The following procedures shall apply to competitive sealed bids, commonly referred to as an invitation for bids (IFB).
(A) Advertising.
(1) All sealed bids shall be advertised not less than seven days prior to the date advertised as the opening for bids.
(2) The date the advertisement is published shall not be counted as advertising time in the seven- day calculation.
(3) Advertisements shall be made in the legal notices section of the local newspaper when the funding source or contract requires. Otherwise, advertisement on the internet, primarily publication to the city’s website, shall be deemed a sufficient manner of notification.
(4) All IFBs shall be reviewed by the Finance Department and the City Solicitor’s office prior to advertising. City staff shall provide a minimum of one week for review.
(5) An extension of a bid opening date or any revision to a bid may be provided through written addendum, as determined by the City Manager, or his or her designee, and issued in the same manner of the original solicitation.
(6) An IFB may be rescinded at any time by the city before the time when bids are scheduled to be publicly opened, if it is determined to be in the best interest of the city.
(B) Specifications.
(1) The city shall use specifications which assure the maximum practicable competition to meet the agency’s needs.
(2) The city shall ensure that every IFB provides that an item equal to that named or described in the specifications may be furnished. The specifications may identify a sole brand in cases where, in the written opinion of the City Manager, documented unique and valid conditions require compatibility, continuity or conformity with established standards. An item shall be considered equal to the item named or described if, in the opinion of the owner and the design professional responsible for the specifications:
(a) It is at least equal in quality, durability, strength, design and other criteria deemed appropriate;
(b) It will perform at least equally the function imposed by the general design for the public work being contracted for or the material being purchased; and
(c) It conforms substantially to the detailed requirements for the item in the specifications.
(3) A specification which describes a product which is proprietary to one company may be used only when no other kind of specification is reasonably available to describe requirements.
(C) Use of bid price or evaluated bid price.
(1) The bid shall be awarded to the responsible bidder who submits the responsive bid for the lowest bid price or lowest evaluated bid price, with the consideration of the preference for resident bidders as required by KRS 45A.494.
(2) If the bid is to be awarded on the basis of lowest bid price, the method of award shall be clearly stated in the IFB.
(3) If the bid is to be awarded on the basis of lowest evaluated bid price, the objectively measurable evaluation criteria to be used, along with applicable formulas or computation methods shall be clearly stated in the IFB.
(D) Withdrawal of bids. Bids, once submitted, may be withdrawn before the time set for bid opening has lapsed by submitting a request for withdrawal in writing to the City Manager at least 24 hours before the date and time set for opening. No bid may be withdrawn after the bid opening date.
(E) Waiver of irregularities. The City Manager reserves the right to waive any informalities and nonconformance of any one or series of bids, which is deemed immaterial and does not prejudice other bidders. The discretion of waiver is vested in the City Manager; waiver is permissible when determined by the City Manager to be in the best interest of the city.
(F) Opening time for bids.
(1) An opening time for each bid shall be stated in the advertisement of the IFB.
(2) It shall be the bidder’s responsibility to assure that his or her bid is in the office before the time set for bid opening.
(3) The City Clerk, or his or her designee, shall at the time set for opening bids declare bids to be closed, and shall publicly open all bids submitted. Each bid, together with the name of the bidder, shall be recorded and be open to public inspection. Electronic bid opening and posting of the required information for public viewing shall satisfy the requirements of this division (F).
(G) Evaluation and awards.
(1) After bids are opened, they shall be reviewed for compliance with specifications, terms and conditions by the City Manager, or his or her designee.
(2) Once evaluated, a recommendation for acceptance of a bid, or multiple bids, will be prepared by the City Manager, or his or her designee, who will present the recommendation to the Board of Commissioners.
(3) After a reasonable evaluation, a contract shall be awarded to the responsive and responsible bidder whose bid is either the lowest bid price or the lowest evaluated bid price, as designated in the IFB as the basis for award of the contract.
(4) If the City Manager determines, in writing, that no satisfactory bid has been received, all bids may be rejected and new bids may be invited on the basis of the same or revised specifications. The basis for rejection of all bids and any subsequent action taken with respect to the IFB shall be recorded in writing and maintained in the procurement file relating to the particular procurement.
(1984 Code, § 35.68) (Ord. O-24-19, passed 7-23-2019)