The City of Independence requires assistance to provide consulting, advising and lobbying services to the City on an as-needed basis, as City deems appropriate for State Legislative issues. Among the services to be provided are: A) Acting as advocates for and representing the City before the Missouri General Assembly and other state-wide elected officials and/or departments; B) Pursuing the passage and defeat of State legislation; C) Providing information and advice useful in pursuing the passage and defeat of State legislation; D) Identify State funding sources for the City of Independence to pursue and to provide advocacy guidance on obtaining state funding for various City initiatives from State government; E) Provide weekly reports of bills of City interest in formats acceptable to the City prioritized beginning with those bills directly related to the City’s Legislative priorities then followed by a listing, status, information, etc. of bills of general municipal interest; F) Providing advice and assistance on special projects that may arise during the year that entails Lobbying or access to State Officials; G) Attend Council meetings to brief City on activities.

The Procurement Department issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) on September 28, 2023 for lobbying services.  The RFP was published through the Public Purchase website.  Four firms responded to the proposal.  After reviewing all four proposals it was determined that John Bardgett & Associates (JBA) had provided the best proposal.