Project Information

Bid Title

26-127 - RFP for Special Tax Appeal Services 2026

Issuing Agency

City of Clifton

Location

New Jersey

Published Date

Apr 16, 2026

Closing Date

Apr 30, 2026

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Ref. #

26-127

Original Source

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Bid Documents

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Project Description

Bid Number:	26-127
Bid Title:	26-127 - RFP for Special Tax Appeal Services 2026
Category:	Bid Notices
Status:	Open

Publication Date/Time: 4/16/2026 8:00 AM Closing Date/Time: Open Until Contracted Related Documents: 26-127 -Special Tax Appeal Services RFP 2026 Legal Notice RFP for Professional Legal Services for 2026- Rev - Copy

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CITY OF CLIFTON

DEPARTMENT OF PURCHASING

TAX APPEAL COUNSEL SERVICES

FOR

THE CITY OF CLIFTON

2026 - 2027

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR FAIR AND OPEN PROPOSAL

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.4 et seq., the City of Clifton is soliciting Fair and Open Proposals

for Tax Appeal Counsel Services for the period of one (1) year from date of contract award.

Proposals shall be endorsed “Tax Appeal Counsel Services” and delivered to Purchasing Agent

Amisha Jariwala, City of Clifton, 900 Clifton Avenue, Clifton, New Jersey 07013.

Due Date: April 30, 2026, by 11:00 a.m.

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CITY OF CLIFTON

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

TAX APPEAL COUNSEL SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF CLIFTON

The City of Clifton is soliciting a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) to provide Tax Appeal Counsel

Services to the City, as directed by the Municipal Attorney or designee thereof, for a contract period

beginning one (1) year from date of contract award. All candidates are required to comply with

N.J.S.A. 10:5-31, et seq. and N.J.A.C. 17:27 as amended (Affirmative Action).

I - GENERAL

City of Clifton is seeking Proposals (“RFP”) from law firms licensed to practice law in the State

of New Jersey that wish to provide legal and litigation services to the City with regard to tax

appeals, as directed by the Municipal Counsel, the Board of Commissioners, or other appropriate

official within the City for a contract period of one (1) year from date of contract award

All candidates are required to comply with N.J.S.A. 10:5-31 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 17:27 et seq. as

amended. (Affirmative Action).

The successful firm must have significant experience in representing New Jersey municipalities in

Tax Court and County Boards of Taxation. The successful firm will provide the City of Clifton

(City) with legal guidance relating to tax appeals, but not necessarily limited to:

1. Legal research and/or advisory opinions as needed;

2. Draft pleadings and stipulations of settlement related to tax appeals;

3. Represent the City in litigation in federal and state courts and administrative forums with regard

to tax appeal issues;

4. Attend meetings of the Board of Commissioners and/or Committees upon request;

5. Conduct programs on specified legal issues for appropriate elected officials and/or city

employees upon request;

6. Any other matters as directed by the City.

All questions relating to the RFP shall be submitted in writing to City of Clifton Purchasing Agent,

Amisha Jariwala, via email to: ajariwala@cliftonnj.org, no later than 3:00 p.m. on April 23, 2026.

Any questions, which in the opinion of the City warrant a return reply or an amendment to the RFP,

will be furnished to all parties not less than seven (7) business days prior to receipt of Proposals.

Proposals shall be received no later than 11:00 a.m. on April 30, 2026, and must be made on the

basis that they either meet or exceed the requirements contained herein.

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II - SCOPE OF SERVICES

The City of Clifton requires outside counsel for representation of the City in Real Estate Tax

Appeals, Valuation matters and other Real Estate Tax matters.

The City is requesting proposals for Special Tax Counsel. Counsel will, on an “as needed” basis,

be assigned and required to provide representation in all aspects of Real Estate Tax Appeals,

litigation at all levels, including but not limited to, preparation of pleadings, motions, and discovery

documents; participation in all discovery including attendance at all depositions; participation in

and attendance at settlement conferences, pre-trial motions and trials.

The City contemplates needing to retain the services of a law firm to act as Tax Appeal Counsel to

provide advice and legal representation in connection with investigations and possible court

proceedings involving all aspects of Real Estate Tax Appeals.

Required services may include but not be limited to, preparation of pleadings, motions, and

discovery documents; participation in all discovery including attendance at all depositions;

participation in and attendance at settlement conferences, pre-trial motions and trials.

An awarded Tax Appeal counsel may be called upon to attend meetings and may also be called

upon to provide other types of legal services of a specialized nature regarding Tax Appeals and file

all necessary pleadings and documents with the appropriate Courts and/or administrative agencies,

in matters for which the firm has been retained.

Work may include drafting pleadings, motions, briefs, and all other papers to be filed in court;

conducting and responding to discovery; attending all pre-trial, trial, and post-trial court

appearances; and handling appeals.

Respondent must also have resources sufficient to advance all costs, including the costs of any

experts needed to assess damage and the costs of the preparatory work described below.

Respondent must also be free of any conflict of interest and must comply with the conflicts policy

referred to in section III-i below.

III - MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Listed below are the minimum requirements necessary to be considered for this proposal:

a) At a minimum, the Respondent shall have five (5) consecutive years’ experience as Tax

Appeal Counsel, representing a municipality or other public governmental entity.

b) Respondents must demonstrate knowledge of Tax Appeal issues pursuant to the

applicable laws and regulations of New Jersey State.

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c) The Respondent Must maintain a bona fide office in the State of New Jersey. Please list

the firm’s office address on the proposal signature form enclosed herein.

d) The Respondent must list past and present public entities represented in Tax Appeals.

e) The Respondent must identify the attorney(s) and support staff that will be assigned to

the account for handling Tax Appeals and their experience in handling such actions and

the outcomes of the actions that they handled.

f) The Respondent must maintain an office within a reasonable distance to the City of

Clifton.

g) The Respondent must be licensed to practice law in the State of New Jersey and appear

before all state and federal and administrative courts of the State of New Jersey for a period

of not less than five (5) years preceding appointment.

h) The Respondent must have a sufficient staff to perform the services set forth in the Scope

of Services in this RFP.

i) The Respondent must not have represented or is not currently representing a client whose

interests are adverse to those of the City of Clifton, thereby creating a conflict of interest and

the period of time covered by this restriction is five years prior to the date of the proposal

submitted in response to this RFP.

j) The Respondent must maintain professional liability insurance in the minimum amount

of One Million Dollars per occurrence (One million aggregate).

IV - PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

The Respondent:

1. Shall provide Name, Federal I.D. number, address, phone and fax numbers of the

firm submitting the proposal and a brief description of legal background such as

years in business, size of staff and any affiliations.

2. Shall provide Name, title and address of principal/individual preparing this

response and the contact person for the RFP.

3. Shall provide Name, title, address and phone number of individual(s) to be assigned

as the Tax Appeal Counsel for the City.

4. Shall describe the professional achievements of the firm and the principal who

would be assigned to the City of Clifton as its account consultant such as

educational background, licenses, number of clients handled and number of years

as a Tax Appeal attorney. Resumes or summarized credentials are too be

attached.

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Commodity Codes

• NAICS 541213Tax Preparation Services
• NAICS 541990All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

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