(1) Request for Proposals. Proposals shall be solicited from at least 3 qualified sources, when such sources are available, through a Request for Proposals.
(2) Public Notice. Adequate public notice of the Request for Proposals shall be given in the same manner as provided in § 7-305(4) (Competitive Sealed Bidding, Public Notice); provided the minimum shall be fifteen calendar days.
(3) Receipt of Proposals. No proposals shall be handled so as to permit disclosure of the contents of any proposal to competing offerors during the process of negotiation. A register of proposals shall be prepared containing the name of the offeror, the number of modifications received, if any, and a description sufficient to identify the item/service offered. The register of proposals shall be open for public inspection only after contract award.
(4) Proposal Opening. Proposals shall be publicly opened and only the names of the offerors disclosed at the proposal opening. Contents of competing offerors shall not be disclosed during the process of negotiation. Proposals shall be open for public inspection, in accordance with § 7-199, Public Access to Procurement Information, after contract award. Propriety of confidential information marked as such in each proposal shall not be disclosed without written consent of the offeror. If a proposal is received after the advertised deadline, it will not be accepted.
(5) Request for Qualifications. Prior to soliciting proposals, the procurement officer may issue a Request for Qualifications from prospective offerors. Such request shall contain at a minimum a description of goods or services to be solicited by the Request for Proposals and the general scope of the work and shall state the deadline for submission of information and how prospective offerors may apply for consideration. The request shall require information only on their qualifications, experience, and ability to perform the requirements of the contract.
After receipt of the responses to the Request for Qualifications from prospective offerors, the prospective offerors shall be ranked from most qualified to least qualified on the basis of the information provided. Proposals shall then be solicited from at least the top 2 prospective offerors by means of a Request for Proposals. The failure of a prospective offeror to be selected to receive the Request for Proposals shall not be grounds for protest under § 7-701.
(6) Public Notice. Adequate public notice of the Request for Qualifications shall be given in the manner provided in § 7-305.
(7) Evaluation Factors. The Request for Proposals shall state the relative importance of the factors to be considered in evaluating proposals. Price may, but need not be, an initial evaluation factor.
(8) Discussion with Responsive/Responsible Offerors and Revisions to Proposals. As provided in the Request for Proposals, discussions may be conducted with responsible offerors who submit proposals determined to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award for the purpose of clarification to assure full understanding of, and conformance to, the solicitation requirements. Offerors shall be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals and such revisions may be permitted after submissions and prior to award for the purpose of obtaining best and final offers. In conducting discussions, there shall be no disclosure of any information derived from proposals submitted by competing offerors.
(9) Selection and Ranking. Proposals shall be evaluated using only the criteria stated in the Request for Proposals and there must be adherence to any weightings that have been previously assigned. Once evaluation is complete, all responsive offerors shall be ranked from most advantageous to least advantageous to the County, considering only the evaluation factors stated in the Request for Proposals. If price is an initial evaluation factor, award shall be made in accordance with § 7-307. If price is not an initial evaluation factor, negotiations shall be conducted with the top ranked responsive offeror for performance of the contract at a price which is fair and reasonable to the County. Should the procurement officer be unable to negotiate a contract at a price which is fair and reasonable to the County, negotiations shall be formally terminated with the top ranked responsive offeror and negotiations commenced with the second most advantageous responsive offeror, and then the third and so on until a satisfactory contract has been negotiated. In conducting negotiations, there must be no disclosure of any information derived from proposals submitted by competing offerors.
(10) Award. Award must be made to the responsive offeror whose proposal is determined in writing to be the most advantageous to the County, taking into consideration price and the evaluation factors set forth in the Request for Proposals, unless 1 of the options listed in § 7-307 is utilized. The contract file shall contain the basis on which the award is made. Procedures and requirements for notification of intent to award the contract shall be the same as those stated in § 7-305.
(11) Other. If, after following the procedures set forth in § 7-307, a contract is not able to be negotiated, the scope of the Request for Proposals may be changed in an effort to reduce the cost to a fair and reasonable amount, and all responsive offerors must be allowed to submit their best and final offers.
Where price was an initial evaluation factor, the using department, through the procurement officer, may in its sole discretion, and not subject to challenge through a protest filed under § 7-701, proceed in any of the following manners:
(a) Negotiate price with the highest scoring offeror. If a satisfactory price cannot be agreed upon, price negotiations may be conducted with the second, and then the third, and so on, ranked offerors to such level of ranking as determined by the using department and/or procurement officer;
(b) Negotiate with the highest ranking officer on matters affecting the scope of the contract, so long as the overall nature and intent of the contract is not changed. If a satisfactory contract cannot be negotiated with the highest ranking offeror, negotiations may be conducted with the second, and then the third, and so on, ranked offerors to such level of ranking as determined by the using department and/or procurement officer;
(c) Change the scope of the request for proposals and give all responsive/responsible offerors an opportunity to submit best and final offers.
If any of these options are chosen, and a contract is still unable to be awarded, any of the procedures outlined herein may be repeated until a proposed contract is successfully achieved.
(Ord. 3704, passed 6-17-2003; Ord. 4056, § 4, passed 10-17-06)