§ 2.48.170 COMPETITIVE SEALED PROPOSALS.
   A.   Conditions for Use. Competitive Sealed Proposals shall be initiated and created in accordance with the procedures for Competitive Sealed Bidding as enumerated in Article III when the Director of Purchasing determines, and when not required by law, in writing that the use of competitive sealed bidding is either not practicable or not advantageous to the County.
   B.   Request for Proposals. Proposals shall be solicited through Request for Proposals.
   C.   Public Notice. Adequate public notice of the Request for Proposals shall be given in the same manner as provided in § 2.48.170B.
   D.   Contract Clauses, Standard Clauses, and Their Modification. All County Contracts for Goods and Supplies, Services, Equipment, Construction, and Professional Services shall include provisions necessary to define the responsibilities and rights of the parties to the Contract. The Director of Purchasing, after consultation with the State’s Attorney, may establish standard Contract clauses for use in County Contracts.
   E.   Receipt of Proposals. No proposals shall be handled so as to permit the disclosure of the identity of any bidder or the contents of any proposal to competing bidders during the process of negotiation. A register of the proposals shall be prepared containing the name of each bidder, the number of modifications received, if any, and a description sufficient to identify the item offered. The register of proposals shall be open for public inspection only after Contract award.
   F.   Evaluation Factors. The Request for Proposals shall state the relative importance of price and other evaluation factors.
   G.   Discussion with Responsible Bidders and Revisions to Proposals. As provided in the Request for Proposals, discussions may be conducted with Responsible Bidders 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. All such discussions shall be conducted by the Director of Purchasing on behalf of the County until such time as the Contract has been awarded. Bidders 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 the identity of competing bidders or of any information derived from proposals submitted by competing bidders.
(Ord. 7741, passed 7-16-2019)