(a) In determining the low bid for commodities and equipment, the City shall exercise a preference for local business as provided herein.
(1) "Local business" means an individual or business entity that has continuously maintained a permanent office or other permanent facility (such as, but not limited to, a manufacturing facility, warehouse, retail store, or other business purpose site) within the corporate limits of the City for the past (2) successive years preceding the making of a bid and has filed or paid a payroll or earnings tax to the City in the most recent quarter.
(2) "Local preference" means that in determining the low bid for commodities and equipment, the City may provide a qualifying local business with a credit equal to five percent (5%) of the lowest and best bid received from a non-local business, subject to a maximum amount of twenty-thousand dollars ($20,000.00). A local business that owes a financial debt to the City resulting from the nonpayment of any tax, fee, lien, service charge or other assessment, or is in arrears or default to the City upon a debt or contract, or has failed to perform faithfully any previous contract with the City, shall not qualify for local preference.
(3) "Bid" means the price quoted to the City by the local or non-local business in an invitation to bid, a request for proposal, a request for qualifications or other means of solicitation chosen by the City.
(4) "Non-local business" means an individual or business entity that does not meet the definition of being a local business.
(b) In all invitations to bid, requests for proposal, requests for qualifications, and other solicitations for purchase of commodities and equipment, the City shall indicate if local preference, as outlined in this section, is applicable in the evaluation and award of bids received.
(c) To qualify for local preference, a local business shall include in their bid or proposal documents language certifying the location of their permanent office or permanent facility within the city, the date of establishment of said facility, any financial debts or obligations owed to the City, and, if necessary, shall authorize the City's Tax Department to release necessary information regarding proof of situs and/or tax status.
(d) When purchasing commodities and equipment, the City may provide a local business that qualifies for local preference with a credit equal to five percent (5%) of the lowest and best bid received from a non-local or non-qualifying business, subject to a maximum credit of twenty-thousand dollars ($20,000.00). If the lowest bid received is from a non-local or non-qualifying business, the qualifying local business that has submitted a bid to the City may be deemed to be the lowest and best bid if its bid is within five percent (5%) of the lowest bid submitted by the non-local or non-qualifying business. Local preference shall not waive or nullify evaluation of delivery and quality requirements.
(e) Ties between a qualifying local business and one or more non-local or non-qualifying businesses shall be broken in favor of the qualifying local business. Ties between two or more qualifying local businesses shall be broken through a coin toss method administered by the City Manager until the winner remains.
(f) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to create any private rights, claims or causes of actions on behalf of any person, including, but not limited to, bidders, proposers, and suppliers.
(g) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any City contract which is funded in whole or in part with by contributions, grants or loans from any agency of the State of Ohio, the County of Greene, or the United States Government, nor shall a local preference apply where it would be otherwise unlawful to utilize a local preference. Further, the provisions of this section shall not apply to emergency procurements.
(h) The City Manager or City Manager's designee is hereby authorized to promulgate reasonable rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this section for the purpose of fairly and impartially administering the provisions of this section.
(Ord. 36-16. Passed 11-21-16.)