Independent Financial Auditor “IV”

Addenda 

The following Addenda have been provided on dates as listed below. Download all files to each addendum to view the full description of the amended content. Files are made available in the Dropbox downloader.

Addendum 1: Posted Thursday, February 1, 2024

1.0 Overview

This Request for Proposals (“RFP”) is issued by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (“HART’) to solicit sealed proposals for the Internal Audit Services Professional Services Contract (“Project”) of the Honolulu Rail Transit Project (“HRTP”).

1.1 HRTP Description

HART is a semi-autonomous agency of the City and County of Honolulu (the “City”), established in 2011 pursuant to a 2010 amendment to the Revised Charter of the City (Charter). Originally, HART was authorized under the Charter to “plan, construct, operate and maintain” the City’s fixed guideway rail system. In 2016, voters of the City approved an amendment to the Charter that transferred the responsibility for operations and maintenance of the rail system to the City. Accordingly, HART’s responsibilities are to plan, design, develop and construct the Honolulu Rail Transit Project (the “Project”).

The Project consists of design and construction of an 18.9-mile, grade separated fixed rail system from East Kapolei to the Civic Center Station in Honolulu, Hawai’i. From East Kapolei, the Project proceeds to the University of Hawaiʻi at West Oahu, then east to Pearl Harbor, the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, through downtown Honolulu, and will have a temporary terminus at the Civic Center Station in Kaka’ako. The Project will operate in an exclusive right-of-way and will be grade separated except for a 0.6-mile, at grade section near Leeward Community College. The Project includes 19 stations, 80 fully automated (driverless) rail vehicles and a Maintenance and Storage Facility. The Project is the largest infrastructure project in the history of the State of Hawai’i and will be the first fully automated commuter rail system in the nation.

HART is 100% taxpayer funded. HART’s funding primarily consists of: a 0.5% county surcharge on the State of Hawaii’s General Excise Tax (GET); a 1% surcharge on the State’s Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT); a $1.55 billion grant from the Federal Transit Administration; a portion of the Oahu TAT administered by the City; and a subsidy of $214 million from the City. Most of HART’s funding is restricted to the capital expenditures of the Project. Accordingly, the largest asset on the Statement of Position relates to the capital assets. As operating segments of the Project are completed, the related capital assets will be transferred to the City’s Department of Transportation Services (DTS) to be placed into operation. In June 2023, the Project’s first operating segment was completed and the assets were transferred from HART to DTS. Honolulu’s rail system, called Skyline, was opened to the public on June 30, 2023. The second operating segment is expected to be complete in the summer of 2025.

HART is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of ten members. There are nine voting members of the Board, including the Director of the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT), the Director of the City’s Department of Transportation Services (DTS), and seven volunteers from the community: three appointed by the Mayor, three appointed by the City Council and one appointed by the other voting members. The Director of the City’s Department of Planning and Permitting is a nonvoting ex-officio member. In addition the Senate President and the Speaker of the House may each appoint two individuals to participate with the Board.

1.2 Independent Financial Auditor “IV” Contract Description

The selected Offeror (or “Contractor”) will provide Independent Financial Auditing Services by conducting annual audits of HART’s financial statements for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027. Further specifications regarding the Audit Scope are provided in Appendix A to the Special Provisions.

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