181.03 COMPETITIVE BID DEFECTS.
It is the policy of the City of Cuyahoga Falls that competitive bids should be fairly judged on the relative merits of the bids. Accordingly, the City will not disqualify bids that are otherwise
responsive based on immaterial defects or omissions: the only result of which would be to deprive on a technicality the public of the benefits of what may be the best bid.
(a) Failure to include with a competitive bid, where and when required by the contract documents or the Codified Ordinances, the original of either a bid bond or a certified check in an amount equal to or exceeding the amount required by the contract documents as and for a bid bond, as security for the City should the bidder be awarded the contract and fail to enter into it, is a fatal defect and such bid shall be automatically rejected as not being responsive.
(b) Failure to sign a bid proposal or to identify the bidder in each place required in the bid documents or to otherwise fail to complete each component of the bid documents does not automatically result in rejection of the bid, but is a defect that may be waived by the Board of Control provided that the balance of the documents signed and submitted by the bidder adequately identify the bidder and contain a definite and responsive legal offer to perform the work or services bid on for a specific price.
(c) Failure to bid on an alternate shall not disqualify a bidder from consideration on the base bid or on other alternates.
(d) Failure to meet specifications or taking exception to specifications may be waived where the Board of Control determines that the specifications as bid either enhance or do not materially affect the quality of the specifications.
(e) Any bid defect not addressed in subsections (a) to (d) hereof may be waived by the Board of Control when, using generally accepted principles of Ohio competitive bidding law, the defect does not affect or undermine the competitive nature of the bid, the competitive bidding process itself, the public's right to and interest in competitive bids, or appear to be the result of fraud, undue influence or corruption. When the Board of Control determines that the defect or defects are not capable of waiver, the bid or bids containing the defect or defects shall be rejected as not being responsive to the invitation to bid.