§ 7-198 DEFINITIONS.
   (1)   Architect Engineer and Land Surveying Services. Those professional services associated with the practice of architecture, professional engineering, land surveying, landscape architecture and interior design pertaining to construction, as defined by the laws of this state, as well as incidental services that members of these professions and those in their employ may logically or justifiably perform, including studies, investigations, surveys, evaluations, consultations, planning, programming conceptual designs, plans and specifications, cost estimates, inspections, shop drawing reviews, sample recommendations, preparation of operating and maintenance manuals and other related services.
   (2)   Blind Trust. An independently managed trust in which the employee beneficiary has no management rights and in which the employee beneficiary is not given notice of alterations in, or other dispositions of, the property subject to the trust.
   (3)   Business. Any corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, firm, an enterprise, a franchise, an association, organization, self employed individual, or any other private legal entity.
   (4)   Catalogue Price. The price included in a catalogue, price list, schedule, or other form that:
      (a)   Is regularly maintained by a manufacturer or contractor;
      (b)   Is either published or otherwise available for inspection by customers; and
      (c)   States prices at which sales are currently or were last made to a significant number of any category of buyers or buyers constituting the general buying public for the supplies or services involved.
   (5)   Change Order (unilateral). A written order signed and unilaterally issued by the Procurement Director, or by his designee, directing the Contractor to make changes which the contract authorizes the County to order without the consent of the Contractor.
   (6)   Change Order (bilateral). An agreed-upon written order to a Contractor executed by the County and the Contractor after execution of the base contract, directing a change in the work which may include a change in the contract price, the time for the Contractor’s performance, or any combination thereof.
   (7)   Confidential Information. Information, whether transmitted orally or in writing, which is obtained by reason of the public position or office held and is of such nature that it is not, at the time of transmission, a matter of public record or public knowledge.
   (8)   Construction.
      (a)   The process of building, altering, repairing, improving, or demolishing any public structure or building, or other public improvements of any kind to any public real property. It does not include the routine operation, routine repair, or routine maintenance of existing structures, buildings or real property.
      (b)   Construction Management Services, Design-Build Services, or Turnkey Management Services. Approaches to construction contract management that allow for the selection of a single firm to perform and/or manage the complete design and construction of a project (Ordinance 3018).
   (9)   Contract. All types of County agreements, regardless of how they may be styled, for the procurement or disposal of supplies, services, or construction.
   (10)   Contract Modification. Any written alteration in specifications, delivery point, rate of delivery, period of performance, price, quantity, or other provisions of any contract accomplished by mutual action of the parties to the contract.
   (11)   Contractor. Any person having a contract with the County.
   (12)   Cooperative Purchasing. Procurement conducted by, or on behalf of, more than 1 Public Procurement Unit.
   (13)   Data. Recorded information, regardless of form or characteristic.
   (14)   Days. Calendar days.
   (15)   Designee. A duly authorized representative of a person with formal responsibilities under the ordinance.
   (16)   Minority and Disadvantaged Business. A small business which is owned or controlled by a majority of persons, who have been deprived of the opportunity to develop and maintain a competitive position in the economy because of social disadvantages and/or owned and operated by a person considered to fall within the category of a minority group. Such groups include, but are not limited to Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans.
   (17)   Electronic. Anything electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, biometic, or any other technology that is similar to these technologies. (cf. S.C. Code, § 26-6-20(5)).
   (18)   Electronic Record. A record generated, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means. (cf. S.C. Code, § 26-6-20(7))
   (19)   Electronic Signature. Any identifier or authentication technique attached to or logically associated with an electronic record that is intended by the party using it to have the same force and effect as a manual signature. (cf. S.C. Code, § 26-6-20(8))
   (20)   Electronic Commerce. Refers to the use of computer technology resources where business trade is conducted electronically.
   (21)   Economic Interest. An interest distinct from that of the general public in a purchase, sale, lease, contract, option, or other transaction or arrangement involving property or services in which a public official, public member, or public employee may gain an economic benefit of $50 or more.
      This definition does not prohibit a public official, public member, or public employee from participating in, voting on, or influencing or attempting to influence an official decision if the only economic interest or reasonably foreseeable benefit that may accrue to the public official, public member, or public employee is incidental to the public official’s, public member’s, or public employee’s position or which accrues to the public official, public member, or public employee as a member of a profession, occupation, or large class to no greater extent than the economic interest or potential benefit could reasonably be foreseen to accrue to all other members of the profession, occupation, or large class.
   (22)   Excess Supplies. Any supplies other than expendable supplies having a remaining useful life but which are no longer required by the Using Agency in possession of the supplies.
   (23)   Expendable Supplies. All tangible supplies other than nonexpendable supplies.
   (24)   Gender. It is the intention of this article to be gender neutral. Wherever he, his, or similar language is used it is not intended to specify a particular individual’s gender but rather to make reference to the individual.
   (25)   Gift. Anything of value, including entertainment, food, beverage, travel, and lodging given or paid to a public official, public member, or public employee to the extent that consideration of equal or greater value is not received. A gift includes a rebate or discount on the price of anything of value unless it is made in the ordinary course of business without regard to that person’s status. A gift does not include campaign contributions accepted pursuant to this chapter.
   (26)   Governmental Body. Greenville County or any department or agency of this County with which a public official, public member, or public employee is associated or employed.
   (27)   Immediate Family.
      (a)   A child residing in a public official’s, public member’s, or public employee’s household;
      (b)   A spouse of a public official, public member, or public employee; or
      (c)   An individual claimed by the public official, public member, or public employee or the public official’s, public member’s, or public employee’s spouse as a dependent for income tax purposes.
   (28)   Individual. One human being.
   (29)   Individual with whom he/she is associated. An individual with whom the person or a member of his immediate family mutually has an interest in any business of which the person or a member of his immediate family is a director, officer, owner, employee, compensated agent, or holder of stock worth $100,000 or more at fair market value and which constitutes 5% or more of the total outstanding stock of any class.
   (30)   Invitation for Bids (IFB). A written or published solicitation issued by an authorized procurement officer for bids to contract for the procurement or disposal of stated supplies, services, or construction, which will ordinarily result in the award of the contract to the responsible bidder making the lowest responsive bid.
   (31)   May. Denotes the permissive.
   (32)   Nonexpendable Supplies. All tangible supplies having an original acquisition cost of over $250 per unit and a probable useful life of more than 1 year.
   (33)   Person. An individual, a proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, joint stock company, syndicate, business trust, an estate, a company, committee, an association, a corporation, club, labor organization, or any other organization or group of persons acting in concert.
   (34)   Personal Property. All supplies not considered as real property.
   (35)   Public Employee. An individual employed by the State, a county, a municipality, or a political subdivision thereof.
   (36)   Public Member. An individual appointed to noncompensated part time position on a board, commission, or council. A public member does not lose this status by receiving reimbursement of expenses or a per diem payment for services.
   (37)   Public Official. An elected or appointed official of the State, a county, a municipality, or a political subdivision thereof, including candidates for the office.
   (38)   Procurement. The buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise acquiring of any supplies, services, or construction services. It also includes all functions that pertain to the obtaining of any supply, service, or construction, including description of requirements, selection, and solicitation of sources, preparation and award of contracts, and all phases of contract administration.
   (39)   Procurement Officer. Any person duly authorized to administer contracts and make written determinations with respect thereto. The term also includes an authorized representative acting within the limits of authority.
   (40)   Public Agency. A public entity subject to or created by the County.
   (41)   Public Procurement Unit. Any county, city, town, or other subdivision of the State or public agencies of any such subdivision, public authority, educational, health, or other institution, any other entity which expends public funds for procurement of property, supplies, services, or construction, any association which limits membership to governmental units.
   (42)   Procurement Director. The person holding the position created in § 7-203 (Establishment, Appointment, and Tenure), as the head of the Central Purchasing Department of the County.
   (43)   Real Property. Any land, all things growing on or attached thereto, and all improvements made thereto including buildings and structures located thereon.
   (44)   Regulation. A statement having general or particular applicability and future effect, designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy, or describing organization, procedure, or practice requirements, which has been promulgated in accordance with existing procedure.
   (45)   Request for Proposals (RFP). A written or published solicitation issued by an authorized procurement officer for proposals to provide supplies, services, or construction services which ordinarily result in the award of the contract to the responsible bidder making the proposal determined to be most advantageous to the County. The award of the contract must be made on the basis of evaluation factors which must be stated in the RFP, and must include, but not be controlled alone by the factor of price proposed to be charged.
   (46)   Responsible Bidder. A person who has the capability in all respects to perform fully the contract requirements, and the tenacity, perseverance, experience, integrity, reliability, capacity, facilities, equipment, and credit which will assure good faith performance.
   (47)   Responsive Bidder. A person who has submitted a bid which conforms in all material respects to the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids.
   (48)   Service(s). The furnishing of labor, time, or effort by a contractor not required to deliver specific end product, other than reports which are merely incidental to required performance. This term does not include employment agreements.
   (49)   Shall. Denotes the imperative.
   (50)   Small Business. A business which is independently owned and which is not dominant in its field of operation or an affiliate or subsidiary of a business dominant in its field of operation.
   (51)   Subcontractor. Any person having a contract to perform work or render service to a prime contractor as a part of the prime contractor’s agreement with the County.
   (52)   Specification. Any description of the physical or functional characteristics or of the nature of a supply, service, or construction item. It may include a description of any requirement for inspecting, testing, or preparing a supply, service, or construction item for delivery.
   (53)   Supplies. All personal property, including but not limited to equipment, materials, printing, insurance, excluding real property or an interest in real property.
   (54)   Surplus Supplies. Any supplies other than expendable supplies no longer having any use to the County. This includes obsolete supplies, scrap materials, and nonexpendable supplies that have completed their useful life cycle.
   (55)   Using Agency. Any department, commission, board, or public agency of this County requiring supplies, services, or construction procured under this article.
(Ord. 3704, passed 6-17-2003; Ord. 5051, passed 1-22-2019)