(A) Procurement of goods and non-professional services shall be solicited from local vendors who avail themselves to the terms and conditions of the vendor partnership program. Local preference shall be given to those vendors who enter into a partnership agreement with the town. To be eligible, the vendor must have a principal place of business located within the corporate limits of the town and register in official documents filed with the Secretary of State, the Internal Revenue Service, or state Tax Commission. A post office box or temporary construction or office trailer shall not be considered a place of business to comply with the provisions of this section. The local vendor must also have a current town business license and be in compliance with other local ordinance requirements. A principal place of business must be either owned or rented real property used for business purposes.
(B) Local vendors must also agree to and comply with the following provisions:
(1) Sell the town the best product or service for the best price available;
(2) Respond to the town’s needs in a timely fashion;
(3) Provide future maintenance and services for the products they sell; and
(4) Must also agree to allow the town to audit the vendor’s records relating to the town’s purchases at any time the town requests, in order to ensure the town is receiving the best product or service for the best price.
(C) Once the vendor has executed and has filed the partnership agreement with the town, the town and its designated representatives shall solicit bids or proposals for products or non-professional services which shall be evaluated on a percentage-reduction basis. In evaluating the price of eligible local vendor’s bids or proposals, the bids or proposals shall be evaluated as though the prices proposed by local bidders were either 5%, 2% or 1% lower than actually proposed in accordance with the following schedule:
(1) If the local bidder submits bids or proposals for products or non-professional services costing less than $10,000, the business or individual shall be evaluated on a 5% reduction basis;
(2) For products or services costing between $ 10,000 and $50,000, the evaluation shall be based on a 2% reduction basis;
(3) For products or services costing $50,000 or more, the evaluation shall be based on a 1% reduction basis, but will not exceed a total reduction of more than $2,000.
(D) In the event of a tie bid, ties between one local vendor and one or more non-local vendors meeting specifications, shall be broken in favor of the local vendor. Ties between two or more local vendors meeting specifications, will be broken through a coin toss method until the winner remains. However, the local preference stated herein shall not apply if all vendors, bidders, or proposers are local, eligible, partnership vendors.
(E) For purposes of this section, NON-PROFESSIONAL SERVICES are construction or renovation of facilities, janitorial services, general maintenance, including fleet management, landscaping, and lawn or tree services, vector services, printing services, travel services, food services, recreational services, training assistance, and temporary job placement services. Further decisions regarding the classification of items or services as professional or non-professional shall be determined by the Town Administrator, or designee.
(F) Nothing herein shall be construed as increasing or decreasing the actual price of a bid or proposal and the resulting contract in accordance with their terms and conditions; this section is intended only to be used for purposes of comparing and evaluating bids and proposals for products and services. Nothing within this section shall be construed to create any private rights, claims, or cause of actions on behalf of any person, including but not limited to, bidders, proposers, and contractors.
(G) Should it be determined that any portion of this section is in conflict with any federal and state laws, regulations, or provisions, then that portion of this section shall be invalid but should not affect the remaining portions of this section.
(H) The requirements of this section may be waived by Town Council upon a formal finding that the best interest of the town would not be served by adhering to the provisions as stated in this section.
(I) This section shall not apply in emergency, sensitive, or critical procurement situations. The town reserves the right to specify brand names based on its experience, current inventory, and other qualifications specified by the user department.
(Ord. 18010, passed 2-14-18) Penalty, see § 38.99