(a) The City hereby adopts as the standard for bidders in each competitively bid contract, the provisions of Ohio R.C. 9.312, that the bid shall be to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
(b) In order to implement that standard, the City adopts the following:
(1) A bidder for a contract shall be considered responsive if the bidder's proposal responds to bid specifications in all material respects and contains no irregularities or deviations from the specifications which would affect the amount of the bid or otherwise give the bidder a competitive advantage.
(2) In determining whether a bidder is responsible, the following factors shall be considered:
A. The bidder's experience;
B. The bidder's financial condition;
C. The bidder's conduct and performance on previous contracts;
D. The bidder's facilities;
E. The bidder's management skills;
F. The bidder's ability to execute the contract properly.
G. When determined necessary and/or appropriate by the City Administrator for a capital improvement project, prospective bidders and/or their subcontractors shall be required to be currently pre-qualified with the Ohio Department of Transportation.
(3) Nonresponsive bidders shall be rejected or all bidders shall be rejected.
(4) Each bidder rejected as nonresponsive whose bid was lower than the lowest responsive bidder shall be notified of the finding that it was nonresponsive and the reasons for the finding in writing by certified mail.
(5) The Administrator, or his designee, shall obtain from the lowest responsive bidder any information the Administrator, or his designee, deems appropriate to the consideration of items A. through F. in subsection (b)(2) hereof. If the Administrator, or his designee, deems it appropriate, all bidders may be required to provide some or all of such information together with their bids.
(6) If the lowest responsive bidder is responsible, the contract shall be awarded to such bidder unless all bidders are rejected.
(7) If the lowest responsive bidder is not responsible, such bidder shall be rejected and shall be notified of the finding that it is not responsible and the reasons for the finding in writing by certified mail or all bidders shall be rejected. Any bidder who was rejected as nonresponsive but who was not notified under subsection (b)(4), hereof and whose bid is lower than the next lowest responsive bidder shall be notified of the finding that it was nonresponsive and the reasons for the finding in writing by certified mail unless all bidders are rejected.
(8) If the lowest responsive bidder is not responsible, and all bidders are not rejected, the Administrator or his designee, shall follow the procedure set forth in subsections (b)(5), (6) and (7) hereof with each next lowest responsive bidder until the contract is awarded, all bidders are rejected or all responsive bidders are determined to be not responsible.
(9) Unless all bids are rejected, any bidder who is notified in accordance with subsection (b)(4) or (7) hereof may object to this rejection upon filing a written protest which is received by the Administrator, or his designee, within five days of the notification provided to that bidder under subsection (b)(4) or (7) hereof as applicable.
(10) Upon receipt of a timely protest, the Administrator, or his designee, shall meet with the protesting bidder to hear the bidder's objections. Ohio R.C. Chapter 119 shall not be applicable to such meeting.
(11) No award of the contract shall become final until after the Administrator, or his designee, has met with all bidders who have timely filed protests and the award is affirmed.
(12) If all protests are rejected, the award of the contract shall be affirmed.
(13) If a protest is not rejected, any procedures set forth above which have not already been applied to the bidder making such protest, or if more than one protest is not rejected to the lowest bidder making such a protest, shall be applied to that bidder. If, in accordance with the applicable procedures set forth above, such bidder is determined to be the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, the contract shall be awarded to such bidder and any previous award shall be reversed. If, in accordance with the applicable procedures set forth above, each such bidder is determined to not be the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, then the previous award of the contract shall be affirmed.
(Ord. 2021-012. Passed 3-22-21.)