§ 2-237. Procurement of goods or services.

No procurement of goods or services of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) or more shall be made unless upon competitive sealed bids received in the manner hereinafter prescribed, except in at least one of the following circumstances:

(1)

When it is determined in accordance with procedures adopted by the county administrator and set out in the Marion County Procurement Manual that the use of competitive sealed bidding is either not practicable or not advantageous to the county, a contract may be entered into by any of the following:

a.

Competitive sealed proposals;

b.

Consultant's Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA);

c.

Request for qualification;

d.

Request for proposal;

e.

Sole source procurement;

f.

Invitation to negotiate;

g.

Bid exemption.

(2)

The county administrator or his/her designee shall have the authority, subject to the approval of the board of county commissioners if purchases are expected to meet or exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) in a fiscal year, to cooperate with other federal, state and local governments or federal, state or local public entities in the development and use of mutually cooperative purchasing contracts. Such contracts, irrespective of the sponsoring entity, as they pertain to the county, shall be awarded by the board of county commissioners.

(3)

The county administrator or his/her designee shall have the authority, subject to the approval of the board of county commissioners if purchases are expected to meet or exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) in a fiscal year to utilize contracts of other federal, state or local governments or other public entities to procure goods and services, so long as the vending contractor extends the terms and conditions of the contract to the county, and the contract has been awarded through procedures substantially equivalent to the requirements of this article, provided that authorization to purchase under said contract is in conformance with the monetary limitations for purchases, as contained in this article.

(4)

A contract may be awarded for goods or services without competitive bids when the county administrator or his/her designee determines, in writing, that there is only one source for the required item. Any such purchase, meeting or exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) in a fiscal year, is subject to the approval of the board of county commissioners.

(5)

Where the county administrator, or his/her designee, finds it to be in the best interest of the county, he/she may declare the existence of an emergency procurement condition, and, based thereon, suspend any or all of the provisions of this article and authorize an emergency procurement; provided that such emergency procurement shall be made with such competition as is practicable under the circumstance. When an emergency procurement is authorized, meeting or exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00), the factual basis for the emergency and for the selection of the particular contractor shall be documented in an agenda item and ratified by the board of county commissioners at a regularly scheduled meeting.

(6)

In the procurement of professional, architectural, engineering, landscape architectural or land surveying services, the county shall comply with the provisions of F.S. § 287.055, Consultants Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA), as may be amended from time to time, and the Marion County Procurement Manual.

(7)

Competitive proposals shall be solicited through a request for proposals.

(8)

Adequate public notice of the procurement procedure shall be given in the same manner as provided for in the competitive sealed bid process.

(9)

The procurement procedures shall state the relative importance of price and other evaluation criteria.

(10)

A pre-submittal meeting may be held where the procurement procedure shall be publicly discussed with all attending respondents. Discussion shall include questions from respondents on any issues considered germane to the requirements or project. The date and time of the pre-submittal meeting shall be included in the advertised notice of the procurement procedure.

(11)

Award shall be made to the responsible offer or whose proposal is determined in writing to be most advantageous to the county taking into consideration price and the evaluation criteria set forth in the procurement procedure. A summary of the basis on which the award is to be made shall be included in the official contract file and presented to the board of county commissioners.

(12)

Any certified public accountant for auditing services required by F.S. § 11.45 as may be amended from time to time, shall be selected in accordance with the provisions of that statute. Any selection of a certified public accountant for any other purpose shall be done by any procedure designed to select the best firm at the least cost to the county.

(13)

The county administrator or his/her designee may, under his/her own authority, waive the bid procedures for general services amendment administration (GSA) contracts is allowed or permitted by federal law, rules or regulations. The county may thus procure directly from such a GSA contract or similar state contract when it is in the best interest of the county.

(14)

When procurement of repairs, services, or equipment are requested for continuance of essential operations or are necessary to maintain public health and safety, such situation shall be deemed a valid emergency and such procurements may be approved by the county administrator. A report of the action and circumstances shall be included in the board minutes of a regularly scheduled meeting held within thirty (30) days of the emergency, if the purchase meets or exceeds fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00).

(15)

The board of county commissioners may choose to waive the formal competitive solicitation process if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the county or for standardization of a commodity. The county administrator may choose to waive the informal competitive solicitation process if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the county.

(Ord. No. 11-52, § 1, 9-20-2011; Ord. No. 15-12, § 1C, 8-18-2015; Ord. No. 18-06, § 1D, 2-20-2018)