(a) Minimum threshold for competitive bidding.
(1) All supplies and services, except as otherwise provided herein, when the estimated cost thereof shall exceed $5,000, shall be purchased by formal, written contract and/or purchase order from the lowest responsible bidder, after due notice inviting bids under the procedures described below. All sales of public property (except trade-in public property) which has become obsolete and unusable, when the estimated value shall exceed $5,000, shall be accomplished by formal contract to the highest responsible bidder, after legal notice inviting proposals has been published as required by law. All bid solicitations shall be based upon bid specifications as prepared by the town prior to the solicitation of bids for a supply or service.
(2) Prohibition against subdivision. No contract or purchase shall be subdivided solely to avoid the requirements of this section
(b) Notice inviting bids.
(1) Newspaper. Notice inviting bids shall be published once in one official newspaper of general circulation, as defined by Sections 50.011 and 50.031, Florida Statutes, and at least five working days preceding the last day set for the receipt of bids. The newspaper notice required hereby shall include a general description of the items to be purchased or sold, shall state where bid blanks and bid specifications may be secured, and the time and place for opening bids.
(2) Bidder's list. Sealed bids shall also be solicited from at least five responsible prospective suppliers as determined from professional journals, industry directories, and similar publications and those who have requested their names to be added to a bidder's list which the Town shall maintain, by sending them a copy of such newspaper notice or such other notice as will acquaint them with the proposed purchase or sale. This requirement shall be waived to the extent that the Town Manager, or said Town Manager's designee, is unable after good faith inquiry to ascertain that there are five responsible suppliers for a service or supplies. In any case, invitations sent to the vendors on the bidder's list shall be limited to supplies or services that are similar in character and ordinarily handled by the trade group to which the invitations are sent.
(3) Bulletin board. All pending bid purchases or sales shall also be advertised by notice on the public bulletin board at Town Hall.
(c) Bid deposits. When deemed necessary by the Town Manager, or the Town Manager's designee, bid deposits shall be prescribed in the public notices inviting bids. Unsuccessful bidders shall be entitled to return of surety where the Town Manager has required such. A successful bidder shall forfeit any surety required by the Town Manager upon failure on his part to enter a contract with the Town within ten days after the award.
(d) Bid opening procedures.
(1) Sealed. Sealed bids shall be submitted to the Town Clerk and shall be identified as bids on the outside of the envelope.
(2) Opening. Bids shall be opened by the Town Manager or the Town Manager's designee in public at the time and place stated in the public notices and shall be witnessed and recorded by appropriate written record.
(3) Tabulations. A tabulation of all bids received shall be made and shall be available for public inspection.
(e) Rejection of bids. The Town Manager shall have the authority to reject all bids when the purchase amount is $4,000 or less, or when the public interest will be served thereby. The Town Commission may reject all bids when the public interest will be served thereby. The Town Commission shall not accept the bid of a contractor who is in default on payment of taxes, licenses or other monies, due the Town.
(f) Award of contract. When a purchase is bid, all contracts, when the sum is $5,000 or less, may be awarded by the Town Manager to the lowest responsible bidder. When the amount of a contract is in excess of $5,000, the Town Commission may award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder, or may delegate to the Town Manager the power to award said contract to the lowest responsible bidder. In determining the lowest responsible bidder, in addition to price, the bid and the bidder shall meet the following requirements, unless otherwise waived by the Town:
(1) The bidder has the ability, capacity and skill to perform the contract.
(2) The quality, availability and adaptability of the bidder's supplies or services to the particular use required comply with commercially acceptable standards in effect in east central Florida and comply with the bid specifications.
(3) That the bidder has the ability to provide future maintenance and service for the use of the subject of the contract.
(4) That the bidder has a sufficiency of the financial resources and ability to perform the contract.
(5) That the bidder can perform the contract within the time specified in the bid specifications, without delay or interference.
(6) That the person or other entity submitting the bid is a responsible bidder meaning that the bidder has the capability in all respects to perform fully the contract requirements and the integrity and reliability which will assure good faith performance.
(7) That the bidder has satisfactorily performed substantially similar contracts, as to type of supply or service or as to amount of supply or service, with the Town or other governmental entities in the past and is not at the time of submission or award of the bid or time of contracting for the provision of the bid service or supply to the Town otherwise debarred or limited from submitting bids to the Federal or state government.
(8) That the bidder has complied with laws and ordinances relating to the contract.
(9) That the bid is responsive in that the bid submitted conforms in all material respects to the invitation for bids and bid specifications.
(g) Award to other than lowest bidder. When the award is recommended not to be given to the lowest bidder for purchase of $5,000 or less, a full and complete statement of the reasons for placing the order elsewhere shall be prepared for or by the Town Manager and approved by the Town Manager prior to the award of contract.
(h) Equal bids.
(1) Local vendors. If low bids received are for the same total amount or unit price, quality and service being equal, the preference shall be given in order to vendors whose principal place of business is in the Town first and in Brevard County second. In the purchase of, or contract for, supplies and services, the town may give a preference in an amount not to exceed three percent of the bid price go local persons, firms, or corporations; provided however, that:
(A) The local person, firm or corporation first agrees to match the low bid of the lowest responsible non-local bidder; and
(B) This section in no way prohibits the right of the Town Commission to compare qualifications, character, responsibility and fitness of all persons, firms, or corporations submitting bids. For the purpose of this provision, the term “local persons, firms, or corporations” shall be defined as those whose principal place of business is located within the municipal boundaries of the Town or of Brevard County. Nothing contained herein shall authorize the Town to specify a single source of supplies or services.
(2) Outside vendors; tie bids. If low bids received are for the same total amount or unit price, quality and service being equal, and there is no local bidder, the bid award shall be given to the bid certifying a drug-free workplace has been implemented as provided in Section 287.087, Florida Statutes. If two or more, or none, of the equal responses from other than local bidders are received certifying that a drug-free workplace has been implemented, the Town Manger shall award the contract to one of the bidders by drawing lots in public.
(i) Performance or payment bonds. The Town Manager or Town Commission shall have the authority to require a performance or payment bond, before entering a contract, in such amount as shall reasonably be necessary to protect the best interests of the Town; provided that said requirement of a performance or payment bond shall have been included in the bid specifications.
(j) Special purchases.
(1) The Town Manager may determine to make any purchases in excess of $5,000 without formal bid to procure supplies and services which are the subject of contracts with another governmental agency, if the price and conditions of purchase for the Town are no less favorable than those obtainable by said governmental agency. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the actual purchase order or contract must be pre-approved by the Town Commission.
(2) The Town Commission may use contracts or bids from another governmental entity, where such contracts or formal bids followed formal bid procedures of sealed written bids, public openings, and legal advertisements, at least as stringent as those contained in this article and such other contracts or bids called for the same supplies or services in the same or similar quantities under like conditions of purchase.
(3) The Town Commission shall have the authority to waive the formal bidding procedures described in § 15-27 when due to a need for supplies or services there is insufficient time to utilize the bidding, in the event of emergency circumstances, or when the Town Manager, or the Town Commission, as the case may be determined that it is in the best interest of the Town.
(k) Single source. Supplies or services available only from a single source are excepted from the provisions of this article. However, if the estimated purchase amount exceeds $5,000, the Town Commission must make a specific finding at a Town meeting that only one source exists to provide the supplies or services.
(l) Insufficient bids. If less than two responsive bids are received in response to an invitation for bid, the Town Commission may authorize the Town Manager to negotiate the purchase of the needed supplies or services on the best terms available, and this provision shall be deemed to be an implicit part of all Town bid specifications.
(Ord. 92-09, passed 12-16-92; Am. Ord. 2003-01, adopted 6-25-03; Am. Ord. 2022-2, adopted 8-17-22)