§ 2-244. Competitive sealed bid process.
(a)
All procurements requiring the receipt of competitive bids under this article shall be upon invitation for bids. Invitations for bids shall be issued and shall include procurement specifications, bid evaluation criteria, and all principal terms and conditions applicable to the procurement. The bid evaluation criteria that will affect the bid price and/or be considered in evaluation for the award shall generally be objectively measurable. Such evaluation may include, but is not limited to, conformance to specifications, discounts, transportation costs, and total or life cycle costs. No criteria may be used in the bid evaluations that are not set forth in the bid package document or any subsequent addendum.
(b)
Notices inviting sealed competitive bids shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county as required by Florida State Statutes. Electronic notification is based on the recipient's specific request and application to the county's approved notification vendor. There shall be an interval of at least five (5) calendar days between the date of the public notice and the bid opening. The notice shall include the procurement description, and place where bid documents containing procurement specifications are available, and specify the date, time and location at which bids will be opened.
(c)
Bids shall be received not later than the call for any such bid, at a formal bid opening, to be considered for award. Bids shall be opened publicly in the presence of the county administrator or his/her designee, and other interested parties at the time and place designated in the public notice referred to in subsection (b) hereof. The amount of each bid, together with the name of each bidder, shall be read aloud and maintained in the procurement services department's bid file, which shall be open to public inspection upon recommendation of award from the user department to the procurement services department. The receipt, opening, and award of bids, shall be in accordance with the procurement manual, pursuant to section 2-243 of this article.
(d)
Information in a bid which concerns the responsibility of the bidder shall not necessarily be considered conclusive at the time of the bid opening, except when the invitation for bids unequivocally states that the bid shall not be considered responsive unless the particular information is provided by a vendor in its bid proposal. When such information has not been so declared as a determinant of responsiveness of the bid, the county administrator or his/her designee may, within reason after bid opening, request additional information of the bidder concerning its responsibility to perform.
(e)
To maintain the integrity of the competitive sealed bid process, to assure fairness, and to avoid delays or poor contract performance, the following provisions shall govern the correction of information submitted in a bid when that information is a determinant of the responsiveness of the bid:
(1)
No bidder shall be permitted to correct a bid mistake after bid opening that would cause such bidder to have the low bid, except for the correction of errors in extension of unit prices in the bids (multiplication, division, addition, or subtraction). In such cases, the unit price bid shall not be changed.
(2)
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the board of county commissioners reserves the right to cancel any awards or contracts based on bid mistakes, after a written determination of the mistake by the county administrator or his/her or her designee.
(f)
A bidder may withdraw its bid at any time prior to the bid opening date and time set forth in the public notice referred to in subsection (b) hereof. Bids may not be withdrawn after said time, except when the request for withdrawal has been submitted in writing to the county administrator or his/her designee. The request for withdrawal shall clearly state the reasons for withdrawal, and the county administrator, or his/her designee, shall approve the withdrawal.
(g)
Contracts resulting from the competitive sealed bid process that meet or exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) per fiscal year shall be awarded with reasonable promptness by the board of county commissioners by written notice to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, unless the basis of award in a bid document has explicitly established other criteria. In the award process, the board of county commissioners reserves the right to reject any and all bids for any reason including, but not limited to, non-responsiveness of bid(s), unavailability of adequate funding, unreasonable price in bid(s), non-responsibility of bidder(s), or a change in the requirements since the issuance of an invitation for bid, or where the board of county commissioners determines the public interest requires such rejection.
(h)
If a low bid is received by a responsive responsible bidder who is not local vendor, and the second low bidder is a local vendor submitting a responsive responsible bid within ten (10) percent of the low bid, both the low bidder and the second low bidder will have the opportunity to present a best and final offer (bid off). The low bidder and the second low bidder will be notified by email of the opportunity to present a best and final offer. The notice will be sent to the email listed in the solicitation response form. The best and final offer will be submitted in a sealed envelope by a date and time set forth by the procurement services department. The lowest responsive, responsible bidder of the best and final offer (bid off) will be recommended for award of the bid. Vendors shall affirm in writing their compliance as a local vendor at the time of submitting their bid or proposal. A vendor who knowingly misrepresents the local vendor status of its firm in a proposal or bid will lose the privilege to claim local vendor status for a period of one year. The procurement services director, at his/her discretion, may also recommend that the firm be referred for debarment in accordance with section 2-248 of the Procurement Code of Marion County.
(i)
In cases of tie bids (monetary as well as all award criteria identified) of two (2) or more responsible and responsive bidders subject to such award, the award shall be made to the bidder doing business from a location within the county. If there is more than one bidder so situated, the award shall be made based on a coin toss by the county administrator or his/her designee before at least three (3) witnesses.
(j)
In the event that all bids for a construction project exceed available budgeted funds, the board of county commissioners may authorize negotiation of the bid price with the lowest responsive and responsible bidder in order to bring the bid within the amount of available funds, or reject all bids and authorize re-advertisement, as the board deems appropriate.
(k)
In the event that the lowest responsible and responsive bidder defaults on the contract awarded through the competitive sealed bid process, the board of county commissioners may award the contract to the next lowest responsible and responsive bidder. When awarding a contract to the next lowest bidder due to default of the lowest bidder, the board of county commissioners shall reserve the right to seize the bid bond of the lowest bidder for failure to faithfully perform under the terms of the bid specifications.
(l)
When bonding is required, bonding requirements shall be stated in the bid documents. For construction projects which are estimated at two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000.00) or above, a bid bond in the amount of five (5) percent shall be required of the vendor. Upon award of a bid for construction projects that are two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000.00) or above, a performance and payment bond, in an amount equal to the total bid price will be required of the vendor. This requirement shall not preclude a user department from requesting bonds for projects under two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000.00).
(Ord. No. 11-52, § 1, 9-20-2011; Ord. No. 15-12, § 1G, 8-18-2015; Ord. No. 18-06, § 1J, 2-20-2018)