deposit bag. The cashier will be required to enter the amount
and time of deposit onto his/her Cashier Shift Deposit Re ort of which the on-site
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Supervisor must then sign.
• Monies deposited in the safes .will remain until irked u b the Armored Car
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contractor for transport to the cash counting room. The armored car personnel will
accompany the Supervisor to collect the contents of each site safe. The Armored
Car personnel and the various site Supervisors, each being assigned one of the
two safe keys, will travel from safe to safe, with -the Supervisor countin the
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contents and depositing the deposit envelopes into a sealed, tagged, opaque bag.
The contents of each safe will be recorded by the number of sealed deposits,
along with the sealed bag number indicated onto a ~ daily deposit log provided by
the armored car company. The armored car personnel and the Supervisor will be
required to sign the daily deposit log for each sealed bag collected and recorded
with the number of deposit envelopes indicated. The log will be ke t b the
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armored car personnel with the deposits, while a copy of the signed log will remain
at the on-site office for the records. This process of collection will be accomplished
at approximately 1:0o AM .each morning. The safe clearing route would be
changed periodically to prevent tracking of the process.
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The armored car personnel will then transport the monies to the Money Countin
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room where each bag, envelopes and contents, will be verified and deposits
prepared for deposit to The City of Miami Parking account.
Upon arrival of the armored car personnel with collected deposits} to the Mone
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Counting Room, the cash room personnel will sign far each bag delivered. The
envelopes will then be separated by the cash room personnel, counted and
prepared for deposit to the bank. All collections cash, checks and credit cards}
will be reconciled with that reported from the revenue control a ui ment.
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Impark will continually monitor its practices to ensure that the methods of collectin
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pratectmg, safeguarding and depositing The City of Miami Parking System funds
provide the ultimate techniques available to the Indust In the event of shorta es
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reported by the ~ bank, Impark will immediately investigate and take the necessary
immediate steps to reimburse The City of Miami Parking System far the shorta e.
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Revenue Control System Failure
Impark is capable of reverting to a manual ticket system at any ~f its facilities in the
event of a revenue control system failure.
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Impark your parking authority
f a tem ora outa a at an attended facilit the cashier continues to
.;; In the event o p ry g y
process machine issued tickets. If it is likely the outage will be longer than only the
briefest time, the cashier will issue three-part manual tickets. In any event the tickets
issued are posted into Impark's AC system, and a full audit of the days transactions
would be undertaken.
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your parking authority