168.05 FORM OF PROPOSAL.

   All proposals for public improvement contracts shall be made upon the blank proposal form specified pursuant to Section 168.03 and shall meet all requirements set forth in the instructions to bidders.

   Proposals may be rejected by the City, at its discretion, if they show any alteration of forms, additions not called for, uncalled for, conditional or alternate bids, incomplete bids, omissions, uninitialled erasures, incomplete or incorrect extensions of unit bid prices or any other variance from the instructions to bidders or irregularities of any other kind. The City reserves the right to waive any such informalities.

(Ord. 1996-119. Passed 6-17-96.)

168.06 BIDDER'S NONCOLLUSION AFFIDAVIT.

   Each bidder shall be required to submit with his or her proposal an affidavit stating that neither he or she nor his or her agents, nor any party for him or her has paid to or agreed to pay, directly or indirectly, any person any money or other valuable consideration for assistance in procuring or attempting to procure the contract bid upon, and further agreeing that no such money or other consideration will be paid after the opening of the proposals. Such noncollusion affidavit shall be on the form provided with the instructions to bidders.

(Ord. 1996-119. Passed 6-17-96.)

168.07 PROPOSAL GUARANTY.

   Each proposal shall be accompanied by a certified check on a solvent bank in the County, made payable only to the City, with no restrictions thereon, in an amount not less than ten percent of the total amount of the proposal, or, in lieu of such a check, a bid bond, in favor of the City, in an amount not less than ten percent of the total amount of the proposal. All sureties issuing bid bonds shall be duly authorized and qualified to do business in the State and must, upon request of the Law Director, furnish a certificate of authority and compliance from the office of the State Superintendent of Insurance. The certified check or bid bond shall be furnished as surety that, if the proposal is accepted, a contract will be entered into and the performance of such contract properly secured within ten days from the date of notice to the bidder of the award of the contract.

(Ord. 1996-119. Passed 6-17-96.)

168.08 DISPOSITION OF PROPOSAL GUARANTY; AWARD TO NEXT LOWEST BIDDER.

   The bid bond shall be forfeited and the principal amount of the bid bond shall be paid to the City, or the certified check shall be surrendered and forfeited to the City, as the agreed amount of liquidated damages, in case of failure to enter into a contract for the work bid upon. In such case, the contract may, at the discretion of the City, be re-advertised or awarded to the next lowest bidder.

   The bid bonds or certified checks of all unsuccessful bidders shall be returned within thirty days of the award and execution of a contract, or the rejection of all bids, whichever is later. The bid bond or certified check of the successful bidder shall be returned after such bidder has executed a contract and the performance bond required pursuant to Section 168.14 has been furnished to and accepted by the City.

(Ord. 1996-119. Passed 6-17-96.)

168.09 UNACCEPTABLE PROPOSALS.

   No proposal will be considered unless the bidder furnishes evidence satisfactory to the City that he or she has the necessary facilities, ability and pecuniary resources to fulfill the conditions of the contract.

   No contract will be awarded to any person who is in arrears to the City upon any debt or

contract, or who is in default, as surety or otherwise, upon any obligation to the City.

(Ord. 1996-119. Passed 6-17-96.)

168.10 EXAMINATION OF SITE OF WORK, QUANTITIES, SCOPE OF WORK.

   The bidder is required to examine carefully the site of the work, the proposal form, the

plans and specifications and all contract documents for the work contemplated. The bidder in submitting a proposal, warrants that he or she has investigated and is acquainted with the conditions to be encountered for performing the work, including the character, quality and quantities of work to be performed and materials to be furnished, the prevailing hourly wage rates

for the area as prescribed by law and all requirements of the contract documents. Submission of a proposal shall be considered prima-facie evidence that the bidder has made such examination and

is satisfied as to all conditions which will affect the work.

(Ord. 1996-119. Passed 6-17-96.)

168.11 WITHDRAWAL OF BIDS.

   A bidder may withdraw his or her proposal provided his or her written request for such withdrawal is delivered to the Clerk of Council twenty-four hours prior to the time set for the opening of the proposals. When such proposal is reached during the bid opening period, it will be returned to the bidder unopened. No proposal shall be returned to a bidder, and no bidder shall be permitted to withdraw his or her proposal, under any circumstances except as provided herein.

   After a bidder has requested withdrawal of a proposal in writing, in the manner stated above, he or she may submit a new proposal, provided it is properly identified as such and provided, further, that it is in the hands of the official who will open the proposals prior to the time and date set for such opening.

   The City expressly reserves the right to increase or diminish the quantities of work and/or omit altogether any items shown on the proposal form, as the Public Works Director and/or City Engineer may deem advisable and/or necessary.

(Ord. 1996-119. Passed 6-17-96.)

168.12 OPENING AND CONSIDERATION OF BIDS; REJECTION OF BIDS.

   Proposals will be received until the hour and date set for the opening thereof and must be in the hands of the Clerk of Council who will open the same prior to that time. After the proposals are opened and read, the totals will be compared and the results of such comparison will be made public. Until the award of a contract, the City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, or any part of any proposal, and to waive any technical errors or informalities in the bidding as such waiver may be deemed to be in the best interests of the City.

(Ord. 1998-22. Passed 1-1-98.)

168.13 AWARD OF CONTRACT.

   The award of the contract, if it is awarded, will be to the lowest and best bidder whose proposal complies with all the requirements prescribed. The City reserves the right to consider all elements entering into the question of determining the qualifications and responsibility of any bidder. The City may accept a proposal and award a contract which is greater or less in any amount than the Public Works Director's or City Engineer's estimate pursuant to Section 168.03. Where bids are taken in the form of separate proposals in portions of one project, the work will ordinarily be awarded to the contractor, otherwise qualified, whose combined bid is the lowest. However, the City reserves the right to award separate proposals for separate portions of the work, or to award a single contract for the entire project. No bidder bidding on all such proposals shall be required to enter into a contract covering less than the entire project without his or her consent.

   The award, if made, will be made within sixty days after opening the proposals, unless the time for awarding and executing the contract is extended by mutual consent of the City and the bidder whose proposal the City accepts. No increase shall be made in the contract price for any damages, costs or expenses incurred by the bidder as a result of such extension unless such increase is specifically approved in writing by the City as a change order to the contract. In no case will a contract award be made until the certification of funds by the Finance Director and all necessary investigations are made as to the responsibility of the bidder to whom it is proposed to award the contract.

(Ord. 1996-119. Passed 6-17-96.)