The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
AGENCY. Any service area, division, department, board or commission of the County, including all entities, however structured, that utilize the County's financial system, except the County Board of Education and Frederick Community College.
AGENCY PURCHASE. An open market purchase of less than $10,000 and conducted by the agency.
AGREEMENT. The document resulting from a procurement and enforceable by law between the County and one or more entities.
AMENDMENT. An addition to, deletion from, correction or modification of a solicitation or agreement.
BEST VALUE. A competitive bid/quote process which permits the evaluation of objective criteria in addition to price to determine the best overall value to the County.
BID. A formal price offer submitted by a prospective contractor to furnish specific goods and/or services to the County in response to an Invitation for Bids (IFB).
BIDDER. An entity providing a response to a solicitation.
BRAND NAME. A specific manufacturer, firm, or trademark desired or required which may be utilized in a specification description limiting acceptable responses to one (1) or more items by manufacturers' names or catalog numbers.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. Any public improvement in the capital budget planned and budgeted by the County in advance.
CATALOG PRICE. The price included in a catalog, price list, or schedule.
CHANGE ORDER. Any written modification to an existing agreement authorizing changes within the scope of work, additions or deletions to the work or an adjustment to any other provision of the contract.
CONSTRUCTION. The process of building, improving, altering or demolishing improvements. CONSTRUCTION shall not include the operation, repair, or maintenance of improvements.
CONSULTANT. A contractor working in an advisory capacity that works according to its own methods or methods set forth in a solicitation.
CONTRACT. Any agreement enforceable by law between the County and contractor(s), regardless of form or title.
CONTRACTOR. Any person, company, firm, legal entity or vendor having a contract or agreement with the County, including consultants.
CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITY BOARD (CRB). The group that reviews the work and projects of contractors performing for the County, including consultants, to address issues as they arise.
COOPERATIVE PURCHASING. Procurement conducted by, or on behalf of, more than one public procurement entity.
COUNTY. Frederick County, Maryland.
COUNTY COUNCIL. County Council of Frederick County, Maryland.
COUNTY EXECUTIVE. County Executive of Frederick County, Maryland, or their designee.
DESIGN-BID-BUILD. A construction project delivery method in which the design and construction of a project are bid sequentially and contracted for separately with two individual contracts.
DESIGN/BUILD. A construction project delivery method in which a contractor submits one proposal to provide both the design and construction services for the entire construction project.
DESIGNEE. A duly authorized representative of a person holding a superior position.
DIRECTOR. The Director of Procurement and Contracting unless otherwise stated.
DISCOUNT-FROM-LIST CONTRACTS. Contracts wherein award is determined by applying a percentage discount from established catalog prices.
ELECTRONIC. Electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or similar technology.
ENGINEERING SERVICES. Professional work in connection with the design or construction of public or private utilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment, etc. by a certified and/or licensed engineer.
EVALUATION PROCESS. A process led by P&C in which an evaluation team determines award of a solicitation, including assessing and discussing the proposals, interviewing contractors, soliciting best and final offers, and assisting in the negotiation of best value for the County.
EVALUATION TEAM. A group of individuals led by P&C selected to assist in determination of award of a solicitation process.
FORMAL SOLICITATIONS. The purchase of goods or services anticipated to be greater than $50,000 conducted by P&C utilizing formal processes in writing and requiring public notice.
GOODS. Any tangible property other than services or real property.
IMPROVEMENTS. Any addition to real property amounting to more than mere repairs or partial replacement and intended to enhance its value or utility. This term shall not include maintenance.
INDEFINITE DELIVERY QUANTITY CONTRACT AGREEMENT (IDQ). A master agreement utilized to establish standard terms, conditions and pricing for an indefinite quantity of identified services or materials which the County will contract for in the future via issuance of a task order, and which does not identify a specific scope of work.
INFORMAL BID. An open market purchase of less than $25,000 by obtaining not less than three quotes and conducted by the agencies at the discretion of P&C.
INFORMALITY. A minor or immaterial irregularity in a bid that is a matter of form rather than of substance; a variation of a bid or proposal from the exact requirements of the IFB or RFP, which can be corrected or waived without being prejudicial to other
bidders, and has no material effect on the price, quality, quantity, or delivery schedule of the goods, services, or construction being procured.
INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB). A formal request to prospective contractors soliciting bids for the purchase of goods or services.
JOB-ORDER-CONTRACTING. A method of obtaining an indefinite quantity of not specifically defined project services such as construction, preconstruction, finance, maintenance, operations, design, etc., performed via task orders issued during the course of the master agreement.
KICKBACK. Any money, fee commission, credit, gift, gratuity, thing of value or compensation of any kind that is provided directly or indirectly to any contractor, contractor employee, subcontractor or subcontractor employee for the purpose of improperly obtaining or rewarding favorable treatment in connection with a contract or subcontract.
LETTER OF INTEREST (LOI). A step in the procurement process to ascertain interest in performing a specific job or service for the County wherein contractors are solicited to express their interest in performing the services.
MAINTENANCE. Acts of repair, replacement or other acts necessary to keep property in proper condition and good working order. This term shall not include improvements.
MASTER CONTRACT. An agreement resulting from an indefinite delivery quantity contract.
NEGOTIATIONS. An exchange of information or any form of communication during which the contractor
and the County may formalize an agreement or amendment to an agreement for the purchase of goods or services.
OCA. Office of the County Attorney.
OFFEROR. See BIDDER.
OPEN MARKET PURCHASE. A purchase of an amount less than $50,000, made by an agency utilizing the P&C rules and regulations and not requiring formal public notice.
P&C. Procurement and Contracting Office.
PAYMENT VOUCHER. A method of payment for certain approved transactions for which there is no competitive purchasing function.
PIGGYBACK. A procedure of procuring goods or services without formal procedures via utilizing other public entity's award of solicitations, contracts awarded by the State of Maryland, contracts awarded by local and state government agencies, cooperative purchasing organizations, purchasing associations, and federal government schedules such as General Services Administration (GSA).
PILOT PROGRAM. A small-scale or limited time experimental purchase of goods or services conducted to determine the feasibility of use, processes, or functions and move toward making a determination for future purchases while limiting risk of large-scale involvement or cost.
PRICING AGREEMENT. An agreement by which procurements are conducted by or on behalf of more than one (1) governmental body.
PROCUREMENT. The purchasing, renting, leasing or other acquisition of any materials, services, professional services or construction. It shall also include all functions that pertain to obtaining any supplies, services including professional services or construction, including the description of requirements, the selection and solicitation of sources and the preparation and award of contract. It shall not include the buying, purchasing, renting or leasing of real property, or any interest in real property.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. The furnishing of labor, time, effort or expertise by a licensed or certified contractor with specialized knowledge acquired and formalized by a postgraduate degree in a specialized field, including but not limited to architects, auditors, doctors, engineers and lawyers.
PROGRAM. A detailed framework of steps or activities specifically designed to address a specific initiative of the County.
PROPOSAL. The documents submitted in response to a solicitation.
PROPOSAL REVISION. A change to a proposal made after the solicitation closing date, at the request of or as allowed by the Director of P&C, as the result of negotiation.
PUBLIC NOTICE. Advertising notification to the public of solicitations offered by the County, changes to solicitation, cancellation of solicitations, etc. which allows a reasonable amount of time for potential bidders to gather information and provide a response.
PURCHASE ORDER. A County document which encumbers funds and is used to authorize a purchase transaction with a contractor. Acceptance of a purchase order by a contractor shall constitute a contract, or part of a contract.
QUALIFICATIONS BASED SELECTION (QBS). A process for pre-qualifying or selecting one (1) or more entities to provide professional design services based on qualifications and experience designing similar work.
QUALIFIED RELATIVE. A spouse, parent, or child.
QUOTATION. A document containing cost information for goods and services valued at $30,000 or less submitted in response to a solicitation.
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI). A nonbinding solicitation method whereby the County solicits input, comments, feedback or reactions from interested parties for a possible future solicitation.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP). All documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting proposals wherein best value is determined in an evaluation process by an evaluation team, and price may not be a primary factor in determining award.
REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ). An informal request on the open market to prospective contractors soliciting pricing for goods and services valued at $30,000 or less.
RESPONSIBLE BIDDER or OFFEROR. Anindividual or entity that has submitted a response to a solicitation which has proven that it is fully capable to meet all of the requirements of a solicitation, that meets the criteria specified in the solicitation, that has the capability in all respects to perform fully the contract requirements, and that has the experience, integrity, reliability, capacity, facilities, equipment, insurance, and credit to ensure good-faith performance as determined by the Director of P&C. The Director of P&C may utilize the expertise of agencies in making the determination of responsibility.
RESPONSIVE BIDDER or OFFEROR. An individual or entity that has submitted a response to a solicitation that fully conforms to the requirements of the solicitation response requirements in all material respects, including form and substance as determined by the Director of P&C.
SERVICES. The furnishing of labor, time or effort by a contractor which does not involve the delivery of a specific end product other than required performance and reporting.
SHORT LIST. A reduced list of offerors winnowed by application of uniform criteria in an approved process, that has been deemed eligible to move forward in an evaluation process by an evaluation team, and from which the successful offeror will be chosen.
SPECIFICATION. Detailed description of the physical or functional characteristics of or the nature of the goods or services required and what a bidder or offeror must be responsive to in order to be considered for award of a contract.
SUBCONTRACTOR. An individual or entity that performs work or provides service to or for a contractor that has a contract with the County.
SURPLUS. Goods owned by the County deemed no longer necessary or useful and designated for disposal.
TASK ORDER. A written statement of work defining a service or material with a definite project, price and time of completion having been negotiated between a contractor and the County on the basis of terms, conditions and pricing awarded in an indefinite delivery quantity agreement (IDQ) which details the specifics of a project.
WRITTEN INFORMAL BID. An open market purchase of less than $50,000 by obtaining not less than five quotes in writing and conducted by the agency at the discretion of P&C.
(Ord. 09-29-533, 12-15-2009; Ord. 14-23-678, 11-13-2014; Bill No. 15-07, 8-18-2015; Bill No. 22-20, 10-25-2022)