Okaloosa County BOCC — May 17, 2013 — Procurement Manual PROPOSED Transit Language 4-22-13 — reading text

or extension thereof, to the responsible bidder whose bid, conforming to the invitation for bids, is the lowest bidder. Awards given to the “other than lowest bidder” are addressed in a succeeding section in this document. g. Cancellation of Invitations Before Opening - the BCC will include in all solicitations for invitations for bid, a statement that the BCC reserves that right to cancel the solicitation without penalty, at its sole discretion. h. Modification or Withdrawal of Bids - Bids may be modified or withdrawn in writing, by telegraphic, by telecommunication, by facsimile, or by electronic mail. Modifications or withdrawals must be received by the BCC no later than the exact time set for opening of bids. i. Rejection of All Bids - the BCC recognizes that the preservation of the integrity of the competitive bid system indicates that after bids have been opened, award must be made to that responsible bidder who submitted the lowest responsive bid, or in the case of a sale, to that responsible bidder who made the highest responsive bid. Every effort will be made to anticipate changes in a requirement prior to the date of opening and to notify all prospective bidders of any resulting modification or cancellation, thereby preventing the unnecessary exposure of bid prices. j. Rejection of Individual Bids - Any bid which fails to conform to the essential requirements or specifications of the invitation for bids will be rejected, unless the invitation authorized the submission of alternate bids. Alternate bids must meet the requirements specified in the invitation. The originals of all rejected bids, and any written findings with respect to such rejection, will be preserved in the contract file. k. Disposition of Late Bids - Late bids which are not considered for award will be held unopened until after award, and then returned to the bidder, unless other 9  FTA PROVISIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, REPORTS, FORMS AND OTHERS disposition is requested, or agreed to by the bidder. An unidentified bid however may be opened solely for the purpose of identification. l. Minor Informalities or Irregularities in Bids - A minor informality is one which is merely a matter of form, or is some immaterial variation from the exact requirements of the invitation for bids, having no effect or merely a trivial or negligible effect on the price, quantity, quality, or delivery of the supplies or performance of the services being procured, and the correction or waiver of which would not affect the relative standing of, or be otherwise prejudicial to other bidders. The Purchasing Director will either give the bidder an opportunity to correct the deficiency, or waive any such deficiency, where it is to the BCC’s advantage. m. Mistakes in Bids - After opening of bids, the Purchasing Director will examine all bids for mistakes. In cases of apparent mistakes, and in cases where there is reason to believe that a mistake may have been made, he/she will request from the bidder a verification of the bid, calling attention to the suspected mistake. If the bidder alleges a mistake, the matter will be processed in the manner set forth below. n. Change Order Policy - Changes to contract agreements after the award is announced must be approved by the Purchasing Director. All change orders must be documented in writing, is supported by a written justification, including a cost or price analysis, and signed and dated by the authorized officials. 3 Request for Proposals (RFP) Large purchases may be procured through competitive proposal/request for proposals, when conditions are not appropriate for the use of sealed bids. In such cases, either a fixed price, or cost reimbursement type contract is awarded. a. Publicizing the Proposal: Proposals will be advertised in the newspaper with the largest circulation within Okaloosa County, as well as solicitation from an adequate number of qualified sources. b. Selection Criteria - the BCC will list, in the request for proposals, the selection criteria. Price should always be a selection criterion. the BCC may list selection criteria in the request for proposals, in order of priority with weights, if any. This is the preferred method, because if it is not done, the BCC must establish the priority, weights and scoring method on an internal document prior to the day the RFP becomes available to potential proposers. c. Evaluation of Proposals - Criteria for evaluation of proposals will be established prior to a request for proposals, and may include: 10  FTA PROVISIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, REPORTS, FORMS AND OTHERS ¾ Responsibility criteria, such as financial, human, and physical capabilities to perform the contract. (Refer to section 5.1 Best Practices Procurement Manual - Responsibility of Contractor). ¾ Technical criteria - may include the technical experience of the proposer, the suitability of the products or methods proposed for the BCC’s needs, or objective performance criteria (fuel efficiency, percent savings guaranteed, proven ridership increases, etc.). ¾ Price criteria - price must be evaluated, unless the Brooks Act and Florida State Statues apply (where price is only considered after the most qualified proposer is selected for procurement of A&E services). Awards will be made to the responsible firm whose proposal is most advantageous to the BCC’s program, with price and other factors considered. ¾ Compliance criteria - will include responsiveness to proposal requirements. ¾ Management criteria - may include the qualifications of the project managers, the budget and schedule performance proposed and recorded on past projects, and the projected effectiveness of the management plan proposed. d. Award of Proposals - the BCC will make awards only to responsible contractors possessing the ability to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of the proposed agreement. Consideration will be given to such factors as contractor integrity, compliance with public policy, record of past performance, and financial and technical resources. Additionally, as stated above, awards will be made to the responsible firm whose proposal is most advantageous to the BCC’s program with price and other factors considered. e. Request for Revised Proposals - In the event the BCC finds it necessary to revise an initial request for proposal because of deficiencies, the decision to do so will be approved by the Purchasing Director, and the deficiencies must be listed and explained. ¾ A complete revised proposal, including price (except under the Brooks Act) will be requested from each offeror in the competitive range. ¾ Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the revised offer extinguishes the prior offer. ¾ The proposer should identify all changes in the revised offer. the BCC may exercise the right to request revised proposals as many times as necessary in order to obtain the most advantageous offer. f. Discussions and Clarifications (negotiations) - the BCC will exercise its right to hold discussions for clarifications with all offerors in the competitive range. At such time, negotiations and bargaining may be made. At which time, the offeror will have an opportunity to revise or modify his/her proposal. The discussions and negotiations may initially be written or oral, with appropriate documentation following the discussions. Strict confidentiality in such cases will be maintained. Emphasis will be made known to the offeror that the name and number of proposals received is not normally considered a public record and need not be released to competitors or the public at large. 11  FTA PROVISIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, REPORTS, FORMS AND OTHERS g. Award Based on Initial Proposals - the BCC may accept one of the initial proposals if it can be demonstrated that acceptance of the most favorable initial proposal without discussion will result in a fair and reasonable price. Solicitations for proposals will contain a notice that award may be made without discussion of proposals received, and that proposals should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms possible, from a price and technical standpoint. h. Withdrawal of Proposal - In order to avoid frivolous offers, or offers submitted with the sole intention of casting light on other offers, the solicitation for the request for proposals will state a date and time by which offers must be submitted, and a period following that date during which offers remain firm. Proposers will be allowed to withdraw or modify their proposals up to the time due. However, it will also be stated that after that date all proposals are firm and cannot be withdrawn, regardless of whether the proposer has had second thoughts. i. Debriefing Unsuccessful Offerors - the BCC will maintain complete records on its award decision, and how it came to that decision. the BCC will remain as objective as possible in making that decision. In the event a proposer was excluded from competitive range, and requests a debriefing, the Purchasing Director, at his/her discretion will offer a candid explanation of the process. However, if the BCC foresees that a dispute is probable, it is not required to notify or debrief unsuccessful offerors. 4 Procurement of Architectural and Engineering Services (A&E) When procuring architectural, engineering, or related services, the BCC will use competitive proposal procedures based on the Brooks Act, as defined in 40 U.S.C. §541 and Florida Statute 287.055. Other types of services considered A&E services include program management, construction management, feasibility studies, preliminary engineering, design, surveying, mapping, and services which require performance by a registered or licensed architect or engineer. Provided a sufficient number of qualified firms are eligible to compete for the third party contract, the contractor’s geographic location may be a selection criterion. 5 Procurement by Noncompetitive Proposals (Sole Source) Sole source procurements are procurements accomplished through solicitation or acceptance of a proposal from only one source, or after solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined inadequate. A contract amendment or change order that is not within the scope of the original contract is also considered a sole source procurement that must comply with the guidelines below. The Purchasing Director must negotiate sole source procurements. 12  FTA PROVISIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, REPORTS, FORMS AND OTHERS a. General Guidelines for Sole Source Procurements Procurement by noncompetitive proposals may be used when the award of a contract is infeasible under small purchase procedures, sealed bids, or competitive proposals and at least one of the following circumstances applies: ¾ The item is available only from a single source (i.e. utility services, checking prior procurements for the same or similar items, no identical or compatible parts or equipment available from any other source); ¾ The public exigency or emergency for the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from competitive