Procurement under grants shall be made by one of the following methods, as described herein: small purchase procedures; sealed bids (formal advertising); competitive proposals; and noncompetitive proposals.
(A) Small purchase procedures are relatively simple and informal procurement methods that are sound and appropriate for the procurement of services, supplies or other property, costing in aggregate not more than $100,000. If small purchase procedures are used for procurement under a grant, price or rate quotations shall be obtained from an adequate number of qualified sources.
(B) In sealed bids (formal advertising), sealed bids are publicly solicited and a firm-fixed-price contract (lump sum or unit price) is awarded to the responsible bidder whose bid, conforming with all of the material terms and conditions of the invitation for bids, is the lowest in price. The sealed bids method is the preferred method for procuring construction.
(1) In order for formal advertising to be feasible, appropriate conditions must be present, including, at a minimum, the following:
(a) A complete, adequate and realistic specification or purchase description is available;
(b) Two or more responsible bidders are willing and able to compete effectively for the village’s business; and
(c) The procurement lends itself to a firm-fixed-price contract, and the selection of the successful bidder can be made principally on the basis of price.
(2) When sealed bids are used for a procurement under a grant, the following requirements apply:
(a) A sufficient time prior to the date set for opening of bids, bids shall be solicited (publicly advertised) from an adequate number of known suppliers;
(b) The invitation for bids, including specifications and pertinent attachments, shall clearly define the items or services needed in order for the bidders to properly respond to the invitation for bids;
(c) All bids shall be opened publicly at the time and place stated in the invitation for bids;
(d) A firm-fixed-price contract award shall be made by written notice to that responsible bidder whose bid, conforming to the invitation for bids, is lowest. Where specified in the bidding documents, factors such as discounts, transportation costs and life cycle costs shall be considered in determining which bid is lowest. Payment discounts may only be used to determine low bid when prior experience of the village indicates that such discounts are generally taken; and
(e) Any or all bids may be rejected if there are sound documented business reasons in the best interest of the program.
(C) Procurement by competitive proposals is normally conducted with more than one source submitting an offer, and either a fixed-price or cost-reimbursable type contract is awarded, as appropriate. Competitive proposals are generally used when conditions are not appropriate for the use of sealed bids. If the competitive proposals method is used for a procurement under a grant, the following requirements apply:
(1) Requests for proposals shall be publicized and identify all evaluation factors and their relative importance. Any response to publicized requests for proposals shall be honored to the maximum extent practical;
(2) Requests for proposals shall be solicited from an adequate number of qualified sources;
(3) The village shall have a method for conducting evaluations of the proposals received and for selecting awardees;
(4) Awards will be made to the responsible offeror whose proposal will be most advantageous to the procuring party, with price (other than architectural/engineering) and other factors considered. Unsuccessful offerors will be promptly notified in writing; and
(5) The village may use competitive proposal procedures for qualification-based procurement of architectural/engineering (A/E) professional services whereby competitors’ qualifications are evaluated and the most qualified competitor is selected, subject to negotiation of fair and reasonable compensation. The method, where price is not used as a selection factor, can only be used in the procurement of A/E professional services. It cannot be used to procure other types of services (e.g., administration professional services) even though A/E firms are a potential source to perform the proposed effort.
(D) Noncompetitive proposals is procurement through solicitation of a proposal from only one source or, after solicitation from a number of sources, competition is determined inadequate. Noncompetitive proposals may be used only when the award of a contract is infeasible under small purchase procedures, sealed bids (formal advertising) or competitive proposals. Circumstances under which a contract may be awarded by noncompetitive proposals are limited to the following:
(1) The item is available from only a single source;
(2) After solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined inadequate;
(3) A public exigency or emergency exists when the urgency for the requirement will not permit a delay incident to competitive solicitation; and
(4) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) authorizes noncompetitive proposals. (Sole-source procurement for supplies, equipment, construction and services valued at $25,000 or more must have prior approval of DCEO.)
(E) The village will provide, to the greatest extent possible, that contracts be awarded to qualified small and minority firms, women business enterprises and labor surplus area firms whenever they are potential sources.
(F) Any other method of procurement must have prior approval of the DCEO.
(Res. passed 8-1-2011)